David Hollingworth

Do you day dream?

Do you day dream of walking down deserted golden beaches under a tropical sun?

Do you dream of buying a new car, or a house with a nice view?

Do you dream of a rewarding career helping others?

Well stop dreaming and write these things down! If you’re serious about wanting these things then these aren’t just dreams; these are your goals!

Many of us go through life dreaming of how things could be different; but unless we make those dreams real they’re very unlikely to happen for us.

Start today. If you don’t have a list of your dreams then write one today.

Make it a goal for today - don’t write them on the back of an envelope; try and find a note book to write them in. It’s the first step to making them reality!

As a bit of a departure from the usual posts I thought I’d recount a scary encounter I had last night.

First you have to get a mental picture of my “office”. The room is about 15 foot long by about 12 foot at the very widest; but most of the room is a lot narrower than that. My desk and computer are up the wide end of the room under the window, that’s my “office”; whilst the dish washer and machine machine are up the narrow end - that’s the “utility room”.

So last night I’m sitting at my desk writing my journal about 11pm. It’s well dark outside and I’m aware that there’s a number of moths flying against the window attracted by the lights. Sometimes the moths manage to get in as I’ve the window is locked slightly open to allow some ventilation.

So I’m typing away when a shadow falls across my screen, “Oh!”, I think, “There’s a moth after getting in”.

Then the shadow passes across the screen again, “Hang on! That’s a very big moth”. I swivel round in my chair and there’s this great, black bat flying straight at me!

I don’t have to tell you that I didn’t stop to measure its wing span!

Now it could have been a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) or a House Martin (Delichon urbica) as we’ve both nesting around the house at the moment and it looked a similar size. Except for the fact that I didn’t see any white or other colouration on it this thing then did a disappearing act and vanished which is a thing I think a bat would do whereas a bird would probably keep flying about. There’s a huge number of crooks and crannies a bat could hide in behind book cases and appliances. Maybe it even went out the way it came in.

Before you ask; no, I didn’t imagine it. Mrs H. saw it make a pass of the kitchen the instant before I saw it.

So somewhere in here with me now there probably lurks a bat. I’ll have to wait and see if it comes out again tonight.

As we go through life we can develop certain beliefs about ourselves that contribute to the image we have of ourselves. Often these are negative or constraining beliefs that might be based on a single incident in our childhood and yet we continue to believe these things are us. These are our limiting beliefs.

Our limiting beliefs hold us back from achieving our full potential because we believe them to be true. Examples of limiting beliefs might be; I can’t remember peoples names or; I’m no good a spelling. So we don’t engage with people because think we won’t remember their names, or we don’t write because we think we can’t spell.

Here’s an exercise; list down ten things you believe about yourself that are limiting your potential. If you can’t think of ten that’s OK, just list as many as you can.

Now take the three that you feel are having the most impact on your life and write these down separately. Here’s three from my own stable of limiting beliefs:

1. I can’t remember things in exams, I go to pieces
2. I am a poor presenter
3. I am an introverted person

Got three for yourself? Good.

Now for each of your limiting beliefs write the most positive, affirming statement that you can devise. Again here are my three:

1. When taking exams I remain calm and in control and the information I need flows into me
2. I am an excellent presenter and an accomplished public speaker. When presenting I find the information I need comes to me when I need it.
3. I am an outgoing person who mixes well with other people.

Finally take a separate card and write out your new beliefs. Place the card where you’ll see it several times a day and when you do say the affirmations to yourself. Say them over and over again and you will come to believe them. The process isn’t instantaneous, after all it took some time for the original limiting belief to become ingrained and so it will take some time for the new belief to take root; but stick at it because they will become your new reality.

One of my pet hates is litter.

Litter seems to be an endemic problem in Ireland. I live in a rural environment; but if I walk up the lane outside our house I find it littered with plastic bottles, drink cans, crisp packets and all manner of rubbish.

I live near Clonakilty in West Cork. A picturesque town that has recently won awards for being Ireland’s tidiest town as well as an international ward for its floral displays. Yet its streets are littered with dog excrement!

Two events really prompted me to post this,

1. I was driving home one evening from work when a crisp packet was thrown out of the window of the car in front.
2. Mrs. H. and I were sitting in our car in the car park at a local beach. The car park backs onto a small grassy area at the edge of a wetland reserve. Another car pulled in and child (aged about ten) got out, threw an empty coke can onto the grass and got back into the car. They left a few minutes later, no one else got out of the car.

What does this blatant disregard say for the Irish respect for their environment? OK, I know I shouldn’t generalize; but the level of litter in general makes me think this is a general problem.

Now I’m going to extrapolate. I believe that respect for the environment is a reflection of respect for the self. If I don’t respect myself then I’m not going to respect my environment and if I’m not respecting my environment it’s because I’m not respecting my self.

So what does all this littering say about the way the Irish respect themselves?