Try this:
Notice how someone has positively impacted your live and send them a brief thank you, then notice how this affects your mood!
“Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” – Andrew Carnegie
Have you ever thought about what makes good food good? Or what makes a beautiful person so? Naturally we all like good food and beauty but why? Perhaps the answer is found in why we don’t like the not so beautiful or not so tasty foods.
There is a school of thought called Human Needs Psychology. According to it, everything we do comes down to a feeling we are trying to attain. For example, you might have a habit of slapping the snooze button on your alarm clock every morning. Why do you do this? Perhaps you believe an additional 10 minutes of “sleep” will actually help you FEEL more rested during the day. On a deeper level, this translates to more peace of mind and the ability to perform. Instinctively you know that but really what you are going for is the feeling, not the sleep!
Back to the question at hand… if what we really want is a feeling, and I believe it is, perhaps the reason that we don’t like certain foods is because they lead us to feel a certain way. Another example may help to illustrate. I grew up absolutely hating most fruits and vegetables. I believe that I was conditioned by peers on all sides to like rich foods. Fruits and vegetables literally made me gag for years! I simply could not eat them. About the time I turned 30, I began to experience a food revolution triggered by my increased education about the effects of certain kinds of food on the body. It’s amazing how those ideas drove deep into my psyche. Within a relatively short period I found that one of my least favorite foods, apples, became one of my favorites! I began to really love things like broccoli and spinach because of the feeling they inspired was so different from before. It used to be that when I ate those foods, I was focused on the moment and if it didn’t taste good (rich) then it wasn’t worth eating. Now it gives me a sense of peace to eat these foods because I know that long-term they will help me stay healthy. I also know that they will improve my daily energy and help to cleanse my body. These things make me feel that I’m taking care of this great gift which is my body. When you put the cells of your body under a microscope and begin to examine the effects of foods, it has the power to change what you desire. If you find this concept interesting, I encourage you to check out the alkalinity index of your foods and learn about what happens when your blood becomes too acidic.
How about beauty? We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder right? How true that is! But even with that truth in place, it’s amazing how many of us call the same things beautiful. Most of us think that a well-groomed individual who stands tall and caries themselves well is more beautiful. Why is that? Do you need to try the experiment to get the answer to this question? For 2 months, over eat, grow your body hair out, slouch while you sit and walk, and never take a deep breathe. No standing tall and straight, no shaving, no showering, no exercise. Let that hair get greasy. Do you think others will find you attractive for that month? If you are anything like me, you experienced enough of that stuff when you were 16 years old. It made me FEEL like garbage! And though it may not have been a turn off back then, for most of us with a few more years behind us, it is a total turn off now! So when you see someone else who has chosen not to groom and doesn’t carry themselves well, what kind of feelings does that conjure up in you? Do you enjoy looking that person? True that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but we have a great power to influence that eye (both ours and that of our beholders).
This principle applies to most choices we make. Can you think other examples? If so, share in the comments!
I was in a rock band from age 15 to 19. During that time we recorded an album and got connected with a local radio station. Our music played on the air which I felt was a great accomplishment. We also met a friend of my father who was a long-time musician and owned a recording studio at his home in Ogden, UT. His name was Gill and he was a physician in his 40s. We drove out to his place often to get away from home and to record new music. I have good memories of the 7-Eleven on the way to his house where we always stopped for spicy nachos. We would buy them and sit out on the curb to eat them.
One evening when I was about to turn 19 I drove out to Gill’s place alone. When I got there, it appeared that there was no one home. I hung around for a bit and then I decided to leave, but just as I was about to take off, Gill pulled in. I got out of the car and walked up his driveway to talk with him. He sent his family inside and then he delved into a deep conversation about technology and the universe and all manner of things that we can’t explain yet. We both stood on his driveway looking up at the stars in deep contemplation. Then he said with a pleading tone, “Mark, I know you are thinking about going on a mission and I want to respect your parents wishes but have you thought about hanging around for a while? Maybe if you hung out for a year is all, we’d be able to make things happen for the band. I really hope you’ll think about it because I believe this is your chance!” Gill believed that our band could “hit it big”. He was pitching our music to a producer who had done several top-selling albums and was very interested in a few of our songs.
The thought that immediately followed was, “What if a year isn’t enough? Then will it be ‘just one more year’? When will I actually get to go?” I have no doubt that this thought was truth and that it was prompted through the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I am so thankful for that prompting because it was the basis of what I did next. After giving it a moment of what I hoped looked like consideration, I told Gill that I would not put off a mission for the band. I knew in that moment that what I was doing was the right thing, but it was not easy. In those few words, I had closed the door on any future I would have as a rock musician. I still believe that could have been my life and reality had I not chosen to serve a mission. My band knew I was planning on a mission and after that night, they had little motivation to jam anymore. I was experiencing some of the consequences of my choice.
I am so grateful for the inspiration I received that night. I’m glad that I acted on it. I can’t imagine my life without the firm foundation that my mission has provided. During those 2 years I learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I learned who I really was while working under the Lord’s protection.
I believe that all of us have moments like the one I’ve described in this entry and in those key moments, God does not leave us alone. He loves us and protects us if we will listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost.