8/15/2015: Move like Water

8/15/2015: Move like Water

10:01pm – 10:39pm

I have many things to write but, at the same time, I don’t have a lot of things to write.

Today is a supernatural day, and yesterday was a supernatural night.  Supernatural days and supernatural nights.  Tomorrow will be a supernatural day and Monday, with HOP (house of peace), will be a supernatural night.  I want supernatural days every day!

There is a principle that I want to share that may be the cause of many of my worries and stress.  The principle is to “Move Like Water” in The System Builder by Xuan Nguyen.  This book is supposed to help me better my “financial” business but I find it useful for other applications as well.  Let me share it briefly:

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The army’s disposition of force is like water.  Water configures its flow in accord with the terrain.  Water has no constant shape.  –Sun Tzu

Keep flowing.  Move like water.  Water doesn’t try so hard, but it flows.  When water hits a rock, it avoids the rock and goes around it.  Water sees the high land and never tries to climb it.  Water takes the low road.  That’s how water flows.

This is also how you do the business.  You always got to keep moving.  If people don’t join, move on.  If people don’t buy, move on.  If people don’t want to build, move on.

Don’t hit your head against the wall trying to convince the rock to buy, to join, or to do something it doesn’t want to do.  Just move on. 

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Wow, how many times have I violated this concept and gave myself undue stress and rejection.  I do want to say beforehand that there are exceptions to this rule.  I can’t flow the easy way from a macro or spiritual sense.  The easy way is the flesh but the flesh flows to death.  The direction of my flow, of my water, my river, needs to be towards life, righteousness, and abundance.  But from a micro-sense, this principle is a piece of wisdom. 

One of my fears is a fear of failure.  Many times I’m afraid to try or don’t try or give 100% because I’m afraid of making mistakes and failing.  I’m afraid that people won’t follow me, that they won’t listen to me, etc.  I want perfection but that is not possible because only God is perfect.  The fact is I won’t be perfect but I must still try.  But once my course is set, I need to focus on the positives and not spend too much time on the barriers or my situation. 

This can apply to evangelism.  If people reject me, move on.  If people won’t listen to me or try to intensely argue with me, move on.  It is not the healthy that needs a doctor but the sick (Mark 2:17).  I will invest in people that will listen, that are promising, whose hearts are open.  This doesn’t mean to ignore people who are not interested.  But, the principle is to spend most of my effort and energy on people who are open and who bear fruit. 

This concept can also apply when I’m suggesting an idea or anything.  I wouldn’t waste my time on people who are negative.  I remember before, I would try to argue and debate with people who reject my idea.  This is a waste of my energy.  Most likely, these people are not going to change anytime soon.  What I learned in social work advocacy is to spend the energy on people who support you and on those who are “maybes” or those who are still open.  I hit a rock I go around it instead of spending huge effort trying to go through it.

This can also apply to investing.  I read somewhere on Investopedia that most people invest the wrong way.  They invest in negative wealth.  When a stock goes down, many would buy more into it, thinking that they are buying the shares at a lower price.  Then it goes down even more and those people buy that stock even more, thinking it is a discount.  But what happens?  Stocks are not commodities (commodities will be a different story since the value of it cannot be zero).  When a company’s stock goes down, it is an indicator of trouble.  The foolish investor would have invested most of his/her money in a business that is going downhill.  No, when a stock is going down to a certain point, the wise investor will pull the money out and put the money in a stock that is increasing or doing well.  Then, most of that investor’s money will be in successful stocks.  Like water, go where the money is.  Ignore resistance and focus on what can build.  Ok, I might not be making much sense or my analogy might be off.  I need more experience in writing and I need to get back to writing my blogs.

This principle can also apply to making friends.  If someone doesn’t want to be my friend, I can’t force them.  The best I can do is to meet them halfway. 

So, I’m not going to worry about whether this person or that person is my friend or not, or listens to me or not, or follows me or not (although they should follow God), or whatever or not.  I’m not going to worry on the negatives.  Like the U.S. strategy against the Japanese in World War II, I will island-hop.  I will focus my efforts, time, and energy on my dreams (which needs to come from God), and on positive things.  I will not waste my time on the negatives and on resistance.  If I encounter resistance, I will just go around it.  If I can’t, or if going around it is too lengthy, then I will just pray to God for the walls to fall and then keep trying.  I will ask, seek, and knock.  The main point in this principle is to keep trying, and to keep trying positively.  “If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert” (David Ben-Gurion).

I need to stop worrying about my situation.  I need to stop worrying about my problems.  I should just seek God.  Seeking God is easy, or should be.  Let God direct my flow.  If I encounter resistance, I should give it to God.  Many times, when I do that, He tells me what to do and it becomes easy.  If people say no or they reject me, I should seek God first and evaluate myself.  If I find myself blameless, then I will just move on.  Maybe I’m expanding the flow like water principle but this principle reminds me of what I’ve did wrong.  (PS: I have been trying to do this but I need to work on my discipline)

2014.1.26: Go Optimism! [Discovery / Bright Ideas]

2014.1.26: Go Optimism!

