Freedom Blog

Friday, July 27, 2012

Are You Nummified?


No Limits | The Freedom Blog


Are You Nummified?

Written by Steven Griggs | stevengriggs.com

“When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone,
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb.”
Pink Floyd

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.”
Pink Floyd


“Nummified” is a word I created to describe how we tend to get caught up in our life construct. About how we get “stuck” and bogged down in our lives. We begin to believe our circumstances define us. We lock ourselves into a structure that is both comfortable and numb.

We create a life that attaches meaning to money, possessions, and status. Where our security and solidity comes from believing that we are defined by the car we drive, the house we live in, the money and possessions we own, and the “friends” we have. We never look inward, always outward.

We believe that our life is good because of these things. And it is…..

But there’s more to the story.…...

On one level our lives are exceptionally good because we have access to basically anything we desire. But on another level this also enables us and makes it easier to believe that “things” have meaning. It allows our Ego personality to become dominant because we are constantly feeding it in a variety of ways.

We are then on an endless quest to feed the Ego and fill the void, sometimes literally (Statistics show that over 38% of Americans are considered obese).

But the Ego can never be satisfied and by endlessly trying we reinforce the disconnect and reveal our emptiness…..the void.

But why is there a void? What is the void?

I believe it is a symptom of our disconnection from our true selves.

What is one’s “true self”?

I think you already know the answer.

Ask yourself:

Am I happy?
Am I doing what I truly want to be doing?
Is this the life I planned on and dreamed of?

If the answer is yes, then good on you but if the answer is no, then you have just gotten a little closer to understanding your true self.  You’ve gotten a clearer picture by knowing that you aren’t where you really want to be.

By being clear on what you don’t want you take a step closer to understanding what you do want.

I’m not saying this is an easy process, because it’s not. You may start questioning your lifestyle, your relationships, your job, your choices….

It can be scary.

But you don’t have to blow up your life and change everything…. at least not all at once. You just have to keep getting clearer on what you truly want and slowly move towards that new you.

Take small steps, begin by stepping back from the reactive mindset, the emotion driven interactions that we constantly engage in. Pay attention to yourself and your surroundings.

Spend time alone. Take walks, reconnect with nature. If you don’t already meditate, learn how. It will help you stay better connected to your true self.

As you move towards the future you, you will gain momentum. You will begin to lose interest in a lot of things that used to be important to you. Doors will open and you may be taken down new paths. Follow those paths.

Look for the opening doors and keep going.

Soon “Nummified” will just be a silly word that someone made up.




Thursday, July 19, 2012

Letting Go


No Limits | The Freedom Blog


Letting Go

Written by Steven Griggs | stevengriggs.com

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”
Lao Tzu

“Expose yourself to your greatest fear, after that, fear has no power and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
Jim Morrison

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don't.” 
Steve Maraboli

Have you ever struggled with an issue that you just can’t seem to solve? You feel you should have the answer but the answer continually eludes you? You’ve beaten your head against the wall (all four walls) looking at options and scenarios. You’ve looked at the problem twenty different ways and still there is no answer.

That’s because some situations aren’t solvable, at least by you. You have to recognize that sometimes you can’t fix it, change it or make it better.

You have to let go.

This is because sometimes we find ourselves dealing with situations that we really can’t  have an answer to. But we don’t recognize it at the time. We get caught up in the process, especially if we are creative and in the past were able to solve any problems that came up.

We are trying to control outcomes or situations that are outside of us, situations that can’t really be solved by us.

The trick is to know what you can control and what you can’t.  

We can’t really control anything outside of ourselves. Yes, you can move the pieces around the chess board, but sometimes the pieces that you can move aren’t the ones that make a difference. The pieces that matter are outside of your control.

Knowing this and when to let go and turn the corner is a crucial lesson.

You can lose yourself in the stress and frustration of trying too hard, of constantly brain storming solutions and creating new plans of attack. It can suck you into the maelstrom and keep you there.

It trashes you. You are stuck in place, trying to move chess pieces that aren’t yours to move.

Have you ever experienced this?

You've done your best. You’ve tried everything. But it’s hard for you to “quit”. You just don’t do that, you keep fighting the good fight.

You try to save every situation because you’re too smart and knowledgeable to allow “failure”.

But this is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Why are you killing yourself trying to bailout out a sinking, rusted ship when 100 yards away is a beautiful lagoon where some people are having a luau on the beach?

Should you keep bailing and maybe go down with the ship? Or should you jump off and swim to shore and join those people enjoying themselves on the beach?

You are using up valuable time and creativity, wasting energy that could be focused on your next project. On something that will make you money and feed your spirit rather than suck you dry and kill your spark.

Letting go is a process. It requires faith.

Having faith in yourself.

You have to know that this situation is one footnote in one chapter in a long book with many more chapters waiting to be written.

So picture yourself letting go. 


Jump. 


You’re in the water swimming. They see you and are waving to you to join them.

You’re on the beach.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Luck- Good or Bad?


No Limits | The Freedom Blog


Luck, Good or Bad?

Written by Steven Griggs | stevengriggs.com

“Luck is the idol of the idle”
Proverb

“It’s hard to detect good luck – it looks so much like something you’ve earned” 
Frank A. Clark

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”
Seneca

Are you lucky? Do you believe in luck? And what is luck?

According to the Free Dictionary, luck is defined as:
“The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events….. one's personal fate or lot”

In almost every case luck is defined as something outside or beyond our control. As if we were just victims living out our lives on our predetermined path waiting for the next curve ball or surprise that fate has in store for us. See Wishing and Hoping

But is it true?

When was the last time something happened to you that you considered lucky? When some thing or some situation arose and made you stop and think: “Wow, that was lucky!”

Was it really luck? Was it really a coincidence?

Did you play any part in creating that luck? Do you believe in coincidence?

Are you really surprised when someone that you have been thinking about calling, maybe even just a minute or two ago, calls you? Or when you mention wanting to see a friend you haven’t seen for a while and then that day at the grocery store that friend walks up to you?

This would be called coincidence or luck. But it’s not.

I don’t believe in luck and I don’t believe in coincidence.

Once you get that you are creating your life at all times and that you have created the circumstances of your life, you stop blaming or complaining.

You will realize that you are attracting everything in your life, the good and the not so good. You can start changing those circumstances. 

Counting on good luck or waiting for your luck to change is being a victim. You are giving away your power. 

It takes time and practice but you can step out of powerless and into powerful. You can change your circumstances and therefore change your life.

The first step is to take responsibility for everything that happens to you.

Don’t be surprised when that friend or relative calls or you run into that friend at the store. Take responsibility and acknowledge that you reached out to them and they heard.

YOU created this, not luck.

The more you take responsibility, the stronger your power can grow.

(There are many techniques and lessons that can help you in this and I will present more ideas in future articles)

Once you get that, then you realize that you are the essence of luck.  You create your luck.

And then you realize how lucky you really are.