I have a feeling, I'm way to active on this forum. Please tell me to keep quiet if I'm getting to be a nuisance.

I'm reading 'Secrets of the Universe' (http://www.bthompson.net/quotationlinks/secretsofuniverse.pdf ), and the first secret immediately is a secret to me.

What is meant with:"The way to direct the world is through your imagination and will. Exercising your will strengthens it. You can exercise it by doing something unpleasant until it becomes pleasant."

Should I do stuff I don't like on purpose and 'learn to like it'?
If so, why?

I changed the url of the file to see if there was more. And I stumbled upon this awesome list of free books: http://www.bthompson.net/quota...nks/free_ebooks.html

Thanks! Life is great isn't it?

Good God girl, you're just 13 posts in and you already feel like a nuisance?! Have you seen the Awesome and Mind-Blowingly Wonderful Contributors? They get those titles because they contribute a lot, so don't hold back.

(Unless, of course, there's a forum dungeon where all the 'Nuisance' Contributors are tossed. Ask Rebecca, just to be sure. )

To answer your question, I think you'd be better off sticking to SOGR. And there's nothing there about FORCING yourself to do things.

Gorgeous avatar, btw.

Thanks for your quick reply.
(maybe we are actually in the forum dungeon, and nobody told us. )
Yes, I found the forcing bit weird to. I thought, this was kind of an excerpt from SOGR.
So reading it would technically be sticking to SOGR.

I like your avatar to. My Avatar was magically shrunken by somebody. Whoever it was, thank you for that. I was going to shrink it, and there it was, allready made to measure.

quote:

Originally posted by Liesbeth:
Should I do stuff I don't like on purpose and 'learn to like it'?
If so, why?

Just a kind of ‘side note.’

I agree that you shouldn’t ‘force’ yourself to do things, generally speaking. But what about the times when you really know there is something you could do that would be really good for you, but you don’t feel like doing it?

I believe you still shouldn’t force yourself to do it, but I also have found that a little self query as to ‘why’ you don’t want to do something good for you is helpful.

For instance,… suppose you want to be in great shape, but when you think of something you could do (eat better, exercise more, etc.) you ‘feel’ like you’d be ‘forcing’ yourself? What do you do then?

I think the thing to do is find out what you’re believing, that’s making it hard for you to do the good thing. For instance, if you believe that exercise is drudgery, then you’d have to ‘force’ yourself to do it. But it’s not the exercise that makes it drudgery,… it’s what you BELIEVE about exercise that makes it drudgery.

If you could find a way of envisioning exercise as something fun and enjoyable you wouldn’t have to ‘force’ yourself to do it. Instead, you’d be looking FORWARD to doing it. Can this be done? I think so. It seems to be what I’ve done. (I LOVE to exercise!!)

The same idea can be applied to many endeavors. Do you believe you’d be better off with more education, but feel you’d be ‘forcing’ yourself to go back to school, or take some home study course?

Do you believe you’d be better off if you socialized more, or got out more, but hesitate doing so because it feels ‘forced’?

So, what I’m saying is, if something good for you feels ‘forced’ try to see what you’re believing that’s giving you that ‘forced’ feeling, and see if you can find a way to look at the issue that causes you to feel GOOD (excited, fun, at ease, etc.).

Going back to the ‘exercise’ example, what I did was, I started to focus on what it would be like to be in great shape. I started to see myself with a great body, with plenty of energy. I started to imagine how others might react differently (better) to me. (By the way, this fits nicely with SOGR, where it says, “Enter at once into full enjoyment fo the things you want,….”) With these and other uplifting ideas in my head, I’m now excited and happy and thankful and GLAD to be exercising. See?

“Nothing is good or bad but that thinking makes it so.” Wm Shakespeare

In other words, get plenty of the good FEELINGS first, and there won't be any need to 'force' things.

Phil

I don't believe in forcing, even when you are looking for the good in the situation. I am not even sure how you can tell what is good for you. Do you really know? Its Phil's belief that exercise and his appearance will make him feel better. What if we choose to believe otherwise?

quote:

Its Phil's belief that exercise and his appearance will make him feel better. What if we choose to believe otherwise?

Do you mean if YOU believe otherwise about Phil or about yourself?

I used to really dislike going for walks and thought it was sort of a pain whenever someone -- like my friend Alexandra (Dr. Gayek) who is a hiking maniac -- used to drag me off to walk up and down some mountain all day.

(I mean I enjoyed her company and the conversation, but I'd have been happy to experience those things sitting down with a good cup of coffee. )

But then one day I just decided to change my mind about it because I thought I might feel better and even be healthier if I were to get into the walking habit. So I just started getting up and going. In a way, I was "forcing" myself to do it, but in another way it was just a new choice I'd made and so my self-talk was all about how smart I was being and how it gave me time to think clearly and so on.

Now I feel "off" on days when I don't go out and walk at least a few miles. Now I really enjoy it, and I do feel stronger, healthier, and all that good stuff, too.

