Positive Thinking is a Soft Skill →

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Soft skills involve interacting with colleagues, solving problems, and managing work. In contrast, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and be aware of one's and others' emotions.

When you first consider the term “positive thinking,” it seems to be an attitude rather than a skill. A skill is an ability to do something well, suggesting expertise is part of it. Soft skills combine personal and social skills, character traits, and attitudes.

Positive Thinking is usually listed as a Soft Skill or People Skill needed to work effectively with others and succeed in the workplace.

An employer would be wise to look for Positive Thinkers in the interview process and value that skill as very important because those people tend to concentrate on solving issues rather than creating or worrying about them. When they face stress, they are more likely to deal with it positively and effectively.

Positive Thinking comes naturally to some, but skills can be learned and polished. This positive process can start by learning to analyze your thoughts and then taking deliberate action to make those thoughts effective.

Concentrating and trying to improve things, working effectively with others: Employers will value that skill, and having a positive attitude will help you reach your career goals. Because people are only sometimes taught to be positive, exhibiting this quality may give you an edge over the competition.

Soft Skills Still Matter

They matter because they are relevant, transferable, and keep an individual highly employable. Employers want people who already have soft skills because your employer doesn't have to train you on them, and the truth is they won’t do that good of a job on it anyway.

Soft skills are, in many ways, more important than hard skills. These skills enable people to collaborate better on projects, brainstorm and negotiate, gather support, and encourage others to participate.

Some personality traits can simplify one's ability to learn soft skills. Extroverts, for example, find it easier to learn communication and leadership skills.

Introverts often have many people skills that come naturally to them. For example, they may be good listeners, empathetic, and able to read others. They may also be more open to listening, resulting in solid connections.

Social skills can be taught. It is never too soon to start showing kids how to get along with others. Social skills can help students set goals for themselves and build positive relationships with peers.

Add Passionate Positivity to Desires to Bring Success →

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If your goal is to improve, then adding more positivity to your goal can be achieved by:

"Be passionate about improving. Be passionate about helping others. Listen to your feelings”.

The Website “Brent M. Jones: Connected Events Matter” recently added these goals to the Home Page because they sum up the ideas of Personal Reinvention, Self-Improvement, and Finding Inspiration to become a better person. 

Things change once you embrace your goals with passion. Goals change your direction, and that changes who you are. Even if you start late in life, the change in plans will give you a different perspective when you look back. You will be able to see what you have accomplished, enabling you to see yourself differently. 

This thought from Brent M. Jones's book Finding the Best Version of Ourselves: The Interview of Self brings needed perspective to the improvement goal.

“First, You Are Human. We aren't broken any more than that. We are complete, intricate beings, each with our unique blend of strengths, vulnerabilities, and growth potential. Acknowledging that your journey will never be complete can free you from feeling overwhelmed with your perceived place in this world and the road ahead. This realization is a source of liberation, permitting you to embrace the continuous process of self-discovery and improvement without the weight of unrealistic expectations.”

This thought from the book Interviewing Yourself and Asking the Right Questions by Brent M. Jones also helps us see the starting point for personal change.

“If you want to change your life, start with your thoughts. It’s common to want to change but struggle to break out of familiar patterns leading to the same results.”

Passion is contagious and makes people want to say “yes” to us. It makes us want to say yes to ourselves.  Passion is more than desire; often, desire alone is not enough. Desire is general, and part of our outlook may lack power. It's about wanting something more and better for ourselves and our family. Passion is specific and can be developed. It's exciting how we get that better focus on desire. It brings enthusiasm about what that more and better is. Passion and desire go hand in hand, especially as a motivation.

The old saying “Be careful what you wish for” is essential when adding passion to desires. The combination works even when your desires are harmful, so make sure your desires and goals lead to improvement. Passion is going to take you somewhere.

Knowledge Becomes Wisdom with Some Work. →

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It is often assumed that knowledge is good and even the essence of wisdom. That is not the case. Whether the ability leads to good or evil depends on how it is used.

Lessons prepare us to understand how to use it either way. We must evaluate our experiences to determine how knowledge could have helped or hurt us.

Wisdom leads to being able to make sound judgments about a subject, while knowledge is simply knowing. Anyone can learn about a topic by reading, researching, and memorizing facts. It takes a healthy dose of perspective and the ability to come through experience to use knowledge correctly.

Infinity: Does this word evoke a Positve Response?

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Although infinity is limitless, it can still be measured in various sizes. The positive numbers (those greater than 0) and negative numbers (those less than 0) can be considered infinite and equal in length. But what happens when you combine these sets?

