We often heard about the lost sheep who run loose by itself and could not find its way back to the farm gate. That is why the shepherd job is to ensure the masses follow his instructions and go in the same direction to avoid being lost.
As I was taking a rest after my run this evening, I begin to think how closely the lost sheep were to our wild thoughts in our mind. They too need a direction, else they run in different direction , mostly negative and destructive to our behavior. 

That makes our consciousness the shepherd and it has to be on high alert at all times. It has to catch the lost sheep (the negative thoughts) right at the spot and turn it to positive as soon as possible. It must not be given a chance to live as it spread fast like a virus, affecting other parts of our behavior. To me, a blog/diary is important as it help to pen down our thoughts, coming to us at different times of the day and in our lives. Once we let it past, we may miss some important lessons/opportunity that it might be offering us. 

We send birthday cards, encouragement cards, make personal gifts and buy dinners and stuff for others but yet we could be mean and less appreciative of ourselves. In fact, most of us are quite critical and harsh on ourselves, much less forgiving and tolerant of mistakes than we are towards others. We must learn to love ourselves more, treat ourselves better (not in a narcissistic manner) but with respect and love. Our emotional tank must be full and overflowing so much that we are joyful and happy to share it with other. 

Give yourself a second chance no matter what you had done in the past! The past is the past, put it behind you and look forward to the future. We all deserve another opportunity to shine, to make good and to contribute.

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I was a little upset as I was caught in the rain. Not I as the person but my favourite plants outside my house. You see, I have nurse quite a lot of seedlings currently outside my house and the heavy downpour a moment ago rushed in the more than needed water into their tiny little containers, overflowing water everywhere. 

I must be feeling tired and did not hear the rain splatter onto the window panes in the other rooms. By the time I woke up, some damages was done. The rain had made its way into the hall, study room and I quickly jumped into action. Afraid that someone might wake up and slipped on the mosaic tiles, I rushed to mope it clean, feeling terrible that why didn't I wake up earlier. 

Outside, the heavy rain seems to get lighter but inside the bedroom, it is feeling stuffy. Now as if the conversation I had with my neighbour strikes me once more. She asked me how come some of my pots have no holes below. I said I had not done it and procrastinate to do it. Serve me right, This rainfall has caused 2 of my small pots to overflow. I hope the seedlings inside are not damaged and still contained within when I pour out the excess water earlier.

Is this what people meant when they say, be prepared for the rainy days? Literally, I think it applies to my case.

On the good side, my kind neighbour has agreed to help me look after my beloved plants while we are out of the country next month. What a nice gesture! I am truly happy and blessed that God has answered my prayers.

Lord, help me to continue watching over these small babies as they attempt to grow and eager to see the world. Without you, nothing is made! As the creative power of the universe, please have mercy on these plants and let it flourish and grow naturally as you had created them to be. 

Forgive me for not doing what I should (adding holes below the plastic containers/pot to allow drainage) and remedy the situation in ways only you know how coz your way is higher than my way! Thank you Lord, I trust all are good in your hands, as always! 

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For those who are unemployed, job hunting and in between jobs - this video is awesome! Ray talks about his career low point and high point and say they are simultaneously related. Mistakes are good if we learnt something from it and benefit us when we rebound. So your current situation may be a blessing in disguise, allowing you to re-evaluate your priorities, reorganise your financial goals, if any and you get to play the game a little differently.

What stressed most people out is they might want to try something new, like taking a new course, switching to another industry, try a new business,etc but reluctant to adjust their lifestyle. Say you earn 5k a month, so many of your household expenses are taken care of, utilities, mortgage and your weekly restaurant bills. Now that you want to start your own business, you somehow still want to hang on to the usual lifestyle you had without making any compromise. With little or no income coming in and continuing expenses going out, it's a matter of time deficit happens and that is a nasty or necessary situation that some of us faced.

Lower your risk , buy time by staying in the game longer. You can do this by making moderate adjustments in your life -

1. Cook at home more often - not only is it more cost effective, it is also healthier since you can control the ingredients - salt, sugar, etc

2. Exercise - Having a regular exercise regime keep you healthy and it can be a good way to lower or eliminate your medical bills. 