I even read a fascinating book last week about how walking is fantastic for problem-solving, creativity, clarity and so on because it's bilateral, using both sides of your body as you move your legs and swing the opposite arms, stimulating both sides of your brain. Who knew? (Well, a lot of great thinkers and creators from the past, that's who!)

Anyway, I also just did a 15-day juice fast last month, something I'd never considered before. I just wanted to see how that would feel and because I heard others who had done it talking about improved mental clarity during their fasts. And now I'm a juicing fan. I liked it (although it was weird not eating solid food at first). In the past I could have found making that change truly difficult, but NOW it was easy. And it was all because of choosing a different attitude.

So, to me, this business of "forcing" is all about attitude, and we get to choose that.

How do you know what is good for you? One way is just to try it on for size and see if there's an improvement in something that matters to you.

Thank you guys. This is spot on. I really like benefited from this thread.

Goke.

Yes, I believe that when actions are not motivated by any destructive pressure, they come out positive. The CHOICE to do the thing comes easily, naturally and logically, though the DOING takes some work.

This is self-mastery. It builds you up. It's good for self-respect. And you only do what YOU decide you want to do.

It's like my grandma says: the only freedom there is, is discipline - when you're master of yourself nothing and nobody can be master of you.

Then you're free to grow!

Thank you, now I understand.
I already practiced it with excercize.
I alway hated sports (lost in every sport there is, except for chess), but knew it would be good for me.
So I started doing sports that aren't competiteve. Weight lifting and a bit of running. I want to feel strong and healthy and that makes it easier to go to the gym.

Isn't it great when you don't understand something and other people show you, you allready know?

quote:

What is meant with:"The way to direct the world is through your imagination and will. Exercising your will strengthens it. You can exercise it by doing something unpleasant until it becomes pleasant."

Should I do stuff I don't like on purpose and 'learn to like it'?
If so, why?

Based on your quote here it makes perfect sense to me.

When you find something upleasant, then you can use your wonderful marvelous "imagination" to define what you want. That's the legitimate reason for "unpleasant" things to exist, so you can be clear what you want; then use your "will" to keep imagining.

The unpleasant and the pleasant co-exist - As a matter of fact all things anything exists at the same time. The unpleasant seems to exist right in front of you; and the pleasant exists in your IMAGINATION. It is your power to decide which way to focus your attention on. And what you pay attention to is what you bring to your reality.

Secrets revealed.

Hi, I am new here and have been reading the forums. First of all i love the SOGR. I too have a question about forcing yourself. I forced myself to run 10K, 3 times a week and it felt like hard work at first but now i love it, ive lost several stone and i look and feel healthy, i cant imagine evr not doing it. BUT i am in a job that requires me to "cold call" and make sales. I have been forcing myself to do it for years and i really really hate it. I dont get the level of sales i need because i feel physically sick about doing it and obviously that comes across. Should i keep doing it? Thank you all in advance..

quote:

Originally posted by paq142:
Should i keep doing it? Thank you all in advance..

My short answer would be, uh, NO! NOT IN THAT STATE OF MIND!

I'll let the others give you the longer version

I'm looking forward to reading the long version to.

Hi paq

You're telling yourself to feel bad about your job WHILE telling yourself to do it. Surely cold-calling by itself is challenging enough?

You want to discipline yourself? Find reasons for legitimate gratitude for this job. Cultivate genuine respect for it.

You may come to love and succeed in this job. You may quit and find another. That's for your inspired action to determine. For now, do your job well. Help yourself do this by telling yourself to appreciate it. At least.

quote:

Originally posted by paq142:
BUT i am in a job that requires me to "cold call" and make sales. I have been forcing myself to do it for years and i really really hate it. I dont get the level of sales i need because i feel physically sick about doing it and obviously that comes across. Should i keep doing it? Thank you all in advance..

There are many ways to look at this - Good news for you, so you can choose how to look at it.

First, you may want to look at the layers of beliefs, mostly unconscious, behind all of these actions and emotions.

Do you believe cold call is the only way for sales?
Do you believe working harder will get you the results?
Do you believe if you don't do it now, you might be in trouble?
Do you believe laziness is bad?
Do you believe doing what you really want to do won't bring you money?
...

After you identify your beliefs, you may wan to work with them, play with them - keep, enquire or challenge. You decide. You want to start with the path of least resistance.

Nobody can really tell you what to do; and you certainly don't want anybody to tell you what to do - quit or stay. The whole thing is not on the "doing" or "not doing" level. It's working with your emotions. Where you want to get at is that if you decide to leave the job, what is it that you always want to do that fulfills you that makes you physically feel great and brings you money? If you decide to stay in the job, can you list 10 favorite things about the job you are doing?

If you can't do the job you love, love the job you do!

When that decision is made, SOGR and the course can help you take care of the nitty-gritty. Wattles said (I'm paraphrazing), You don't have to change your job so that you can get rich. You start where you are.

quote:

Originally posted by Liesbeth:
I'm reading 'Secrets of the Universe' (http://www.bthompson.net/quotationlinks/secretsofuniverse.pdf ), and the first secret immediately is a secret to me.

