"The Question of a Lifetime"

The Question of a Lifetime

"Your life is such a great asset. As you grow, you learn to

protect your life, to take care of your health, and to nurture

your mind. But, do you really put the right effort in making

the most of this gift called life? You don’t have to discover a

new invention or be the president of the country, but you do

have the responsibility to ask yourself, Do you consciously

try to make the world better?

How have you made it a better place in which to live? In

what ways have you had positive, lasting effects on others?

What special innovation will you be remembered for? Will

people think of you as a doer, a visionary, a leader who

accomplished something better? Or, will people remember

you for having wasted your abilities?

These are tough questions. Most people may not want

to think about these questions. The average person tends

to ask, “How can I get as much as possible for me?” and

seldom asks, “How can I give to the world?”

Be honest with yourself. Are you content with what

you’ve done thus far? Have you done enough for others?

What will you ultimately be remembered for? If you truly

would like to change your future, you can. You simply have

to be willing to modify the way you think.

My premise is this: You have the capacity to do great

things by the use of your creative imagination.

The secret to change is, first, to tell yourself that you

want to change. Tell yourself every day you want to improve

something in your life. Work on small goals that lead to

your greater goals.

Those who have benefited from attending Alcoholics

Anonymous have had to start with an admission: “I have a

problem.” The admission of a problem creates the mental

attitude that brings about a new result.

The first step in bringing about positive change is to

admit that you want to change. Be specific about what you

want to change. Will power is a tremendous tool. Once a

person becomes determined to do something, and blocks

out all external negative thoughts, that person usually

succeeds in his or her desired goal.

The more you tell yourself that you want to improve,

the more your subconscious will begin thinking of ways

to achieve that goal. You can train your mind to think

positively."

Your Mortality

"Most of us come to admit that life is short. Once you

reach the age of forty the fact that life is short sticks in your

mind.You can use your own mortality as a way of staying

focused.

The awareness of your mortality can even motivate you

to quicken your pace of accomplishments.

You have 24 hours in every day, 168 hours in a week,

and about 16 waking hours every day. That’s 112 waking

hours every week.

If you are a 40-year-old man with a normal life

expectancy, you have approximately 16,425 more days to

live, assuming you live to age 85. Women live three years

longer on average. If you decided to find 20 minutes a day

over a five-year period, you would accumulate about 609

hours of “extra time” to do what you wanted. Those 609

hours could change your life.

If I were to invest my 609 hours into learning to

paint, don’t you think after 609 hours I would be pretty

knowledgeable about painting? Imagine what new things

you could accomplish if you improved your life twenty

minutes at a time every day."

"Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian writer, said, “Everyone

thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing

himself.”

C-2012 John Paul Carinci from the book: The Power Of Being Different