North Star Mental Fitness Blog

Freedom Is Not An Entitlement

Are you erroneously thinking that "freedom is an entitlement" or that the " world owes you something"?  Are you erroneously looking for the government to take care of you and give you freedom?

Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness!

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Man are created equal,  that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that amongst these are the Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".  This is a quote from the Declaration of Independence.

The framers of our government realized the importance of freedom for each and every individual.  They perceived freedom and the pursuit of happiness to be basic truths and our basic rights given to us by our Creator and codified by the Second Constitutional Congress.

In the North Star Mental Fitness Program, the focus is on training individuals to exercise their self-evident and inalienable rights for living their life under their own direction.  The purpose of the program is to provide tools to help people self-actualize and achieve their own dreams. 

In the North Star Mental Fitness Program, people are motivated to make changes in their lives out of freedom.  No matter how big or small one's achievement becomes, the real goal is to experience increased happiness, peace of mind, freedom and control over one's life. 

We very strongly believe that people are motivated to have their benefits, which are happiness, peace of mind, freedom and control over their lives.  While it is important for individuals to be free in their pursuit of happiness, it is also important that our government must not become destroy these self-evident truths and our inalienable rights.

It is important for our federal, state and local governments to uphold the rights given to us by the Declaration of Independence.

As July 4th approaches, let us celebrate our independence with a determination to ensure that our government does not neutralize our inalienable rights for freedom and the pursuit of happiness.   Let us courageously pursue our dreams in order to experience our freedom and happiness.

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

WE WILL LIVE WITHIN THE COUNTRY CREATED BY OUR CHOICES!

Memorial Day. A day to remember our known and unknown heroes.  A day of reverence and gratitude for those who sacrificed for our independence and to those who gave up their lives so we can live in freedom.  As I reflected on our national heroes, I admired their mental fitness to stay the course and win our independence.  Here are some quotations that remember our national heroes and can also strengthen our resolve to be strong and heroic.  It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.  General George S. Patton “It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” Major General Norman Schwartzkopf "That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end.”  Lise Hand "Courage is contagious.  When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened."  Reverend Billy Graham "The hero is the man dedicated to the creation and/or defense of reality-conforming, life-promoting values."  Andrew Berbstein ”A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."  Joseph Campbell   "The bravest are those who surely have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."  Thucydides "Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves."  Carol Lynn Pearson "Nurture your minds with great thoughts, to believe in the heroic makes heroes."  Benjamin Disraeli "Courage is resistances to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear." "A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer."  Novalis “It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes."  Louis Pasteur "Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go."  Bernard Malamud We need and can have the courage and conviction to continue the fight for our independence. Remember, We Will Live Within The Country Created by Our Choices. Dr. Hal Life and Mental Fitness Coach

 

“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.”  Carol Lynn Pearson quotes Nurture your minds with great thoughts, to believe in the heroic makes heroes.”  Benjamin Disraeli quotes “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear”  Mark Twain quotes

Our Super Bowl & Our Time for a Revolution

Today is Super Bowl Sunday.  Millions of Americans will be riveted in front of their TVs as they watch the New Orleans Saints battle the Indianapolis Colts.

Today I also woke up to an article about Sarah Palin, who delivered a speech last night and claimed that "America is ready for a another revolution".

As I thought about these two epic events,

We Are Proud Americans

We are proud Americans!  We are proud to be Americans!  We are not ashamed of our country!  We cherish and value our constitution, democratic heritage, values and country.  We are proud of the American people, who have actively expressed ourselves throughout the last few years. 

Our courageous determination to confront our government regarding the government's insensitivity to the interests of the American public was recognized by Scott Brown.  Scott Brown is not the hero, although he must be recognized for his willingness to listen and represent the American public.  This is what we want in our elected officials.

The hero is the American public.  We focused, we have acted and we are celebrating our successes!  We are taking back our power!  We are not blindly dependent upon our elected officials anymore.  No longer can we assume that our representatives are doing what is best for America and the American public. 

We are accountable for whom we elect.  We will hold those whom we elect accountable for representing us.  We now know that we have to be on guard, aware, critically evaluating, and actively communicating our beliefs and opinions to those who are elected to represent us and govern us.

We are willing to do whatever is necessary as American people in order to ensure that the American public is represented in Congress, governmental agencies and the White House.  We understand that we can no longer be complacent.

We must be willing to continue the fight until we get rid of all of the representatives, policies and governmental decisions that defiantly reject the will of the people.  We must continue the fight to be Americans and reject the arrogant who believe we are not smart enough to know what we want and, therefore, want to tell us what is best for us.

Michelle Obama has been criticized for her statement for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback".  She was criticized for saying that it was the "first time" she was proud of her country.  I disagree with her "first time" statement, but I agree with much of what she said .

Today, I agree with Michelle's statement "it feels like hope is finally making a comeback".  Michelle Obama also stated "People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics".  This statement is true today. 

The change we want is not a change in political party.  It is not a matter of Democrats versus Republicans.  We want our elected officials to continue to listen to us after they are like elected.  We want our opinions to be valued.  We want our elected officials to not violate the Constitution.  We want to be free!

Remember, We Live within the Government Created by Our Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Freedom from Governmental Dysfunctions

I have been blogging about change.  Vern from Aim for Awesome started me thinking about change and becoming free of life dysfunctions.

Vern defined a Life Dysfunction as "something about you that is at odds with society".  His idea was that we need to change what is creating discomfort for us and putting us at odds with society.

I do not disagree with this belief as it is a core belief of mental fitness.  However sometimes, we need to look at what is shaping society.  We need to evaluate whether society is being shaped by governmental interventions that are consistent with our political and personal beliefs and goals.

I define a Government Dysfunction as something about our government that is at odds with our society or us as individuals.  Government dysfunction is something about the government that is putting us at odds with our society, our Constitution and our freedom.

We need to stop being so preoccupied with our individual, life dysfunctions and disappointments.  We need to look beyond the boundaries of our skin, our family and our associations. 

Sometimes it is necessary and important to stop focusing on how we adapt and fit into society.  Sometimes it is necessary and important to focus on how our government is shaping society.

Now is the time!  It is necessary to change and remove our government dysfunctions that are negatively changing society and limiting our freedom.

There are many important societal issues and changes being forced upon us by our government.  Health Care is one of those issues.  The relevance of our Constitution is another issue.  Whether we will continue to have a democracy or socialistic government is another issue.  The issues are innumerable and life-changing.  Our government is determined to change our society.  It is important for all of us to determine whether the governmental changes will be dysfunctions or corrections for past dysfunctions.

We must defend our rights and freedoms.  We must stand up and courageously commit to removing dysfunctional government practices and individuals from determining the quality of our society and changing the nature of our government.

Remember, We Live within the Society and Government Created by Our Choices! 

For too long we have been content to do nothing regarding the government.  Doing nothing is a choice and will result in a dysfunctional government creating a dysfunctional society with dysfunctional individuals.  We must be actively and courageously committed to express ourselves and be heard.  We must make sure that our representatives represent us.

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach