There are many pressing questions to answer in life. This is, however, one of the better ones. This is for a good many reasons. By answering it we both add service to both ourselves and others. I suggest we spend a good deal of time pondering this question often. The benefits of doing so are reduced stress, clarity and well-defined purpose. It also greatly increases the chances that we will turn out to be a decent human being.
Let us take a look at how this all plays out. First, by examining what we are doing for others, we make sure that we are indeed doing something for others. It will assist us in not living a self-centered sort of existence. It may help to open our eyes to more opportunities to positively impact the lives of those around us. Are we making the most of the gifts we are given? This can also help us gain clarity and purpose in where our lives are headed. This can greatly reduce the stress we are feeling. There is yet another benefit to pondering what we are doing for others.
When we are thinking about what we are doing for others, we are focused on them and their issues and how we can be of benefit to them. This, if only for a moment, stops us from dwelling in the misery of our own problems. When we do realize that others have problems, it can help put our own in perspective. When we do come up with a way in which we can be a service to others, it gives us a feeling of value and purpose. This mindset can also help us with our own issues.
One slightly redeeming quality about tragedy is that it provides us an opportunity to make a difference. A chance to step up and help our fellow human beings. Not only fellow humans, but animals, plants and the earth at large.
Recently, most of us know Jamaica was hit by a devastating hurricane. As I see stories of the aftermath, I am reminded how many different areas can be impacted. It saddens me to think many of these people who do not have much to begin with, have lost even that. At the same time,there are great stories of people and companies stepping up to offer free meals and assistance of all kinds!
This certainly isn’t the only place where people are suffering. The war continues in the Ukraine, there are many countries with human rights and starvation issues. Each one of these presenta unique opportunity to help. Make sure you are using a trusted platform to do so. Even if you are unable to do so with your time or money, offering focused thoughts and prayers for people in these affected situations can make a big difference.
Everyday the world presents problems. That means every day we have the opportunity to make a positive difference.
This picture was taken August 9th at the Wisconsin State Fair. My mother and I were enjoying what was supposed to be the second last day of the fair. It is one of my favorite places. In fact, I have attended every year since 1975 and every day since 1996. At the time rain began to fall and everyone was told it was going to be a passing storm. We, like so many others, waited for the rain to pass. What happened next nobody expected. It has since been referred to as a 1000 year flood. The effect to the community was unprecedented.
The day after revealed many horrors. Business were flooded. There was an apartment structure that had underground parking. More than 30 cars were seen floating in over 10 feet of water. This was for a building not located on a flood plain. There were so many personal struggles as well. People’s basements flooded. Some even had their foundations crumble. Above are pictures from my friend Ricky’s house. Ricky is not only the owner of the local gym, Peak Physique, he also is part of many community groups. You can see the level of water that was outside his house and everything they lost. Him and his wife were forced to move out of their house while it has to be completely redone.
Their story is not unique, but certainly devastating. Insurance for Ricky, as well as for many others, simply is not offering much assistance. It was painful to see so many of our friends, family and citizens of our great city struggle so greatly. The rain continued to fall off and on for the next several days making clean up even more of a challenge. As the news began to come out about all of the tragedy suffered in our community, a wonderful thing started to happen. It reminded me of something one of the most famous neighbors of all time said.
As dawn broke the following day, the damage became apparent. Many people had lost power. Some even lost homes and cars from which they could get power. Then, the response came. Not from FEMA or some other agency, but from fellow friends and neighbors. Two bars, Brass Monkey and Brass Boar’s Den opened up early with free coffee, Wi-Fi and places for people to charge their laptops, phones or just gather. One business, I sadly forget which one, offered bagged lunches for people who needed them and people who were helping others. The owner of a bakery, Bishop Sweets, even offered to help people that needed it. Another bakery, Storytime Sweets, gave away free treats to those affected by flood damage. Just to brighten their spirits.
There were also numerous gofundme pages set up to help those across the community. People chipping in whatever they could to help people just like Ricky and his wife Leah. I will include a link to the gofundme hub if you would like to help someone on the list. Although donating to help each other was certainly something that was both needed and appreciated, people found another wonderful way to help support their neighbors in this time of need. There was an incredible swelling of community spirit.
