Focus... action!

In a fast-paced society as the one we are living, people seldom gives time for reflection. We normally just react and that makes us tired... so we look for means of relaxing and we don't have enough energy to think, reflect and act, which means we just start reacting again.

This has created a big trend where tourism and entertainment can be considered one of the biggest industries. An example: let's say you are going for shopping - compare the time shopping with the time you spend watching a movie.

It is a strange society, right? We have displaced food as our first value and we have embraced industrial elements, things we could easily live without; now we are going even beyond, preferring what is not even real...

Well, solution does not lie in new policies, a change in the laws or even new inventions. The real solution is to prevent that big tiredness for life that takes place and makes us confusing love we see in a movie with the real love we can feel only in reality.

Focus. It will help people to get less tired and more effective in whatever they do. If you just get tired, in the normal way, that can be solved by a change of environment or a good sound sleep, then it is easier to start thinking and reflecting, before going into reaction. As a consequence, your actions' quality will be better and even if you fall on the reaction pattern again, it will be in relation to a very good quality action.

Focus on what you really want and need. Focus on your reality, your mission and vision of life and you will feel it as a wonderful experience, as an entertainment in itself.

It is not only your productivity that will increase enormously, your joy will also increase and you will enjoy life in a way you probably thought it was only possible watching some good episode on television.

Focus. Reflect. Act. Relax. And focus again...

The power of writing

Most products coming from science fiction portrayed of a world where people wouldn't write. If you remember most of Star Trek movies or Star Wars don't show people writing…

Then, what happened? Today as never before, writing is so important. Many young people don't talk anymore; they just type, chat or blog.

Reality is: writing has power. One thing is to transform the energy of your thoughts into words, which requires power in itself. To change an abstract energy into an energy that you can hear and it can be measured, an energy that can be recorded and reviewed many times, it is a wonder.

But we, humans, were not happy with only speaking. Many civilizations started to record those ideas, they started to WRITE. It is quite possible that if we have means to record our voices from the beginning of time, writing wouldn't be that important, and that would be a pity.

When I write, I have to organize my thoughts in a different way. While in speech you have the help of body language and the one of your voice, this is not present in writing. Writers give a carte blanche for the reader to interpret the printed thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions.

The power in it lays on the content and how it is expressed. Right ideas, at the right time in the right way can change the world...

Do you want to sharpen that power?

• Reflect before writing. You don't need to write the whole piece in your mind, just think of it in a deeper way.
• Before writing something long, create a short summary or a few thoughts on that. A few bullet-pointed phrases or words help.
• After writing, read it. Take your time with that... reading twice for important papers is good.
• When you see an error or you want to change the ideas, reflect again, and do it. Look for synonyms; remember people from different countries and languages will interpret your article.
• Read it a last time. Remember: those words will travel the world...

The power of goals

Walking our journey as professional people, family members or just individuals can look tiresome. We feel that many times in our lives, just weary and it seems very difficult to keep on going.

Goals function is to motivate us to keep on moving by using 3 factors:

• Hope. It is the first layer of any goal. No matter how cold the aim is or how much you have calculated it, hope drives you to think things can be better and you can do it. After all, real goals propose a different reality than you live; hope helps you to imagine it, feel it inside you and make your whole being working towards it.
• Reality. I would put here LOGIC, however I think that word is not the same at the time of setting goals. You have to be real, not negatively real, but real enough to set goals you can fulfill. As a friend of mine has said, go into battles that are small enough to be won but big enough to matter.
• Insight. I would put here INTUITION, but again, I don't think this word is the one that helps you when you set goals. At the time of setting goals, you have to be careful as they should be something beyond the reality, balancing with the logical perception. The best way is to go inside yourself and take from there that energy you need to guess, to imagine and visualize a future you will be creating brick by brick.

So, start your journey towards the future with lots of hope. Trust the reality you live and what you hear from within.

Are you resistant to innovation?

We have been living for decades now in a world of constant innovation. Not only that, but in the last few years, innovation speed has increased.

Just a small example: if you have a smartphone chances are there is always something being upgraded or updated. And, whilst we are talking about this, what about the big revolution in communication? With messengers dominating the social network landscape, what will happen in the long term with telephone companies? After all, I can communicate with all my friends for free, using a messenger of some kind, but if I try to send text messages, I am often charged.

For many people, there are only two options: either you embrace the innovations coming or you refuse them. However, it is not that simple.

Embracing has its positive points. When you are able to assimilate any innovation, which helps your character, your mental power and even your intelligence enhances. On the other hand, as it is impossible to assimilate all innovation, you will have to learn how to prioritize and to have a critical sense, learning what is efficient for you; that are not a small task!

Refusing seems easier, but at a long term creates a gap between you and others. You become outdated and things stop working well. But, on the other hand, people who normally don't embrace all innovation that comes - prioritizing or not - shows more peace of mind. It is a kind of softness you often find in the country field.

In fact, the main difference comes from you purposely choosing an innovation, and follows it up, or not. My point of view is that if you decide on not choosing something everyone else is doing, with a firm conviction, which is not resistance. That is self-knowledge...

Resistance, in the negative sense of the word, means ignorance and fear. It means you are resisting because something will be taken from you if you accept that big change.

When you chose not embracing something, you are showing your values, and that is important. A small proof you are not only being (negative) resistant is that you stimulate others to embrace that same thing you are not, because you are aware for them, that is important.

So, next time you don't feel like changing your equipment, computer, phone, career, food product, soap or even an idea, just check and see if you are being resistant, or it is your choice.