How to Discover Your Life Purpose

     Here’s a story about Bruce Lee which sets the stage for this little exercise. A master martial artist asked Bruce to teach him everything Bruce knew about martial arts. Bruce held up two cups, both filled with liquid. “The first cup,” said Bruce, “represents all of your knowledge about martial arts. The second cup represents all of my knowledge about martial arts. If you want to fill your cup with my knowledge, you must first empty your cup of your knowledge.”

If you want to discover your true purpose in life, you must first empty your mind of all the false purposes you’ve been taught (including the idea that you may have no purpose at all).

     So how to discover your purpose in life? While there are many ways to do this, some of them fairly involved, here is one of the simplest that anyone can do. The more open you are to this process, and the more you expect it to work, the faster it will work for you. But not being open to it or having doubts about it or thinking it’s an entirely idiotic and meaningless waste of time won’t prevent it from working as long as you stick with it — again, it will just take longer to converge.

Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

That’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a counselor or an engineer or a bodybuilder. To some people this exercise will make perfect sense. To others it will seem utterly stupid. Usually it takes 15-20 minutes to clear your head of all the clutter and the social conditioning about what you think your purpose in life is. The false answers will come from your mind and your memories. But when the true answer finally arrives, it will feel like it’s coming to you from a different source entirely.

     For those who are very entrenched in low-awareness living, it will take a lot longer to get all the false answers out, possibly more than an hour. But if you persist, after 100 or 200 or maybe even 500 answers, you’ll be struck by the answer that causes you to surge with emotion, the answer that breaks you. If you’ve never done this, it may very well sound silly to you. So let it seem silly, and do it anyway.

     As you go through this process, some of your answers will be very similar. You may even re-list previous answers. Then you might head off on a new tangent and generate 10-20 more answers along some other theme. And that’s fine. You can list whatever answer pops into your head as long as you just keep writing.

    At some point during the process (typically after about 50-100 answers), you may want to quit and just can’t see it converging. You may feel the urge to get up and make an excuse to do something else. That’s normal. Push past this resistance, and just keep writing. The feeling of resistance will eventually pass.

    You may also discover a few answers that seem to give you a mini-surge of emotion, but they don’t quite make you cry — they’re just a bit off. Highlight those answers as you go along, so you can come back to them to generate new permutations. Each reflects a piece of your purpose, but individually they aren’t complete. When you start getting these kinds of answers, it just means you’re getting warm. Keep going.

     It’s important to do this alone and with no interruptions. If you’re a nihilist, then feel free to start with the answer, “I don’t have a purpose,” or “Life is meaningless,” and take it from there. If you keep at it, you’ll still eventually converge.

    To live consciously and courageously, to resonate with love and compassion, to awaken the great spirits within others, and to leave this world in peace.

Profesori bine pregatiti si plini de entuziasm

     Pentru a preda in vederea intelegerii, profesorii insisi e bine sa se miste cu usurinta prin materie si sa o inteleaga. E nevoie ca profesorii sa se simta specialisti si ca in ochii elevilor lor ei sa conteze drept o imagine a profesionalismului. De asemenea, e necesar ca profesorii sa creada ca intelegerea este importanta si sa fie pregatiti sa o intruchipeze in propria lor viata. Nimic nu-i impresioneaza mai mult pe elevi decat sa aibe ocazia sa vada adulti informati folosind competent materialul pe care il prezinta. Acesta este motivul pentru care tinerilor muzicieni le place sa ii priveasca pe profesorii lor cantand, iar copii care invata tenis vor sa se joace cu instructorii lor. Din acelasi motiv elevii isi pierd interesul pentru profesorii care nu reusesc sa se ridice la nivelul conversatiei pe care o susutin.

     Dupa cum a aratat educatorl Lee Shulman, cunoasterea materiei este necesara, dar nu suficienta. Din doi profesori care-si cunosc materia la fel de bine, s-ar putea ca numai unul sa stie sa o prezinte elevilor neinitiati de asa maniera incat sa-i implice, sa distruga conceptiile evident gresite si sa construiasca intelegeri mai flexibile si mai puternice.

     Profesorii profesorilor e necesar sa isi ajute elevii sa-si insuseasca astfel de cunostinte pedagogice si sa le folosesac regulat in pregatirea viitoarelor clase. Profesorii e bine sa fie mereu atenti sa gaseasca cele mai potrivite proiecte, lectii, intrebari si forme de evaluare, care sa se potriveasca unui curriculum al intelegerii si sa contribuie la monitorizarea intelegerilor elevilor.

      Mai mult, nu este suficient ca profesorii sa se culce pe laurii propriei lor instruiri. Toate disciplinele evolueaza, iar unele, cum ar fi stiintele naturale, cu viteza luminii. Granitele dintre discipline se schimba si se nasc ocazii pentru o activitate interdisciplinara, uneori chiar fara sa ne dam seama. Profesorii e necesar sa tina pasul si sa tina pasul si cazul ideal este ca ei sa-si doreasca sa tina pasul. Elevii vad cand profesorii continua ei insisi sa invete si cand  sunt entuziasmati de noile descoperiri. 

