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Twitter / WordVibes

  • Another weekend pic: the Farmington Flats at dusk. 11 days ago February 11, 2012
  • Pity and worry are power-less; compassion is #power-full 12 days ago February 11, 2012
  • Believing in fate is power-less; deliberate creation is #power-full. 12 days ago February 11, 2012

Twitter / LifeAligned

  • Agreed. Nor does going through the motions of character without connection to inner life. 5 hours ago February 23, 2012
  • If you don't appreciate who you are right now, you haven't used your challenges to their fullest value. 7 hours ago February 23, 2012
  • I used to tell my kids, "If you're working too hard to make it fit, something's wrong. You're missing a key. What's the key?" 7 hours ago February 23, 2012

What’s the Problem with Positive Thinking?

By M. Kenneth Petruzzi, on March 30th, 2011%

A Woman Looking Off Into the Distance With Positive Expectation

Well, there is nothing wrong with positive thinking, itself. The real issue lies with the absurd misconceptions some folks have (and lately quite a few bloggers) about what practicing a positive outlook means. These in turn lead to failed implementations, and blow-back, and more downer blogs on positive thinking.

True positivity has nothing to do with covering over negativity. It has nothing to do with ignoring relationship difficulties or employee issues to achieve a false harmony. It has nothing to do with pasting affirmations over disturbing thoughts or memories (which can do more harm than good). It has nothing to do with suppressing anger or other “non-evolved” (what a joke) emotions that are a natural part of the most evolved person and which can prove quite helpful when recognized for what they are and used appropriately.

Positive thinking is about acknowledging and understanding what we experience as negative, and then choosing a focus that brings our perception to the value in any situation. Whether what troubles us is a perceived flaw in ourselves, or behavior of another, or . . . → Read More: What’s the Problem with Positive Thinking?

6 comments   Change, Expanding Definitions, Mental Models, Mood Mods   , , , , , ,  

Reaching for a Better Definition of Success

By M. Kenneth Petruzzi, on March 20th, 2011%

How shall we define success? Most of us use the word “success” for a variety of meanings. There’s the kind of success when we win something we want to win at. There’s the kind of success that we apply to those who have achieved some kind of significant milestone or admirable outcome. For example, many would agree that those who have earned or attracted financial abundance, widely recognized expertise, or stature are successful in some way.

But let’s aim broader in our definition of success. Let’s consider overall life success—Success with a  big “S,” as opposed to “this moment’s win” kind of success.

I’ll begin with a straightforward proposal: that achieving overall life Success need not depend on winning, but can depend instead on how we feel about what we have, what we are going for, and how we are going for what we’re going for. Don’t worry, if you are not successful by this suggested definition of success, you are but a few thoughts away from getting closer to it.

So, let’s play with . . . → Read More: Reaching for a Better Definition of Success

Leave a comment   Expanding Definitions, Success & Abundance   , ,  

Passion vs. Addiction

By M. Kenneth Petruzzi, on March 15th, 2011%

This post was transferred here from my SuccessWaypoint.com site. It was originally posted there on March 26, 2010.

Lately, I am coming across blog posts and articles that appear to have trouble reconciling the idea of following one’s passion or bliss with what they see as possible destructive outcomes of taking that that course.

I think that confusion comes when we see “passion” and “obsession/addiction” as related conditions. For me, the distinction between the   former and the latter is pretty clear-cut.

Passion is almost always about moving *towards* something for positive reasons, while addiction/obsession is almost always about engaging in a powerful distraction to *escape* something unwanted. That “something unwanted” is often emotional pain, but a sense of powerlessness is also a huge driver for aberrant behaviors.

Those of us who have known the bliss that can result from realized passion understand that it is not about mere pleasure, but comes from a nexus of pleasure and thriving inner self/heart… a supreme alignment not achievable through obsession or addiction. While obsession/addiction can bring overwhelming intoxication, we know that intoxication is but a bad facsimile of true bliss.

Law of Attraction Postscript

Those of us who study the law . . . → Read More: Passion vs. Addiction

3 comments   Emotions, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Words that Matter