DEALING WITH LIFE
It is only what you do that significantly affects your life.* Others actions can hurt me, but my reactions to what they do can hurt me even more.
Always remember to consider options and alternatives.
Agreement builds, disagreement destroys. Always focus your attention on developing agreement. Turn from disagreement to agreement.
Living a good life is having something to look forward to.
You can’t get self esteem from other people.* You build confidence and self esteem from within, by doing more and more things that you can succeed at.
We become a victim with the help of others. But, we REMAIN a victim only through our own efforts.
Who are you out of communication with? Know it for sure, and handle it if you choose.
Be the person you want to be. When you are getting in your own way, think, If I was the person I want to be, in the situation I am in now, what would I be doing? This can help immensely.
Production is the basis of morale! LRH When your morale is low do something productive, anything.
Your best resources: #1 your own mind. #2 your friend’s mind. #3 other people. #4, written information. #5 money, strength, and good looks. #6 everything else.
It is easier to keep things going well than to get them going well. Make plans, get them going, and keep on following through.
When a person is acting badly, the person is feeling badly. No matter what he tells you, when a person is acting bad, he is feeling bad. Understand that and don’t take it personally. Maybe even help him out if you can.
Your reactions are your biggest problem. But it is your own thoughts that you are reacting to. You believe you are reacting to what someone (else) does. This is NOT true. You react to your thoughts about what he does. You most often have missing information. Before you react to someone’s actions, check out which of your own thoughts you are reacting to.
When you do not control your life so as to get along with others, other people will try to do it for you.
To cure exhaustion or tiredness: Think of something you really want to do, that you actually can do right now....and then do it.
People only tell you about themselves. Don't take it personally, it isn't. When someone says, “Your are a bastard.” he is not telling you about you, he is telling you about himself, what he thinks, and obviously he doesn’t know who you really are.
When you can’t decide, flip a coin. If the coin comes up “wrong”, and you get that “Oh, no,” feeling you have a better clue to the right decision.
Having the win ahead of you is better than having the win behind you. Someone said, “Winning is not important, it is only playing the game that matters.” If winning didn’t matter, there would be no reason to play. Winning does matter. But focusing on winning in the future rather than losses of the past is much more fun.
Assertiveness: Controlling or fighting is not the way to be assertive; communicating is. Be true to yourself, and let people know how you feel and what you will do. “Know your goals. Make your own decisions, know you are making them, and let people know what you have decided.
The greatest amount of work is performed by the least amount of effort. LRH. Fighting, resisting, complaining while you are working just takes more effort. To get an unpleasant job done and over with, just do it.
When it is okay to lose, it is okay to play.
Avoiding problems now makes even more problems later. Handling problems now make less problems later. Fear creates more problems than there are.
The purpose of life is amusement, whether it be God’s amusement or your amusement. Do things that are creative and amusing rather than destructive.
Most bad things are someone’s reaction to other bad things. All the more reason to do everything possible to keep your reactions under control Learn as much as you can about everything you can, especially about people.
The one thing even a God cannot do is make another person’s decisions. Trying to make other people’s decisions is a losing battle.
Life isn’t fair. All outcomes are uncertain. Security is always remembering this. Anyone who expects a guaranteed outcome (in any situation) is bound to have trouble.
Learning more is your best and most productive tool. The more you know the better off you are.
The rule of three. If something happens once, it’s unique, it may never happen again. If something happens twice, it’s a coincidence, it may never happen again. If something happens a third time it’s repetitive. Pay attention, it will happen again.
© Joseph Belotte, 1996
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