Stone Art Traders

Good to see you again!  We're picking up where we left off last time where we asked you to identify the sources of your current values, ethics and morals.  That exercise was designed to help you identify the influences that affect the way you view the world, others, and yourself.  There are very specific ways we allow influence in our lives. And the point is that not all of the influences that seem positive or harmless are what they seem.  As we discussed in Part 2, influences that were appropriate at one point in our lives, may not be expedient for us anymore. 

So, how do you know when the influence in your life is no longer appropriate for you?  Here are some of the warning signs of negative influence:

1. You get a queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.
2. You become physically sick.
   
3. You come away from the encounter feeling drained, inadequate, inconsequential.
4. You sense a heaviness or feeling of oppression.
5. Your encounter consistently ends in confrontation.
6. The influence urges you to think, do, say, or be anything that your conscience warns you to avoid or reject.
7. The relationship is or has become completely one sided.
8. The influence encourages you to consider only yourself.
9. The influence focus is overly materialistic.
   
10. The influence focus is consistently on the dimunition of anyone or thing.

The signs are warnings when they are always consistent to the event.  Everyone has off days when everything seems negative, even things you love.  Those are not the events to which we refer.  When you consistently experience the warning signs listed above in the same situation, it's a negative influence.

We now circle back to answer the original question that we put forth in Part 1, how to take control of the influences that affect your life.  The first step is to identify the influences affecting your life.  The second step is to determine if the influences are positive or negative for your life right now.  The third step is to consciously choose the influences you now wish to allow in your own life.  If this is the first time you have attempted this exercise, until now, you have been living under the influence of any and everything that has ever been a part of your life.  As an adult, you and only you, have the responsibility and the capability to determine and orchestrate the direction of your life.  You have the right and the power to change your mind.  And the secret to changing your life, is simply changing your mind!

Okay, sounds easy enough.  Just change your mind and your life will change.  Is it really true?  It is absolutely true, and it is the only way anyone can truly change their life.  The mind, your mind, is the seat of your soul, and is the driver of everything you are, think, and do.  It has been conditioned (programmed) over the number of years you have lived, but just like a computer, it can be reprogrammed.  This time around however, you get to choose the program. 

The last post in this series holds the final promise: the right support mechanism.  Like any good book, the best is saved for last.  The final promise is the key to success so don't miss it!