The way in which they decided to help was to support many of the businesses that were affected. I mentioned that Ricky owned the gym Peak Physique. Many people looked to sign up, or stopped by the gym to see how they could help or what Ricky and his wife need. They even have a ‘Biggest Loser’ fall challenge coming up that would allow many to experience the gym and all it has to offer. People supported those who were supporting others. People began buying desserts from Bishop Sweets. They stopped and had a cocktail or food at Brass Boar or Brass Monkey. Things that we all can do to help our community stay strong and not only make it through this challenge, but grow stronger because of it!
When a community is hit by a flood the ‘sink or swim’ is not only literal, but also metaphoric. I was so proud to see so many come together and display the sense of community that makes this city great. If you care to be one of the ‘helpers’ mentioned in the quote above, feel free to click the link below or go and support local businesses like Peak Physique or any others. They could all use your support, both financial and emotional. That is what makes us all great neighbors.
We touched on this a little in the last post. We should endeavor to bring something to the lives of everyone we touch. It could be just lending an ear to someone who never feels heard. One of the best things we can do these days is offer an uplifting and encouraging message to everyone. The world seems in dire need of such things. There are few universal truths in the world. I think wanting to bring something to the life of everyone we meet is one of them.
Some of you may think you do not have much to offer. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone of us have our own unique perspective and our own unique skills that add something to the world. It can be an ability to stay calm in the midst of chaos. It can be the skill of finding the positive or humor in any situation. Again, the ability to truly listen to someone. Not just to reply to them, but to truly understand them is a priceless gift.
Starting today, whenever you interact with people, think to yourself, “What can I bring to this person’s life?” Approaching our personal interactions with the question “What could this person really use right now?”Will allow us to bring our relationships to the next level and improve the lives of all of those we come in contact with. How do you bring something special to those you interact with?
Sit with this thought a minute. You might very well be the answer to someone else’s prayers. On my YouTube, which will be updated soon, I end each video with the line, “Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.” It is a line I stole from an Aerosmith song, but I really like the message behind it.
We can get caught up in our own drama so often we forget this wonderful quote from Einstein. When arguably the smartest man to live tells you that we are here to serve others, you might want to pay attention. Don’t get me wrong, it is easy to get lost in our problems. I have found when this happens, the best way out is to help someone else with their problems. It not only provides perspective, but a sense of purpose.
I often share the great reminder that my friend Kaylene gave me to take the focus off of myself and consider how I can help others. It takes a true friend to remind you of that when you are in the middle of a meltdown. Next time you find yourself down and out, remember you might have been given another day because someone else needs you. Work on finding out who that is!
Such an important message. Mental health is something we all must talk about. It does not matter your political affiliation, your faith, your race or any other nonsense we let divide us. We all can suffer from different aspects of mental health. In reading the Blue Zone books, which are a study on the longest living people in the world and what they have in common, one of the main things was a circle of close friends. Being alone has more health issues associated to it than even smoking. According to their studies. The reason I bring this up is a way I feel we can all help. That is reaching out to those who seem to be lacking a strong social circle.
One of the greatest things you can do to be a great help to mental health is to be a good friend. In fact, that can be one of the best things you can to to help the world in general. Having a good friend to listen to you is one of the greatest blessings. The other side of the coin is that being that friend is also one of the greatest blessings. You want to be rare and significant these days? All you have to do is learn to listen. In a world where everyone is screaming to be heard, being a source that someone can vent to is priceless. Having good friends and being a good friend is some of the most important things we can do to help each other with our mental health.
How true is this statement? If our mental health is not in order, we are far less likely to take care of ourselves physically, financially or any other way. Here are a few other ways in which you can take care of your mental health and help others do the same. This is far from a complete list, so if you would love to share more ideas in the comments below I know all of us would be forever grateful! The more we work together on mental health, the better we will all be.
One of the best ways to help both gain clarity on our thoughts, recognize patterns, and reduce mental clutter and stress can be using a simple journal. Putting our thoughts on paper will help us clear a little space in our heads. It also forces us to sort them out and get a little more clarity on what exactly we are thinking. Even if it doesn’t make sense when we first write it. By reviewing our entries, we can begin to see patterns of thought and action we engage in. It can be self-sabotage, self-doubt, a lack of confidence, or many other defeating trains of thought. It does not have to be all doom and gloom! There is a lot to be learned from both sides of the coin. We can learn the thoughts we have that lead to good days. What we do and think after a victory in life. How we can live in a good emotional state.
