Kinetic, The Forward State of Mind

An object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object sitting still, never will.

In September 2011 fate and circumstances beyond my control found me lying in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward, very sick, in much pain, and being asked by the Nurses and Doctors attending me whether I would like to be put on life support if I died. As you can imagine things get pretty serious when death comes calling. Now before I tell you what happened next, let me elaborate about something I’ve developed that helps me put my best foot forward every day, Kinetic Thinking, the forward state of mind that allows me to evolve into a better more productive person each day.

There are two parts involved in creating and maintaining a great sense of well-being; the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. The first half is Physiological; physical and chemical processes, the second is Psychological; related to the mental and emotional state of a person. Don't ever forget that. Let's examine the Physiological half, the part that happens inside the body. Neurotransmitters are chemicals present in the human brain that facilitate an innumerable number of bodily functions. Among these functions, they control feelings of joy, euphoria, and a general state of well-being. They affect our emotions, and overall health in the most profound and impactful ways possible. It’s humbling to realize that the lack of these key components of human physiology, can literally change the course of one’s life. As a teenager I became fascinated with three neurotransmitters associated with a state of well-being; Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine. People who have deficiencies, or an imbalance of these neurotransmitters suffer from depression. I first became acquainted with neurotransmitters when I studied Anatomy and Physiology in High School, and again in College. Why was I so intrigued with them? Have you ever seen a person who is normally quiet, and more reserved, completely change into a boisterous, loud talking "life of the party" type persona after a couple of alcoholic drinks? Well that's because alcohol stimulates the release of Dopamine in the brain, albeit a brief, not to mention unhealthy way to increase Dopamine. Using alcohol to stimulate the release of Dopamine is bad because the brain reduces Dopamine below normal levels once the alcohol clears the system. That leaves you feeling depressed, hence the reason alcohol is classified as a depressant. You see the presence of these chemicals in your brain will make you very happy, outgoing, confident, and positive, and the lack of them will leave you incapacitated to the point of a complete mental shutdown. To put it simple, sadness and happiness are not just emotions, these emotional states are related to chemicals in your brain. So it should come as no surprise that you need to make sure healthy levels of these key chemicals are maintained. A positive mental attitude begins with a positive balance of essential mood enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain. They won't teach you that in motivational classes, but it's a fact!

Lets delve deeper into the Physiological part of being Kinetic. Being naturally shy and introverted, I began to pay close attention to people with the attributes and characteristics I wished to emulate. I studied the traits of very outgoing, well liked and successful people I interacted with, and theorized that these people had very healthy levels of Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine in their system. Coincidentally these same people also maintained very positive mental attitudes (PMA). With the emergence of the World Wide Web I had more information than ever at my fingertips, so I looked up healthy foods and nutrients that promoted higher levels of these key neurotransmitters in the body, and the world of Amino acids was unveiled before my eyes. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, they are a virtual cornucopia of natural nutrients the body needs daily, in fact without amino acids life simply isn’t possible. These building blocks of protein specifically; L Theanine, L Tryptophan, and L Tyrosine, along with the chemical Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA), and the hormone Melatonin combine holistically in a delicate balance that enhances a sense of well-being, provides deep restful sleep, and makes us more energetic and outgoing. Additionally Taurine which is commonly found in energy drinks, and can be bought as a supplement, and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) have also been shown to improve brain levels of Serotonin, and Dopamine. In fact SAMe which can be bought over the counter at your local health food store or pharmacy in the U.S. is a frontline prescription drug in Europe used to treat Clinical depression. All these amino acids and supplements can be purchased at any health food store. And what's more...they work!

So over three decades ago I began the journey of reinventing myself; it’s been a never-ending quest. I take L Tyrosine and vitamin B6 when I wake up to raise my Dopamine levels, when vitamin B6 and L Tyrosine come together Dopamine levels rise naturally. A little GABA in the evening as necessary, because it's calm and relaxing, L Tryptophan and Melatonin before I go to bed to raise my Serotonin levels, and I exercise to help my body produce Norepinephrine. L-Theanine has positive effects on stress levels and has been scientifically proven to increase dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain, it can be taken at any time of the day, especially when you're under emotional and physical stress. This is why tea containing L-theanine, such as green tea and oolong tea, are effective at helping people relax. A healthy diet comprised of whole grains, lean protein, fruits, omega 3 & 6 fatty acids from fish or a nutritional supplement like Krill Oil, and green leafy vegetables help to maintain balanced blood sugar and neurotransmitter levels, this in turn has positive effects on my state of well-being. Processed foods are eaten very sparingly, I mean you will eat a tiny bit of junk food now and then, but not too much, they wreak havoc in the body.