When two negative numbers are added together, the result becomes positive. Similarly, when two positive numbers are added, the effect is also positive. Can combining these sets result in zero?

This idea could be viewed in a positive light.

What happens to us when our music runs out? →

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What happens when our music runs out? Do musicians retire when that happens?  Louis Armstrong said that musicians don't retire, they only stop when there is no more music left in them.

Music is a connection between our physical self and our very souls. We feel the music. It reflects our heart. Music with scriptures are hymns. We worship through hymns. The feelings of our heart are conveyed in verbal prayer. Our bodies and faces reflect the images of happiness and sadness, with music opening those feelings.  Singing makes us better. Sometimes we sing for what we long for. We use music to help us get by without things wanted.

Louis Armstrong also said that “What we play is life”. What is that music that is our life? How did that music get to be inside us, the musician? Is it a song yearning for something, or is it a song celebrating something?

Did the music ever leave Louis Armstrong?  Did it ever run out?  He never retired, so that answers that, doesn’t it? What about us? What do we long for? What do we have a passion for? Love and kindness are passions that can focuses and drive us. We lose ourselves in those feelings.  They fill our minds, and we have little place for worrying about ourselves.

In the play, Cats, the cats all audition for the opportunity to go back and have another life and tell us why in the song "Memory" telling us “They had the experience but missed the meaning”. They had lived once, their music had run out, and wanted another chance.

Is there any chance that Louis Armstrong would want to come back and have another life, feeling he had missed the meaning? Of course not. That one is so easy to answer. He knew his passion and told us that “what we play is our life”.

His playing moved us. We felt it. For him the music was Jazz.  For us, what we play can be just whatever it is that we love. It can be anything we chose, but then we need to feel passionate about it. If your lucky enough to love knowledge and learning, then your indeed blessed. That, like the music for Louis, just never stops being an option.  

If your passion is your family then be an example to them. Show your love and concern.

If your passion is for art, poetry, music, knowledge, reading, or nature then seek more.

Find the good in your life.

What about Louis? Do you think he had a perfect personal life? Do you think he spent his time worrying about missing the meaning in his life?  He dropped out of school at 11 and had rough years ahead of him. His mother didn’t have an inspiring occupation. Later he said of himself, that he hardly looked back at his youth as the worst of times, but drew inspiration from those times instead. He said that "Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine—I look right in the heart of good old New Orleans... It has given me something to live for.”

What we have a passion for matters. Yes. musicians don’t retire, as long as they have music in them. Find the music. 

Pause for some positive thoughts →

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Maintaining a positive outlook is crucial since it can significantly impact physical and mental well-being. People with a positive attitude towards life tend to cope better with stress, have a more robust immune system, and are less likely to die prematurely.

As Robert Kennedy once said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

Gandhi also famously said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

According to George Bernhard Shaw, a life spent making mistakes is more honorable and valuable than a life spent doing nothing.

Eleanor Roosevelt advised, "Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself." She also believed that one should never turn their back on life, saying, "Life must be lived, and curiosity kept alive."

What A Wonderful World - The Beauty of the World is Still in Place →

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What A Wonderful World

Lyric’s by Louis Armstong

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying
"I love you"

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll never know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Oh yeah

The beauty of the world is still in place. The seasons pass and then come again all bringing their own wonder. Grief comes but it also eventually goes and we continue to ‘wonder” at the majesty of the earth.

The Red Balloon tells us there are Good Times Ahead or maybe Monsters are Coming? →

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Balloons have been symbols of different styles, genres, and even eras. The image creates hope, imagination, and wonder. They are full of hope and joy and bring happiness and lighten sorrow. We feel a sense of freedom as we see them floating in the sky. Red balloons take positive suggestions and blend the various emotions associated with red. Anger, rage, vigor, aggression, courage, war, and strength all can add metaphor to the meaning. Red often adds passionate emotion.

If a clown holds a red balloon, we get the metaphors of the clown added and might think of Stephen King's movie "It.”

The movie’s red balloon is ominous and terrifying. Stephen King’s Pennywise in the film “It” uses red balloons to lure children to death.

Does this mean red balloons are good unless a clown is holding them?

African Proverbs offer Wisdom and Poetry →

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“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

African Proverbs are a rich source of wisdom and poetry encapsulated in a single sentence. Proverbs hold great significance in African cultures, spanning the entire continent. They offer insight into various aspects of life, impart knowledge and truth, and provide valuable life lessons. African proverbs are a testament to the enduring cultural heritage of humanity, representing a timeless and priceless legacy.