That leads us to our next idea – a gratitude journal. None of us experience reality. We actually experience the reality we focus on. What is wrong is always available. So it what is right. Which do we tend to focus on more? By training ourselves (it feels like forcing ourselves at first) to record 3 things we are grateful for and why a day can radically transform our mental health. Done for a length of time, it also subconsciously programs our mind to look for what we have to be grateful in life knowing that we will have to write it down that evening.
I apologize for the length of today’s post and thank you for sticking with me. Mental health is just such an important topic here at Secret2anamazinglife.com. In a world that seems more dividing than ever, there are more opportunities than ever to help each other, and ourselves, in the mental health arena. This can often be more difficult for men as society has frowned upon men not only expressing their mental health but seeking help for it. Luckily that is changing. If we want to improve our mental health, one of the best things we can do is bring joy to others. It is my life mission to leave my world a little better than when I arrived. It is a goal that I can only measure by the day. Each day I strive to add joy and positivity to the lives of all of those I come in contact with. This has given me a life that has my heart bursting with joy and gratitude on most days. On the days my own mental health needs a little help, those relationships become reciprocal.
This month, take time to focus on mental health. If you are really struggling, please reach out to a friend or even a professional for health. You will not only be doing yourself a favor, but allowing them to live a life of service and purpose. That is a big gift. If you want to reach out to us here at Secret2anamazinglife.com with any mental health issue you would like us to take a deeper look at, please do so in the comments below. All of our readers, and their mental health are very important to us.
I have been writing this post for a week now. That is to say I had the title and idea for a week, but I wanted to wait until I had the time to really sit down and share this with you. What do we mean by hidden medicine? The idea came to me while listening to a song with that very title by the band Red Thunder. If you get a chance, look it up on YouTube. What is the ‘hidden medicine’ and where to we find it? We find it inside ourselves. What is the hidden medicine we all have inside of us? It is many different things. We will touch on a few of them today. If I have left off your favorite one, please feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Inside each one of us, there is a vast storehouse of potential that goes unused. That is because it is never explained or taught to us. Schools are more about teaching us what to remember than how to use what is inside of us. Our parents and teachers were most likely never told about this great power either. By the end of this post, you will know what your hidden medicine is and how to use it. Some of this medicine helps heal you physically, some mentally, some emotionally and some spiritually. A lot of it will help in all areas. Let us get started with our hidden medicine and begin healing ourselves.
Our first hidden medicine is gratitude. If you have even followed this site for a short time, you know how much we promote gratitude. This is not by accident or because it is trendy. No, gratitude has a great deal of power. As you can see in the picture above, it can heal a lot of things in your life. If you were to do only one thing to improve your life, I would suggest developing an attitude of gratitude. Suffering from fear or anxiety? Gratitude can help you heal that. If you are feeling full of lack, if the outlook of your life looks grim or you feel that the world is out to get you, gratitude can help heal that. You will start to see magic in everyday life. You will realize what truly matters and how lucky you are no matter how contrary those statements may sound at the moment.
The next hidden medicine is helping others or altruism. There is nothing that will make you forget your problems, or help you feel a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart quicker than helping someone else. If you feel that your problems feel overwhelming, reach out to help someone else. Not only will you feel good for doing something good and making the world a brighter place for that individual, but your own problems might seem a little easier to tackle after that. Helping others can make us realize how important and valuable we are. It can help us to realize what a difference one person can make and remind us that person is us!
To avoid making this too long and losing any of you, we are going to lump some of the last hidden medicines together. We will put them under the umbrella of ‘self-care’. Is self-care really a hidden medicine? You bet it is! This can mean so many different things for each of us. Some of us like being in the garden and working with plants. Some like going for walks in nature. It could be meditation, coffee with a friend, a good workout or a glass a wine and a good book.
Here is the medicinal quality of all of these items. They will affect our emotional state. They will infuse our spirit with hope, joy and lots of other positive emotions. They will force us to live in and learn to love the moment. This will help reduce stress and all of the not so pleasant side-effects that comes with. Being happier, healthier and less stress can also help heal our relationships with others. Why is that important? The worst emotion to feel at a funeral is not loss, it is regret. Knowing you should have said or done something differently. Knowing you could have acted better. What would be worse is if the funeral was your own and you wasted a good portion of your life sick, stressed and overwhelmed. Use your hidden medicines today before it is too late. Again, if you would like to add more please share in the comments below.