     Desigur, multor profesori le lipseste o intelegere adanca a materiei lor, iar unii nu sunt motivati sa-si aprofundeze intelegerile. Educatia pentru intelegere este greu de urmat fara un numar mare de profesori devotati intelegerii si constienti de responsabilitatile lor. Sunt multe feluri prin care profesorii motivati pot sa intre mai adanc in propria lor materie si sa-si exerseze intelegerile, insa motivatia de a face acest lucru nu poate veni decat de la un profesor.

              Howard Gardner inspire me

Vointa este regele puterilor mentale

     Cei mai multi dintre oameni considera ca nu au vointa. Ei invinovatesc pe toti si pe toate, exceptand pe ei insisi pentru aceasta aparenta slabiciune. Cei care au o fire vicioasa spun "Nu ma pot abtine, si tatal meu a fost la fel".   Cei care se ingrijoreaza prea mult zic "Nu e vina mea, serviciul e prea stresant". Cei care dorm prea mult spun "Ce sa fac? Corpul meu are nevoie de 10 ore de somn". Elevii care iau note mici la scoala "Are ceva cu mine. M-a lasat corigent" (Corect ar fi "Am ramas corigent", pentru ca vina este in primul rand al lui/a ei, dar ma opresc ca intram in alta poveste).

     Acestor oameni le lipseste responsabilitatea fata de sine, care provine din cunoasterea potentialului extraordinar care exista adanc, in interiorul fiecaruia, astepatand sa primeasca impulsul actiunii. Este dreptul tau prin nastere sa fii tot ceea ce poti fi. Ai puterea sa fi mai mult decat te predispune mediul in care traiesti. Ai capacitatea de a fi mai mult decat prizonierul trecutulu tau. Pentru a face aceasta e necesar sa devii stapanul vointei tale.

     Pare greu?

     Imagineaza-ti ce-ai putea face daca ai dubla sau tripla cantitatea de vointa pe care o ai acum. Decide sa faci lucrurile pe care este necesar sa le faci, in loc sa mergi pe calea minimei rezistente. Incepi sa lupti cu forta gravitationala a obiceiurilor tale rele si a impulsurilor slabe. Straduieste-te si vezi ce se va intampla in urmatoarele 30 de zile.

     Calatoria de 1000 de mile incepe cu un singur pas. Chiar si un elefant se poate manca, feliuta cu feliuta. Incepe sa faci lucrurile pe care nu iti place sa le faci ( daca nu iti place sa citesti, atunci citeste 30 min zilnic, daca nu iti place sa faci patul dimineata, atunci fa-l, daca nu iti place sa mergi pe jos, atunci plimba-te 15 min zilnic) Chiar si antrenamentul de de a te trezi cu o ora mai devreme si pastrarea acestui minunat obicei iti vor amplifica incederea in sine.

     Micile victorii conduc la marile victorii. Micile victorii creeaza impulsul care te determina sa faci pasi mai mari pe calea catre sinele tau superior.

     Spune acum  "Maine este prima zi din restul vietii mele".

Robin Sharma inspire me

Legea Contrastului 2

     Un tinar novice si un calugar se plimbau prin gradina manastirii, citind si comentand impreuna diferite pasaje din Biblie. La un moment dat au simtit nevoia unei tigari, dar, nestiind daca incalca vreo regula fumand in timpul studiului, s-au hotarit sa ceara, dupa masa, permisiunea parintelui staret. Cand s-au intilnit a doua zi, calugarul fuma linistit, spre nedumerirea novicelui:

     "Frate, mie staretul mi-a interzis sa fumez, tie cum de ti-a permis?" 

     "Nu stiu... Tu ce i-ai spus?" 

     "I-am cerut sa-mi dea voie sa fumez in timp ce citesc Biblia." 

     "Vezi, aici ai gresit. Eu i-am cerut sa-mi dea voie sa citesc Biblia in timp ce fumez." 

     De ce o cerere formulata intr-un anumit mod este respinsa pe cand aceeasi cerere, formulata intr-o alta maniera este aprobata? 

Ce determina o persoana sa accepte dorintele noastre? Si ce ne impinge pe noi sa acceptam dorintele altora, deseori fara nici o placere si impotriva interesului nostru, pierzind adesea timp si bani?

    

