Sometimes it is valuable to
step back and just listen and watch what others are saying and doing. Children learn by observation. Have you ever thought about that
fact? From the moment of
conception to the age of seven years, a child’s world is reinforced, molded and
guided through that power and/or their ability to observe. If more parents only realized the power
that they yield in the shaping of their children’s thoughts, values and various
patterns, I believe they would take to heart more seriously their role in
shaping and forming the future generation of world leaders, thinkers and
creative beings.
The power of observation does
not end at the age of seven—in fact, it only intensifies and becomes stronger
and more profound with age as it is combined with an individuals desire to
awaken to their true purpose. When
we become observers of life, I believe, we learn to see the broader picture of
what is actually going on around us rather than experience a limited view and
focus because our world vision is small and limited.
When I say, become the
observer of life rather than the participant, I mean that it is time for you to
watch at a distance the goings on in the world order—because only in that
moment can you truly and sincerely see the view from the mountain top. And I might add—the view from the
mountaintop enables you to have a broad and expansive view of what is happening
in the largest scheme of life.
There is a direct correlation
between the power of observation and ones ability to learn effectively. I can use myself, as a perfect example
that I hope will allow you to understand what I am pretending to explain. You see, most of my life I have felt
and perceived myself as being over weight. My mother reminded me that I was fat
and needed to wear chubby size clothes.
Always being the heaviest one in my family of 5 other siblings, I have
spend a good deal of my life thinking about how I was going to look and feel
thin. Even today when I go to the
gym and partake in the various group exercise programs, most of the women in the
classes are lean with bodies that I can only hope to dream about and I might
add -- most of them are senior
citizens. But over the years, I
have observed how these women partake in the different exercise programs. Some have had trainers who put them
through tough endurance programs.
Others, I have noticed watch their food intake. If they eat larger portions today, they
cut back drastically tomorrow.
There is always a give and take mechanism in place, which I must admit;
I have not followed most of my life.
I have observed but failed to put those practices into action.
It has only been recently
that I made a conscious decision that if I want to have the body shape that I
have longed to enjoy, I, too, needed to take the appropriate steps to reach my
desired outcome. It has only been
through continually self-talk, discipline and a strong desire to exercise less,
which means that I must also eat less that I have finally been able to reach a
happy medium.
It has been a painful
learning experience for me but one in which I am finally becoming successful
at—and I discovered it through the power of observation.
I bet there is some aspect of
your life where you have been experiencing a tug of war, like myself, so I
commend you to keep pushing
forward. If through the power of
your self-realization and observation that you, too, can win your battle and/or tug of war, I say push forward.
For me it has been all about
learning how to change my behavior in a positive and life altering way. I have had to restrain my taste buds so
that I do not crave sweets and deserts.
I discovered that I needed to create distractions for myself so that I
didn’t fall back into my old patterns.
They say it takes 30 days to change a habit—I certainly do not disagree
but at the same time, I decided that I also needed to re-enforce my new habits
and new goals by implementing a new action plan that would jump start my newly
formed plans.
I also have asked my angel
friends to give me courage, support and newfound inspiration. I must admit they never fail. I know I can count on them to help me
shift gears and keep my sights on the straight and narrow. This is a 24-hour
task!
The power of self-observation
is definitely a skill and I believe an innate gift that we all possess but few
of us utilize. I am sure we all
have a daily personal path that we secretly crave to experience yet few of us
believe that it is within our power to possess. For myself, I am learning a valuable life lesson and that is
exciting. I may never be as thin
or as svelte as some of the women at my gym, but I feel good about how I look
in my clothes, I feel excited about fitting properly into my clothes and I love
the shape of my body. Isn’t that
what really matters? How about
you? What have you observed about
you and your life today that is worth sharing?
Joan Marie Ambrose
Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker
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