African Proverbs

• When an older man dies, a library burns to the ground

• There is no shame in not knowing. The shame lies in not finding out

• Knowledge is like a garden. If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested

• A fool has to say something. A wise man has something to say

• Ears that do not listen to advice accompany the head when it is chopped off.

• By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree. ~Buganda Proverb

• You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty. ~Congolese Proverb

• Traveling is learning- Kenyan proverb

• Do not look where you fell but where you slipped

Becoming our best self requires that we start early, but even starting late is important. →

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Picture by Jamie Street Unsplash

"Be passionate about improving. Be passionate about helping others. Listen to your feelings”. If these thoughts are your goals, you’re on the right track and going in the right direction. The Website “Brent M. Jones: Connected Events Matter” recently added these goals to the Home Page because they sum up the ideas of Personal Reinvention, Self Improvement, and Finding Inspiration to become a better person.

Things change once your embrace these thoughts as goals. Goals change your direction, and that changes who you are. Even if you start late in life, the change in plans will give you a different perspective when you look back, and you will see yourself differently.

Teaching young people to believe in themselves and see the good in things is essential. Success in life comes from understanding and practicing correct principles.

Was Ayn Rand right: Is self interest always rational? →

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Recently, in a casual conversation, the person I was talking with mentioned liking the books written by Ayn Rand and quoted the following statement from this author:

“The rational pursuit of selfish gain on the part of each individual must give rise to the ideal form of society.”.

This comment appeals to many people and attracts some severe readers to her books. The problem with the statement is the lack of clarity on what “ rational “ means. 

Ayn Rand loved the idea of pursuing selfish gain in a free market, and since the marketplace was free, if some didn’t succeed, then that was too bad. She even added that they might have deserved success, perhaps making some judgment as to the efforts.

Does this open a question as to whether the judgment of others is rational? Is it reasonable to assume that those who have the most will be the most successful in the marketplace and that the only thing required is for those well-healed hedonists to casually acknowledge that those who weren’t might have deserved success?

With her Russian background, she ought to have understood that marketplaces are never free—successful people block the path for others. 

"The moral purpose of a man’s life is the achievement of his happiness."—Ayn Rand.

The flaw in this logic is letting self-interest be pronounced ok and taking the idea of selfishness along with it. When a person, action, or motive lacks consideration for others and is only concerned chiefly with one's profit or pleasure, it is at odds with genuine self-interest and is a poor philosophy.

 

Is Now Better Than Then? →

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Of course, if you do it now, it is done, but if you do it then, you will have to wait to do it. “Now” is proactive, and a do-it-now attitude is generally considered a positive trait.

On the other hand: Pondering “Now vs. Then” is a battle already lost. “Then” wins when you ponder or prioritize.

At least when you prioritize, instead of pondering a few objectives, get it done first. “Now” is proactive, and a do-it-now attitude is generally considered a positive trait.

I used to want to be somebody. Now I want to remember who I am.

I used to love positive thinking books. Now I see how enjoyable people are when they are not harmful.

I used to wonder how I would ever pick one favorite color. Now I see the color of the sky and the mountains, and all that grows is enough.

I used to look for who was right and wrong when elections came. Now I hope to see who is willing to ask what is right and wrong.

I used to think that accomplishments were necessary to validate my efforts. Now I hope those I care for a will, in their actions, look for right and wrong and what is positive.

I used to hope for more blessings. Now I can't count all that I have had.

I used to try to say more when more needed to be said. Now I hope I can say less.

I used to hope to know and learn more. Now I hope to remember what I already know.

Other Suggested Posts

What else do we do know, now that were here? →

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The good news is that perhaps because of the sign, you know you’re not lost. The even better news is that you know where you are because wherever you are, you can truthfully and confidently say that ”you are here.”

Even more important is that you are also reading this right now. Now is always the best time to focus your attention.

“Today is all you have. Don't worry about tomorrow. Just do the best you can right now.”

Maybe you are still there but only feel lost. What does feeling lost mean? It could mean that you are just unsure of yourself. The feelings could be confirmed physically, socially, or emotionally.

Feeling lost could be a good thing. You have realized that where you have been and what you have been doing is not what you want because you have started to change how you think- a sign of growth. Just permitting yourself to question what you want today can be good but also open you up to feeling lost with what you must leave behind.

“Today is all you have. Don't worry about tomorrow. Just do the best you can right now.”

