Category Archives: 22

Don’t Make Excuses

One of the lessons we learn early on in life is how to make an excuse for something. We can find the most plausible excuse to justify poor behavior, poor performance, or even unethical actions. Learning to make excuses at the moment seems like a way to justify ourselves and our behavior to the world. It means that we are OK. We would have done whatever was expected if the excuse didn’t happen. Excuses are the first step in building a victim’s mentality toward life. You are not in charge; you are in reaction to whatever you face. This choice is a state of mind and will go a long way in determining the success you experience in finances, relationships, or any other area of your life. Learn not to accept a plausible excuse and accept responsibility for your situation. When you do this, you have the power to change things and create what you want in your life.

Responsibility Is Mandatory

There is always a choice when something happens to either make an excuse or accept responsibility for the situation. Accept responsibility for the situation. Making an excuse states to the world takes away all of your power and gives it to whatever excuse we are using. Even if there is a good reason for something, accept responsibility. This attitude puts all the power in your hands and will lead you to take manageable actions to counteract, correct, or rectify the challenge.

We learn early in life to find the plausible excuses that people will accept without question. An illness, a death in the family, the dog ate my homework, or whatever worked. Once you accept this victim mentality, you will start to use it more and more. Excuses seem like an easy option on the surface, but they are not. Each reason we use weakens us a bit, to ourselves and everyone we deal with. One excuse will lead to another and another, and soon you are a powerless victim for all of your life. Look at your life; at work, you find a weakness in a society where you look for excuses. Where you accept responsibility, there is a strength.

Take Manageable Actions Every Day

That strength comes in the form of manageable actions. These are steps available to you every day. Rather than making excuses, you accept responsibility for where you are on this day. That responsibility gives you a chance to take any action to change whatever you are facing and turn the day into more of what you want it to be. There is always something you can do to help alleviate suffering in the simplest terms.

The sooner you decide to take responsibility and manageable actions toward correcting the situation, the better you will handle it. An example would be running out of money, rather than waiting until you have no money left, taking a manageable action, and finding another income stream to help you make ends meet. Rather than blame the economy, a job you were fired from, the world in general, or anything else, accept responsibility for your predicament and find a way out.

Take Control and Ditch the Excuses Permanently

So it will be up to you in the end if you choose to allow excuses to rule your life or if you are going to accept responsibility for where you are and what you do, no matter what, and take action toward meeting the challenges you face. Taking action is claiming power in your life. Making excuses is giving your power away to whatever you give your excuses to. At the end of it all, nobody but you is responsible for your situation, which is reassuring. Taking action is your power of change, and there is always some action you can take. You may not like it, but you can make your life whatever you would like it to be.

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” ― Anne Frank.

“The man who passes sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones.

“In the long run, we shape our lives and ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt.

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

 

Integrity and Action

thoughts and actionsThe actions we decide to dictate our lives at every moment. I will point out the critical part of that sentence; they are things that YOU DECIDE to complete. Taking actions, or lack thereof, creates our lives’ reality, and nothing will show the world more about one’s natural character. Over time, your consistent actions will more accurately describe your morals and character than anything else. Your actions tell the world what you want in your life.

Taking action always speaks much louder than words. You can decide if your efforts are for selfish gain alone or if there is hope for the well-being of others and yourself in your life. To fully understand a person’s motives, I hear their words but listen to their actions because it is what a person does that the truth lies.

Your Actions Speak for Themselves

taking actionWhen you meet someone new, it can be difficult to tell what type of person they are simply listening to their words. However, observe their actions, and you will know all you can think about them. People may say they value other people and their feelings, but if they are rude or demeaning to others, they do not. They may seem helpful in their words, but if their actions judge others, spread rumors about other people, or are plain mean, they are not pleasant. Trust your eyes.

Actions are the accurate lie detectors of life. It is impossible to fake your actions forever. You can affect it for a short time, but keep observing a person’s activities, and you will see their true selves. Watch others, and then watch yourself and see what the actions you follow tell you about the person found. If you can look without bias at your actions, you will see your message to the world. Is it the message you want to represent you?

Make Your Actions Count

taking actionOur actions will speak for us, not only to those around us, but to get what we want in life. It is one thing to say I want to be successful, but another to take the steps and perform the tasks that will get you to that goal. Nothing will happen by magic unless you count the magic that does come from taking simple actions toward reaching your goal.

What is stopping you from taking a step? Failure? Failing is in the eyes of the beholder and depends on how you evaluate your experience. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but the lessons we learn from the action allow us to find the secret to completing that goal and doing it uniquely. When you make a demand on the Universe with your activities, there will be a response, and it will most likely lead you where you want to go.

Finally, to defeat fear, there is no better remedy than action. Fear is just a thought in your head that gains momentum as you worry about it. It is usually not a real danger that you are in but a fear of uncertainty. It may be coming in the future, but it will likely not. The action tells the story of your ideas. Are they valid, or are they foolish? Only the test of deeds will show this.

Your dreams are there on the other side of fear. Trust your faith; it will all work out for the best.

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ―Thomas Jefferson.

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” ―Arnold Glasow.

“People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.” ―Lewis Cass.

“Let your performance do the thinking.” ―Charlotte Brontë.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ―Dale Carnegie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsPM3iWzlCo

 

You Control the Action

The Law of Action- Action must be taken to result in creating anything.

Nothing happens until we decide to take action. You can have the most significant plans in the world for accomplishing a goal, but until you take steps to put a plan into motion, it is just an image of your mind—no more real than thoughts about the Easter Bunny. But action makes something that was just once an intention in your mind come into reality. It takes courage to take action on a plan and try to bring it to life. Many have thought that imagining what they want and seeing it in visualization is enough, but it is only a part of the process; an action is energy breathing power into our dreams and creating concrete. Only air existed before. Where can you take action today to move your dreams and goals toward becoming a reality?