3. New hobbies - With extra time on hand, you can pick up some hobbies that you had not have the chance when you were working like a slave. Who knows, your new hobby might give you new inspirations to your new career.

4. Be flexible - Take on short assignments, part time job, contract positions etc. The money may not be up to your expectation especially if you had enjoyed it at the peak and looking down the valley seems not a good proposition you want. These temporary jobs will keep your mind active and not wander in despair and anxiety. After all, how much time can one spend a day sending out resumes? 

It is said that we are a bunch of workaholics, operating like a machine and even on weekends, our mind still can't take off the work itself, texting and checking emails even with the family. Your current situation may not be what you want but it is a good wake up call, one that allow you to reset the priorities and have a new opportunity to do something different.

Enjoy the ride while you are in it , make the best of it !

This is a really interesting question that I need to ponder it over. Why do certain things I attempt to do, I do it instantly and others, I wish I could buy more time (nobody can apparently - not event Bill Gates or Warren Buffet) and delay further. The answers lie in the effect or the consequences that we think in our mind. Say my diet plan - I imagine the consequences to be more radiant, free from body ache and itch, more energy and a feel good factor (thank God I am feeling it this moment :-) So it is pleasure of the effect that we bring it near to our visual world and that motivates us to stay on the track (making the soya milk for my family, baking the bread, checking recipe, preparing meals, etc)This is also new in a sense so there is no past experience to hinder. That means, I am not bound by limiting beliefs that this cannot be done or it won't work!

Whereas say in the field of trading forex or other investments, I had some bad experience and that in a way haunt me. Each new project is approached with more cautions (intention is good - not to befall into any harm) but it can also be tipping   a little too much that effect........

Ah......when consequences involve more than one party, the decision, responsibilities and risk takes on a different level. Guess if I am single, I probably would be more risk taking compared to now, married with 2 young kids. The fear of losing even one time can be stressful that it affects the judgement call of making the right move. People who trade forex would tell you is not a one time luck that gets them to be where they want to be. They stay in the game and staying in the game means sufficient capital to take advantage of market conditions. 

For example, I had ran a marathon before many years ago and if I would do it again, I know I could with sufficient training. I believe I can because my past experience (completing the race) tells me so. I am convinced. In situation like making lots of money, I do not have this access. Thus, I have to construct or imagine what it would be like if I am rich? 

To think of one image is easy but to keep it constant, be loyal to this image, believing it is possible every moment of your life till it materialised in the real world is a journey. And a journey that requires faith, courage and persistency.

What is deemed as true or false can sometimes be a matter of perception! What you know is known as the truth, for example, if you had run a marathon before, then you knew you could run for 42.195km. Now if this goal is stretch to the extreme like an Ironman event, would you definitely say you can't or a maybe?

It appears what we say to ourselves repeatedly over time is the answers that we feed to ourselves when questions concerning our competence comes into play. The boss asked if you could handle an overseas assignment, take on a new challenge or be the top salesperson,etc. What would your answers be? What if you had no prior experience? What truly makes you certain that you could do it? Where does that bout of confidence comes from?

We take in information through our five senses, mainly see, hear and touch. So if someone made a critical remarks to you at work or at home and over time, you start to think what they say is true. That feelings is horrible, forcing you to surrender and admit your failure. On one hand, you want to fight but somehow you felt weak and this feeble feeling grows over time and before you know it, you had given in and subconsciously allow failure to overtake you.

Yes, she was right! I could not even wash the dishes properly. How could I doe well in this ? We made assumptions like this all the time, drawing inference from one event and extrapolate if we did not fare well in one then the next would be the same. Sadly, this is an unfair statement and we must recognise it is a different context altogether. You may not excel in washing dishes but you are still a good father to your two kids. You may not be a good cook but you are disciplined in keeping fit and healthy. Look, this are two different matters that must not be lump together and assess.

Stop selling yourself short and discredit yourself for the minor things you didn't fare well and magnify it, often out of proportion that you give it so much attention that you begin accepting that is who you are.

You are better than that, way much better !!!

