When Is the Sky NOT Falling?

"Like" Future You University on Facebook!

 

 

It's been a couple of weeks now but the most recent example of this "craziness" was exemplified with hurricane Isaac. Most people across the U.S. experienced big hikes in gas prices because of this mentality. Prices jumped 12 cents per gallon in one location we passed all in the matter of two hours. Really? Was this necessary?

 

I made sure watched the news that night so I could see what the "reason" was behind this "sky is falling" activity and everything I heard confirmed that, indeed, it was all hysteria over things that didn't amount to much. Hurricane Isaac never reached anything above a level 1 category yet the hysteria was as if it were a level 4 storm! The refineries had shut down in some areas along the Gulf Coast during the storm and this drove the thought that there might be gas shortages. The interesting thing was that the reports also indicated that this area only provided about 22% of the U.S. gas supply.

 

Think about it... only 22% and the hysteria at the pump as almost as high as it was back on September 11,2001 when the Twin Towers were hit in a terrorist attack.

 

My point? DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE!

 

News is driven by hype, hysteria, fear and drama!

 

Now here's the BIG question for you to consider...does this also describe what drives YOUR life?

 

I hope not! It's easy to get caught up in this type of drama even on a daily basis and that is why is is so important for us to surround ourselves with positive people as much as possible! Yes, I understand that this is not always possible but that is why it is even more important to do so when we can!

 

The more we can surround ourselves with POSITIVE influences the more it will help "protect" us from the hysteria, drama and fear that comes with this "sky is falling" attitude.

 

Gas prices? I still hear on an almost daily basis how different "experts" are predicting gas to be at one high price or another. You know what? I've been hearing it for a long time and it has yet to come to be - and I do mean YEARS when I say "for a long time".

 

It's your choice but, honestly, there are better ways to get in shape rather than constantly JUMPING to conclusions and RUNNING AROUND like a chicken with it's head cut off yelling, "THE SKY IS FALLING!".

 

Think about it and, as you do, be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

G.I.G.O.

 

This is "THANKFUL THURSDAY"...express all for which YOU have to be thankful!

How many of you have ever watched the show "Hoarders"? And, if you have, how many of you have watched in utter disgust and disbelief that ANYONE could live that way?

Yet, how many of us DO live this way when it comes to the "garbage" that we allow into our lives and the lives of those around us - yes, especially our children? Friend, whether you realize it or not, we ALL probably allow more trash/garbage into our minds and lives than we want to admit or even realize.

G.I.G.O. = "garbage in/garbage out". This is a phrase used to describe the need for accuracy in computer programming. A computer is only as "smart" and as "accurate" as the information that is programmed into it in the first place. (Hey, listen - I'm not a computer geek so don't get upset if I word something incorrectly, o.k.? Thank you!).

Maybe even envision it this way: If you put gasoline into your car that is contaminated with either water or even bits of trash, then your car - no matter what the cost or what size the engine - will not run very well. G.I.G.O.

Do you find yourself to be in a negative mood much of the time? Perhaps it's time to do a "check up from the neck up". Maybe it's time to really take a look at what kind of information we are allowing into our mind and, as a result, our mindset. Positive mindset or negative mindset?

It's SOOOO easy for us to get careless and not pay much attention to what we allow in our minds. It's easy to let down our guard and even justify allowing a "little bit" of trash to slip in. Hey friend, it only takes a "little bit" of trash to bring ANY machine down not to mention how a "little bit" of trash/unhealthy foods each day adds up to MAJOR problems with our physical bodies as well as the impact on our brains.

As one guy said in a movie, "And that's a fact, Jack!"

What do you read? What do you watch on t.v. and how MUCH of it do you watch? What do you listen to on the radio or via mp3 players, etc.? Who do you listen to on a daily basis by spending time with them? What do you say to YOURSELF (self-talk)?

All of these are areas that we MUST pay close attention to IF we are really serious about performing at our best. It all starts in the mind and with our mindset.

What are YOU "putting in/allowing in" and what are you getting out? Don't expect excellence out of garbage. IT JUST WON'T HAPPEN!

Hopefully this blog as well as the podcast is a help for you in this area. Take advantage of this material as well as others that offer such positive information and see what happens in your life.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow for another powerful and positive message. Until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Your Information - YOUR Choice!

"Your Information - YOUR Choice!

That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? It's YOUR choice!

No one else can control that for you. If you are an adult, there is likely not anyone telling you when you've watched enough television and that it is time to turn it off. It's up to you.

Sure, you may want to stay "informed" on what is going on in the world but, seriously, how MUCH information do your really need to stay informed about what is really important?

Do you REALLY have to know about every little thing that is going on all around the world? With the use of cell phone video cameras and other items we now have INSTANT ACCESS to happenings all around the world.

Is that really necessary? Is it really helpful?

Many of you may not remember what I'm about to discuss and some of you may find it even unbelievable. But I remember a time when there was cable channels didn't even exist and all you had were the three major networks. That's it. Three channels to choose from. And, if I remember right, at midnight they all shut down for the night.