For more about Now, see the post

Fear itself is suffering but what you fear may never happen. →

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Sometimes, suffering fear is more challenging than facing trouble. This brings another quote to mind by Napoleon Bonaparte:

“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.”

As an example of fear compared to suffering, consider the person afraid of drowning. The person might have that fear come to mind whenever water is near. Perhaps just seeking a lake on TV or reading about people on a lake brings the fear of drowning to mind, and the person suffers that same fear. To drown in a lake would be terrible, but then it would be over and would end. The person who suffers from anxiety may never find an end to their torment.

Another example of where fear may be worse than the subject of fear happens to job seekers and those who need to change a career. They fear the informational interviews necessary to learn what is required, and they fear the hiring interviews and not being hired when they have a discussion. The fear prevents them from starting a process, and even when it is created, the anxiety can result in doing less than was needed.

Why positive and inspiring quotes often feature mountains? →

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Mountains have provided refuge to truth-seekers, hermits, and even ordinary men. Their beauty, mystery, and transcendence can help lift our lives above the grime and dirt associated with the plains below.

Climbing a mountain or a hill is an adventure everyone should experience. It also symbolizes the ups and downs of our life. It's a journey to the top, a race of motivation, patience, and strength. But ultimately, the best feeling is the part when you reach the top of a hill or a mountain.

Mountains remind us that the world is not entirely artificial, controlled, and predictable. They call to our attention that we must be strong and prepared. Mountains command humility with their vertical angles and beautiful faces.

Over every mountain, there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. - Theodore Roethke

Note: Mount Timpanogos is one of Utah’s most recognizable mountains and perhaps Utah’s most famous mountain hiking destination. At 11,749 feet, it is the second-highest summit of the Wasatch Mountains. It is one hr., 31 min (46.7 mi) via I-15 S and UT-92 E - South of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Is the song, "Blowin in the Wind", Literature, Poetry, a new Art Form, or just Lyrics →

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The Noble Prize for literature in 2016 was awarded to Bob Dylan for "having created new poetic expression within the great American song tradition.”

Is "Blowin’ in the Wind" literature?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxkd_l7VKwo

Harpers Magazine says that “literary means not only what is written but what is voiced, what is expressed, what is invented, in whatever form.” More restrictively, writing is considered an art form or any report deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage.

What do the words, Blowin’ in the Wind, mean? Bob Dylan said the answer is blowing in the wind because nobody knows the answer. Everybody tries to get it, but it slips away from our hold.

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"Blowin in the Wind" by Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Is Bob Dylan's "Series of Dreams" Poetry?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqGUBP3Cx0

Choose those that you associate with wisely (similiar or higher values, goals and motivation) →

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Getting through life requires some help. The challenge is to pick your friends and associates wisely. Everyone we meet is a connection, but we can choose those whose influence we allow to impact us.

The African Proverb advises that if you want to go far, going together with others is sound advice. It certainly brings home the point that on a long trip, you will need help, but it misses the reality that the longer the trip, the more problem bad companions become.

Choose dependable, honest people who you are proud to know for your trip through life. Find people you admire and who have shared values.

Is it Good Enough, Excellent, Perfection or is it Pride? →

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When your contribution is "good enough," you can see that it is part of a larger goal and supports the plan and the others working for the same purpose.

When it is “excellent,” you recognize that it will be judged for what it is and any larger goal it might support.

When it is “perfect,” you likely have spent too much time on it and short-changed others working with you. The perfection of one contributor can reduce the impact of the others and may seem like an overreach. Some of the others who supported the same effort may have had to wait for your excellent work to be completed flawlessly.

“Perfection is the enemy of progress”
- Winston Churchill

Why would that be the case? One reason would be the fear of failure that comes with a goal of perfection. Obsession with perfection is likely motivated, at least in part, if not totally, by pride.

“Too often, people mistake progress for perfection.

They spend more time staring at the weeds than assessing the forest. They need to catch up on the details instead of asking whether their work is moving them in the right direction. And most of all, they are confused about the meaning of “done.” (quote from Forbes 2017 Why Perfection Is The Enemy Of Done)

C.S. Lewis said, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”

Why do we strive to EXCEL? Is it for our "self-image"- Pride, or is it to give thanks for our abilities and to help others through our contribution to a goal?

Does the comparison or your results make you proud? Is it the pleasure of being above the rest? Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.” If you continually tackle each project with the goal of perfection and can not stop until you have achieved it, you may often miss the point of the project and your role in it.

