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Show Pear JOHNT by John Waterbury (I j l Questioni or comment! regarding alcoholism, drug abuse, or the related life-problems may be sent to , 36 South State Street, 2 1 st floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 841 1 1. These letters form the basis of the "Dear John" column. Dear Readers We are all involved in the process of meeting our needs and developing a comfortable level of functioning. These "comfort zones" are adjusted almost daily, based on the kinds of experiences experi-ences that occur. The end result is that we are in a constant state of development. It is this growth process that determines who we are. This is where creativity comes in. No one is "stuck" at any level. We can change. Creativity is the making of the new and the rearranging of the old. It means exposing ourselves to events and situations that encourage and enable growth. With this in mind, the following is literally true: We are what we're exposed to. We become what we repeatedly do. Since we learn best from our own experiences, we need to become engaged in activities that enhance the probability of positive experiences. Not all experiences will be positive guidelines, guide-lines, you will reap the benefit of the law of natural consequences. consequ-ences. And in the long run, it will be positive. But it's important to keep active; to keep moving. When this principle is related to growth opportunities, it becomes clear that you can't learn from experiences you don't have. You can't coast continually. Probably the most important factor in our lives is what we : think. For some, thinking is a lost art. For others, they seem to suffer from "psycho-scherbsis." Everything gets clogged up, and eventually bogged down. Thinking should be a dynamic process that leads somewhere. Next, we need to believe in ourselves. It's the old self-fulfilling self-fulfilling prophesy: If you believe you can, you will. If you believe you can't, you won't. Unless you can believe in yourself, your-self, no one else will ever place any confidence in you. No one will ever "invest" in you. Once we have the right "mind-set" it's important that we allow ourselves to dream. Not to the point that dreams become our master but rather, they become a motivating companion. Dreams allow us to identify and develop the potential we all have deep down inside. But dreams are of little value if we fail to dare. If we fail to take that chance, to stick our neck out when the possibility exists that it will get cut off, then we fail to understand the full significance of life. A philosopher once wrote that ships are safe in the harbour, but then, that's not what ships are made for. This seems to apply to each of us; Ironically, not everyone wants to be master of themselves, or anything else. They become content with a lesser level of development. de-velopment. Some do so because they lack the necessary confidence confi-dence in themselves. Others, because they are not willing to do what it takes to become a master. They lack the necessary discipline and devotion for excellence. They fail to rise to the level of their potential. Confidential from Tail Twister: Things are not as bad as they seem they couldn't be. |
