All of our lives we have to filter out, what we see and hear.  Most of the time we are trying to filter information - from outside sources that are intentionally trying to sell us something.  They are attempting to work their way into our minds.  Marketing ads are one source where, very smart people, are trying to manipulate our opinions.  What internal filters do we have, as barricades or guards, to protect ourselves?  Understand, that when you have no experience or knowledge on a subject, you can fall prey to misguided information.  Our filters were developed from the day you were born.  The people assigned to our growth and protection were the ones who helped us to develop, right and wrong, - good and bad.  BUT, that is only a portion of who was responsible.  If your teachers were poor in teaching you and explaining the difference between good and bad, they were contributing.  Eventually, it will fall on us to question the choices that were shown to us.  Eventually, the older you get, the more responsible you become.  With age, you develop your own right and wrong by gaining a moral perspective, that helps not just for yourself, but others.  You will become the influencer.

When searching for information on computers, the personal opinions published only discern themselves with what they believe to be right and wrong, not what is right or wrong for us.  What once was believed to be the truth on the internet, is now being flooded by misleading information.  People are hoping that their titles alone bring them notoriety, instead of the task.  They will lay out an argument that chooses their answer.  One of the greatest gifts we possess is the gift of free will.  We can choose to repeat bad decisions, just as we have the free will to make better decisions and keep questioning any decision we make for the future.
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True freedom of choice comes from the lack of intimidation from outside sources.

Out of all of our senses, which ones affect us the most?  Sight and sound influence us the most.  Sight, we process 120 bits of information a second, or 34 Gigs of data a day.  We hear and follow about 125 words a minute, while our brains can process 800 words a minute if allowed.  With that much information, we are being influenced every second of every day.  Sights and sounds are all around us, color and noises dominate.

What we allow to populate our very thoughts, contributes to the very things we hold dear and true to ourselves.  Going unchecked they become the information that we allow to mold us.  Our eyes and our ears can’t block sights and sounds that are harmful to us.  Everything we see: books, pictures, movies, signs, or commercials contribute to our growth.  Everything we hear; music, audible books, podcasts, and people contribute as well.

What are you actively doing to filter out the bad and distasteful, and living intentionally putting in those sights and sounds that build us up and not tear us down?
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What you see & hear
              Become your thoughts
Your thoughts
              Become your words
Your words
              Become your actions
Your actions
              Become your habits
Your habits
              Become your character
Your Character
              Become your destiny

In a world where every moment is a chance to grow, the ability to uncover deeper truths and broaden our understanding is a powerful gift. What we see and hear shapes our reality, yet there's so much more beneath the surface waiting to be discovered. Learning to control the information that is flooding what we see and what we hear is crucial.
 
Come back daily to read more from this blog series.
Day 1:  Sight, Sound Dominate
Day 2:  Sight, Sound - Responsibility
Day 3:  Sign, Sound – Which dominates
Day 4:  Sight, Sound - Prioritize
Day 5:  Sight, Sound - Reactions
Day 6:  Sight, Sound – Standing Strong

So far I’ve talked about how fear of failure holds us back.  It keeps us from venturing out and keeps our adventurous growth to a minimum or terrifies us into submission.  But there is a positive side to fear and what it can do for us when we are making decisions that can be considered major in nature.

When we make small decisions, what kind of socks to wear, and what color of toothbrush should I buy, the consequences of those decisions are small and not consequential.  We can make quick, rash decisions because the consequences are small.  Fear is a great guide that forces us to cross the T’s, and dot the I’s.  It keeps us from recklessly doing something where the consequences are serious enough that it points back to the 1 person responsible.  You!
Fear of failure, while not fatal, allows us to be methodical.  It allows us to call on all of our past experiences and make more, well-informed decisions.  If we take our time and still make a mistake, we have just added to our vast knowledge of right and wrong.  What works and doesn’t work?

​A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

We have 2 choices that we can guide us through our fear of failure.  Failure from situations that have already occurred, and fear of failure from those events that have yet to happened.  Those events that have yet to happen, occur only in our own minds.  Do you know which is more devastating and more problematic?

Let’s look at the fear of failure from something that has yet to happen.  We develop a level of fear that amplifies a tragedy, before we have even happened.  We foresee an end that is filled with pain, a lot of wasted time, and cost us a lot of money.  An important quote:  “I trust everyone, it’s the devil inside of them I don’t trust”.  For each of us, the devil inside of us is the devil we contend with.  The devil inside of us, is telling us not to get started, you are too weak and unskilled, and you will fail.  On the surface it sounds solid and safe as though someone is watching out for us.  But in reality you have found the roadblock that will keep you from exploring and trying new things.  You have found a limitation that feeds into your fear of failing, and now you are stuck!

The courage to laugh and to continue to fail is the key to moving forward in anything.  The bigger the success, the bigger the potential to fail, and the bigger the reward.

