Searching for Higher Ground: 24 Hours to a Better Life

There's a moment in one of my favorite films, Searching for Bobby Fischer, where 7-year-old chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin's chess teacher knocks all the pieces off his chess board, in an effort to get him to concentrate deeper on the way the pieces on the board were strategically aligned.

As the pieces go flying, scattering noisily about the room, Josh is at first stunned that his teacher would have done such a thing. But then, as if by instinct, Josh ponders the situation for a moment, and proceeds to stare at the now-empty board, as if there were pieces still there.

Josh has entered a different level of play, where he can now assess matters of the game without the distraction of the pieces themselves. In this place, he can see all moves before they happen. All strategies of both his opponent and himself are laid bare, without the distraction of rooks, knights, bishops and pawns. Here, he can see the end game and take the appropriate actions to ensure a winning outcome for himself.

We can take a lesson from this. In the chess game of our lives, there are all kinds of pieces on the board distracting us: obstacles from family, friends and co-workers, negative influences from the news media and entertainment industry, fear of failure, fear of success, guilt from events in our past, self-imposed resistance and rationalizations for why we are where we are, limiting beliefs we place on ourselves that put up a solid defense against our future prosperity, and the list goes on.

These are the chess pieces in our own lives that we, like Josh's chess teacher, must scatter about the room. We must, just as abruptly as he did, knock all of these pieces of resistance off our own chess boards. When we do this we will enter a different plane of existence. We will rise above our seemingly insurmountable challenges and difficulties and be able to see them in the same perspective, on the same playing field, as the positives in our lives that we so conveniently ignore.

But how? How does one begin to rise above money, relationship and stress related problems? How do we summon the courage and strength to rise above the situations that consume our every day lives? How do we knock these pieces off of our boards?

The answer lies within your own state of being. Step back and gain a higher ground on your consciousness by examining each waking moment of your life as it happens. Assess every feeling you have in every situation. Take control of it. Abandon your instinctive reactions to things. Stop yourself often during the course of the first day you put this into action.

Ask yourself these questions: How often do I get angry or impatient when there really is no need? How often do I speak of others in derogatory manner? How often do I turn down a chance to tithe? How could I have reacted differently to this or that situation in my life? How could I have responded differently to this employee? This spouse? This child? Just for this one day, think. Examine. Learn.

As you examine your feelings more during the day's activities you will most likely see a trend forming. If it's a trend toward negativity you can stop it. React to it. Change it. Turn negatives into positives. Even if it annoys you, try it, just for this day. There's no need to analyze what's in your past. With the chess pieces off your board you can see your life on a whole new level. And if you can do it for just one day, just one 24 hour period, then you can do it for a lifetime.

For the next 24 hours, try to isolate and recognize every feeling you have. Every reaction to various circumstances throughout your day. Analyze how you are responding to situations, and determine if these responses are instinctive, based on your past habits, or if they are indeed tied to a greater good that you may be striving for in your life. When you can pinpoint these feelings now, you can change them for the better in the future. Then you will ensure a winning outcome in your life.

Andy O'Bryan is co-founder of AudioMotivation.com, the website which enables its members to conveniently download a constantly growing library of exclusive audio interviews with the movers and shakers in personal and professional growth. Members learn motivational tips and advice via their mp3 player, CD player or computer speakers. To learn more about membership, visit http://www.audiomotivation.com

