Workbook Part IV:
Create a Peaceful World
To read the accompanying explanation for these exercises, go to chapter four: Solve Collective Problems - Click here.
Steps to Peace
Here is the Steps to Riches exercise from the last chapter, adjusted to address collective problems.
Write down one area of concern in the world today that you wish you could change:
Think about the highest possible outcome for everyone involved. Write down your vision:
Find out if anyone shares your vision. Take some time to research the Internet and other networks. It may be difficult to find like minds at first, but you can have more influence over collective problems if you work in harmony with others who are pursuing the same goals. Research and note down the people already working in your field:
What do you like about their approach?
What do you dislike about their approach:
Would you like to do something about this situation by joining with others or by pursuing a solution on your own? Write down you initial thoughts:
Decide how much time and resources you can dedicate to helping. It may be as simple as making a charitable contribution, or it could involve writing letters, or investing your time and energy in other ways. It could even turn into a new hobby or career. Write down your impressions about what you can do to help:
Write a statement to summarize your goals:
If you now have plans for major changes, read your statement aloud every day for the next thirty days.
Creative Imagination Workout
Hill called the imagination the "Workshop of the Mind" and said that this workshop has been part of every human accomplishment and every dream that has ever become reality. Imagination is the medium where the finite human mind connects with the infinite intelligence, which is similar to Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious.
The more you use your imagination, the easier it gets because it's like a muscle that you can develop through use. You have to exercise your imagination or it will become weak. If you cannot imagine things being different than they are now, then your imagination is out of shape. Your imagination never dies, although it may seem like it has.
Here is an exercise to stretch your imagination:
Write down your plan (as described in several previous exercises):
Read your plan several times a day with the conscious intention of influencing your subconscious. Pay attention to your words and feelings. Read it with absolute faith that you are planting the seeds of positive change and growth. Tell yourself that you can achieve your goals. Decide that you will do whatever it takes to succeed. As you read your plan each day, you will influence your subconscious mind to work for you.
Spend thirty minutes thinking about what you want. Refine and clarify the picture until you can see your situation exactly as you want it to be. Acknowledge that because of the principle of autosuggestion, any desire that you hold in your mind will eventually express itself and there will eventually be a practical opportunity to fulfill it.
Spend ten minutes a day building up your self-confidence. Believe that what you want is good and you will develop the self-confidence to follow through. Getting the confidence necessary to become a self-reliant, successful person also involves getting the cooperation of others. Tell yourself that you will become confident enough to get others to support you and follow you.
Write down five reasons why your plan could work:
Write down five reasons to believe in yourself and your plan:
End Worry of the Future Worksheet
The following exercise will help you develop effective strategies to deal with threatening future events.
Identify something undesirable that will probably take place in your personal life in the near future. Write it down:
Write down what you are doing about it (besides worry):
Is there anything else you can do to make things turn out the way you want? Write down your ideas:
Has something like this ever happened to you before? If so, what is the first time you remember having this feeling about a situation? Write down your impressions:
What conclusions can you draw from the way these situations have turned out for you in the past?
When you talk about the situation, do you use negative or positive language? What do you typically say?
Is there a more positive way to frame your thoughts? Write down your ideas:
Why did you get involved in or commit to this event or situation?
Is there anyway to reduce or prevent similar situations in the future?
What would be the highest possible outcome for you and everyone involved?
What one thing would symbolize success if the situation were to turn out better than you expect?
Solve Collective Problems Worksheet
This exercise is similar to the previous one, but directed toward collective problems.
Identify an issue you are concerned about somewhere in the world. Explain what it is:
Write down what you are doing about it (besides worry):
What types of people are already working on the problem (if you can't think of any off hand, do some research on the Internet and write down what you find):
Is there something you can do to help the situation? Write down your ideas:
Do these traumatic world events remind you of any personal situations you have been through, such as losing a loved one, divorce (your own or your parents'), or other abuse or hardship?
If so, what is the first time you remember having these feeling about a situation? Write down your impressions:
What conclusions can you draw from the way similar situations have turned out in the past?
If collective problems appear to mirror your personal problems, what can you do to stop projecting?
When you talk about the collective problems, do you use negative or positive language? What do you typically say?
Is there a more positive way to frame your thoughts? Write down your ideas:
Identify the things that could make the situation turn out better.
What would the highest possible outcome be if this problem could be solved?
What one thing would symbolize success if the situation turns out better than you expect?
Optimisim Peace Quotes
Your final exam for each workbook chapter: choose one quote, write it on an index card, and post it temporarily where you will remember to read it several times a day. Extra credit: Look up something more about the author and context of the quote.
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized." - Sun Tzu
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self - evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer (English philosopher, 1788 - 1860)
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead (American anthropologist, 1901 - 1978)
"If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times." - Saint Augustine (Christian theologian, 354 - 430 AD)
"If you have a negative thought about a world situation, dwell upon the best that could happen in that situation." - Peace Pilgrim
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation." - Pearl S. Buck (1892 - 1973)
"What you do may seem insignificant, but it's important that you do it." - Mohandas Gandhi
"Every noble work is at first impossible." - Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)
"Failure cannot cope with persistence." - Napoleon Hill
"Act as if it were impossible to fail." - Dorothea Brande (American writer, 1893 - 1948)
"Nothing is impossible to us, except of course, that which is contrary to the laws of nature and the Universe." - Emile Coué
"Wisdom erases karma." - Dick Sutphin
"I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them." - George Bernard Shaw (Irish - born British dramatist, 1856 - 1950)
"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you've wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." - Charles Lindbergh
"People with goals succeed because they know where they're going." - Earl Nightingale
"To accomplish something, we must plan to accomplish something." - David J. Schwartz, Ph.D., University of Georgia
"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities." - Walt Kelly (animator and cartoonist, creator of Pogo, 1913 - 1973
