Paradigm Shift

Karen wrote a post about paradigm shift (click on the link to read it) and I had to think for a few days before I finally found the answers.

My first breakthrough in paradigm shift happened during my teenage years, after I read Norman Vincent Peale's book entitled "The Power of Positive Thinking". Before reading the book, I had always been such a sensitive child. I carried score cards of people's wrongdoings (this is still a weakness I have yet to master, but I'm not as bad anymore). I've always been blessed with a good memory chip in my brain, so it is HARD for me to forget, especially if I feel that somebody's hurt me even though that person didn't mean to do it. I had been carrying balls and chains of score cards that hurt me so much for years before I found this book. Only after I found this book did I realize how stupid I was.

Back then I always justified my feelings 'coz after all, I DID feel all those churning emotions inside me and I couldn't deny those feelings. The book taught me that I shouldn't be the prisoner of my thoughts and we're in charge of our emotions. I had let my environment and other people and outside factors to dictate my emotion and that was wrong. The book showed me a better way to live. ;-D

While reading the book, the idea that struck me the most was this: "When there's a negative thought popping out, counter it with one positive thought. There's ALWAYS a positive side of everything." At first I was skeptical. Yeah, call me daft 'coz I couldn't figure it out myself hi hi hi hi...but I'm always THANKFUL for having found that book. I'm GRATEFUL to Mr. Norman Vincent Peale for having written that book. It really struck my core and changed my world completely. I used to thrive on cynicism. I even used cynicism to be funny 'coz my other friends are more naturally funnier than me, so I thought that being cynically funny would make me be "equally" funny. I realized that it wasn't really good, 'coz even though I made jokes, cynicism is still cynicism. It's still a negative force that's dangerous for me.

Anyway, even though I was skeptical, I decided to "try out" Mr. Peale's magic trick. First time it worked. Second time it got better. My mood got better in a faster period of time. Then as I kept on applying that trick, it got easier and easier for me to add more and more positive thoughts to counter the bad one. If you had known me back then during my teenage years, you'd probably be surprised he he he he...So I think this is my very first HUGE paradigm shift as it affected so many other aspects of my life. ;-D

Side note: I don't care what some people say about Norman Vincent Peale's book. Some say that his theories aren't good, but hey, I'm living proof that they DO work he he he he...

The second BIG breakthrough in paradigm shift happened a few years ago when I learnt to surrender to God completely. My close friends had already told me to do this over and over again, but I could only apply it in my life after I found HUGE stumbling blocks where I could do nothing else but to surrender to Him and trust Him completely. THANK GOD for stumbling blocks he he he he... ----> I think this proves that if the student's not ready, no matter how many teachers there are to help him/her and no matter how GREAT the teachers are, the lessons won't be too effectively absorbed by the student. He or she will still NOT get it!!!

One reason why I was reluctant in surrendering to Him completely was because I had known some people who surrendered completely to God without doing their parts. I was always wondering whether I had done enough to be able to surrender completely to God. Where's the line between surrendering to God and doing my part? I was always so confused.

However, after some time, I realize that I was wrong in thinking that way. I should've learnt to surrender to Him COMPLETELY anytime even while I was doing the best that I could. It doesn't matter where the line is as long as I do my part with the best of ability that I can and surrendering to Him completely at the same time. It doesn't have to be an "either - or" situation, but they should go together side by side. (Pssstt...I think I was also a bit of a control freak 'coz I was afraid of letting go of the steering wheel and surrendering to God - which was ironic 'coz logically speaking, it was sillier to trust myself than God!!! But that was me he he he he...)

I'm still a beginner in this area, but at least I think it's starting to get easier for me to surrender to Him completely. Finally my thick head understands that even though I feel as though I had my life in control, it's actually an illusion. God can let ANYTHING happen to me to assure my surrendering to Him completely. Thus in essence, it's still better to surrender to Him all the way through my life anyway rather than feeling "in control of everything".

Anyway, in the post, Karen asked if the readers are happy with the current state they are in. I can say that I am happy with my life right now, but I'm gonna enjoy the journeys through life. I may learn the same lessons over and over again - hopefully in deeper, wider, and more solid ways instead of forgetting them and I will surely learn new ones over the years. I think everybody has his/her own latent enemies, so do I. That's why I won't be content just staying "here", 'coz I agree with what they say: there's always room for improvement. *wink*