(ThyBlackMan.com) Human beings do not live in a bubble. There really is no such thing as ‘I’m just doing me.’ From the very second we open our eyes in the morning to the minute we close them at night, we are pummeled by a relentless assault on the senses, some of it directly, most of it indirectly.
Here’s the key: in our sensory-inducing world, we are always in a state of becoming. The process never ends. The good news is that we can play a part in that process if we keep alert to the four vital signals.
Throughout our day, our ability to meet the demands of our physical environment depends largely on variables that we can and must control.
We become what we watch. We become what we listen to. We become who we hang around. We become what we put into our body.
We are constantly being melded by these four (among others) conscious markers. Here’s how.
We Become What We Watch
On average, American adults are watching five hours and four minutes of television per day, according to studies. Four and a half hours of that total is live television (or television watched when originally broadcast). That’s nearly a quarter of one’s day crunched mainly into the evening, post-work hours.
If we become what we think about, then surely we become what we watch. Let’s face it. Network and cable programming do not give us a healthy mix of viewing opportunities these days.
Watch what you watch! Learn to moderate the murder, mayhem and misery constantly streaming from the tube these says. Your spirit will thank you for it.
We Become What We Listen To
Closely related to watching is listening. What are you listening to? What music fills your head? Music can be empowering. Plato wrote, Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. Not only listening to music is empowering, but listening to nature can be just as liberating an act. Do yourself a favor. Just go to a park one day, sit on a bench and just watch listen. Listen especially for the sounds of children at play; listen for the birds; listen to the sound of water running through a creek, or the huffs of runners as they wind through the park. If you do this, I guarantee the one sound that you will hear loud and unequivocally will be the sound of your own soul.
We Become the People We Hang Around
How many dreams have been assassinated, how many aspirations scuttled due to toxic, negative people? Who are the people you hang around with? Where are they headed in life? What are their dreams?
The fact is, in terms of goals, strategies and motivation, we are the sum total of our five closest associates. Birds of a feather do indeed hang together. Pick your ‘friends’ wisely; you inhale their dreams, just as you inhale the space they occupy.
We Become What We Put Into Our Body
What you eat privately you wear publicly, goes a well-known adage. It’s true. People are essentially walking advertisements of what they eat. Show me an overweight individual who eats bad and I will show you a lean person who eats clean.
What we put into our body goes far beyond the pounds that fret us on a daily basis; it also determines our mood, energy level, attitude and the range of endurance we move about on any given day.
We are always in a state of becoming.
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.