Most of the positive psychology information you read isn’t new. In fact, you utilize just about every strategy taught on a daily basis. This is why you are successful in so many areas of your life. These tips, ideas, or strategies, though, once recognized after learning them, can be applied on a more conscious level and consistent basis.
The strategies that make you successful in one area of your life are the same strategies that will make you successful in every area. Weaker areas in your life, the ones where you find yourself struggling, can be improved if you recognize them as needing improvement and work to make the necessary change. Simply put the same energy, time, and success strategies into those weaker areas and you will see improvement and greater success.
This is why I get excited when I read or hear something that elevates my consciousness and opens my eyes to a new or better way of doing things. I love powerful words that move me. And it seems like the most powerful words are not lengthy, but short, sweet, and to the point.
I have read something by Dr. Kevin Elko, author of the book The Sender (which I highly recommend), that was really, really good. He simply stated that we need to live in the vision, not the circumstance. These words are so simple, yet so powerful and enlightening. What he is saying is that when we have a vision of what we want, where we want to go, or whom we want to become, we need to constantly remind ourselves of the bigness of that vision, and not get bogged down by the daily circumstances.
Let me give an example. I had a patient recently that has decided to go back to school to get the necessary certification that he needs in order to get a job working with computers. He loves computers and working with them is something he has dreamed of for as long as he can remember. However, in order to make this possible, he has to step down to a lower paying and more physically demanding position at his current job. He will also have to work longer hours and juggle his class load at the same time.
Many people would get overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted and eventually quit. The long hours of work and study, the sacrifices necessary due to a smaller income, and the long road ahead would take its toll, and many people would give up. How does one persist and ultimately succeed? They must keep their vision very clear and foremost in their minds. They must live in their vision.
The struggles and adversity on that path must be viewed as mere circumstance. These circumstances are small stepping-stones on the path to reach the ultimate goal. If we focus too heavily on these circumstances, we will get consumed by them, slowed down by them, and ultimately stopped by them. We will lose sight of our vision if we focus on the circumstances. Therefore, we must live each day in our vision, not our circumstances.
This is most clear with Olympians. These are the best athletes on the planet, with most of them having had the vision of competing as an Olympian for many years. Their ability to maintain that vision is the only way they could endure the circumstances of aches, pains, slips, falls, hours and hours of practice, and sacrificing so much. If they, at any moment, choose to live in the circumstances, they will give up and fail. Living in the vision is what pulls us through the circumstances.
I am currently focusing on not getting stuck in the circumstances of the craziness going on in the world right now. I believe we will emerge better, stronger, and more unified. If I get consumed by the circumstances, my health, my family, and my practice will suffer. I work daily to live in the vision, not the circumstances.
So make sure you have big visions. And know that whatever your circumstances, if you live daily in your vision, you are much more likely to succeed. Live in your vision, not your circumstances!
