Category: Think For Yourself

Why Mainstream Thinking Gives You Mainstream Results

Published on by Janet
“Time to Think Outside the Box”

Avoid mainstream thinking.

That is, if you want a happy life and to get what you want.

Rise above it.

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. 

If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. 

But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher, poet, composer 1844 – 1900)

It’s  Time to Think for Ourselves

Many people believe the masses are correct i.e. mainstream thinking. “If everyone is doing it, it must be okay.” Wrong. Mainstream thought is filled with potholes. It is mostly the media, the government and our friends who tell us what to think. We no longer think for ourselves and that should trouble us.  Does this mean many people have become robotic? Do you hang out with the latest topic of the media? It’s likely all our beliefs are being manipulated. What about you? What do you think?

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated

than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” 

~~ Thomas Jefferson (Third US President and principal author of US Declaration of Independence 1743 – 1826)

I saw a well-written article a year ago about mainstream thinking on the site www.dailyreckoning.com and thought it explained the concept well. A site intended for investors, but the article applies to life in general. Although the article is a year old, it still applies today. In fact unfortunately for us, this article applies to the last several hundred years and will continue to unless we change. Here is an excerpt.

 Successful Investing in a Market Dominated by Groupthink

By Eric Fry

09/09/10 Laguna Beach, California – Mainstream thinking tends to produce mainstream results. The outliers of human behavior and consequence – for better or for worse – tend to reside outside of the mainstream…out on the thin tails of the probability curve.

Out on those distant tails, you might find the creative genius of a Bill Gates or a Thomas Edison…or of that Chinese guy who invented gunpowder. On the other side of the curve, you might find the incomprehensible perspective of a Pol Pot or a Hernando Cortes…or of that woman who underwent 31 operations over 14 years so that she could look like “Barbie.”

Then, occasionally, you find those individuals like Vincent van Gogh who were so idiosyncratic that you can’t really say which thin tail they would occupy.

But, by definition, most of us live our lives where most of us live our lives – i.e., somewhere near the mainstream. That’s mostly a good thing. It is safe, comfortable, and conducive to a lengthy and well socialized existence. Out on the Serengeti, for example, the “outliers” usually become lunch…or if they’re lucky, dinner, a little later in the day.

But mainstream thinking and mainstream behavior also possesses a very dark side. It lacks insight. It shuns self-examination. It repels intellectual honesty and creativity. Mainstream thinking, therefore, can sometimes nurture more detritus than a petri dish; more dysfunction than a sanitarium. In Ages past, mainstream thinking has nurtured idiocies as innocuous as the periwig or as horrific as the virgin sacrifice.”

It requires courage to think for yourself; to be an independent thinker. But it delivers the richest rewards. Deep down most people are concerned about encountering disapproval from those around them, becoming ‘lunch’ on the Serengeti for the mainstream thinkers; people who tow the line.

How to Be an Independent Thinker and Not Become ‘Lunch’ Continue reading “Why Mainstream Thinking Gives You Mainstream Results” →

Why it’s a Trap for You to Tow the Line

Published on by Janet

If you want to live a happy life, stop towing the line.

This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Part 1 Do You Think for Yourself? introduced you to the unwritten rules of society and suggested that you probably follow them without realizing it. Towing the line gives you the illusion of a happy life but deep down you feel robbed.

“The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself.”

~~ Rita Mae Brown (American Writer b. 1944)

This article is a little different to my others in that while it tells you how to become greater, it also delivers to  you the stark reality of towing the line i.e. the downsides… and it is a downward spiral. By reading it I am hoping you will be motivated to take action, to step forward and courageously push aside those rules. To be free to live the happy life of your choosing.

The Hazards of Towing the Line …The 10 Steps to Hitting Rock Bottom in Your Life

Do you recognize this pattern, this downward spiral? (Some parts may seem tinged with sarcasm – that is not the intention. It is however the truth.)

  1. At first, you’ll feel honorable. Initially, this is what you feel by conforming. It’s your (short-term) reward for doing so.
  2. Then you’ll feel accepted as people appear to warm to you and praise you for being such a good person. Praise is a deep need for most people and it makes you believe you’re an essential part of the group, the tribe.
  3. You’ll feel safe, loved and secure because you think the tribe will protect you. You consider yourself to be doing the ‘right thing’ since you’ve made a good impression. Note: Unbeknownst to you, this is the last time you will feel good. At this point you start on the never-ending downward cycle.
  4. It starts to dawn on you that the love and protection you receive is conditional and to keep it you must keep following the rules – you must keep towing the line. Fact: the love and protection are conditional; you subconsciously know this and that there are consequences if you stray. This is where my book Just Like That! comes in. It explains that while there are certainly consequences if you stop towing the line, they pass quickly if Continue reading “Why it’s a Trap for You to Tow the Line” →

Do You Think for Yourself? Here’s How to Start

Published on by Janet

Are you free to do what you want?

Or do you do what is expected of you?

You’ll probably find that without even knowing it, you follow ‘the rules’ and conform.

Obviously if you’re paid to do a job, do it.

For this purpose we’re talking about mindlessly following the unwritten rules of society; things you’ve never agreed to and you’re not paid to do.

If you have never contemplated this, then it’s likely you’ve fallen into line whether or not it’s for your benefit. Just by reading this paragraph however, you may have a lightning bolt moment; a sudden awareness about how you’re living your life.

To have confidence and a happy life, you ought to think for yourself.

“Gonna change my way of thinking, make my self a different set of rules.

Gonna put my good foot forward and stop being influenced by fools.”