​Don’t stop something before you’ve even tried.  “No” will always be “no”, unless you ask or try!

What is failure a source of?  Poor planning, undeveloped skills, poor timing, or how about the thinking of failing causing you to hold back on the devotion needed to be successful or as some call it, “Stinking Thinking”.  We hold in our head a supercomputer that starves for knowledge, and we can put ourselves in a position where we are intentionally starving ourselves into a numb state of mind.  Day 1, I mentioned that it has been proven that 91% of the things we worry about never come to fruition.

This stinking thinking is also called catastrophic thinking.  This is when we think there is going to be a problem or challenge and we blow it out of proportion to either prepare ourselves for the worst or talk ourselves out of something before we’ve even committed.  Example:  you have an Uncle that you are not close to, from the past he has said and done some offensive things.  Now you get to see him in a week.  In your mind, you are going through anything and everything he can say and you are developing your response, that is quick, to the point, and it will be the comeback that teaches him a lesson.  You play and practice this over, and over, and over again, just to be prepared, this is catastrophic thinking.  Then you finally meet, and he either didn’t show or he managed to be on his best behavior.  Waste of time and energy getting ready for something that never occurred.
             
This level of thinking is holding you back from productive thoughts, and productive actions.  It is keeping you from your best!

Failure can lead you to the perspective that you have failed yet again or the perspective that you were successful with failing and finding a path that does not work.  Success is not the absence of failure, success is the overwhelming idea that you have failed so often that success is the eventual outcome.  Through perseverance, determination, and strength in your convictions, anything will be possible.  What is meant by ‘will be possible’?  If there is a goal that has become your desire to accomplish, and if you knew ahead of time that for every 1,000 times you try, there are only 10 successful choices, would you trudge through 100 failures to get to that 1 success?  Or would you give up before you even started?  Maybe you tell yourself, that this goal you want is so meaningful, you might as well get started with failing so you can be successful.  That is real life.  If it is desirable enough to you, then it is meaningful enough to fail, fail, fail, succeed!  If it is not that meaningful, then you have yet to decide what is important to you!

​Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently!  - Henry Ford

One of the basic emotions we deal with on a daily basis is fear.  Of the 6 emotions, this is the one that we remember the most as being the worst.  However, fear is not fatal.  It is not deadly only distracting.  As soon as we fear something we tend to pull back, stop doing whatever it is we are doing, and question ourselves.  Did I not understand, did I not think this through, maybe I don’t have all the answers, or maybe I don’t have the skills to be successful?  Remember first, Henry Ford: Whether you think you can or can’t, you are correct.  Thinking that you are lacking is one of the safe measures we take in order not to fail again.  Being safe and secure is one of the behavioral steps we take to not get hurt again.  But thinking you are not good enough, will be how you behave.  It can be our mental/emotional cage.
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91% of the things we fear, never occur.  Is it going to take some work and retraining in order for us to reframe our habits in order to face our fears?  OF COURSE!  Our survival instinct is kicking in and we want nothing but success.  That should be your motivation when failing.  Your success are something that defines who you are, and so do your failures.  Science experiments have thousands of failures and only one success.  What does this tell us about normal living?  Failures tell you the direction or the answers that don’t work.  It should instill strength and determination that the more you fail, the stronger and smarter you become.  All Doctors and experts in their field are very proficient at failing.  They can direct you away from what doesn’t work.

Failures are not fatal because they are simply stepping stones on the path to growth and success. While they may feel overwhelming at the moment, failures provide valuable lessons and insights that help us improve and adapt. 2 quotes from very famous people.  Guess who they are from:  "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." AND  "It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default."
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They challenge us to reassess our approach, build resilience, and develop a deeper understanding of our goals and abilities. By embracing failure as a natural part of life, we can transform setbacks into opportunities for personal and professional growth, proving that failure is not the end but a chance to begin again, stronger and wiser.

Day 1:  Failure and Fear
Day 2:  Failure is redirecting your path
Day 3:  Failure and ‘Stinking Thinking’
Day 4:  Failure Real or Made up?
Day 5:  Failure, is there a purpose?

Define Perfection:  The need to be flawless, such that no more improvements or growth need to exist because you have reached the pinnacle of a goal, your final destination.

Progress is the gradual, continued increase of your knowledge and skills.  Building on a daily concept of growth in knowledge and skills without a final destination in mind.
The difference is PACE.  Pace associated with perfection is rigid and unflexible, it is an all-or-nothing mentality, and it is concerned with only the end result.  Nothing in between matters!
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PACE and progress are steady and sustainable, you are flexible because you know that things and people on your path to success, matter.  Your continued growth and success depend on the people around you.  It matters who is in your lives that challenge you, question you, and push you, even if it means you need to be somewhere else.