The Pacific Institute’s Post

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! Looking Back, Driving Forward In these weekly messages, you have read about the need for purposefully setting goals for ourselves, in order to unlock the energy and creativity inside each of us. When we set a goal, we cause a “gap” for ourselves – between the way things are and the way we want them to be. It is in our nature to want to close that gap. Keep in mind that the primary job of our creative subconscious mind is to keep us like we know we are. Setting a goal changes how we “know we are.” We must close the gap to maintain our sanity. In order to close that gap, to make the outside picture match the inside picture of who we know we are, our creative subconscious turns on enough energy and creativity to make it happen. We either get drive and ideas to move toward what we want in the future, or ideas and drive to stay where we are. Herein lies the danger of spending too much time looking back at the past. We’ve talked before about how human beings are picture oriented. Here’s the catch: we move toward the strongest picture. Our natural tendency is to maintain our current idea (picture) of who we are. In order to change, we need to make that future picture (goal) stronger and more attractive than the one that shows us staying put. By constantly reminding ourselves of our past, we lock onto the old picture and lose the drive to move forward.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Giving Up on Perfect Perfectionists often claim that their relentless standards drive them to higher levels of productivity and excellence, but this is often the opposite. They often accomplish less due to the fear of failure and waste time paralyzed by fear. High-performance people, on the other hand, keep their vision of the end-result in their minds and forge ahead, believing they will find the help they need and figure out the how-to's as they go. They are resilient, persistent, stay on target, and have confidence in their ability to see it through. They believe that there is no perfect book, movie, piece of music, or life, and the best we can hope for is moments of perfection that quickly vanish from our perception. It may be time to let go of the dream of unattainable perfection and focus on working on and growing towards higher performance, at whatever we decide deserves our focus.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! What's Next for You? In order to move ahead, to reach goals that we have set for ourselves, we need to make the future picture of what we want more inviting, more attractive, more necessary than staying in our current reality. This is easier than it sounds, because of two things innate in human beings. We have the ability to use “forethought” – looking forward – and to use our imaginations. In other words, we can look ahead and dream of a future. As far as we know today, no other creature on earth has these two abilities. Another asset we have is the ability to use different words, to create different pictures, which bring on board different emotions. The word “change” can be off-putting, as we see more risk than reward. It’s much easier to stay as we are. But if we use the word “growth” instead, that allows us to see the benefit of adjusting our attitude, and creates a “want to” emotion within us. It’s easier to see value in growth, than it is in change. When we set a goal (which is all about growth), and create that gap we mentioned yesterday, energy and creativity are unleashed in our minds. Those dreams of the future cause ideas and drive to close the gap – and we are tremendously creative creatures! We can dream of just about anything, and make those dreams reality.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! No Time Like the Present If you follow your current direction, where will you be in a year? In five years? In ten? And is that where you really want to go? This is a very important question, and to get the maximum benefit, you need to be honest with yourself. And whether it’s the new year, or any other month of the year, there is no time like the present to discover your answers. Someone once said that the best way to predict the future is to get a very clear idea of what is happening now. As scary and intimidating as this might sound, we need to do the same thing in our lives if we are not happy with where we are, at the moment. If you ask yourself this “where am I going” question and you don't like the answers you are coming up with, it is important to realize that you have the power to alter your direction. You can start to do it today. In fact, you can do it this very minute, if you really want to. All that is required is that you choose to grow in a new direction, with all your heart. Fix the vision, the picture of what you want and where you want to be, and then follow through on that commitment with appropriate actions, one day at a time. You have the courage and the strength, the perseverance and the resilience, because you’ve already been brave enough to ask the question. You don't need to know exactly where you are going with pin-point accuracy, or precisely how you will get there. You will want to keep a bit of flexibility to handle any curve balls that come your way. But you do want to have a good sense of when you are moving in the right direction. And how do you know when that is happening? Slow down, take time to reflect, and ask yourself, “Does this feel right?” Then listen for the answer, and make any necessary corrections as soon as possible. Gather your courage and answer the question. Where do you want to go?

