PREPARING OUR MINDS FOCUS FOR A FORMIDABLE FUTURE

IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO US ALL THAT THESE ARE CHALLENGING AND CHANGING TIMES. BUT SOON THINGS WILL GO BACK TO "NORMAL". don't believe the hype! THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IS A REDEFINING OF TODAY'S ZEITGEIST IN LIGHT OF A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT. BEING AWARE OF THESE FACTORS WILL HELP US TO DEAL WITH THE byproducts PRODUCED FROM the STRESS OF THESE TIMES. THIS is SOMETHING WE'LL BE EXPERIENCING FOR YEARS TO COME.

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No man is an island. Now that we've been forced to distance ourselves we understand this saying. "Humans are pack animals." We all exist individually but need to interact socially. The harmony of human interaction is achieved whenever we lower our own personality enough to allow others to express their individuality.

Seeing ourselves as a part of a larger universal process gives a better perspective of our individual role

Crisis clouds clarity! It's hard to see clearly while in the midst of a crisis. Clarity generally comes after a crisis has completed its course. This gives more meaning to the saying that hindsight is 20/20 vision. They say seeing is believing. Sight defines the direction and perspective we see from (insight foresight hindsight). What appears   through our bias is "deceiving believing."

​A lawyers "advice" is his stock in trade, A bankers "financial insight" is his position of leverage, an innovators "insight" is his source of solutions, and an inventors cup of tea is in the "relevance" of his inventions. Everyone and everything is defined by its true significance to something else. Our perspectives will either elevate us to, or eliminate us from, true reality.

THE HABIT OF PRACTICING PROBLEMS ENDS WHEN WE FINALLY FACE THEM

Problems are a part of life.  How we deal with them makes problems practical or makes problems into bigger problems. We can chase money but we'll never catch it all. We may achieve a dream but never reach all of our goals. Whatever position we find ourselves in can be regarded as a problem or just the place we're in at that time. The fame and fortune we encounter along the way will eventually fade. Power and riches are fleeting. It is the goals we obtain that stand as our real accomplishments.

Only 2% of women head banks yet they handle most of the finances in homes world wide. Women are more practical with money and take less risks. Some say if Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters the Recession of 2008 would have been avoided.

The processes we use to face and focus on problems determines our feelings about them. There is no principle of feelings. Feelings are virtual - they are not real, we create them. Prior to "feeling" them, these emotional components don't exist. Therefore feelings are only as real as we make them. We get to choose whether we feel them or not. This is something learned over our many years of development. The principles that influence feelings are many. The biggest problem with problems is that the word itself is negatively associated. In addition, the real nature of problems are often misinterpreted and therefore misunderstood! Problems are simply looking for solutions. We can become a hindrance to them finding one another. All Problems by their very nature are both multidimensional and progressive. Problems are neutral; they do not exist in and of themselves. Problems are created! problems are an innate process formed by existence's momentum. Problems are a byproduct of progress! Too many of us are addicted to our problems pains. A problem is experienced any time something is out of balance. There are two major categories of problems. There are problems that pose ongoing difficulties and problems resolved by ongoing solutions. In reality problems are only a problem when they progress to a point of hindering progress. Problems have no bias. How we quantify (rank) and examine (magnify) them makes them what they are.

DEFINE IT, DEAL WITH IT, DESTROY IT AND HOLD ON TO DELIVERANCE

Let's examine three factors; facing, focusing and feeling. Whatever we face we acknowledge. Our focus is an indication of intensity. Our feelings must be interpreted for meaning. Left to themselves things generally get worse. Although things may seem to continue to work, ignoring a problem will NEVER solve it. It is through "focusing" on the problem specifically that will either magnify or identify it. Facing things under a microscope allows them to appear differently from the way we first viewed them. When focusing on something we see it differently but that difference may only be in the details. Likewise when dealing with a problem at first glance we may not see the severity of it. But after close examination we might come to the realization that the problem was greater than originally thought. This discovery should offer some consolation in that the focusing part of the process has worked. We can only address the things we are aware of. It is through "focusing" on, and then after carefully and closely "exploring" these situations, that we learn how to respond to them. Whatever is revealed should be regarded as enlightening. It is far better to embrace the emotional feeling of being informed rather then the anxiety of becoming overwhelmed. The concept of focusing should be regarded in terms of how microscopes work. A small germ under a microscope is magnified thousands of times just so we can see and understand it. On a computer screen germs may appear huge but in reality they are minuscule. Like many of our so called problems, it is how we see them that determines how we deal with them. By applying and embracing these principles, the power over our problems increases dynamically.  As we practice expressing this power over problems we may falter from time to time. It is not necessary to be the best at problem solving, but we are obligated to do our best to solve the problems.

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