Now that we've examined the Physiological part of being Kinetic, let’s move on to the Psychological part. Along with nutritional support, the conscious mind, the part you can actively control, needs to be purposefully managed. Now by purposeful management, I mean the mind much like the body consumes whatever is around to feed it. Music, TV shows, reading material, and interactions with people cause a constant state of flux whereby the subconscious mind is constantly changing. Negative conversations, griping, complaining, anger, and self-depreciating thoughts will rot your very essence. If you’re harboring these thoughts in your mind; they need to be gone! Avoid people who love to be negative, they’re locked into a destructive cycle, it will rub off on you. The only way I interact with negativity is to enable an individual to see that their thought process is stagnant, it’s taking them nowhere, and it’s not kinetic. They’re sitting still, they need to get their minds in motion. You don’t have to wake up feeling perky every morning and say positive things to everyone you see, it’s not an act, it’s a management plan whereby you realize and acknowledge the things in life that bother you, but choose to focus on the positive, and move beyond the negative. Life has its lows and its highs, the only thing you can control is how you choose to allow these phases to affect you. That’s right, you can determine how to let things affect you. Someone once told me “Learn to control your emotions, or you will become a victim of the limitations they impose”.  So without further conjecture, let me introduce you to the Psychological aspects of Kinetic Thinking;

1.)   You are endowed with the innate ability to reinvent yourself continually; at the core of who you are, there is no permanent bond that compels you to remain in a fixed state. You can become whatever you want to be. As you live and you learn, you add to the collective attributes you already possess, and you must actively incorporate higher ideas, and ideals into what makes you who you are. Never stop becoming better.

2.)   Realize that your thoughts affect your behavior; “as the man thinketh so is he” watch your thoughts, you unconsciously act on them, you make decisions based on them, impulsive behavior based on raw emotion will almost always have negative results. Maintain a level mind, don’t get caught up in emotions, yes you have to feel, it’s a part of being human, but choose to act, don’t react. 

3.)    People’s opinions of you don’t define who you are, your own opinion does; when people tell me I can’t be successful based on their assumptions, and/or what they believe about me, I take that as positive inspiration to succeed. Criticism can be constructive, but when people spew poison at you, don’t allow it to penetrate to your core. People who do these things are damaged, flawed, and broken. They lash out at anything or anyone in a vain attempt to feel better about themselves by depreciating others. 

4.)   You’re as good as you choose to be; set a standard for excellence, not mediocrity, and you’ll be excellent. If just getting by works for you, well quite frankly, don’t expect any fireworks to go off when your name is spoken. Yes people’s opinions don’t define you, but your actions do. Can’t be helped, sorry, the tree is judged by the fruit it bears.

5.)   Mistakes are a necessary part of life; pride corrupts the soul, mistakes curtail our pride causing us not to highlight our successes over others failures. Let the sting of defeat guide you to show empathy for others, humble yourself. By helping others to stand taller, we in turn rise to new heights.

6.)    Feed your mind on the good food of life; put negativity out of your mind, watch how things affect you. The things your mind consumes i.e.: Conversations, TV shows, reading material, music etc… add to your ever evolving collective state of being. Let that collective remain wholesome, and in turn you will be wholesome.

7.)   There are times life will really, really, suck; Sorry but there’s no other way to say it! I was sitting in a meeting on March 17th, 2016 at 11:17am the day the call came to tell me my Dad died, it really sucked. But my Dad told me, when I die I want you to keep moving on, don't stop. Its okay to get down, but don’t stay down. Run when you can, walk when you can’t, crawl if that’s all the strength you have, and by all means be still when you can’t go on. Then get up, it’s that simple…get up. You lost someone, they definitely want you to go on, someone hurt you, you’ll find someone better, you lack what you need, walk by faith, not by sight. Praying works for me, find what works for you. The week of Thanksgiving this year, someone who bought rugs from me here in our gallery had to face the death of her Dad. I was there for her, I helped her, we both stood tall against the odds, and we won. She calls me her guardian angel, I call her my shining star!

8.)   Never let the wonder of life fail to amaze you; take a fresh look at the world again today, there’s inspiration all around you, you probably don’t even notice the beauty of nature and the fact that against all odds you were born to behold it. I’ll tell you, as I faced the possibility of death, the simplest things took on new meaning in the best of ways.

