Tom Davis

Why Negative Thoughts Create Discouragement and a Lack of Motivation

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We are all faced with 1,000’s of opportunities each day to be positive or negative. Sadly, over 80% of people choose negative thoughts over positive ones. This is often responsible for why you feel bad, why you get discouraged, and why you might feel depressed, discouraged and lack motivation. photo_red_love_heart_alone-copy

One of the greatest things I’ve learned in the past few years is that there are chemicals behind my feelings. There are reasons I feel the way I do. Look at them as, “happy chemicals,” and “unhappy chemicals.” They are controlled by simple little thoughts. Studies show that over 80% of these thoughts are negative.

Most people have little concern over these thoughts that go into their brains. They listen to negative people, watch negative news, read negative Facebook feeds, and tell themselves negative stories about their self-worth and abilities. It’s constant. And they wonder why they feel bad?!

Why You Feel Bad

Every one of these negative thoughts releases negative chemicals in our bodies. It’s part of the biological process. One of the main reasons this happens is because of synapses in our brains. This is one of the first things students of neuroscience learn. There is a space between synapses called, “the synaptic cleft.” Think of it as empty space waiting to be filled and waiting to be reinforced.

Here’s how it works. You have a thought, and a chemical shoots across that space. This builds a bridge over that space and releases a chemical in your body. The next time you have a similar thought, it fires again making that connection closer and closer to decrease the distance of the electrical charge. It becomes easier the next time. On a side note, this is also how habits are formed. Soon, you don’t even think about how you actually drive a car because everything is automatic. That electrical charge has occurred so many times, you act without even thinking about it. If you’re a science nerd this is a great video on the topic: Science video.

The Power of Happy Chemicals

Simply put, if you want to build strong, positive habits, then focus on positive things. Hang out with positive people, read positive [Read more…] about Why Negative Thoughts Create Discouragement and a Lack of Motivation

Never, Ever Settle for Normal. Unless You’re Driftwood.

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Can I encourage you to never do something? Don’t make peace with the status quo. Ever. And never settle for normal. It will be the death of you and everything you care about. Normal is what everyone wants you to do. Normal is what society forces us to do. Your life is worth extraordinary value, so live that way. Be wild. Do something crazy that creates amazing experiences and builds memories that last a lifetime. You’re unique, you’re gifted, and you may not be able to walk on water but it’s a lot more fun swimming in the Mediterranean than looking at pictures of it. (By the way – that picture is me jumping into the Mediterranean!)img_2891

You are a wonder of creation. Scientists say the very chances of you even existing are about one in 400 trillion. This means that there is no one like you. You are incredibly unique with gifts, talents, and answers for the people on this planet that only you can deliver. You cannot afford to be stuck in a rut.

“Each human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure, and desire for adventure. However, society always imposes on us a collective ways of behaving, and people never stop to wonder why they should behave like that. They just accept it, the way typists accepted the fact that the QWERTY keyboard was the best possible one. Have you ever met anyone is your entire life who asked why the hands of a clock should go in one particular direction and not the other?” ~ Paulo Cuelho

Deep Change vs. Slow Death

Leadership expert and author Robert Quinn says that we are in one of two places in life, the place of deep change or slow death. We are either changing or shriveling up on the inside.

This is in agreement with the 2nd law of thermodynamics which states that all things lead to entropy – decay and disorder. It’s a natural system. It’s really easy to get stuck. Stuck in our comfort zones, habits, normalcy, negativity and routine. We are either changing or dying, growing or decaying. It takes a strong, willful, and soulful choice to go against the flow and take a leap of faith into the land of the unknown. A phrase I love to describe this is, “Walking naked into the land of uncertainty.” Don’t worry, it’s not literal. Keep your clothes on. 🙂

Moving Our Family to Europe

I’ll preface this by saying that you probably don’t need to move, but you do need to change and do something different. Maybe something really big and completely out of the box. Get out of your comfort zone. Take risk, not simply for the sake of risk but out of the yearning to truly live for what matters most to you.

For my family that meant moving overseas, learning a new language and building an adventurous life filled with a calling, and the things and people we love. We lived in a wonderful community at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The beauty was indescribable and the weather was my favorite of any place in the world. We were there for 14 years. So many incredible friends and experiences that were simply magical. [Read more…] about Never, Ever Settle for Normal. Unless You’re Driftwood.

You’re Dying on the Inside Because You Don’t Live out of a Personal Vision

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If you don’t have a personal vision, You’re on the Path of Slow Death. Statistics show that less than 3% of people live out of any kind of person vision. This is a modern day catastrophe. If you are part of the 97% not living out of your vision, not only are you doing yourself a disservice, you are cheating those of us who need you to live in the fullness of your passions, talents and energies. It’s time to grow up, take responsibility and start living your visions now.photo_vision_binoculars-copy

The sad philosophy of a visionless life is: Ready…Fire…Aim. There is no target to aim for. Visionless people aren’t sure where they are going so any old target will do. This is the modern day dilemma.

WHY DON’T PEOPLE LIVE OUT OF A PERSONAL VISION?

Fear, lack of knowledge and distraction are all reasons at the top of the list to why visions don’t exist in our lives. They are real and we need to address them, but under no circumstance can we make peace with these excuses and live in any form of mediocrity.

#1 Fear. Fear is the great pretender. It pretends to keep us safe and out of harms way but it does the exact opposite. It causes us to cower when we are uncertain of our path. Worst of all, many times it keeps us from taking any risk whatsoever and so often the risk we need to take propels us into the life we’ve always desired.

#2 Lack of knowledge – Most of us don’t know how to find our vision, we’ve never been taught. We’ve gone along with the crowd and tried to play it safe. We get an hourly job, pay the bills, and hope something better comes along. People don’t know how to live out of vision because they don’t know their vision. They’ve never taken the time to go deep inside and uncover their buried treasure. It’s time to invest in yourself. Do whatever it takes to get your vision out from the inside. It might be difficult, birthing a new baby is rarely easy, but it’s the most beautiful thing to show the world when the process is over.

#3 Distraction – we are the “Generation of Distraction.” The latest research proves that on average, we are exposed to 63,000 words per day, we are distracted every 11 minutes, and we check our smartphones 110 times a day. When we are this disconnected, there is no way we can fulfill our dreams and live out any kind of vision. That’s a waste of an amazing life.

We are hardwired on a neurological level to come fully alive once we start living out of our visions and passions. What’s a cause so important to you that it keeps you up at night? What have you always longed to do that could make a huge impact in the lives of others? What kind of life would make you feel incredible fulfilled and satisfied? Once you are compelled by your visions at an emotional level, nothing will stop you from seeing those visions come to pass.

Think of some of your greatest heroes, people like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Jesus, or Steve Jobs. Every single one of them had one thing in common: they were “cause-fueled.” They believed in something so compelling to them, they gave everything in their life to see if fulfilled. They lived out of a personal, compelling vision. When your “WHY” is big enough, the “how’s” in your life will line up.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver

How Can I Live Out of My Personal Vision?

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