path Archives - Page 3 of 3

March 18, 2017March 15, 2017 by Pete Wiley

Beginnings

Have you ever found yourself going down a path that you know isn’t right?

We may feel we’re stuck on that path, that the events that led us here will lead us relentlessly in the same direction.

We may feel that we’ve messed up, or dropped the ball, and that we can’t escape the consequences.

I’ve had several times in my life when I knew (or later realized) that I was on the wrong path—that I had done, or was still doing, something stupid (smoking, staying in unhealthy relationships, making poor choices). But I was shortsighted or pigheaded or oblivious—or a combination of the three.

February 21, 2017February 21, 2017 by Pete Wiley

Blocks of Life—The Book!

I am please and excited to announce the publication of the new Blocks of Life Book! Get all the BOL goodness in one place plus additional insights about how to create a happy, meaningful, and fulfilling life.

You can find the book on Amazon (just click on the link!).

The desire to lead a wonderful life is a universal human trait—just consider the many self-help books promising to reveal the one “true secret” of happiness and success, based on the author’s personal experience.

Such books miss a vitally important point: what brings one person fulfillment may bring another person stress. Each person takes a different route to a meaningful life—there is no single path.

Blocks of Life accepts this truth and builds on it.

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Woman driving a convertible car at the beach.

February 4, 2017February 6, 2017 by Pete Wiley

Drive

Who’s in the driver’s seat?

Who (or what) drives our actions, decisions, and thoughts?

Some people go through their lives firmly in the driver’s seat. They know what they want and they do what it takes to get there. But even the most self-assured people have others who guide them, advise them, or otherwise influence them. They may be in the driver’s seat, but there is usually someone else in the car with them.

On the other extreme are people who are just along for the ride. Someone else is (or a series of people are) in the driver’s seat, and they may not even know where the car is going. These people might lack the confidence to make their own decisions or may be susceptible to manipulation or control. They are drawn to others who have strong visions even if they don’t share them, because the others provide them with a sense of direction, which they would otherwise lack. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with this—some people are just naturally more comfortable in a supportive role—it is important for us to move our lives in ways that we understand and approve of. Even if someone else is driving, we should be aware of the route and destination.

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August 20, 2016February 21, 2016 by Pete Wiley

Path

Are you headed in the right direction?

Are your journey and your desired destination likely to make you happy?

Did you chart your own path, or is it a product of circumstances? Do you have control over your path?

That last one is a biggie. It may seem that our paths are out of our control, that we are destined to continue with our lives the way we have been and that deviations aren’t possible. We may feel trapped.

In some cases, we are wedded to certain aspects of our lives. We make commitments, we have responsibilities, and we have people to whom we have to answer. But if we take those as foundations on which we can build a life that is flexible (as much as possible), fun, fulfilling, and meaningful, we may find that we have more control over our paths than we originally thought.

in Open Mind / Proactive 0 comments

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.

in Open Mind / Proactive 1 comments