xangst – visions from a treadmill

maintain a macro level view

we must maintain a macro level view most of the time to keep things in order in our lives and to keep sane.

many times, we take the micro level view on things – we look at things very closely and we look at them over and over and over – and we over analyze all the time. these are all micro level views – which we do need to make decisions and to help move us forward in life.

micro and macro views on life work together to create a fulfilled and satisfying life. but many times we stay in the micro view too long on certain things -which can last days, weeks, months or years. this is not healthy and can lead us down rabbit holes that are hard to come back from – to the macro level again.

always start at the macro level with all things that you are thinking about. then go to the micro level to create your analysis and decision. but once that decision is made – quickly move back to the macro level and maintain the macro level view as your normal every day view.

if you get stuck in the micro level view – then force yourself out of that view

always go back to the macro level for sanity and clarity in life – it’s the only way to get down the road the right way

we must overcome our weaknesses

we will be challenged in the mind. we will have thoughts that are negative. we will have thoughts that are bad. we will have thoughts that are not in our best interest. we will have thoughts that will try to lead us in the wrong direction.

these are all the challenges of the mind. these are the thoughts of every human to ever live. these are the trial and tribulations of life. these are the thoughts that will cause us stress and give us pause to think about our path, our life, our choices. these are the thoughts that make us who we are, make us who we become and decide how we are remembered.

it is the battle of strength against weakness. will we be strong and push these thoughts out of our mind to reach our true destiny or will we be weak and take the negative path to a negative outcome.

we must fight to be strong. we must overcome our weaknesses

we must win the battle in our minds to fight against our weaknesses

having enemies is good

without enemies you will not reach your goals

you must have enemies so that you will never give up until it is your time to go

if you give up before then – your enemies will win and have the last laugh

you must also maintain your integrity until the very end

never give your enemies any reason to say they were right about you – when you know they were the ones in the wrong

so having enemies serves 2 purposes –

-helping to push you through with integrity until the end
-helping you to never give up or give in

this is the reason that we gather enemies as we go through life – they help us along

nighttime thoughts

when you go to sleep at night and then wake up in the middle of the night – you have many thoughts – we all know this

when waking up in the middle of the night, you are at your most vulnerable state

you are not as strong or confident as you are in the daytime

you can think very insecure thoughts upon waking up in the middle of the night

you can think that everything is going wrong, that you are a bad person, that you need to make drastic changes

this is the issue of waking up in the middle of the night and having these types of thoughts sometimes

it can shake you, it can rock you to your core, it can have you 2nd guess every choice that you have ever made

but when you wake up in the morning, you feel so much better, you feel your usual confidence, you feel your usual self

you then reject all of the bad thoughts from the nighttime – you go back to your old self and you stand by most of the choices that have shaped your life

the only thing you need to do now is remember that bad nighttime thoughts are not to be acted upon – wait until the morning and all will be better

writing people off

it’s ok to write people off. i know we don’t want to be negative and we want to forgive. but sometimes it is better to write someone off and move on.

we have to follow our beliefs. we have to do what is right for our own self.

when we are young, we try to get along and we want people to like us

but as you get older, you start to see that not everyone likes you – and that is ok

you can’t dwell on why people don’t like you or why your friends are no longer your friends

it is the same when you write someone off – these people no longer fit your idea of a friend or acquaintance

you might have seen another side to them and you don’t like it

so you can keep going along or you can write them off

in reality, they don’t care if you write them off because they will also think about what is best for them – and if you are negative to them – they will write you off too

no one is right or wrong with the writing off process – but we all must continue on in life and we should shed what we perceive to be negative people or influences

it’s a defense mechanism but it is also a way to simplicity and clarity

will you end up all alone if you write everyone off – yes

should you write everyone off – no

use your gut, your instinct, message from god, etc. – to decide who to write off –

Writing off will always happen – it’s inevitable due to human nature

stand up for your beliefs – ok to lose acquaintances

time is running out to speak up and say what you believe in every scenario. stop being quiet all the time – say what you feel is right.

we are all afraid to speak up and go against what others think. we need to say what we think – even if others don’t like your answer – even if others call you names – even if others turn against you – and turn away from you

these are not the right people for you – the ones that reveal their true self and they are not who you thought they were all these years

it’s ok to disagree but it’s not ok for these people to say what you know is wrong. their values are different than yours – turn away from these people once they are truly revealed. they are revealing themselves without knowing that the game is over with you. they will fool others but you have now seen the light

they try to justify their position, their beliefs, their viewpoints – and they act unreasonable – they make you feel like you are in the wrong

stand up, speak your mind and move on

the american ego and the rest of the world

i am an american and i have a big ego – especially when talking about the rest of the world

all americans are taught when growing up that we are the best in the world, the leaders of the world, etc

we see what is going on and we say – yeah, we are at the top – we run things – we have the strongest military – we can kick anyone’s ass

for the most part – this is quite true – it is our time at the top – we can keep the rest of the world in line

but the problem is the ego thing – when we think all of these things – we get a big head – we disregard everyone else, we walk around in a loud way – and the rest of the world laughs at us behind our backs – they treat us poorly when we visit – but they put up with us because we have the $$ to spend, etc

and i have thought in this way too – until i bought this map and put it on my wall – see at bottom of post

this map shows a visual history of the world from 3000 bc to today

and what you quickly realize is how new the USA is compared to all the civilizations and empires before us

look way down at the bottom right – the purple area – that’s us – the time the USA has been around – then look at all the other colors and how long they have been around

for example – here is when these modern countries got organized-

Ireland – 750 AD
Sweden – 1000 AD
France – 500 AD
England – 700 AD
Italy – 1050 AD
Spain – 800 AD

And of course USA is 1776 AD

So what this tells me is when I meet people from these other countries or when i visit these other countries – i need to respect them more

they were here way before us and we just seem to brush that over with our ego of here and now

it’s ok to have the american ego – it helps us achieve great things – but let’s also think about the histories of these other countries and give them respect

the struggle of the individual mind

the individual mind of a human is constantly fighting itself – good thoughts vs bad thoughts – this is the paradox of being human and the side effect of having such an intelligent brain

yes, humans will achieve great things across history, but in doing so, they will always have to fight the demons at their door

across human history, things will be put in place to manage the individual demons – these things are in the form of government and religion

government and religion are necessary for humans to advance – to survive – to thrive – it keeps them on track and away from the demons in the individual mind

without them, chaos and evil and destruction would rule – and there would be no such thing as civilization

humans vs animals

you ever notice how the animals just get on with it? every day they wake up and do what they are supposed to do. this is not the same with humans. because our brains are more developed, we tend to think more than animals. our brain gets in the way of waking up and just doing what we are supposed to do. our brain says don’t do what you are supposed to do – do what you want to do or do nothing at all. the animals work away every day and the humans think away every day.

of course i am not comparing humans to animals but it is interesting to look at the animals and see that they are just getting on with what they need to get on with while humans toil away in their thoughts.

don’t get me wrong – thoughts are good – they can change the world for the better

but maybe we should act more like animals once in awhile and just get on with it

the devil

i don’t consider myself to be an overly religious person – but what i have learned recently is that the devil is out there trying to influence people to think or do bad things. i am now committed to resist the devil trying to influence me and i am also noticing the devil influencing others to say or do wrong things – and because of that – i will move away from those people