Breathing Life - Joshua Roy's Blog

I have been thinking a lot about values over the last couple of days.   Values are simply judgements about something.  Judgements are split into two categories.  The first is made up of things that you may like.  The second is made of things you may dislike.  The reasons or judgments about why you like or dislike that thing is a key in determining your set of values.   For example; You may like exercise.  You may dislike running. You may like eating fish.  You may dislike Lamb shanks. You may like self-improvement.  You may dislike religion. You may like computer games.  You may dislike public speaking.   Our likes and dislikes create feelings, attitudes and beliefs.  These feelings, attitudes and beliefs result in us finding certain attributes or qualities important to us and our life.  As we consider what is important in a certain area of life we are in fact thinking about our values.   One of the best ways of eliciting values from a person is to ask the question.  What is important to you in that area?   As an example if you wanted to know what your physical fitness values were, you might ask yourself…

I attended a meeting on leadership principles.  In this meeting I was asked to come up to the front of the room with 2 other people.  While at the front of the room two of us were asked to grab the arms of the third person, one on one side and the second on the other.  I obediently grabbed onto the left arm of this man.  We were then asked to pull which we did.   Pointing to the man in the middle the speaker made this point.  He stated that we all represented the man the middle being pulled in two different directions.  He stated that we need to resist and remain on track and focussed, and have a constant battle within ourselves in order to make good choices.   Obviously he was talking about the conflict that exists between the conscious mind and the unconscious man.  In religion it is referred to as the conflict between good and evil.  The conflict between God and the devil.  The conflict between light and darkness.  The natural man and the spiritual man.   What if we reached a point in our minds and hearts in which there was no internal conflict? …

I thought that I would take the time to write a short blog about the six human needs.   These needs are common to all human beings who enjoy the human experience.   While these needs relate to every person, they may be sequenced and ordered differently according to the values and beliefs of each individual.   The first human need is the need for certainty.  This need grows out of the desire to know what we know.  For example we know that the sun will rise in the morning.  We know that Breakfast is the first meal of the day.  We know where we live, and who we live with. This knowledge keeps us safe and secure.  This knowledge stabilises our world and enables us to take comfort and have trust in the predictable aspects of our lives.   The second human need is the need for uncertainty.  This need is often called variety.  Too much certainty and predictability make for a condition in which there is no surprises in life.  This would make for a boring and unfulfilling life.  Without an occasional surprise, and without the challenges of uncertainty in life, the forging of our character would be null…