Today’s post will feature a deep dive into an answer to a question I posed to several friends and associates. The question was, “What, in your opinion, makes for a truly fulfilling life?” We will take a deeper dive into the answer featured in today’s post. This includes looking at how we can implement their ideas for fulfillment into our own life. This will allow all of us to wake up with a greater sense of inner peace and joy. If these answers inspire you, and you would like to share your own feeling on what makes life fulfilling, feel free to do so in the comments below. You could be featured in a future post or in my next book! Now let us take a look at today’s answer!
Today’s answer comes from my good friend Jason. He is not only an amazing guitar player, but an even better father. Speaking of fathers, I actually knew Jason’s father before I met him. It was only later that we discovered this. Jason and I hosted a weekly radio program for a while that was damn entertaining, if I must say so myself. Let us shift from taking a look at the man to taking a look at his answer.
“For me, a fulfilling life would mean that I lived it in such a way that is was inspiring to others. I really do feel that our sole purpose in life is to help others.”
This is an answer of a truly enlightened person. Jason might not exactly refer to himself as such, but this answer would prove that he has every right to. Having a purpose greater than ourselves gives our life not only direction, but resilience. If your life is just about you and what you can get out of it, eventually you will come up against something that is stronger than you. If your purpose involves that greater good, such as this altruistic example above, you will be able to persevere. Some of the greatest minds of the last century knew this wisdom.
Albert Einstein, one of the smartest men in history, knew what our friend Jason knows. This was his answer when asked why we are here. Think of your own life. If you accomplish great things, and they only benefit you, will you truly be happy? One of the greatest joys in life is to know that you have made someone else’s life better. I can tell you that as an author, I am coming close to having sold 10,000 books. Certainly something to be proud of. That alone would not keep me going. What really keeps me motivated to continue to write is when I hear the difference it has made in the lives of others. I am sure Jason would say the same about his music. Even more importantly, as a parent Jason understands the importance of living your life for the benefit of someone else.
Going to sleep at night knowing you have inspired and made someone else’s life better is a sense of contentment, and yes fulfillment, that can’t be beat. What do you think of Jason and Albert Einstein’s answer that to live a truly fulfilling life, we must benefit more than ourselves? How have you felt fulfillment from lending a hand, or a sense of hope, to another fellow human? Please share your answers below and help us help each other.
Do you want a fun activity that will change the world? Try this one – empower and encourage other individuals. Will this really change the world? To answer that question, we need look no further than our own life. When someone encourages you in whatever endeavor you are pursuing how does that affect your effort and results? Are you likely to persist more or give up quicker? Does it help you visualize a positive outcome? It matters little what the endeavor may be. It could be fitness, a healthier diet, starting your own business. Empowering and encouraging others works the same.
Here is a little extra incentive to offer support to others. When you do, it gives you a hit of dopamine. That is the feel good chemical in our brains. By encouraging and empowering others, it helps to motivate and increase our mood. In addition, those wonderful folks we assist will be more likely to do the same for us in the future. It is an investment that has compound returns.
We looked at some practical applications for uplifting others. Here is a more altruistic reasons. It makes the world a better place for all of us. Who wouldn’t want a more positive world? Who wouldn’t want to help people feel the permission to believe in themselves. I would love to hear your stories of uplifting others, or when someone uplifted you. Feel free to leave them in the comments below.
Today is Wednesday, the day we have uplifting posts. I love this day! Do you know what I enjoy even more? That is being able to uplift people in person. Helping someone see the beauty in themselves, others and the world around them fills my heart with joy. How about you? Have you had the great pleasure of helping someone believe in themselves until they are able to do so on their own? It is one of the greatest feelings.
If you are suffering from any kind of problem, if you are just feeling a little down, the best cure is to help someone else. Not only will it strengthen the bond between the two of you, even if it is a complete stranger, but it will leave both of you feeling better than before. As for your own problems? Not only will helping someone with their problems go a long way to putting yours in perspective, but you will no doubt gain someone who may be willing to assist you.
Uplift and inspire someone today. You will end up being one of the best things that happened to them. Who wouldn’t want to be that! Not to mention, it is way too rare. Can you imagine what the world would be like if it were filled with people working to inspire one another? This may seem like a dream, but we can make that dream come true one person at a time.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 