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! The Value in Being Responsible Responsibility is a crucial aspect of life that goes hand in hand with confidence and the feeling of being in control of one's own life. It involves making rational or moral decisions on one's own, being answerable to others for their behavior, and being trustworthy and dependable. Being responsible means that we are fully matured adults and can choose our response to life's events, rather than reacting by habit or reflex. This attitude is reflected in our behaviors towards friends, family, clients, and customers in our community. Feeling responsible is essential for living up to our potential, enjoying satisfying relationships, and living happy, fulfilling lives. To teach our children to be responsible, we should be responsible ourselves, explain the benefits of responsibility to them, and gradually increase responsibilities as they grow older. Praise their efforts and let them know that you see them as responsible, and watch them grow into it. By doing so, we can help our children live up to their potential and enjoy satisfying relationships with others.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's the weekly message if you missed the email: Make Life Worth Living Life is worth living if you can change your attitude towards it. Every day, we face situations that we didn't plan for but still need to succeed at. We have choices to face them with a positive, can-do attitude or give in to adversity. We have choices that reverberate through our lives, families, co-workers, and communities. The kind of life we have is a choice we make every single day, and success in our work is a choice we make every day with every project, large or small. Change is a constant in the universe and our lives. How do we deal with change? Do we face forward and keep our eyes on our goals, or do we get caught up in the negative and turn away? This choice is yours to make, as no one can make it for you.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's the weekly message if you missed the email: Do I Want to be Right or Happy? The question of whether one would rather be right or happy is a complex one that can have many answers. Some people sacrifice time and effort to be correct, believing that making others wrong is the way to be right. This can lead to feelings of dislike and undermine teamwork. Those who need to be right also avoid taking risks, and limiting creativity and ingenuity. On the other hand, those who would rather be happy don't care much about their intelligence and recognize that everyone is on a learning curve. They understand that the best way to help each other grow is to stop competing and start cooperating. Life is about helping each other see and understand each other, and working with someone towards a goal can lead to greater happiness. Each person has the choice to decide how they spend their energies and whether they are willing to give and accept help. They can choose whether they are going to be right or happy, and sometimes they can do both. However, if they had to choose just one, which would it be?

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! The Road to Achievement We can take our “wants” and turn them into meaningful, attainable goals. We are going to define our starting point and our end-point, in order to create the path to goal achievement. It is important to understand the difference between “want to” and “do.” “Wants” set up the “do’s” in your life, and your goals will need to be written to reflect the “do.” So, if your goal is to spend time with each of your sisters or brothers, you would write your goal statement like this: “I spend quality time with each of my brothers and sisters. I make sure they all know how important they are to me.” Suppose that you are a parent, trying to balance work, home, and family. It is a difficult road to travel, one filled with many choices. You want to spend as much time with your family as possible, but you have to work in order to provide a roof over their head and food on the table. Guilt kicks in as you attempt to do it all. Now, thinking of work as a “have to” causes additional stress, which can shadow your work and home time. To remove the “have to” from work would help a lot, so your goal statement would be written as, “I love the work I do, because it affords me what I need to spend time with my kids.” One final tip: When you write out your “wants” and goals, make sure you write them in the present tense – the future as now. Take out the “going to” and replace it with “I am.” You are seeing your future as if it has already happened, creating that gap we talked about earlier. The gap is important; without it, there is no energy to grow.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's the weekly message if you missed the email: What Do We Really Need? The distinction between needs and wants is often blurred, as we may focus on pressing "needs" such as a promotion or a certain social status. This can lead to tension and stress, as we feel pressured to meet these needs without achieving them. However, if we shift our thinking from a need to a preference, we can find a more positive way to experience life. For example, if we want fame, we may find that the world will continue to spin without it. Similarly, if we want to be recognized in our current job, we may find that this desire can be met through volunteer work. In order to understand the difference between wants and needs, it is essential to be honest with ourselves and find the truth behind our needs. This shift can significantly change how we experience life and may be worth trying.

Join The Pacific Institute's Winner's Circle Network: https://lnkd.in/edPEwf6G Here's this week's message! The Key to the World of Success The Pacific Institute has been studying success since 1971, studying the difference between the cans and can-nots, the do's and do-nots, and the secret of success. The Institute has learned from some of the most successful people in the world and has spent time with respected research psychologists. The secret of success is "Attitude." People who succeed do not have fewer problems, better parents, or more money, but they often start with a dream and a will to make it a reality. They have a way of seeing obstacles as possibilities and making the most of every opportunity, almost guaranteeing success. When facing unexpected challenges, it might be helpful to check your attitude. Ask yourself if you are getting in your own way because of your outlook. By changing your attitude, you can change your perspective on what you perceive and what your senses tell you. This can lead to different outcomes and open up a whole, previously unseen world.