University of Life

Last night I dreamt about being in a medieval-like land with a queen (played by my last girlfriend) and a bad guy with a big sword. If it had been a movie, it would have ended very quickly, because when the queen and I rode up to the bad guy, I shot him (just like Indiana Jones) and the conflict ended. But then I realized that the bad guy was a robot, and it turns out he wasn't quite dead. And all that stuff about being bad? He was just running his program. Once I pointed out that he had choice, he proved very willing and able to organize and move things in a very positive, healthy direction. He shoved his sword down through the earth and and steered the world as if it had an engine and the hilt were a steering wheel. Please, let's not get all Freudian now. The important question is - are YOU a robot? Are you just running your program - going from day to day doing whatever you do because that's the way things have always been done and you feel like it and have never considered doing things differently? If so, then integrate this new line of code: <bold> YOU HAVE CHOICE </bold>. Observe yourself for a few days. What do you do? What do you think and feel? What are your attitudes, who are the friends you've chosen, how well do you take care of yourself, and do you believe in yourself? Ask yourself a hundred questions about who you "are." As you get to know yourself better (or rather, who you thought you were), then start asking who you would RATHER be. How would you rather act? What options have always been available to you that you never noticed? Observe others around you. Who are they? How do they think and feel and act? Do they give you any ideas for your own life makeover? Ignore any doubts and resistance - your brain always makes a fuss when you try to change, but keep working and it will adjust to the new normal however you want to create it. My friend Justin, in high school, was a nerd. Then one day he decided to be cool (not that nerds can't be cool). We teased him about it at first, but within a week or two, it was no use. He had chosen his life, and no one could resist it. Who do YOU want to be? Once you start observing yourself and considering your options, you'll probably discover who you were all along but never noticed. You'll probably discover that being your true self works a lot better than whatever you were being before. Just like Pinocchio, you'll discover the joy of no longer being a robot or a wooden toy, but being a real boy (or girl).