April 15th, 2013
(You have a voice!)
“What’s wrong?” The answer to this question will change your life. Maybe.
When you are asked; “What’s wrong?” your typical first response is: “Nothing.” Why do you have this quick, patented answer? Is it because you believe that your “stuff” isn’t important. Is it because you believe that you already know the response and where it will lead? Or maybe because you don’t want to rock the boat? Or do you believe that the other person can beat you or belittle you with the volume of their voice or their command of semantics or debate?
Whatever the reason for saying “Nothing” it is a lie if you truly feel something is wrong and lying always diminishes your self worth. It takes guts to tell the truth. It takes guts to not sugar coat your response. It takes guts not to preface your answer with cowering phrases like “You probably won’t agree but…” or “I might be totally wrong but…” or ” I might just be crazy but I…” or “You’ll probably get mad if I say this but…” and all the variations.
Speak up anyway! If you feel something is wrong, speak up! If you feel you have been abused, speak up! If you feel someone has treated you badly, speak up! If you feel that you are being cheated, lessened, cheated on, demeaned, ridiculed, belittled or hurt, speak up!
It is very important to remember that as you speak up you get the courage to continue. Great courage never comes before you speak. When you speak up you are righting a wrong. When you speak up you are honoring your own personal integrity. When you speak up the feces may come in direct contact with the oscillating blades but you will have stood toe to toe with your biggest fears and said “Get out of my way. I’ve got something to say!”and a bigger, better you is born.
(c)2013 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
May 2nd, 2011
What’s wrong? I mean, really, what’s bothering you right now? I’m sure it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to come up with an answer because what is wrong or bothering us usually has our full attention. Oh, we may think about something else for a while or even do a bit of work or planning but the moment we relax, it pops up again and that churning in our stomach and that tightness in our body is back. We let the thoughts and pictures sit there in the forefront of our minds hoping that maybe this time, just maybe, an answer will magically appear beside it but just like the last hundred times we waited, no answer. The fact of the matter is …the answer can’t appear!
There are problems in this world and there are solutions to those problems. The most important key to solving your problems or my problems or any problem whatsoever is to know that problems and solutions do not exist on the same level. This is huge! Knowing this, our life changes for the better almost instantaneously. Let me explain. If we think of problems as darkness and solutions as light, you can easily understand that they can’t exist together because the moment they do, darkness disappears. When we are in the darkness, it is impossible to stumble around and find light. It is only when we follow even the tiniest ray of light do we find light. In other words, if we keep focusing on our problems, all we get is our problems BUT, if as soon as we state the problem, we start focusing on the solution, we will be going away from the problem towards the solution. If problem and solution were together, they would cancel each other out.
Have you ever come up with an answer after you put the problem out of your mind? Have you ever found an answer after you stopped thinking about the question? There are great forces that go to work finding answers and solutions for us the moment a problem arises in our life but we have to give up our attachment to the problem before we can have the solution. Once we know and understand our problem there is no reason to ever visit it again. 100% of our focus from then on has to be the search for and the expectation of a solution.
Our problems are real, daunting, significant and also very compelling of our attention. Let today be the day that we begin to take our energy and attention off our problems and use it instead to open up and keep open a pathway that light and love and, oh yeah, all the solutions can easily come through to us. What we expect is usually what we get.
(c)2011 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com