Increasing Your Awareness
I believe that reaching a higher level of awareness is one of the most valuable things anyone can accomplish. Anyone who is successful at anything has a very high level of awareness in their niche. I could talk about awareness for days, and I mention something pertaining to awareness in almost every chapter of this book.
You may not be aware of how your actions might make someone else feel until you’re on the receiving end of the same actions. You may not be aware of how often you use your back to move, but when you throw out your back, you’re more aware of how often you use your back. When you cut your finger, you start noticing how much you bump your finger when you touch things and when you wash your hands and soap gets in your cut. When you lose something you love, you realize you didn’t appreciate what you had enough. When someone tells me to focus on my blinking, I hate it, because then I’m focusing on every blink I make. There are so many things our brain is aware of subconsciously — like the fact that we are blinking constantly — yet only when we allow our conscious mind to focus on something do we really notice it.
Why are we usually aware only of what we’re afraid of or what we want or need? This is because everything people do is to gain pleasure or avoid pain. Think about it. This awareness is amplified the stronger the fear, want, or need is. Even if we are not completely consciously focused on something, if it is associated with our fears, wants, or needs, our brain will immediately alert us and encourage us to react in a way that either pushes us toward our wants and needs or pushes us away from our fears. When we hear a random loud noise, we associate it with fear. We were not focused on fear before the loud noise, but when our senses are alerted, our brain causes us to react in a way that reflects our association with the sudden loud noise. People in law enforcement or anyone highly trained in the use of guns do not let the loud noise distract them or make them blink. It takes some practice, but eventually your mental association will be rewired so that, when you hear a loud noise, you’re no longer as likely to jump, blink, or be negatively affected by it.
Your dream life and goals need to consume your subconscious. You need to always be thinking about how you’re going to accomplish your goals and dream life. Whether you are aware of it or not, your subconscious and RAS (reticular activation system) will pick up on the car you’re thinking about buying when it comes into your field of vision or you hear someone speaking the name of the car you’re thinking of buying. So even though you weren’t consciously focused on it, when it was picked up by either your visual or aural senses, you were instantly conscious of it. Just as in the new-car example, your subconscious is constantly focused on your goals and accomplishing your dream life. Anytime anything comes into your life that will aid in the accomplishment of your goals and dream life, you will immediately be aware and can focus on and take advantage of the opportunity. It could be an opportunity to buy something, an opportunity to capitalize on, or an opportunity to create a strategic alliance (a contact with a person who can help you in some way). You must be aware of all the amazing opportunities we are all constantly surrounded with. If you’re not constantly aware, you will be like most people and miss a lot of opportunities that could lead you toward your goals and dream life.
When you become so aware of the powers within you, you’ll be able to control all external factors by your ability to control your internal response to those external factors. You will also have understanding and control of this awareness and power within, rather than simply a dim notion of it, which is what most people have.
Random Fact
Apples are part of the rose family.