Bob Dylan (American singer-songwriter and musician b. 1941)

If this Idea Pushes a Button Look Closer

This can be a touchy subject because we all like to think we’re independent thinkers, but we can’t escape the truth.

If you didn’t have a lightning bolt moment, ask yourself if this topic pushes a button for you. Does it make you uncomfortable, even a little?

If an idea pushes a button it means it applies to you in some way whether you hide from it or not.

Towing the line takes us away from what we want in life. But most people are doing it so let’s face it and acknowledge at least that you now know.

Now we can take action to liberate you and deliver to you that happy life instead.

Since I’ve had the luxury of learning I’m ‘free to be me’ and every day actively choose to be that, I’ve felt my heart soar, I’ve had a beautiful sense of liberation, confidence and I wake up even happier, with an even greater can-do attitude.

The Results Are In – You Are Free to Be You

Unfortunately, until we’re reminded that we’re free (to be whoever and whatever we want to be), we continue towing the line, doing what we think impresses others and keep trying to make ourselves more acceptable or more significant in the eyes of others.

We seldom do anything that contradicts what’s expected of us, for fear of losing the love and approval of others.

We robotically follow the rules of society – subconscious rules we’ve been indoctrinated to follow since childhood.

The rules determine what is deemed good behavior, and what isn’t.

We unconsciously know ‘good’ from ‘bad’ and we stick to being ‘good’.

Our daily life involves striving to be a glowing example of what is seen as living an ‘impressive life’.

The consequence? Continue reading “Do You Think for Yourself? Here’s How to Start” →

Are You Ready to Be Well? Get Breakthrough Healing with Alternative Health Medicine

Published on by Janet2 Comments

You decide your own health. Do you accept what your doctor tells you? Would you accept without question the diagnosis of a ‘terminal’ illness or even a common ailment such as eczema, asthma?

Would you rather turn your back on illness and bounce into radiant health? If so, there’s good news. Alternative health medicine gives you choice. Every day there are more major breakthroughs in alternative health medicine. If you have an open mind, you give yourself a gift of greater possibilities and solutions… there are numerous compelling alternatives if you’re willing to look.

To give you an insight to what is already possible, even for those supposedly ‘impossible’ diseases see an extract below from my book Just Like That ! How to Get Anything You Want[i]

“Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it.  I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.”

Charles F. Kettering

(American engineer and inventor of the electric starter motor, who held

140 patents and owned the company Delco, later sold to General Motors,1876–1958)

   Anything Is Possible – Even Healing Yourself

For some, the illness may be genetic, but contrary to popular opinion, these illnesses can also be healed through our thoughts. The label ‘genetic’ can seem huge and insurmountable, but do yourself a favour and imagine the disease as small and insignificant, but totally curable. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Give your fabulous brain every opportunity to heal you.

You already have the best answer in you, but keep in mind that new solutions are continually becoming available – never give up the search. Consider the emergence of neuroplasticity; the discovery that the brain can change itself. This impressive discovery reignited the hopes of millions of people affected by cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, dyslexia, schizophrenia and many other neurological issues; the list goes on. One of the best aspects is that many of the radical improvements are achieved through the mind, eliminating the need for operations or medication.

Additionally, neuroplasticity has demonstrated our ability to turn genes on and off through our thinking. Continue reading “Are You Ready to Be Well? Get Breakthrough Healing with Alternative Health Medicine” →

The 5 Hazards of Obsessing About the Past

Published on by Janet

One of your life purposes is to conquer the habit of living in the past.

That’s if you want a happier life, a life where you get what you want.

Living in the past is a strong addiction – most of us live in the past and probably always will.

But that’s no excuse to give up trying to live in the moment.

Every step brings rich rewards. Live in the past as little as possible and constantly conquer the temptation to hang out there.

“We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.”

Stephen Covey (b.1932, Author The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)

 To help you get what you want, this is Part 2 of a 4-Part series – Why Being in the Moment Gets You What You Want

In Part 1 you learned the 10 Magic Reasons Living in the Moment Gets You What You Want

Quick review: How do you know if you are present in ‘the now’, in the moment? If you are aware of your thoughts and any emotions, then you are present and in the moment.

The 5 Hazards of Obsessing About the Past

  1. If you’re in the past it’s a challenge to create an amazing life. You’re stuck, you can’t think in new ways nor can you create a new dream or goal. You can only recycle old ones and yep, they’re now boring.
  2. If you regret your past or can’t forgive others you recycle pain and sadness, preventing you from using it to gain valuable wisdom and create a different and special new future. When you are present and in ‘the now’ there is no regret and blame is absent.
  3. If you’re in the past you’re more likely to be ill. You created illness in days gone by – in the past, and to experience it you must still be living in the past. In the past you’ll also hang onto unhelpful emotion and limiting attitudes and that brings in dis-ease, because the body can only follow what the brain is thinking i.e. if you think ‘hate’ then the body will align with hate, and therefore become it.
  4. You are fearful in the past – the body’s main focus is survival. When you are in the past, your body controls you and it endeavors to keep life the same, be overly-cautious and shun new ideas as being too dangerous. A mindset of survival is closed, limited and doesn’t think for itself – it follows the masses and feels there is safety in the masses (not true). You do not think for yourself in the past; you lose awareness. When you’re in the past there is a fear that what you think may be proved wrong and you’re uncertain about new ways of thinking. You become confused. It is only when you are present, in the NOW that you are confident, self-assured and open-minded. Continue reading “The 5 Hazards of Obsessing About the Past” →