Posts Tagged Focus
Garbage in Garbage out
Garbage in garbage out
Garbage In, Garbage Out (abbreviated to GIGO) is a phrase in the field of computer science or Information Communication technology. It is used primarily to call attention to the fact that computers will unquestioningly process the most nonsensical of input data and produce nonsensical output.
The underlying principle was probably cited by the inventor of the first programmable device, who said:
On two occasions I have been asked,-”Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?”
Charles Babbage Source
Of course you won’t get the right answers out if you put the wrong data in. That makes sense right? You can’t expect to get good answers coming out when you are entering rubbish!
So, if this logic applies to a computer then do you think that it may apply to our very own computer? Our brain if you will!
When I was younger we had a poisonous ritual that we used to undertake as a family every night that constantly fed garbage into my brain. We would all get in from work, sit down in front of the TV (first mistake) and take it in turns to complain about how bad our respective days had been. Common topics would be bosses at work, people we worked with, how unfair it was that somebody got a promotion, the lousy journey to work, the rotten journey home - the list was almost endless. After this was out of the way, we would then sit and watch the news just to top up on the junk.
Of course this was just one of the rituals, or habits, that used to be part of my life and so you can see the kind of effect these had on me, I’ll give you my view of the World at that time.
- I’ll never get a worthwhile job because I didn’t do well at school
- I can’t start a programming business as I didn’t do maths
- I couldn’t do that, I’m not qualified
- I’ll never stop smoking because it’s one of the hardest things you will every do
- The World is a violent, scary place
- People from other countries hate us
- There’s not enough to go around
- If I can’t be bothered to work the government will look after me
These are just a few of the things that I used to think and as you can see they are not the most empowering of thoughts are they? If you think about it, our brain is like a huge library that we use as a source of reference - about ourselves and the World we live in. That is why from this day forward you MUST remember…
Garbage in Garbage out
So now it’s time for my usual question. How do we turn this around?
Well if you go with my library analogy from earlier, then you need to stock your shelves with more positive and empowering reference material. Here are the main steps that I took.
Step One
The first thing that happened was I totally changed my environment - I moved to a different city and lived with friends. I didn’t plan this or know anything about this at the time but in no time I started to be and feel a bit more positive. I found when I went home that I didn’t want to complain about work or the journey as I had quite enjoyed them - a big change.
Obviously you don’t have to be this extreme but you may want to think about how you can change your environment, or at least to change the conversations you have within your current environment.
Step Two
I decided that the old phrase “No news is good news” was a great philosophy so I totally stopped watching, reading and listening to the news. I decided that if it was important enough - then someone would tell me about it. I can’t think of anything that I have lost out on for not knowing - but I have gained so much.
My friend Peter Sage has a great way of looking at the news which is this. It’s the same stuff happening over and over, it’s just happening to different people.
Is there any wonder this keeps happening if we are being programmed by watching the same stuff over and over?
Thinking about it now - why would I have watched a TV show that just focuses on the pain, suffering and bad stuff that’s going on in the World? It makes no sense!
Step Three
Jumping forward a few years…I remember the first time I went through Tony Robbins’ Personal Power II course. This is a CD based, self development programme that spans over 30 days and takes you through a process for changing your life. One of the things that stuck in my mind was when Tony said that he had read over 700 books in the area of self development and as he started to put good stuff in, eventually good stuff started to come out.
So with this in mind I started to read as many books as possible - especially autobiographies as this allows you to see how other people think and deal with situations. I also listened constantly to anything positive that I could. On my iPod, in my car, on my PC at work - basically whenever possible - and guess what? As with Tony, I was constantly feeding good stuff in and eventually good stuff started coming out. The way I spoke changed. The way I viewed myself and those around me changed. But most importantly - the way I thought, and so, the life I created around me changed - in a big way.
Step Four
I guess the latest thing to change is my level of appreciation for everything in my life. I really do feel blessed for everything and spend a little time in the morning being thankful for it all. My body, my health, my family, my friends, my house and where I live, my skills, my company - everything I can think of. I then love to actually tell people how they affect my life and how much I appreciate them - this really eliminates the garbage, whilst giving you an amazing connection to yourself and to them also.
Why not give it a go for yourself? For each person that you meet or even just pass in the street. Think to yourself, and project to them, what is amazing about this person - what is truly beautiful. After a while you’ll find that things start to happen and people start to treat you differently.
Do this for a week and see the effect it has on your life for the better.
Where I am now…
Oh yeah…and by the way - here’s how I think now in comparison.
- I can do or be anything that I want to be
- My software company has done well over the last 20 years without the maths, so what else could I do that they told me was impossible
- Smoking was the easiest thing to stop
- The World is an amazing place to be discovered
- People from other countries are just the same and welcome me as I do them
- There is abundance all around - all you have to do is to learn how to see it
- I am worthy, unique and special
Wow - it’s not until you write stuff down and really think about it that you realise just how much of an effect something has had on your life. What I’ve been talking about is super powerful - especially if you suffer from a negative view of life as I used to do.
Whether you do or not. Have a think now and see if there’s any garbage you could get rid of and what you could replace it with instead. This can have a profound impact on your life for such a simple change.
