Why we do the things we do

There are any number of reasons why we do the things we do. Some are better than others, yet most may not be the best reason to do anything at all — and that in itself should be food for thought...

So here are seven reasons that come to mind:

1. It’s our job.
2. It is expected of us.
3. It is what we need to do to gain approval from others.
4. It is what we are told/taught to do.
5. It is what we want to do.
6. It is what makes us happy.
7. It is what we are passionate about.

And while each and every one of those reasons may come up on their own, they can also dovetail into one another, and as such become stronger reasons to do the things we do…

On the surface there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the first reason — ‘It’s our job’. Having a job is a good thing, especially if you like your job. It is a way to provide for yourself and your family — a way to ‘pay the bills’. Yet what if it is not a paying job, but more a ‘self-appointed’ job? A chore that no-one is willing to help out with, because it is “our job”? Then suddenly this reason connects with reasons 2, 3 and 4 — and the question arises: “Is this really true? Is it truly my job?”

The second reason is even less clear-cut. Is what we do expected from us by ourselves or by others? Or are we just thinking others are expecting it from us? In all likelihood, even if others are not expecting it from us, they won’t protest if we do the things that someone would need to do anyway…

Numbers 3 and 4 are often intertwined. As long as we are doing what we are told or taught to do, we will gain the approval of others — be it parents, teachers, or bosses… And while it may be a good thing to do the things we do in the way we were taught how to do them, that probably shouldn’t be why we do them. Approval ratings usually are highly overrated where it is about the everyday things in our lives…

The last three reasons turn out to be more sustainable reasons.

When we do the things we want to do in life, we very often find ourselves in a state of contentment, of happiness, or even a peaceful state of mind. (Unless of course we want to do those things because we think it is expected of us to do those things.) When we are doing the things we truly and honestly want to do, chances are they will make us happy!

Ultimately, the very best reason to do the things we do is when we are passionate about them. When they inspire us.

When we identify the things we are passionate about, and put in the time and effort to actually doing them — chances are we got it made!!

A new premise

We all have our perspectives on what works for us in life, and what does not. Often these perspectives are the trees that have grown from the seeds that were planted when we were very young. They were usually the seeds from the gardens of personal beliefs of our parents, that were carefully harvested and prepared by them — and eventually scattered in the fertile soil of our being…

Some of those seeds will never germinate. Others will germinate, yet never grow into the trees our parents had hoped for. But then, some of those seeds will grow into beautiful plants and trees in the gardens of our personal beliefs, our personal truths.

It has been this way for eons of time.

Yet, long ago, we may have felt happy, protected and cared for by our parents and those that came before us, every time we looked around in the garden of our personal beliefs and personal truths, and noticed the lush environment that was growing from the seeds they had scattered. An environment that emanated memories and wisdom…

Nowadays, however, changes are happening all around us, and they are happening faster than we feel comfortable with in the best of times — let alone in a point of time when environmental, social, and health challenges seem to appear wherever we look — it seems that the gardens of our personal beliefs and personal truths do not flourish anymore. Somehow, the seeds scattered long ago do not seem to grow into the lush beauty our parents had hoped for.

When we enter a point of time like we have entered now, perhaps it is a good time to examine the soil, the basis of our personal beliefs and personal truths. It may be a good moment to take on a new premise from which we can move forward. Like a premise that is based in the Universal Laws:

1. All is mind, mind is all.
2. We create our own lives through our thought patterns and the decisions we make, and actions we take based on our thought patterns.

Using these two statements as a (new) premise, it seems the most important things to get a handle on in order to make things work for us again in our lives, are our thought patterns.

And perhaps it is not as much about the random thoughts that come up during the day, but more about where we place our focus, and in which situations we engage mentally.

In these changing times it is easy to focus on the challenges humanity is faced with, or on all the things that are not quite going the way they were intended to go. We may almost automatically engage in situations that already are problematic, or may start presenting a problem in the not so distant future…

When this type of an interaction becomes a pattern for us — following our new premise — we may be manifesting challenges and difficulties into our once so happy and organized lives…

The advice on how to change that is simple — yet by no means easy.

The moment you find yourself engaging in a news item on TV about any one of then challenges we — as humanity — are facing in a fearful or negative manner, take a step back. Turn off the TV and purposely find something beautiful in your environment, or something that is working well for you in your life. In other words, refocus your attention, and start thinking about those things that are working beautifully for you. The next step is to start doing more of the things that are working well for you at this point in time.

In short: step back, refocus, and take action accordingly.

The moment we refocus our minds on those things that are working in our lives, that are beautiful, productive — in other words, those things we are grateful for, we set ourselves up to create this productive beauty in our own lives. And yes, that includes enhancing our physical health…