Power of Change — Perseverence and Effort (Change -Series Report 2)

Life is a mystery, and sometimes it is hard to understand how and why things happen.

Several days ago, I started my own self-help program, and things have gone less than perfectly, since then.

Life is a struggle, and nothing is easy, and perhaps that is how things were meant to be.

The first night, as planned, I went to bed at 11 PM, but then it took me over an hour to write a small blog on my phone. The internet wasn’t working.

So, a small start, but not a perfect end to the day.

Day 2 was a good day, but because my wife and I took part in some Buddhist activities, it was after 3 a.m. when we finally got to bed.

Day 3 took time and effort. Problems with the internet slowed everything, and I ended up working until after 3 a.m. trying to catch up.

Day 4 was much the same because our new cheap internet connection was incredibly slow and unstable. I wanted to finish some research for my new book, Lost in Time, and True to Form, I worked late again and went to bed after 3 a.m., as everything took a lot longer than it normally would.

Day 5, today, was full of frustration. My internet connection dropped out repeatedly. Then, a new program I was using presented its own challenges.

I have written about the last few days in some detail to emphasize something that I think everyone who wants to change should be aware of.

Changing is hard. At times it seems that the universe is against you and that your best efforts are just not good enough.

In fact, it might seem at times that things happen with mindless deliberation and that everything that can go wrong, will, because it is not simply your own will at work but larger forces that don’t want you to succeed.

We live in a universe that is full of energy, and according to our scientific understanding of the universe, there is matter and anti-matter. This matter is simply energy in a different form. So, we can draw a simple conclusion. The universe contains both negative and positive energy.

It is not a far stretch to suggest that just as positive energy can energize us and make us feel good, negative energy can equally affect us, but negatively.

When you think about our existence and our place in the universe, it is not unreasonable to think that when we want to change, it may not be just our own will that we need to consider. There may be other forces at work that we can barely understand.

So, if this is true, what can we do to effect change?

If we really want to change, even though we may continuously challenge ourselves to force ourselves to change, how can we overcome our own resistance and negative energy that might be affecting us?

Today, I am going to press reset and start again.

It is OK to fail and to have trouble trying to implement our plans. That is just part of life.

What is important is our own struggle.

It is about a quiet determination that drives us to succeed regardless of what happens.

At times we fail, but that is perfectly OK.

Failing is not a problem.

Giving up is the problem.

We have to face all the challenges that come our way and understand that no matter what happens in life, we will change because ultimate failure is not an option.

Failure is simply part of the challenge we face in life. It is not deadly or final. It is a reminder and a guide that shows us that we are on the right path.

I saw a T-shirt today. I am not sure where I saw it now, but the quote was something like, "I simply go with the flow."

That is the problem with life. We go with the flow, letting it carry us where it will.

But that is not wisdom, and it is not how we change. It is a recipe for disaster.

Because if we do not challenge the world and ourselves, nothing changes, ever.

The reason why life can be so hard is precisely because we are moving against the stream, in the opposite direction, to all those who don’t want to struggle so hard to change.

Other people may resent us when we don’t act as they do, and then we can become troubled because it is no longer just fighting to change ourselves, but also struggling for social acceptance and understanding.

Ultimately, the reason that things go wrong in life is because of our own negative thoughts and actions.

When we are negative and act negatively, we attract the negative energy of the universe, which makes us feel and act even more negatively.

That, I believe, is why sometimes we feel so bad. It is because of this negativity.

Sometimes, we feel wonderful and are on top of the world.

Why is that? It is because there isn’t a negative thought in sight. We are filled with positive energy.

So, if we are negative and down, it is because of our own thoughts and minds, and because we chose to be this way.

Our minds can attact negative energy or they can attract positive energy.

It is down to us and whether we choose to have negative thoughts and act negatively, or not.

We choose what happens to us.

Sometimes we will fail, but if we do fail, we should simply get up and try again.

Fall down six times, get up seven. (Japanese proverb)

Life is a journey, and sometimes we win, and sometimes we fail. That is all OK.

As long as we keep trying, and keep taking that next step.

Because I am determined to follow my plan, I am now going to lie down to sleep. It is a few minutes after 11 p.m.

Necessarily, this means that I will not catch up on responding to everyone, and I would like to apologize to everyone for not doing so. However, I will do so tomorrow because it is possible to go to bed now as planned and still do what I need to do, even if I am a little late doing it. I hope everyone understands.

I wish everyone else the very best on their own journeys.

And I want to leave everyone with this thought. With perseverance and effort, no obstacle is too great.

Copyright ©️ 2023 Philip Temple. All Rights Reserved.

Finally, I would deeply appreciate any small contributions that you might be able to make to help me on my writing journey.