What is meant with:"The way to direct the world is through your imagination and will. Exercising your will strengthens it. You can exercise it by doing something unpleasant until it becomes pleasant."

Should I do stuff I don't like on purpose and 'learn to like it'?
If so, why?

Many year ago, as I was studying ‘how to get rich’ one author (a mega millionaire) made a statement regarding the rich. He said, ‘The rich are willing to do what others are not.” Then he went on to explain what he meant. He didn’t mean the rich are willing to cheat others, or steal or lie, to make money. He meant they are willing to do what may at first be unpleasant. And he gave examples of this.

Over time, I’ve forgotten many of the examples he gave, but I’ve observed people doing exactly what he meant. For example, it’s known that Tiger Woods will practice shots, to perfect them, that others never do, or only do perfunctorily. He not only practices shooting out of sand traps, he practices shooting from behind trees and bushes, or through narrow gaps between trees, or on windy days, to actually observe and notice how the wind plays with the way the ball flies. He would also have his caddy make noises, jangle keys, grunt, cough, etc., so that he could practice his concentration.

It’s almost legend the stories of Michael Jordan, of how he would be the first to arrive at practices, and the last to leave.

Or, there are legendary stories of how Albert Einstein would work his intellect on some problem so much that he would sweat as if he was engaged in a physical workout.

In my occupation, I notice that others will often do tasks perfunctorily, and this leads to mistakes and do-overs. I’m not perfect at this, but I will often take the few more steps or attention required to really make sure a job is done correctly. And, interestingly, I’ve gotten 3 raises without asking for them, and a couple of unexpected bonuses.

Another thing I’ve seen people do, that others would not, is, I’ve seen people leave jobs they didn’t really like, even though it took great effort to do so (like going back to school to get more education, or taking the time to put together a really good resume’ and shop it around, sometimes during lunch hours they’d rather have spent relaxing). More than once I've heard people complain about some job they're in, instead of doing what they could to change or improve it (or their attitude towards it) or find another.

For me, one thing I do that many don’t seem willing to do is, I make my own breakfast, more so than buying whatever they have at the local fast food joints (which I used to routinely do). This way I can make it healthier, and save a bit of money too. Or how about doing chores ahead of time, instead of waiting to the last minute? It seems, these things all add up. At first these kinds of changes are a bit uncomfortable or unpleasant, but they seem to create positive changes that add up over time.

So, one way of looking at this is, be willing to do something unpleasant up front, in order to avoid something more unpleasant later on. That could mean changing your diet, and/or improving your exercise routine. Or it could mean facing relationship challenges instead of ignoring warning signs that indicate things are on shaky ground. Or even taking the time to leave a little early for a meeting to avoid possibly being late due to traffic.

Or, how about the effort of self-examination? Isn’t it true that many will not take the time to really examine their lives, beliefs, feelings and actions? Why? Because, initially, it can be very unpleasant. So, the rich (in more ways than just money) are willing to do what's unpleasant, at least in the beginning.

I think this is what Brad may have meant.

Phil

Thanks Phil!
This I understand. Doing something because it has purpose, I can appreciate.
But I thought he meant I should, for instance, take up watching soccer games and learn to like it. So choosing something I don't like on purpose and learn to like it.

What you mean are the changes I've been making lately (not there yet, still slacking sometimes). Paying bills the moment they get in and filing them immediately. Doing my taxes in advance in stead of the at the last minute.
And as I prefer to do something different, it feels so much better when these things are out of the way and I can do the work I love guilt free.

quote:

Originally posted by Liesbeth:
Thanks Phil!
This I understand. Doing something because it has purpose, I can appreciate.
But I thought he meant I should, for instance, take up watching soccer games and learn to like it. So choosing something I don't like on purpose and learn to like it.

Fyi, I think he may also have meant what you thought he meant. (Of course, I don’t know.) Somewhere I read how, one thing we need to be aware of is our tendency to want to do the same things, even when they’re not fulfilling. And this goes for people who are doing well, are in good health, and making plenty of money.

Maybe you’ve read Rebecca’s post, about rich people who pay a lot of money to be put in life threatening situations.

There is a youtube video of Britney Spears, the mega-millionaire entertainer, doing a really gross ‘Jack Ass Movie’ stunt. (For whatever reason, they edited it out of the movie.)

There’s the billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who tells of putting himself in life threatening situations (like repeatedly going for the world record balloon ride).

I think the idea is, don’t get too complacent. Don’t get too comfortable. Sometimes the best thing to do is what you don’t like to do, or don’t feel comfortable doing. (Have you ever done any public speaking?) I’ve been thinking about doing 10 minutes of stand up comedy. Not that I’m funny, or that I have funny material. I’ve been thinking about doing it, just to experience what I’d feel like, to be up in front of people, and they don’t like me or think I’m funny. I think it might be a good way for me to see how good I am at maintaining a good feeling for myself, when everyone around me thinks I’m an idiot.

Just a thought.

Phil

Now THAT'S funny!