Proactive Archives - Page 28 of 31

August 6, 2016February 21, 2016 by Pete Wiley

Pain

Pain hurts.

No one wants pain in their lives, but we all have it. If we didn’t have pain, we probably wouldn’t have much joy. Creating happiness in our lives involves taking risks—including the risk of pain. Ultimately, if we can find a balance between pain and joy, we have had a life worth living.

There are different kinds of pain, and it can come from different sources. There is physical pain, the pain of unfulfilled desire, the pain of loss, the pain of regret. Some might say that these are different kinds of pain—in how they feel and in how they manifest—but to me, they are very similar. Intense emotional pain hurts just as deeply as any physical pain we might endure.

July 23, 2016February 13, 2016 by Pete Wiley

Clarity

Static. Distraction. White noise.

In the modern world, endless activities and interruptions can divert our minds from what is in front of us and interfere with our clarity.

We check e-mail, text, take phone calls, go to meetings; with so many distractions, uninterrupted time—doing anything—seems like a luxury.

Double exposure of girl and autumn landscape

June 11, 2016June 4, 2016 by Pete Wiley

Signals

The Universe is talking to us all the time; it’s up to us to listen.

We all have signals in our life that let us know something is not quite right—signals that we should acknowledge and on which we should act.

These signals include how we feel, physically and emotionally. They also include how people react to us or the state of our relationships, how we spend our time, our energy level, and our ability to focus. Each of these can say a lot about the state of our lives.

Do we pay attention to these signals? Do we even know what they are?

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May 28, 2016December 8, 2015 by Pete Wiley

Time

What is the most valuable commodity?

Plutonium? Diamonds? Platinum?

I bet many people would say that it’s time.

Yes, I know—time is not technically a commodity, but we often treat it like one—we save it, trade it, and consume it.

How do we respond to all the demands on our time?

Some people treat it as a public good, or as something that is available on a first-come, first-served basis, to anyone. They give of their time freely, to whomever asks for it. Although that approach can produce some interesting results, most of us have too many responsibilities to be able to give away our time so generously.

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May 14, 2016November 19, 2015 by Pete Wiley

Choice

None of us ever has to do anything.

Of course there are many things we should do, even things we’re required to do. But we don’t have to do any of them.

So many of us get into patterns that make us feel like we don’t have any free will, but that is an illusion.

We all have responsibilities. We all have choices that, in our minds, are not really choices at all.

Each of us has a particular lifestyle. When we are faced with choices that, on their surface, seem inconsistent with our lifestyles, we tend to dismiss them out of hand. This attitude puts artificial boundaries on our lives that limit our experiences and close our minds.

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