Labels

“If someone sticks a label on you, then it’s their loss. You are who you are, and if they can't accept you as that, too bad for them.” - Gayle Nakama

We all label people, and we are all labeled by people, sadly it’s just the way things are done these days. And by labels I don't only mean the obvious ones like nerd, tart, snob, etc. In my personal life I was labeled a boyfriend, then a husband, now I'm a husband and a father, and when I make my wife angry I am labeled things I can't write here… :) In my working life I was labeled a trainee, then a designer/engineer, then a business owner. And in my social life I have been labeled many things, some good, some bad.

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Beliefs

“I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.” - Bertrand Russell

Oh boy, this is a really touchy subject, but one I love to discuss. Did you know that there are over 40 religions in the world? Which one is right? Well, that all depends on who you are talking to. If you are talking to a Christian, obviously Christianity must be right, if you are talking to a Jew, then Judaism must be right, and so on.... and yes, there are extremists who will die to defend their beliefs.

What would happen to society if a discovery was made that proved all religions to be wrong in their teachings? Would us humans be able to cope? You see, all religious beliefs are based on faith, none of us were there to witness what actually happened so we believe what we are told, and the sad thing is, this extends beyond religion. I could start a rumour right now and if I could get enough people to believe it, it wouldn't matter if it was the truth or not.

“If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?” - William Somerset Maugham

The good news is that we can change our beliefs whenever we want to. (In the past we might have been burned on the cross! Isn't it a shame that humans were killed by other humans because their beliefs didn't conform to the norm at the time....) And I'm not only talking about religious beliefs, I'm talking about self beliefs too.

I was raised as a christian and went to an Anglican church, but I never felt comfortable going to an Anglican church, so I started going to a non-denominational church which I really enjoyed for a while. Now I don't go to church at all because there are just some aspects and teachings I feel uncomfortable with. Does this make me a bad person? The sad thing is, you are probably judging me as you read this, doing the exact opposite of what the bible teaches.

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" - Luke 6:37

Enough about religious beliefs, lets get to self beliefs. If I believe I am useless at something, guess what, I will be. It doesn't matter if all my family and friends tell me otherwise, what I believe is what really matters.

“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs.” - Anthony Robbins

Most of our self beliefs come from the way we were raised as children. Fortunately as adults we have the power to believe whatever we want to, the problem is that most of us are unaware of our self beliefs. To find out what our self beliefs are, we need to ask some pretty difficult questions, and even more importantly, answer them honestly!
Do I respect myself?
Does it show in the way I behave?
Does it show in the way I dress?
Does it show in the way I eat & drink?
Do I love myself? (not the arrogant kind of love, the caring kind of love.)
Does it show in my love for others?
Am I a good partner/husband/wife/father/mother?
Am I good at my job?

The list goes on....

If you are in a relationship, ask your partner to answer the questions too, if there are any differences, they need to be discussed. It's no good if I believe I'm a good husband and my wife disagrees. And don't let the discussion become emotional, it's just a discussion, not a life threatening event.

“The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.” - James Allen

"Just because you believe it, doesn't mean it's the truth." - Brynn Thomas

"Believe and your belief will create the fact." - William James

I read some disturbing news yesterday. More humans have died at the hands of other humans than through natural disasters!
What is wrong with us?