YOU ARE WHAT YOU...

a) "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT"

b) "YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO"

c) "YOU ARE WHAT YOU TELL YOURSELF"


Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves. Our culture is obsessed with self-esteem. How to get it, how to boost it, how to make little Johnny on the soccer field feel it.

I'll let you in on a little secret. The only person who can give you self-esteem is...wait for it...YOU.
(Kinda self-explanatory, eh?)

And yet, you would be amazed at how many people (grown or otherwise) don't know this.

In reality there is only one saying:

YOU ARE WHAT YOU CHOOSE!

You are the sum total of your choices. (EVEN IF OTHERS HAVE MESSED WITH YOUR LIFE - HOW YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE BEYOND THAT = YOU.) And that sum total will strike you as either good or bad and that is what determines if you have good self-esteem or poor self-esteem.

You are what you CHOOSE to eat. Your health depends very much on your choices.

You are what you CHOOSE to do. To do your homework. Help that person clean up. Walk away. It's all up to you.

You are what you CHOOSE to tell yourself.


This is a hard concept to get your head around. But once you do - it will make your life 100% better. It's right up there with CHOOSING if the world is friendly or not.

We get all sorts of messages about who or what we are: good and bad. From teachers, family members, friends society - the media... Guess what? Only one opinion in the end matters. YOURS. You will decide what you believe - positive or negative. Our brains can't help it - it compiles data and analyzes it...all the time. So if you don't take control and CHOOSE what to believe you will start believing the data coming in from other people.

Now - don't throw out the good with the bad. If your coach has some helpful comments on how to throw a slider you should CHOOSE to hear her and act accordingly. Your game will improve. You'll win the World Series, etc. However, if the coach says "You Dummy, here's how you throw a slider..." CHOOSE to disregard the negative comment. What does she know about your personhood? If you've made it this far in life and your reading something that will improve your life - - you're no dummy.

This is much harder than it sounds. We are attuned to the negative. Just look at the news.

But you are not the news. You are the Master of Your Brain and you are going to be selective about what information you feed it - especially when it comes to the topic of YOU!

And be careful - because usually the one hardest on you...is you. So you have to teach yourself how to "talk" to you.

Go to your mirror every morning and look at yourself and say those positive mantra's out loud. ("I am a good person." "I am loveable." "I am smart." On every break from school or work - go over them in your head for a month. Believe them. They will change your life.)

So when you make a bad throw ,DON'T THINK automatically, "I'm an idiot. I'll never be able to do this..." Instead, CHOOSE to say, "Wow, that didn't go as I planned. How can I do better? I know I can do better."

Mirror, every morning.

Trust us.

*And if you don't like who you have chosen to be...choose differently!

THINK POSITIVELY (Focus on all the good in life.)

Who thinks this is a good idea? Well, our mothers, St. Paul, Einstein, to name a few.

"The most important question you'll ever ask is whether the Universe is a friendly place."
- Albert Einstein World Famous Smarty Pants

We, the 101 team, figure that if it’s good enough for Einstein, it’s good enough for us.

When we’re young we tend to believe that we are right.
All the time.
About everything.
Most of us grow out of it. Most of us.

This is one of those make it or break it decisions in your life.

Everything will be colored by how you “see” and interpret events: positively or negatively. Perception is everything.

We are selective when it comes to what we see, hear, and think. What we see, hear, and think is how we get our information about the Universe. It is what we use to navigate every waking moment of our lives. It makes sense we should be very careful about what we think is “real”. Reality is our perception.

For example:

Take a look at the picture above. Write down what you see.

Now look again. Do you see an old woman? A young woman? Were you positive of what you saw when you wrote it down? Surprised that both answers can be right? Welcome to life.

You weren’t right or wrong in your answer, you just probably looked too quickly and believed there was only one answer. All of that was rapid choosing of the reality you perceived.

Another test:

You here a siren in the middle of the night do you think - disaster - or thank goodness someone is off to the rescue?

Positive thinking is a simple idea that makes such an enormous impact in life most people will not give up the pride to do it. Sometimes we seem more smart or worldly if we’re “knowledgable of the evil in the world.” Fine. It’s there. It’s always been there. But guess what - you become what you focus on.

If you have an outcome like a siren where it can be interpreted as good or bad, rest your betting chips on the good. You will be much more happy. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t aware of the bad posibilites, it just means you're siding with the good. You become what you focus on - and more people (ie connections, job opportunites, romantic opportunites, etc.) are attracted to “good” energy. And the ones that are attracted to the bad, you don’t want in your life.


So take it from St. Paul, our mothers and Einstein:

“...whatever is true, whatever is honorable,whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things.”

-St. Paul Philippians 4:8

Be Proactive (Get moving!)

Wanna know a cool phrase?

Tabula Rasa.

It's Latin for "Clean Slate".

That's what we all get in the morning. Sure, we may have to deal with the consequences of our past, but the clean slate allows us to decide what we're going to do about it.

So get up this morning and remind yourself: It's a new day, it's a clean slate. I GET TO CHOOSE HOW I SPEND IT!

Now, we can hear the complaints already: What if I have horrendous parents? What if I'm on deserted island? What if I'm in jail?

Fair enough. You may have a limited environment, but that doesn't limit how you react to your situation. That is up to you. Everyday is a new day to decide how you are going to live it. Are you going to be proactive? (Meaning taking control of what you can. What you can plan and what you can do?) Or are you just going to react to whatever life hands you.

We'll give you a hint - BE PROACTIVE

This is the best response for you and the people around you. If you control what you can control you will feel better and have a much better chance at making your life work for you.

You will be creating the life you want. Not reacting to the life you're "getting".

How do you do that?

Well, check out the next post..."How to Think"

Welcome

This blog is for anyone that wants to do anything in life better. It's mainly an outlet to share knowledge with those just starting off in life and trying to figure it all out. Well, that's your first mistake. But congratulations, mistakes are the beginning of knowledge.

We're not fans of the School of Hard Knocks, too many bruises. We are fans of the school of knocking. Knock, Ask, Learn.

This blog will hopefully give you some good advice on how to navigate through life. Posts will include such topics as:

"Job vs. Career"
"How to Buy a Car"
"How to do Laundry"
"How to be Lucky"
"What the Purpose is of Life, the Universe, and Everything..."

Seriously. Everything.

Oh, and just a note to you all. We're a community here. Maybe not a physical one, but we are a group of people in a shared space and that means a few things:

First - You have a lot of knowledge, please share it with us! Your life experience and way of thinking is unique. If you have some helpful feedback on a topic, please make us all stronger by sharing with us on the comments page. Not every comment will be published - but they will all be appreciated!

Second - This is a blog on how to make life easier. If you make life harder for people you need to look for another blog.

So welcome, friends! Let's get started on making our lives better!

-The 101 Team