Self improvement, Words to ponder

Is it your life, or are you a puppet?

Increasing information and research shows that human beings need to own their results and behavior to maximize potential. Everyone with experience knows that there are forces beyond our control that impact our lives, but that giving our power away to others or the unknown weakens us. It is important for our mindset to realize the importance of our choices while not being paralyzed by them. Life takes courage, humor, and confidence in the face of shifting fortunes. Whatever happens maximize your ownership, skills, and confidence by believing in your ability to influence the life you lead. Believing in yourself and your power is the best hand you could ask for in this life.

Self improvement

What do you deserve?

What do you believe you should have in life, and how much control do you have in achieving it? This question drives our behavior and interaction with other people. Our internal dialogue and beliefs weigh the question of what we feel is deserved in our lives. How do we get what we deserve? What are you willing to do to get what should be your destiny? How are other people effected by you achieving your goal? Recently I have read and heard discussions on what people consider success in life; the answer seems to be contentment. They say contentment is reached by developing your potential and helping others while doing it. Contentment it seems is not dying with the most toys, but in having done your best while helping others do theirs.

Opinion

Is Corona Virus an event that will move us toward Universal Healthcare?

The corona virus has many people concerned about protecting themselves and the people they care about. The virus underlines the point that we are all linked in public health due to the risk of infectious disease. A family or individual health plan will not save you if a disease is attacking your community and a large percentage of people are uninsured or cannot afford access. I hope we move toward coverage for every citizen with accessible care in both rural and urban areas. We can do better!

Opinion

Democratic Unity for November

The best way to achieve unity among Democrats and those who want change is for the people to vote and the politicians to respect the result. The electability question has to be answered one voter and one election at a time. Any artificial effort to eliminate a candidate will backfire and reduce what our country needs most; a massive turnout in the general election. Everyone voting will help the truth of who we are as Americans to emerge, and take us hopefully to a better place.

Self improvement, Words to ponder

“We all live in prisons made of what we believe to be true but is not.” – Unknown

The thought expressed by these words is provocative and rings true. When I heard these words I was listening to a radio program about reaching your potential and how our beliefs can keep us from our potential. Beliefs about our world and ourselves that are not true are probably the most common beliefs, and likely hold our world back from what it could be. Knowing the truth will set us free thank God, and to get to it we even have to get beyond ourselves. The words make me think of what I believe to be true and why. What does freedom mean to me, and how do my beliefs create my understanding? What questions does the quote bring to your mind?

Opinion

Trump fired the pandemic response team in 2018

One of the major issues that we face as Americans with a president like the current one is that he either doesn’t care, or is too ignorant for his job. Many positions in the government requiring expertise are filled by political hacks or left unfilled. Now with the possibility of the Coronavirus becoming a pandemic reports have emerged that we have no experts at the highest levels of the government to coordinate a response. The United States has seemingly been very lucky to avoid immediate catastrophes (if you don’t count Puerto Rico) under this president even though he has set in motion many long-term train wrecks for the future. Americans will soon find out if the current administration short-term luck has run out. Vote in 2020.

Opinion

Socialism or Kleptocracy?

As the primaries roll on Americans are having to prepare to choose the lesser of two evils. Our society has been imbalanced for a while and many people feel resentful and victimized. The result may be a choice between an avowed Democratic Socialist in Bernie Sanders, and a Presidential incumbent who is breaking every rule of democracy in sight. Trump is obviously dishonest and shows every sign that he will burn down the republic to avoid accountability. Sanders faces a society that has been trained to hold socialist in contempt. What will happen is anybodies guess, but Sanders would be limited by the Senate and House of Representatives in any direction he might try to go. I see the socialist as the clear better choice between Sanders and Trump. Trump unchained with no election of his own to keep him in check would likely be a vision of hell for lovers of truth, human dignity, and the American republic.

Opinion

A Great Debate

Tonight’s debate in Las Vegas was a good exchange of ideas and display candidate temperament. The debate was informative and entertaining for voters while giving the candidates a chance to highlight their differences. Voting will come fast and furious in the next few weeks. The good news is that we have good choices for the Democratic nominee to take on Trump.

Self improvement

Balance and Situational Awareness

I have observed that when we are under stress our situational awareness and ability to think critically decline. It is important to stay in your higher brain (neocortex) and away from the reptilian (fight or flee) part for good decision making. To stay in the neocortex you need to think beyond yourself in the moment or detach to look at the situation and possible outcomes of choices. Another way to think of detaching is the term delayed gratification or sacrificing immediate pleasure for long-term success. Everyone deals with temptation and choices in the moment where your ego or desire tells you to do something that will expedite satisfaction, but many times leads to undesired outcomes in the long term. If we can get our mental state to a place where we are feeling positive about our ability to create what we want, we can work to achieve a better future and likely to make good decisions. You can call this belief in our power to meet unmet needs self-confidence, and our mental ability to detach, recognize, and overcome our own strengths and weaknesses balance.