S: 11:10pm

E: 12:36am

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life….  Ok, I don’t mean to plagiarize.  I have this saying in its entirety pasted on my wall back in my room in Los Angeles.  This phase tells me the importance of a person’s attitude on their life.  How a person thinks, his or her outlook, plays a major part in that person’s life cycle. 

Due to its importance, it is critical for a person to have an optimistic way of thinking and outlook on life.  I want to be with optimistic people and to make optimistic friends.  I want to be with people who see opportunity at night and by day.  I want to be with people who see what is socially constructed as a “lose” or “win” to be a gain, a win, or an opportunity.  I want to be with people who see the glass as half-full first instead of as half-empty. 

Instead of people telling others that they can’t do this or that or being judgmental, I want people who instead ask “Let’s see what we can do.”  And, for goals that seem unreachable, I want them to say “Let’s look at some things we can do to help reach that goal.” 

For example, if someone wants to be like Bill Gates, instead of just dismissing that person’s dreams and aspirations by saying “that’s impossible,” I want people to instead say “OK, let’s see what we can do.”  That person can first learn how to use a computer.  Then, he or she can work on studying and getting a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.  After that, the person can gain some experience by working for a software company.  After a while, once the person has more experience, he or she can team up or start their business alone.  If that dreamer is persistent, reevaluates his/her progress, and does their best, that person will be able to achieve as close to that person’s dreams as possible.  What I described is just one track or way that person can become like Bill Gates.  Then again, it depends on what that person defines Bill Gates as.  Does he/she want to be a great computer innovator or a rich man/woman?

Robert H. Schuller said that “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.”  Most successful people, if not all, have an optimistic orientation.  They believe in themselves and in their dreams. 

Being optimistic involves seeing all situations in a positive light.  One of the great Biblical figures who had bad upon bad handed to him is Apostle Paul.  Yet, he states, “When I am weak then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10b).  He knows that in times of his weakness, of troubles, of tribulations or persecutions, he can more easily seek the One who is all-powerful and that he can learn and grow stronger from these windy experiences. 

In the Army I have soldiers tell me that they would just rather die than be me.  “Your life sucks” they say and they would point out all the obvious flaws and weaknesses that I have or may have.  But then, I thought to myself one day in the military, if I can be someone else, who would I be?  I looked at other soldiers.  They seem strong, knowledgeable about their jobs, and/or have many friends.  But I have one thing many of them don’t have: the ability to be with God.  I have God.  I can talk to God.  I can also talk to myself and problem-solve.  I told myself that if I can talk to God, then I can have anything.  So, I’m happy to be me.  I have the better deal. 

One of the foundations of social work is optimism.  Social workers focus on a client’s strengths and empowers the person or group to be all they can be.  The very fact that people try to help those who need help is a mark of optimism.  Pessimistic people might look at the homeless, or offenders, or in Jesus’ time, tax-collectors and sinners, and say “Oh they are homeless, they are hopeless” or “Oh they are offenders, there is no hope for them.”  But no!  We don’t give up on people because God doesn’t give up on them. 

Parents who are pessimistic can give a negative self-fulfilling prophecy to their children.   Children are naturally optimistic.  They would try new things.  They would draw, climb, taste, and do whatever that is pleasing to them or that is interesting.  However, if the parent tells the child, “Your drawing sucks, don’t draw,” or “You can’t even jump right, don’t bother playing basketball,” the classical “You won’t amount to anything” type of speech, then the child will not reach his or her full potential because he/she doesn’t know what their full potential is.  The child won’t try, won’t experiment what their mountain peaks are.  I feel it is safe for me to say that I am not born in an optimistic family.  One of my caretakers will use negative language to motivate me.  That person will say alternations of “You won’t amount to anything.”  That person will not encourage me to try new things.  That person will say I’m “stupid.”  My list is not exhaustive.  Thus, I am brought up in a negative mindset.  I would tend to see what I can’t do instead of what I can do first.  I would focus unduly on my problems and weaknesses instead of my strengths or what I can do about my problems.  I would get depressed a lot.  I am able to change my mind-set slowly by knowing Someone who is optimistic. 

I feel this world is very pessimistic.  People always look at the bad or assume the worse in people first.  Look at the TV shows, the daily news, or magazines.  People are attracted to negative things.  And then there are those people who are optimistic in making others pessimistic.  These people can be anywhere, in the real world or online.  They just seem to do their best in putting others down.  Those who experienced it will know what I mean.

I feel pessimism may be from Satan or the Evil One.  He will always try to discourage us.  He will always tell us, “No, you can’t do this; No you suck,” or “Why don’t you just die….”  God empowers but Satan disempowers. 

I’m happy to know that my God is an optimistic God.  The Lord is “patient… not wanting anyone to perish” (2 Peter 3:9).  He is optimistic that people will turn back to Him.  He sent his son Jesus to die for us in hopes that we can believe in Him.  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

In writing about optimism, I want to note that optimism does not mean living in the skies all day and ignoring reality.  We do need to be a realist.  I would say our mindset needs to be 80% optimistic, 20% realistic, and 0% pessimistic. 

In this world, there will always be people who are pessimistic, but the only person who can truly be optimistic is yourself.  “And so it is with you… we are in charge of our ATTITUDES” (Charles R. Swindoll).