Two basic truths for

• life,
• business,
• education,
• relationships,
• spiritual well being,
• emotional health.

Do you ever forget that what now seems obvious was once a revelation? Or that some of the most basic things in life are things you most easily take for granted, then forget about, then remember, then forget again, over and over again.

Ideas and principles that have been around forever are still brand new when you get them for the first time; or when you get them again in a new and deeper way. Like peeling away layers to rediscover something new about what you thought you had understood. This is the nature of the two basic principles here.

Basic Truth~Principle Number One. Hamlet said it, in a moment of desperation, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Alfred Korzybski also said it so clearly that it is now an axiom, “the map is not the territory.”

We each live with different models of the world. You could say that we live in different worlds, with different maps, and often with entirely different ways of thinking.

One of the wonders of the world is that despite our different models of the world, and our different points of view, we still manage communicate with each other at all!

If you want to be a good parent, friend, salesperson, communicator, teacher (and you’re not a member of a cult where people are encouraged to hold the same basic model of the world) then respecting others’ values, point of view, assumptions, predisposition, and taste will stand you in good stead.

In short, respect the way other people view the world, however different from your own point of view that may be.

Basic Truth~Principle Number Two. Everything we experience is filtered through our emotions. and our attitudes that both inform and are informed by them. This includes the expectations we have of the world and of ourselves. It includes how we respond in times of difficulty.

It means that children learn best when they are happy, safe, and held in high regard. And of course, the same is true for adults.

We tend to fulfill what is expected of us, including and especially what we have learned to expect of ourselves. The world and the people around us also tend to respond to us according to our expectation of them.

When things go wrong it is better to treat the experience as a lesson, to pick yourself up, and move on.

Blaming yourself or others won’t help. Asking “what can I learn from this?’ will!

Explaining and justifying the situation won’t help. Asking what you can do differently next time will.

Indulging in self-pity, anger, resentment won’t help. Evoking a sense of gratitude for what you still have will!

In short, maintaining a positive attitude and a positive emotional state will always work to your advantage. And it will benefit everyone you come into contact with.

Two basic truths to live by:

• The map is not the territory; and
• Live at cause, not as a victim.