Achieving Your Greatest Desires and Aspirations - (Native American folklore) There is a battle of two wolves inside each of us. One wolf is evil, representing anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority, and ego. The other wolf is good, representing joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth. The wolf that wins is the one you feed.
We are driven by fears and dreams.
When we fear what the future holds, we play it safe. An extreme example of this is when the stock market drops, we will find people who worry about what is happening to their investments - many frequently withdraw and go to cash. Then get back in when the market goes up. Often, this is at a cost disadvantage. They repurchase stocks at the now higher price.
The dreamers and the investors, see the same market drop. They see the opportunity in the fall, and make the opposite decision - they buy at a discount. They look at history, they expect the market will recover; and history, so far, has rewarded them.
I ran across the following James Allen quote,
“You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominant aspiration.”
When fear controls our thoughts and actions, we live conservatively. We live our controlling desire - we live small. That is ok for some. And it may be ok for you, but don’t complain that others are getting the breaks - they have the choice to make that you do. You must learn to lead yourself to the achievement of your own dreams. Believe in the power of your dream! Patience may be required. Nevertheless, believe! Trust that the times will turn in your favor; and you will be rewarded.
Always believe that something wonderful is going to happen.
There is a car racing phrase that says, “Don't look at the wall.” Why? Because what we focus on expands. If your car is spinning out of control, and you look at the wall, guess where you will drive - yes, you drive into the wall. Instead, look at the track - that’s where you want to drive and get back in the race.
The same goes with life. If things are not going your way, does it make sense to focus on the bad that is going on, looking for the bad to expand? Of course not. At minimum, look for the silver lining out of any situation. Funerals are bad. Right, sure, no one likes death; and at the same time, when we celebrate a life, we celebrate the good memories - we don’t dwell on their mistakes.
In fact - look for the good.
When we look for good, guess what we will find - we will find good. Always believe that something wonderful is going to happen. And guess what happens - you will find it!
Look inside, find your biggest dreams and aspirations. Write them down. And begin to live into that one small step at a time. Enjoy the struggles, for they make us stronger. Relish the opportunities because they give us hope. Treasure the accomplishments, for they give us the strength to go forward and face the next day.