If a project points to you and your part in what it is, then you may rightfully feel perfection is needed. That would be something to be very proud of, wouldn't it? If the project points to the efforts of many, then your results should lift everyone rather than diminish their contribution.

Quotes: C.S. Lewis Link to Forbes Magazine, “Why perfection is the enemy of done.”

Why telling your personal life story is effective self reflection

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There is no one whose story I am as familiar with as much as my own and the same is true for you. This seems so obvious, but then what surprises me a little is how I see my own story differently almost every time I tell it.

“The most powerful words in the English language are tell me a story.” -Pat Conroy

Connections that seemed so important the first time that I told my own story seemed less important over time. Coincidences and perspective have become clearer over time. When I see those changes the story changes as I retell it and I find that it changes me. I become different because of how I see the story differently. It seems like we continually create who we are but use the same events to shape our own conclusions. 

Victor Yocco, in his article Dwelling On The Past: The Importance Of Self Reflection, said `personal reflection enables us to process and make meaning of our experiences. Everyone stands to gain from engaging in some type of reflection.

I have witnessed how other people seem to change their own conclusions about themselves using the same facts from participating in an event at my local church.

Over a period of about 35 years a men's group I participated in met once a month and each time one person would take about 45 minutes and tell the group their life story. 

The initial purpose in doing this was to help us get to know each other. We believed that men didn't bond all that easy and they normally were a little shy in a setting like this.  We felt it was important to gain an appreciation and even a love for each other.

People moved in and moved away over this time but somehow we were able to keep this going. After a few years it lead to recycling some of us by repeating our story and we would hear the life stories again. I do have some memory issues, but I usually can remember the details of these type of stories clearly. What was interesting is that sometimes the events of a story heard before clearly was viewed differently by the presenter when re told. I had my own occasions of retelling my life experiences that I felt important and it was clear to me that the same events looked different in retelling. There were times when I wondered if a person who seemed to see the same event differently when retold, was doing so because having told the story he then found different new connections to the events. I also wondered if the changes and different emphasis was on purpose just reshaping an image?

People do come and go in our lives and it takes some time to see reasons. When a new person comes we take the influence and new perspective for granted as coincidence. When we look back and see the full impact of the people and new events in our lives we see our own experiences differently and as a result the past looks different and our expected destiny feels changed by the events.

Julie Beck, Senior Editor at the Atlantic wrote a story for the Atlantic in 2016 titled “Coincidences and the Meaning of Life“. A quote used in the article, “A coincidence is in the eye of the beholder.” Her article studies the impact of coincidence suggesting such things as Carl Jung’s theory of “synchronicity”* as potential reasons for these event in our life but it seems clear that when we consider our own life stories that our own experiences and even those coincidences that caused us to consider a different viewpoint do change us and we became a new persons reinvented by our own introspection.

• Links to Julie Beck, Senior Editor at the Atlantic wrote a story for the Atlantic in 2016 titled “Coincidences and the Meaning of Life“.

• Link to Victor Yocco’s article, Dwelling On The Past: The Importance Of Self Reflection, in Smashing Magazine 2018

• Synchronicity is a concept first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl G. Jung "to describe circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet lack a causal connection."

Reading changes our view of our own path through life

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Reading is an activity that refuels and rewires the brain. Reading fiction books teaches you to live in a world of characters and travel to new places. Reading a non-fiction book opens your mind to new insights from individual wells of knowledge that can make your life better.

Reading expands the mind and gives you more ideas because you draw from various experiences. It keeps your minds young, healthy, and sharp, with studies showing that reading can help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Reading every day may reduce dementia risk, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in July 2018.

Gaining more exposure to vocabulary through reading leads to higher scores on reading tests and general intelligence tests for children.

Through reading, we meet new people and go to new places, leading to our reinventing ourselves. Some benefits of reading are:

• improves brain connectivity.

• increases your vocabulary and comprehension.

• empowers you to empathize with other people.

• aids in sleep readiness.

• reduces stress.

• lowers blood pressure and heart rate.

• fights depression symptoms.

• prevents cognitive decline as you age.

Anna Quindlen's book, How Reading Changed My Life, values the comforting premise that readers are never alone. "There was waking, and there was sleeping. And then there were books," she writes, "a kind of parallel universe in which anything might happen and frequently did, a universe in which I might be a newcomer but never really a stranger.

What is clear is that reading changes us and changes our life.

Links to Ann Quindlen’s book: How Reading Changed My Life

Links to Being Patient Reading Improves Memory and Helps Prevent Dementia