Have fun
Tim xx
Leave The Past In The Past
Hello friend 
I was out for a walk this morning when I remembered about one of the first lessons I learned from Tony Robbins.
Before I get started I’ll tell you a little tale from my past.
I was 17 and had recently passed my driving test. I was out for a drive with my girlfriend when all of a sudden I noticed the car behind me getting closer and closer. As it started fill my rear view mirror I noticed that the guys driving were threatening us.
I was concentrating so much on what was going on behind me that I started to drive erratically and swerve all over the place. I managed to mount the curb and once I even crossed the white line which resulted in furious horn blowing from the oncoming vehicles. In short I was all over the place and out of control.
In that sense life and driving are much the same. I spent a lot of my life living looking backwards and re-affirming how bad everything was and more importantly how I didn’t like myself or the way I dealt with certain situations. Trust me when I say that you can never move forward whilst you are looking backwards - you will crash eventually. I know this all too well - on many occasions.
So I can imagine you’re thinking what should I do then. That stuff really did happened to me - I can’t just erase it.
This is true but it is a fact that you can only look in one direction at once. If your looking to the future then you can’t look back into the past at the same time. Makes sense right? There is a great way to use this which is to design your ideal future, then to live there by visualising it in as much detail as possible. Try to imagine what it would look like, smell like, feel like, sound like or maybe even taste like - get all of your senses involved to make it as realistic as possible.
I wrote down everything that I would want in the life of my dreams. Where I wanted to live, my dream car, the kind of house I wanted, what I wanted to do, my ideal weight, my ideal fitness level, the kind of people I would want to be friends with - everything I could think of. I then spent a fair amount of time visualising and being thankful for having these things in my life already. I would imagine I was driving my dream car - even though mine was an old banger. I would look through design mags for house ideas. I would even visualise myself speaking in from of groups of people.
As you can imagine you start to get a pretty vivid picture in your mind after a while. So much so that after a while I would have periods where I didn’t even think about the bad stuff. There were also times when I realised I had achieved one of the things that I had written down originally which gave me a huge boost.
This brings me up till today - about 7 years since I heard this lesson for the first time.
I’m by no means perfect but I’m a 1000% better than I was back then. I have my own house where I wanted to live near the country. I had my dream car but didn’t like it so got a regular one for now! I am my ideal weight and fitness. Most importantly - I am happy
Oh yeah - to finish the story….
In the end I had to stop at some traffic lights. Even though I was scared - I had a good look in my mirror and it was then that I saw it was two of my crazy friends, showing off in their Dad’s car. They had chased us for a laugh, so there was never really any threat - apart from the threat I was to myself (and everyone else). Again, not unlike in my life!
So I ask you - Would you set off for a car journey without a destination? I don’t think you would, would you? Of course not - so why do we journey through life without a clue where we are going, with no destination?
I would like to ask you another question - Have you got a destination, a vision of where you’re going? If so then why not review it, give it a spring clean then reaffirm where you want to be.
If you haven’t got one then now would be a great time to start thinking about where and who you would like to be. After all - you are worth it my friend
I’ll be going into much more detail on the power of visualising and goal setting in future postings - I hope this story has whetted you appetite.
Have fun
Tim xx
A little story on focus
Posted by timtom in The power of focus on February 4th, 2009
The story takes place in a local supermarket and is so simple but at the same time so profound.
I had finished my shopping and was waiting in line at the checkout. I was in a hurry as I had an appointment to get to so was playing that game - you know the one! Is that line moving faster than mine? Well, I decided that whenever I jump lines, the till goes wrong or something happens to slow it down, so I thought I would stay in my line. It was then that an extremely rude lady pushed in front of me with her children and game me a nasty look.
After the initial negative thought (remember I said it was ok to have the thought but to immediately let it go) I just smiled back at her and then looked away to help change my focus.
As I looked to my left there was a girl sat on a freshly opened, empty checkout with a huge smile on her face saying “would you like to be served?” I walked over smiling and said thanks. She said “I saw that, that wasn’t very kind. Never mind, here’s your gift for being so nice about it!”
Wow - how cool was that.
Now you may think; it only saved me a few minutes, or you may be thinking what I thought…
How many times do I miss opportunities because I’m so busy focusing on what’s wrong!!!
That hit me like a train. You truly do get what you focus on. Instead of being angry about the fact that that wonderful lady pushed in front of me (which is what I would have done previously by the way) I just let it go and left myself open to what was going on around me.
By the way…What I have found to be a fantastic technique for instantly changing your focus and to see the opportunities, is by asking great questions. They may sound a little strange at first but your only asking them of yourself and they direct the focus of your mind with such power that it’s worth sounding a little crazy to yourself :o) For example her are a few.
- What is going on in this person’s life that makes them treat people so harshly, and what could I do to make them smile?
- What’s wonderful about this person?
- What is funny about this situation?
- How can I make this situation works for me?
- What meaning could I give this situation that would make me feel differently about it?
Like any of the techniques I put to you - try it out. Give it a go and see if it gets results for you. If it does - GREAT, if not, try something else. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
This story is a great precursor to later subjects and I will refer back to it so watch this space
Have a great day and just think to yourself right now. What could I do today for someone really close to me to make them feel really loved and special.
Byeeeeee
Tim xx
