[Vegas69]

52 Years of Age

Is said to be the age when the average man cements his own personal philosophy. What does that really mean? It's a sum of everything we've absorbed throughout our lives. The influences of our parents, teachers, friends, church, government, experiences, etc. Ultimately, it's what we decide to employ in our daily lives and accept as right or wrong.

One of the greatest challenges of life is determining who we really want to be and having the guts to puff out our chest and live that life. From the day we were born until today, all those external sources have tried to influence us to have their philosophy. In many cases, we had no choice but to accept that fate. While we rebelled at the start, over time it became a habit and part of our personal philosophy. Engrained in the way we think and act.

Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-rejection comes from having and image of what it means to be perfect and never measuring up to that ideal. -Don Miguel Ruiz

Look around, how many are living their lives by comparing themselves to some imaginary American yard stick? For example, buying the biggest house, nicest car, designer clothes, that they can't afford.

Are the standards you've set for yourself from your own education and experience or is your current philosophy based on negative influence from the past?

My previous example was based on image but it runs much deeper. For example, one of my weaknesses is judging people and being way to critical of them and making assumptions. I know for a fact that it was ground into my brain through my childhood by my parents and society. While I pinpointed the problem say 6 months ago, I've spent 35 years thinking this way. It's certainly not who I WANT to be but the way we think takes time to change.

Just being ourselves is the biggest fear of humans-Don Miguel Ruiz

It's my opinion that we must welcome new experiences and continually feed our mind with new positive influence through education to cement our TRUE personal philosophy.

How many people do you know that graduated from high school and then college and thought they knew enough so they stopped learning?

What I've found on my personal development crusade(Estimating over 600 hours of study in just over a year) is that the things I once Hated I now Love, and what I once Loved I now Hate. Until you allow yourself to go outside your comfort zone through new experiences and study the wisdom of some of the pasts most influential and successful, maybe your life made up of standards set by society and past influences, GOOD or BAD.

The way we judge ourselves is the worst judge that ever existed-Don Miguel Ruiz

My mentor Jim Rohn said, "The way we feel about ourselves is one of the greatest challenges of life".

If you are living your life based on somebody else's standards, (Whether it's societies or personal influences) it could be one of your greatest sources of unhappiness.

It's crucial that we pinpoint our weaknesses and work on improving them. They are energy and attitude suckers.

I have an accountability partner that I meat with every month. Last month we decided to have those closest to us (Spouse, Parent, Employee, Eachother) make a list of our 3 greatest strengths and two constructive criticisms. It was very interesting to see myself from outside the picture frame. I can honestly say that there were positive and negatives that I wouldn't have thought in a million years. However, once I thought about it I realized that they had me nailed. I never saw myself as having a great attitude. On the flip side, I didn't see myself as rigid either. I highly recommend this exercise.

Bottom line, weave the greatest personal philosophy you can create. Pinpoint your weaknesses and work on them constantly. It will have a great effect on the trajectory of your life and ultimately, how happy you can be.