33 Rules to Boost Your Productivity

1. Nuke it!  The most efficient way to get through a task is to delete it.  If it doesn’t need to be done, get it off your to do list.
2. Daily goals.  Without a clear focus, it’s too easy to succumb to distractions.  Set targets for each day in advance.  Decide what you’ll do; then do it.
3. Worst first.  To defeat procrastination learn to tackle your most unpleasant task first thing in the morning instead of delaying it until later in the day.  This small victory will set the tone for a very productive day.
4. Peak times.  Identify your peak cycles of productivity, and schedule your most important tasks for those times.  Work on minor tasks during your non-peak times.
5. No-comm zones.  Allocate uninterruptible blocks of time for solo work where you must concentrate.  Schedule light, interruptible tasks for your open-comm periods and more challenging projects for your no-comm periods.
6. Mini-milestones.  When you begin a task, identify the target you must reach before you can stop working.  For example, when working on a book, you could decide not to get up until you’ve written at least 1000 words.  Hit your target no matter what.
7. Timeboxing.  Give yourself a fixed time period, like 30 minutes, to make a dent in a task.  Don’t worry about how far you get.  Just put in the time.  See Timeboxing for more.
8. Batching.  Batch similar tasks like phone calls or errands into a single chunk, and knock them off in a single session.
9. Early bird.  Get up early in the morning, like at 5am, and go straight to work on your most important task.  You can often get more done before 8am than most people do in a day.
10. Cone of silence.  Take a laptop with no network or WiFi access, and go to a place where you can work flat out without distractions, such as a library, park, coffee house, or your own backyard.  Leave your comm gadgets behind.
11. Tempo.  Deliberately pick up the pace, and try to move a little faster than usual.  Speak faster.  Walk faster.  Type faster.  Read faster.  Go home sooner.
12. Relaxify.  Reduce stress by cultivating a relaxing, clutter-free workspace.  See 10 Ways to Relaxify Your Workspace.
13. Agendas.  Provide clear written agendas to meeting participants in advance.  This greatly improves meeting focus and efficiency.  You can use it for phone calls too.
14. Pareto.  The Pareto principle is the 80-20 rule, which states that 80% of the value of a task comes from 20% of the effort.  Focus your energy on that critical 20%, and don’t overengineer the non-critical 80%.
15. Ready-fire-aim.  Bust procrastination by taking action immediately after setting a goal, even if the action isn’t perfectly planned.  You can always adjust course along the way.
16. Minuteman.  Once you have the information you need to make a decision, start a timer and give yourself just 60 seconds to make the actual decision.  Take a whole minute to vacillate and second-guess yourself all you want, but come out the other end with a clear choice.  Once your decision is made, take some kind of action to set it in motion.
17. Deadline.  Set a deadline for task completion, and use it as a focal point to stay on track.
18. Promise.  Tell others of your commitments, since they’ll help hold you accountable.
19. Punctuality.  Whatever it takes, show up on time.  Arrive early.
20. Gap reading.  Use reading to fill in those odd periods like waiting for an appointment, standing in line, or while the coffee is brewing.  If you’re a male, you can even read an article while shaving (preferably with an electric razor).  That’s 365 articles a year.
21. Resonance.  Visualize your goal as already accomplished.  Put yourself into a state of actually being there.  Make it real in your mind, and you’ll soon see it in your reality.
22. Glittering prizes.  Give yourself frequent rewards for achievement.  See a movie, book a professional massage, or spend a day at an amusement park.
23. Quad 2.  Separate the truly important tasks from the merely urgent.  Allocate blocks of time to work on the critical Quadrant 2 tasks, those which are important but rarely urgent, such as physical exercise, writing a book, and finding a relationship partner.
24. Continuum.  At the end of your workday, identify the first task you’ll work on the next day, and set out the materials in advance.  The next day begin working on that task immediately.
25. Slice and dice.  Break complex projects into smaller, well-defined tasks.  Focus on completing just one of those tasks.
26. Single-handling.  Once you begin a task, stick with it until it’s 100% complete.  Don’t switch tasks in the middle.  When distractions come up, jot them down to be dealt with later.
27. Randomize.  Pick a totally random piece of a larger project, and complete it.  Pay one random bill.  Make one phone call.  Write page 42 of your book.
28. Insanely bad.  Defeat perfectionism by completing your task in an intentionally terrible fashion, knowing you need never share the results with anyone.  Write a blog post about the taste of salt, design a hideously dysfunctional web site, or create a business plan that guarantees a first-year bankruptcy.  With a truly horrendous first draft, there’s nowhere to go but up.
29. 30 days.  Identify a new habit you’d like to form, and commit to sticking with it for just 30 days.  A temporary commitment is much easier to keep than a permanent one.  See 30 Days to Success for details.
30. Delegate.  Convince someone else to do it for you.
31. Cross-pollination.  Sign up for martial arts, start a blog, or join an improv group.  You’ll often encounter ideas in one field that can boost your performance in another.
32. Intuition.  Go with your gut instinct.  It’s probably right.
33. Optimization.  Identify the processes you use most often, and write them down step-by-step.  Refactor them on paper for greater efficiency.  Then implement and test your improved processes.  Sometimes we just can’t see what’s right in front of us until we examine it under a microscope.

           Steve Pavlina inspire me

Despre lacrimi

Cea mai ucigatoare otrava este lacrima pura.

Lacrima este testamentul unui indragostit.

Am descoperit secretul nemuririi inghitindu-mi lacrimile.

Lacrimile sufletului sunt invelite intr-un ambalaj de cuvinte.

Desertul nu poate inverzi cu o singura lacrima.

In fiecare ochi de apa statuta este captiva o lacrima vie.

Traiesc in lacrima unui univers aflat in lacrima unui univers si mai mare.

Lacrima mortis – ce doare mai tare ca lipsa durerii…, doi ochi se bat pe o lacrima ramasa neplinsa.

Ionut Caragea inspire me