YING and YANG LIVING Wisdom and Wellness: Changing Your Mind, Changing the World

"If you change your mind, you change the world." By Buddha

I was an Asian Studies major in college, and my first course on Buddhism was academic and dull. I never thought such ancient idealistic aphorisms would ever ring true in my life, let alone that I would practice them. Through all my years of struggling to find my passion and calling (I know, this sounds trite) and living through many depressing days (and still have them), I realized that I am my own worst enemy. How does changing your own mind can possibly change the world? It's not about changing the world, as it is about opening your mind to change. You have to change your thoughts in order to change your energy in order to change your behavior, which then organically transforms everything around you: your career, love relationships, friendships, etc. When we have negative thoughts like "that is too hard," then we make endless excuses not to do it. The lack of taking action prevents us from allowing luck to happen and seizing the amazing opportunities as they emerge.

I wanted to start my own company some years ago and had all the usual doubts and fears, distracting me from taking action for a long time. Struggling to start my own company, I coincidentally re-visited the Buddha quote, and a small light bulb lit internally: "If I change my mind, I can change my life" is how I translated it. Whenever doubtful thoughts came into my head, I tried hard, like salmon swimming up the river, to reverse them immediately by engaging in the cliché mantra: "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it... " With practice, I had enough confidence to jump off the bridge to found my own company without calculating the distance of the fall, the depth of the water, or the velocity of my falling speed-which all just amounts to excuses. I jumped-with tenuous faith--because I internally evolved that I would rather die trying than never having the courage to do so. While I am still struggling and far from where I want to be, the important thing is that I am doing it. A great commercial slogan Nike coined is: "Just Do it." I am pursuing my dreams no matter what the doubtful thoughts may be, and my faith in the process is slowly growing stronger every day. Obviously, I am human and negative thoughts will always creep up, but I make a conscious effort each time to spar them with good ones.

I realize that this may seem overwhelming to do at first, so let's discuss small first steps. Write down one negative quality you see in yourself, for example: "I'm not creative," and underneath this statement, make a list of all the things you have done in the past year where you were creative in your work, school, or relationships and made a difference-small or large. Each time you think "I'm not creative," replace it with something creative on your list. Repeat this process each and every time this negative thought rears its nasty head in your mind. While you will not see dramatic results at the beginning, the accumulative effect of this exercise will be transformative.

When you have positive thoughts, you take positive actions, which inspires people around you to be and do better-a viral effect that changes the world. So indeed: "If you change your mind, you will change the world," so "Just Do it."

Moon Cho is the Creator of Ying & Yang Living, a healthy lifestyle resource that provides Asian living tips in food, home, garden, health, fitness, fashion, beauty, and Asian wisdoms for your spiritual wellness. For all our free Asian living tips, visit our website at http://www.yingandyangliving.com/

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What benefits you should look for when changing your career

When it comes to changing your career there are a lot of things that you may need to consider. You will need to consider things like rather or not you can afford it, but you also need to think about ways that you can find your personal happiness. You will need to think about all the things that attracted you to your current career, but you will also need to consider some of the things that you lack in your current situation. It is very important that you start thinking about yourself and less about what is expected of you. It is also very important that you learn to control yourself and find some patience, because you will find that time is very precious, but you also don’t want to waste your talents by taking a job beneath you.

One of the most important things that you can do right now is analyzeyour potential job options. You may find that you like certain aspects of your job now, but you would like to focus less on other aspects. This is very common. For example, sometimes you’ll find that an account will stay within the accounting field, but will switch from accounts receivable to accounts payable. There are many ways that you can start your new career without having to give everything up. Then there are some people who realize that they don’t like accounting, so they take general manager role at a local store, because it gives them more room to advance and also it takes them away from the desk. You will need to keep in mind that you should try to get a new career that is useful to your old career. This way you will not be wasting your education and training, but you will simply be able to use it in a different way.

You should also look for a career that is going to allow you to learn and grow. You will need a job that will give you some level of challenge. The reason why a lot of people will lose interest in their job is because it becomes so mundane. It becomes a routine. You don’t want to come into work and do the same thing over and over and over again. You need to have a career that will challenge you and also expand your experiences and knowledge. You will need to consider doing something to help you fulfill your needs.

You need to make sure that this new career fits into your life. Often, people will switch their careers without even giving their family a second thought. Then they realize that they work too much to raise a family. You need to sit down and list what is important to you. When you set your priorities you will be able to clearly define what it is that you need from this new job. You’ll also want to consider talking to your wife or husband, because without their support, there is no way that you will be able to afford taking on a different career when you are the sole provider.

You should also look at the personal benefits to the new careers that you have chosen to adventure into. You will need to understand what you will be able to gain from the career and also what you will be able to take on with the new career change. It is very important that you make the rights choice when it comes to your career, because you may end up kicking yourself in the end. Give yourself some time to settle down from the anger and the hurt that you current have for your job and start thinking about what it is that you are looking for and desire in this new adventure.

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