My wife and I were discussing this just the other day about how at midnight there would be a certain design on the screen or the American flag would be shown waving in the wind as the National Anthem was played.

And then, that was it for the night.

And, I wonder, have we really improved our lives by having 100+ channels available to us (and our kids) on a 24 hour basis?

Informational overload.

It is likely more important than ever for each of us (especially as parents) to take control of the information that we allow into our households and into our minds and the minds of those that share our home with us.

If you haven't done so, be sure to read Tanya's comments on the blog a couple of days ago. She makes some very good observations that likely many of you can relate to.

So...what will you do about it?

Is it important enough to you for you to do something about it?

Stop watching t.v. all together? Some do. It might be worth a try even for a day and then two days and then a week.

See what happens.

But also stay away from the news on the radio as well as talk shows (unless they are POSITIVE!) and even try to stay off the computer as much as possible.

Try that and see how you feel and see how much more clearly you may be able to think.

REPLACE the negative with something POSITIVE! If you aren't in the habit of listening to my podcast that goes along with this blog, be sure to give it a try. You can subscribe to the iTunes feed as well as the RSS feed by clicking on the "videocast" tab on my website and then clicking either the iTunes logo or the RSS feed logo.

Just go to http://www.michaelspillman.com/

There is a lot more positive information out there - find it and use it! One that I've mentioned many times is Success.com. You can read a LOT of FREE information there. Also, look through my tabs on my site and check out the Jim Rohn link that I have available for you there. He is my favorite and has some AWESOME thoughts that have made a major impact on my life.

Hey, you don't have to do ANY of this.

But, my guess is that you wouldn't be reading this blog if you weren't on a mission to try to improve your positive mindset.

Remember, it's YOUR choice.

As always, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

http://www.michaelspillman.com/

Information Overload

"INFORMATION OVERLOAD"

How much "information" is TOO much and what "information" is actually USEFUL information?

These are but a few of the questions that we all really need to be asking ourselves IF we are serious about controlling what we allow into our "mental mindset".

Why? Again, referring back to the old computer acrostic "G.I.G.O." = "Garbage In, Garbage Out". What you ALLOW in to your mental mindset will be what "comes out" in your thoughts and actions.

If that doesn't sober you up a little bit I'm not sure what will.

I emphasized the word, "ALLOW" two paragraphs earlier for a reason. Let's face it, we're not being FORCED as to what information goes into our heads, are we? Likely not. So, again getting honest with ourselves, we ALLOW this into our minds.

Did you go through your programming guide to see how much "news programming" is on during the course of a day on YOUR television channels? Again, I'm not even talking about the cable "news" channels that are on 24 hours a day but your "local" channels like NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox (no, not the Fox News Network).

Here's what I found when I researched my programming guide:

The local affiliates for NBC and ABC each have a total of 10 hours of "news programming" on as a combination of national and local programming. The CBS affiliate has 9.5 hours available and the local affiliate for the Fox channel only has 4 hours of local news programming. I also found that the local NBC affiliate begins this type of programming at 4:30 a.m. and continues it off and on throughout the day until 10:30 p.m. The ABC affiliate begins this type of programming at 2:30 a.m. and continues on and off until 10:30 p.m. (even though it just hit me that they do also have a national "news" program from 11:00 - 11:30 p.m. which brings them up to the same 10 hours a day as the other two that I mentioned.

I live in Arkansas which is a very small state. However, our local affiliates feel that there is some sort of need for those of us in the state to be inundated with MASSIVE amounts of local news available to us all throughout the day. Really?

Listen friend, I'm here to tell you that there is NOT enough "news" going on in this small state to justify the local NBC affiliate airing a local "news program" from 5:00 - 7:00 a.m. as well as from noon - 1:00 p.m. and then again from 5:00 - 5:30, 6:00 - 6:30, 7:00 - 7:30 and again from 10:00 - 10:30 p.m. Too, the local ABC affiliate offers similar local programming from 4:30 - 7:00 a.m., 9:00 - 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m. - Noon, 5:00 - 5:30 p.m., 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. and 10:00 - 10:30 p.m. Let's not forget the local CBS affiliate that offers the same type of "programming" beginning at 4:30 - 7:00 a.m. and then provides more from 9:00 - 9:30 a.m., Noon - 12:30 p.m., 5:00 - 5:30 p.m., 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. and again at 10:00 - 10:30 p.m.

Whew! That makes me tired just typing all of that!

My friend, this is INFORMATION OVERLOAD and I didn't even address the national "news programs" that are on off and on all day and night. And, yes, I put the words "news programs" in quotes for a reason and I will address that in the next podcast/article.

Remember, too, that we haven't even began to mention the so-called cable "news channels" that are on 24 hours a day.

HELP!

So, friend, what are you allowing in YOUR mind? What are you allowing to make a definite IMPACT upon your life and the lives of all that you have contact with on a daily basis? Remember the "ripple effect"?

Think about it - with the television turned off for a change and we'll continue this discussion tomorrow.

Until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

www.MichaelSpillman.com