Several years ago, I made the choice to live with absolute Integrity to my authentic self.  I have been working very hard to remain conscious and aware of my inner dialog, you know…listening to, and managing the little voice in my head.  It can be very difficult to change lifelong behaviors.  These are “conditioned” behaviors that have been learned, developed and ingrained by external forces and they are not easy to shed.  Along the way, I have learned that it all starts with a conscious intention to change myself, plus a positive perpetual mental mindset.  So much of what we do on a daily basis is automatic.  We don’t even think, it just happens.   I realized that if I was going to be effective at truly implementing my authenticity, I’d need to employ a few life hacks.  Below are several anecdotes and life hacks I have implemented to stay in a positive mindset.  

 Judgement

Judgment is the mental act of evaluation through comparison or contrast and it creates separation between human beings.  Judgement is a form of comparison, and “comparison is the death of Joy” ~ Mark Twain.   I have several foundational beliefs related to judgement.  First, “I am enough, just as I am” and second “we are all one”.  With these beliefs, I find harmony in my existence regardless of what the external forces want me to believe.  Judgement is inevitable and seems to be sewn into our human fabric? I haven’t learned to make it go away but, I have implemented the following life hack:  When I find myself in wrong judgement of another, I play a little game of “Whack a mole” with it.  The moment I catch myself in judgment, I say to myself “I am that”.  By saying this, I am now relating to that which I judge.   I am not superior or inferior to you, I am the same as you.  With this hack, I have learned to be more empathetic and as a result, more intuitive and positive about my world view.   Learn more about Judgement and its relation to your values: https://turninglifearound.com/2018/01/11/value-realization/ 

Gratitude 

Gratitude is a one of the most elevated forms of love we can express.  Practice gratitude If you want to establish a positive mental mindset right now.  Gratitude, or appreciation moves us away from negativity.  Every moment of the day we have the ability to choose. We can spend our time and energy on the positive or the negative aspects or our lives. Be grateful for the clean air you breath, the companionship of your pet, your health, the food in your refrigerator, your job, the safety and security of the dwelling you live in, for waking up this morning, the opportunity to volunteer, etc..The deeper and more sincere you can get with your gratitude, the more it will influence your positivity.  The challenge with practicing Gratitude is that we forget.  We get busy and unless we specifically make time for gratitude, it gets forgotten.  My life hack for Gratitude is my computer log in password.  I am on computers throughout the day and I am constantly logging in. I have used passwords like IamGr8teful4 or IamsoGr8tefu!.   Use your “creativity” to make a password that meets your encryption needs and take a few seconds every time you log in to be grateful for “something”.  On an average day, I log in to my work computer, home computer, ipad, VPN or phone 15 times.  So, at a minimum I practice gratitude this many times.  As a result, I now spend little, to no time thinking about negative things. 

 The Law of Reciprocity 

One day I was walking through the airport and I saw a young woman working on her laptop.  She had a sticker on her laptop that read “Give what you want”.   I was very intrigued but, also in a hurry…so I moved on.  For some reason “Give what you want” stuck in my mind.  I “thought” about it often.  Sometimes it was a passing thought and other times I sat and contemplated.  Did it mean to literally, just give what you want; like tithing for instance, where you can give $10 every week at church or subscribe to the traditional 10% rule?   Or was it, give what you want as in…..I want Love, I want respect, I want forgiveness, happiness, etc.?   It was early in my authentic awakening and I was absorbing and practicing many new spiritual ideas and concepts.  I had learned about and started practicing Emmet Fox’s Golden Key principle.  I often use the Golden Key principle to elevate my vibrational state as I go into meditation.  During one of my meditations, it became very clear to me that what I was understanding was the “law of reciprocity” By giving, I receive….what I want.   The law of reciprocity is similar to the more famous “law of attraction” except it contains a paradox.  The paradox is that you can’t give what you don’t have but, the moment you set the intention to give, you begin to receive.  As a life hack, I wrote “Give what you want” on a piece of paper and put it on my refrigerator so I could see it multiple times daily.  I started by adding one word to the page. “Empathy” and then began practicing empathy for others in a conscious way that I hadn’t before.   Then another word and another. Periodically, I add a new “want” and I use this as my daily inspiration to practice “giving what I want”.   Having it on my refrigerator is a great reminder for me to remain conscious about my wants.   It is also there for others to see and I believe there is power in that!   Today, that sheet of paper has over 20 very powerful words on it that remind me to practice giving what I want.  To no surprise, I receive what i give and IamGr8tefu!

Holding space – 11:11 alarm

I belong to a Mens Fellowship Network at the Unity church I attend.   This network contains over 500 men.  Upon joining this group, I learned that they set a daily alarm for 11:11 to “hold space” for one another.  If you are not familiar with the concept of holding space, the simplest way to describe this is “prayer”.  You pray for one another.  You pray for their prosperity in all aspects of life.  You hold thoughts of their best possible existence in your present space. The great thing about this is:  as you are praying, you know there is a network of men out there who are also praying for you.  The 11:11 alarm has become a daily devotion for me.  It trumps anything else that is going on in my life at that moment.   As a business man, I often find myself in meetings around 11:11 and I often get questions from people about my alarm.  It’s very inspirational to witness their reaction when I tell them what it means and some of them have even adopted the 11:11 alarm themselves!  Like many, when I first started practicing the 11:11 prayer, I wasn’t educated on numerology (and I am still no expert) however, I have learned that 11 is a sacred number.  It is believed that this is a time when you can make a wish and it will be recorded by the universe. The number 11 represents “divine order” and has relationships to our DNA, the Fibonacci Sequence, binary codes, consciousness and the archangel Metatron, who I have an affinity for.  Metatron is responsible for Sacred Geometry, which speaks to the spiritual geek in me but, he is also a celestial scribe. More importantly, 11:11 reminds me that the universe has got my back and I am aligned to my purpose.  It reminds me that we are all 1 and I am 1 with life.  It reminds me that I am 1 part man and 1 part spirit.  The 11:11 alarm reminds me to think of others and to get out of my own head.  It has created new connections, deepened my relationships and these are all positive things.  #11:11 read between the lines.

 

I’d love to hear from others how they hack their lives to inspire and establish a more positive mindset?