9.) The past may be etched in stone, but the future isn't; Rudyard Kipling's famous work of poetry called IF has this verse " If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same". Can you? Can one really be so level minded and in control of their emotions that this is even possible? Look at the context, Rudyard Kipling wrote this poem for a friend, a friend who at the time was incarcerated for a failed coup attempt. The very people who supported his coup attempt were now condemning him; no one wants to be associated with a failure. Talk about a downer, criticized and abandoned by your friends and supporters. Here is my personal opinion, your past is linked for better or for worse to the person you were yesterday. You're in motion, you're Kinetic, you should be constantly evolving. People can judge your past; you can't change that, but the future belongs to you. You and only you will determine who you are tomorrow. So in this context, your past may be etched in stone, but the future is your story to write. Don't overly focus on the past, whether it be success, or failure. Wake up with a renewed zeal for life everyday. Let the possibilities of the future encourage you to move higher and higher.

10.) The emotions we experience are simply chemical reactions in the brain, and we can with enough discipline learn to maintain control over them; I once watched a program on the Discovery Channel where the chemical processes of the human brain were discussed, the part I found most fascinating was their description of love. It turns out that love is a "Neuropeptide". According to the narrative of the program I was watching, when we see someone toward which we have an affinity, the brain releases specific neuropeptides, and this is what we call affection, or love. Not exactly romantic, but it serves as a reminder that feelings can be deceiving. How so? Suppose someone has a chemical imbalance, well that's a common psychiatric condition known as bipolar disorder, too much dopamine in some instances causing extreme euphoria, and too little in others causing immense sadness. These symptoms will appear even in the absence of an actual event to trigger these emotions, in other words the individual feels extremely happy or sad for absolutely no reason! Uncontrollable highs and lows render the individual unstable and in need of medical care. This is perhaps the most important principle of Kinetic Thinking, realizing that emotional lows and highs are directly related to neurotransmitter levels in your brain, and using that knowledge to maintain control. Whenever I find myself feeling down, I mentally choose to isolate whatever is bothering me so I can decide how to react to it. Am I just feeling blue today? If so, why? Lonely, grieving, angry, major setback, bad news etc... Once I've identified the "trigger" I retreat to my safety zone. With enough concentration I have found it is possible to separate myself from what I'm feeling, I remind myself that a chemical process is at work, and I choose how to let it affect me. Prayer and reflection work for me, I pray and remind myself worrying solves nothing, sadness is a part of life, I will get through this...somehow, I have to keep going. Peaks and valleys, forests and the deserts, sunlight and darkness, such is life; I was born to overcome. I take my supplements, exercise, and force myself to embrace life, no matter what my feelings say, I keep moving. Chemicals don't control me, I control them. It's not easy, but i'm living proof that it can be done. We are creatures of emotion, and emotions can be controlled.

11.) There's nothing wrong with seeking help; If you find yourself in a difficult place where you feel overwhelmed, theres nothing wrong with seeking the help of a friend, or even a medical professional. There are times in life when a positive mental attitude may be beyond your reach, theres nothing wrong with that. Don't ever feel ashamed to ask for help. It will not make you any less of a person to acknowledge your weaknesses, in fact that takes great courage, and that's definitely Kinetic!

And there you have it, Kinetic Thinking; a forward state of mind. Consider this as a step in the direction to a new, better, brighter you. Now I’ll tell you what I said to the nurses and doctors around my bed giving me the bad news about my condition, and the possibility of death. Word for word...

“There are other people in this hospital that may die today, I’m not one of them. Please go and attend to them, I can’t sign that document asking for life support, it would be an acknowledgement that I may die. Here’s what’s going to happen, I believe that God created me, and right now my blood cells are looking for the nutrients to repair me. I’m going to get up in a few hours and go home. I’ll pray, eat right, and exercise, God created the body and he put things in nature that feed it and repair it, I’m going to put those nutrients into me, and I’m going to get better and get on with my life”.

They admired my courage, but were very skeptical, no faith. Could see the doubt and sympathy in their eyes, feeling sorry for me. I felt sorry for them, well meaning people blinded by what they simply couldn’t or wouldn’t understand. Well if you’re wondering what happened? I left the ICU 30 hours later, I had to go; the negativity was killing me (no pun intended). See for yourself, every time you see me in my photos with the friends I meet each week here in our showroom, just know you’re witnessing a miracle. Because I actively seek out new methods of maintaining a positive mental attitude, the list of ways to keep my mind kinetic keeps growing, I'm in motion, you should be too. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, be Kinetic my friends, maintain a forward state of mind.

Please Note: I am not a Psychologist or Psychiatrist, if you suffer from a chemical imbalance, or clinical depression, please seek the help of a licensed professional in these fields of specialty. Please check with your physician before taking any nutritional supplements.