---

Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:50:53 GMT World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says - MarketWatch BBC News World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says MarketWatch - 2 hours ago By Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial policymakers from 180 nations around the world are united in their resolve to tackle the financial crisis, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, head of the International Monetary Fund's policy committee, ... G7 nations face going cap in hand to China guardian.co.uk Finance officials comments at IMF meetings Reuters AFP - BBC News - Bloomberg - New York Times all 579 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:23:46 GMT YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads - Afterdawn.com Vancouver Sun YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads Afterdawn.com - 2 hours ago Google has announced that it will begin offering full-length TV episodes through its YouTube platform beginning this week, thanks to a content deal with CBS. YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads Strewn Through New York Times YouTube beams up Star Trek for long-form video, prominent new ads CNET News Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia - Silicon Alley Insider - Bizjournals.com all 109 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:12 GMT GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain - New York Times Voice of America GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain New York Times - 1 hour ago By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ELISABETH BUMILLER Republican leaders across the country said Saturday that they were worried that Senator John McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message ... Antiwar Protestor Disrupts McCain Iowa Rally Washington Post Obama needs 75 percent turnout in Philadelphia, says Rendell CNN Political Ticker The Weekly Standard - Summit Daily News - USA Today - WNCT all 1,087 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:23:47 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune Times Online Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young International Herald Tribune - 10 hours ago AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize AssociatedPress Nobel Finn Wall Street Journal Voice of America - Times Online - Burlington Hawk Eye all 1,453 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut - New York Times Boston Globe Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut New York Times - 5 hours ago In Hartford, Crystal Pretzman of Willimantic, Conn., celebrated the State Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage AssociatedPress Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. The Associated Press Newsday - Washington Post - Reuters - NECN all 1,711 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:08 GMT US space tourist set for blast-off - Reuters Canada.com US space tourist set for blast-off Reuters - 40 minutes ago By Maria Golovnina BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War. US space tourist set for launch BBC News Russian space chief reassures US partners The Associated Press Times Online - USA Today - Spaceflight Now - RedOrbit all 287 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:10:50 GMT Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details - New York Times Telegraph.co.uk Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details New York Times - 3 hours ago The bailout plan gives Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, three broad choices in buying assets. By ALAN S. BLINDER THE House of Representatives was against the bailout bill before it was for it. US firms up plan to buy into banks to stem crisis Reuters Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Bloomberg Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - The Miami Herald - International Herald Tribune all 2,358 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:39:07 GMT RSStoBlog RSS For Web Pages

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

How to Create a Thriving Prosperous Life

You only have to look around you at your friends,... Read More

Compounding Effect of Selfishness

Five-year-old Katie asked for a coin for her to throw... Read More

It Doesnt Take Long To Become An Expert in The Law of Attraction

One of our Faculty, Christine Edick, has been the keynote... Read More

Seeing What You Never Saw Before

Have you ever bought a new car and then afterwards... Read More

Respect Is A Four-Letter Word

One of the most important needs for every human being... Read More

Ego, Arrogance, and Self-Esteem

The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain are... Read More

Reminding Yourself of Prosperity

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Thoughts are things and... Read More

The Beast

What does one do when one is too old, too... Read More

A Minute of Deliberate Attraction is Better Than None

Before I explain why a minute of Deliberate Attraction is... Read More

How to Better Improve Your Life Through the Power of Change

I am a physicist by education, and a practical business... Read More

8 Powerful Tips to a Magnificent Life

Tip #1. Find your purpose. Finding one's purpose is the... Read More

The Centre of Creative Powers!

Evolution is nothing but seeking with clarity, demanding clarity at... Read More

The Mirror Man

Lady Twilight felt angry. It was one of those days... Read More

Who Do You Want to Meet?

One of the goals that I encourage my clients to... Read More

Recognize Desire AS Power

I just moved into my new luxurious, harborside condo, overlooking... Read More

Change How You Say It, Change Your Attractiveness

Language, whether it's emerging from our mind, our heart, or... Read More

Four Disciplines To Getting What You Want

I bet you're like me - you want results now,... Read More

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Most of us don't want to admit we have a... Read More

Law of Attraction Article: How to STOP Being a Person Nothing Works For

Do you ever wonder why great things happen to some... Read More

How to Escape Out of Thought Traps?

Have you ever been really sure about something, only to... Read More

How To Use Affirmations To Create Prosperity?

Dear Internet friend. Each human being is an incredible piece... Read More

What Message Are You Sending Out?

A woman phoned me the other day to ask me... Read More

Emotional Alchemy

See if this scenario sounds familiar. You're under a lot... Read More

If You Want Others to Like You, Like Yourself First!

Many of us mistakenly believe that it's wrong or conceited,... Read More

Who Do You Think You Are?

Are you totally in love with your life?Whatever your current... Read More