The Best Years of Your Life… Now!

“You’re a stubborn man!”…,

remarked my mother-in-law with a chuckle. This was her reaction to a moment of clarity I had, for the first time in a three-day period. You see, I spent the Fourth of July holiday in my recliner unable to walk because I “popped” my knee a couple of days earlier.

What was my moment of clarity?

Why did I allow myself to suffer a substantial amount of physical pain (in my knee) attempting to hobble from the recliner to the bathroom?… and why did it take me three days to get the bright (obvious) idea of getting a pair of crutches (cheap -$32) to make the short distance I had to travel virtually painless?

The injury itself was minor just needing a few days off my feet.

But, my lifestyle mindset and habits didn’t suddenly alter themselves to account for the temporary change in my physical body. Instead, I tried to overcome my body’s pain/alarm system with will-power instead of common sense. Which caused me much more pain…

Confronting my own short-comings…

The way I handled that situation is more common with us humans than we may want to admit.

It’s called denial.

We don’t want to see the obvious until we’re forced to confront it. Usually as the result of emotional or physical pain. That’s when it gets our attention! We then alter our mindset and behavior and are rewarded with no more pain and discomfort.

My issue has to do with the time-lag between the change in ourselves or our environment and that point we make the necessary adjustment for it. How long does it take for us to accept a new reality (usually a temporary one) and adjust to it? Is it possible I could have sped up my healing process (by three days) if I’d just dealt with the problem instead of trying to overcome it with will-power?

I”m convinced that 80% of the time it takes to alter our behavior in a manner which provides the best solution to a situation is our unwillingness to “see” things as they really are and translate that “reality check” into the best possible solution.

Why would my ego cause me so much unnecessary pain?

After all, I should know better. Instead, it was “the hell with the pain, full speed ahead!” …which was a pathetic, creepy grasping at walls, objects and doors to keep moving forward… Then I get it.

Why couldn’t I get it after the first attempt?

Because I was going to show that pain who’s the boss!

Yeah, I know…

-Bob Baran

When life doesn’t turn out the way you had hoped, do you start acting in a manner which supports the way things are …or do you act contrary?

Acting as if life is happening the way you want it to, not as it appears to be.

Acting “as if” is a powerful declaration of personal commitment. You make it both to yourself and radiate its resolve out into the world. What you’re saying is: No matter how things appear to be, I have faith that what I expect will come to pass.

So you do things, think things and expect things that support the good you know is the true destiny of your life.

If you operate a business, you answer the phone because you know the next call could make your month or year. Just because the phone hasn’t rung for a few days you don’t assume it never will again… Any business person will gladly tell you about how those dark days, when the phone didn’t ring, tested their personal belief and resolve… how they didn’t lose their faith and how one call changed everything …and it’s always just one call that changes everything.

They will also tell you how they would never consider disrespecting their dreams by acting in a manner which betrayed their faith in the ultimate success of their endeavor.

The difference between a professional and an amateur is that the professional maintains the attitude and consistency, on a day-to-day basis, which always leads him or her to being in “the right place at the right time”.

It’s the dedication that creates the little daily miracles which translate into measurable success. The amateur is never around long enough to harvest the ripened fruit that takes both days of sunshine and dark nights to make possible.

The professional expects and acts “as if” success if a foregone conclusion and never quits a few minutes before the job is completed.

The amateur is always looking for the quick solution with minimum exposure.

You’ll never learn how to swim by only placing your toe in the water… and only your dedication will get you across the English Channel.

-Bob Baran

The truth is, the next blink of an eye could be your last!.

Could you honestly say you are ready to pass on to the next great adventure?
Were there things, experiences and relationships you left on the “back burner” just one day too long?

Do the people in your life that you love, know that you love them?

What are you going to be remembered for? A job you spent your life at? Dreams you never lived. Hearts you never touched? Those are things quickly forgotten.

If today was the last day would it be full of apprehension and sadness?

Or would you be at peace? Knowing you lived your life to the fullest. Because you were always the person who encouraged others to live their dreams and trust themselves. Your calm, centered peace of mind coming from the knowledge that you really did do the best you could with what you had to work with…

Your life adventures taught you the great truths of life.

You arrived at your last day on Earth fully forgiven: You forgave yourself and all others… Therefore your heart is open, calm…

Your life was the example of someone who always tried to take the high road. Always opted for honesty and faced the world with an open heart. Never fearing that your vulnerability would be used as a weapon against you… but knowing instead that it was a divine shield protecting you from anything you didn’t need to experience for your further spiritual growth.

Do you have those who are closest to you within the reach of your hands and heart? Are they gathered around you, in your final seconds, as you cross the threshold of the greatest of all of life’s adventures?

Will you be ready to do it all over again, making different decisions, taking greater risks and having more belief in yourself the next time around?

-Bob Baran

Even a self imposed limitation is a lie that requires life energy to maintain it as part of your reality.

Where am I going with this? I think we’re all carrying vital energy robbing baggage around with us …that continues to shrink the amount of “juice” we have to live our lives to the fullest.

Your life may be the result of getting by on five or ten percent of your true energy potential! The rest is being used up.

That doesn’t leave a lot of “headroom” as far as an energy reserve, does it?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when you get back in touch with your true self, dissolving the false constructs which represent the various aspects of your “baggage” and “mask”, you begin to experience more energy, more vitality and start to look younger too.

Hardened attitudes, opinions and beliefs are a form of spiritual concrete …a spiritual black hole that sucks up your natural life energy.

Add to this a number of falsely based assumptions, outright lies and little compromises, amassed over a lifetime and you end up with a web of energy absorbing constructs that cheat you out of the vitality and zest for life that is your birthright!

Maybe “unleashing yourself” really has more to do with letting go of the “mask” and “baggage”, instead of having that next big epiphany.

What good is an epiphany if you don’t have the energy, to make what you realize, an integral part of your day-to-day reality? Without the energy to transform yourself, that epiphany is relegated to the least energy intensive application: Memory data.

Your response to the epiphany becomes, “oh yeah, I’ve heard that before” or “that’s interesting” as you sock it away in your memory. You have little or no energy for taking inspiration within that epiphany and using it as a foundation for transforming your life.

So you find yourself living a life with all kinds knowledge and experience but no “juice”. Your vital energy sapped by your “mask and “baggage”, with no energy left over to change anything in your life

…so you get bored, bitter and old. You look around and tell yourself: “I’m just acting my age”.

-Bob Baran