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This is an interesting article I read recently - why you should pretend to be rich. Stacking cold hard cash in the refrigerator ?
Driving luxury cars that are leased? Or wearing branded goods to show one is rich? Does it truly works?

Pretend or act as if - are we talking about the real physical act in this context to realising one's dreams? With powerful quotes like this 

and many more, how can we mere mortals not be inspired to act ? Think this for a moment......
If it is merely the physical pretending to be rich that makes one rich, then wouldn't many actors and actresses be rich since they are in the profession of pretending - playing roles that they may not be in real life?

There are 3 parts to this questions that I would address. 

For one to be rich (or any other goals), one need to be conscious of it. By consciousness, I mean awareness or perception of something. One must be aware that he is rich. Our conscious minds can generate ideas of being rich and impress upon our subconscious mind to act on it. What is subconsciousness? It is defined as the part of your mind that notices and remembers information when you are not actively trying to do so, and influences your behaviour even though you do not realise it. 

So, in this context, if your definition of being rich is owning a luxury car, then the moment you are out of the house, you should be heading to where your car is parked and perhaps not to the bus station/train station (NOTE : this is not an argument that one can't take public transport when he is rich)

Lastly and most importantly is the power of choice that we humans have. To have choice means there are more than one possibilities that we can choose from. Unlike animals, they are not endowed with this freedom to choose. Their mind is program to do the same thing again and again. A tiger in the wild needs to hunt for food to survive in the jungle. It does not wake up one day thinking someone would deliver fresh meat to his tables and as such, take a longer nap. He might be eaten alive! That is the the law of survival in the jungle.

We humans have this ability to choose our thoughts and thus influence our action. We can choose thoughts that make us feel rich or thoughts that stop us from being rich (convincing oneself why we do not deserve it - no background, no connection, no looks, no this nor that).

So in essence, when one make the right choice  - wanting be rich , then we can control our subconscious mind through the control of our ideas and feelings (consciousness). It is said that our mind cannot tell the difference between what's real and what's vividly imagined (feelings).

I remained convinced that when we can control our feelings to be what we want to be, ( disciplined and practice helps)then we can be in any state that we desired (including being rich). Our mind is not a binary system but a complex one that switches between good, bad and evil thoughts round the clock. It is our job to tame it like a wild animal on the loose, to steer clear of unwanted, unhealthy thoughts that stop us from becoming what we want to be. Once we give in, it will expands and grow and grow till it takes over and we start to believe what it says as true. That's what we want to avoid and must not at all costs allow ourselves to be in.

If the physical act of hoarding large stacks of cash, driving a luxury car or staying in a leased car and the feelings of being rich is aligned, perhaps the person can attain his goal like in this article. Often, the one who acts the part does not feel the part - that's not congruency - the thinking mind and the feeling heart as one. 

Our subconscious mind will accept whatever as true what we declared as true. It simply cannot tells the difference. Knowing the latter, it is then to our advantage to feel the way we want to be (of being rich) until our reality is objectified. 
If becoming a millionaire does not feel real or possible to you (your consciousness) then our subconsciousness will accept that as true and conjure up ideas of failure, impossible and all other negative thoughts that follows. When a business opportunity appears, you would approach it with more skepticism than usual. 

One can hold on to his vision/dream in him mind, rehearsing it mentally and seeing in his mind (as if )it has already happened, that it is a reality. For example, I can feel the joy and peace I get tendering to my large garden in my new house, with lots of fruits that our family likes - papaya, edible vegetables like lettuce, spinach, bitter gourd,etc and many cactuses variety that I had recently fallen in love with. Being close to Nature, seeing the butterflies and the birds singing and humming their melody makes me happy. It's a feeling that one has to experience it to know what it is like. 

Since it has already happened, I am living the way I like to be and that makes me truly happy and satisfied. The more feelings I put into the future act, the more the conscious I am of this new life style and embrace it. It is part of my present lifestyle,expanding its horizon day by day, in a very unique and mysterious way. At its appointed time, like the caterpillar ready to meet the world in its cocoon, it will turn into a butterfly. Instead of controlling the time which creates the anxiety and one gets impatient and tried to meddle with the means of reaching the goals, I simply bask myself in living the dreams of my life.