Time for Action

Action can be taken at any time in life and provide those who take it with many adventures and exciting experiences. They will create inventions, books will be written, and knowledge will be gained when you decide to take action. We have to see what results.   The best thing about it is that anyone, as far as I know, is capable of taking action at any moment. If you have been hesitant or feeling fearful, taking action is the cure. Fear is erased with action. Once you move on something, you see what happens, and then at least you know. Knowledge is not fearful.

Many people can do great things and think great thoughts about how the world should be run or how a business could be different. All possess the capacity to take action on those thoughts and create them in this reality, yet very few do this. Why? Fear is generally the reason. Fer that they cannot accomplish the task or fear it won’t work out. Or fear in general about life. Now is the time to take action, but fear to bed and see what essential things shake out of your goals and dreams. Action is the only way.

Our Blocks to Action

It is a simple concept on the surface to apply yourself fully to what you already know you want, but we are people. Each of us possesses our unique load of difficulties, differences, and fears that can prevent us from applying ourselves and our efforts toward finding our dream. Fear is the biggest of these, and it can make the strongest of people pause their endeavors.

personal developmentThere are two types of fear that lead to people never applying themselves toward their goals. The first is the fear of failure. This is the fear that tells you not to try because you are going to fail anyway. We all have attempted to do something in our lives and experienced failure, and it hurts! Our ego remembers, and when we are put in a similar feeling position, the fear of failure kicks in and stops us before we begin.

The second is a fear of success. There are several reasons that people fear success. It could be a fear of finding out what they dreamed of wasn’t all they thought it was in the first place. As long as you never try to make your dream a reality, it will always be perfect in your mind. If I could be wrong about that, what else am I wrong about? The fear of success paralyzes and stops a real effort from being taken toward accomplishing our dreams. The law of action defeats all types of anxiety. You are not fearful of the moment you take action, and you are focused on taking action. 

Focus on Your Voice

There is a voice that guides our actions in each of us, and it performs this duty with perfection and for our greater good. Unfortunately, many of us lack a practical aptitude for hearing this voice, much less following it.

The voice is not in your mind but your heart, and it can only be heard when you quiet the mind and listen. This guide can tell you what you need to know and help guide your steps toward your dreams. Some call it intuition. To quiet the mind is a simple breathing practice, focusing on your breath and not paying attention to the endless stream of thoughts in your mind. A large portion of which are not necessary, relevant, or fear-based.

If you experience a setback, this voice will tell you to keep ongoing. Regardless of what other people or your mind think, your greatness will be revealed when listening to this voice. Quiet your mind and focus on your inner voice. Take action. It is never wrong.

Take Action Right Now

Nothing has ever taken place in the history of the world without action of some kind. You can safely bet that the rest of your life will go that way. Decide what you want and take action toward achieving it. If you had a seed in your hand, it would not grow until you accept the action of planting it into the soil. Then it can do what it is meant to do. Other things in life are the same. Someone has to draw the blueprints, fund the project, and start to process moving. Action makes everything happen.

Since something is better than nothing, the action is essential because nothing is all you get in life without it. It is the most critical factor in creating anything in your life. It is a matter of getting energy in motion, and that motion will make things happen. Good, bad, or neutral, the Law of Action brings all things into our reality.

“Actions speak louder than words.” – Abraham Lincoln.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” – Chaucer. 

“Willing is not enough. We must do.” -Johann Von Goethe

 

Your Most Powerful Weapon

All people have a powerful tool of the imagination. You can use this tool to achieve very positive results or a very negative experience. Each of us decides how our imagination is used and the benefits or suffering we receive from it. All of these things are a choice, and the power of our choice in using our imagination will determine our ability to reach our goals successfully and live a life of passion.

Or our imagination can cause us to spend our lives living in fear. It is one of the essential parts of our development as people, we look forward with hope and determination, or we look all around in fear. The choice is all up to you and how you choose to use your powerful imagination.

Start with The End in Mind

What is it that you want? This simple-sounding question is one everyone asks themselves at some point in their journey in life. The fortunate ones know right away and in great detail what they want to accomplish. Others struggle because our minds are clouded with thoughts of suffering, experience, and reasons we can’t do something. If you’re discouraged in your dream, tell it to someone else, and immediately they will tell you all the reasons you won’t possibly find success. But all of us can achieve, and it starts with the positive use of our imagination and knowing where we want to go.

Start with the end in mind. Think of where you want to be in a year from now. Create a picture in your mind of where you want to be living, what you want to be doing, who you want to be doing it with, etc. Then start moving your way backward to the present moment. What sorts of things have to happen to get you to that point. Maybe you see something that you are unsure how to happen, but that is alright because the steps will become more apparent as you move forward. When you get back to the present moment, take the first step to move in that direction. Continually do this exercise and use your imagination to create the end goal, and your purpose will start to take you there.

Purpose and Power

The purpose is the force that gets us moving daily to work toward our goals. It is the thing that makes life valuable and provides meaning to the movements we undertake daily. When you imagine the end goals happening, the purpose of achievement will drive you to take action. Each action will bring experience to your life, the price and reward of having a purpose. These moments of action between now and the accomplishment of what you imagine determine the joy you experience in life.

Many people have set their goals too short in their existence. Many have a retirement goal and then reach that without any purpose left for the rest of their lives. Without a purpose in life and a force to drive you toward something, life is filled with empty moments of activity. People do things to fill the time but not to nourish the soul. Always have a dream, using your imagination to create the favorable circumstances of your life, and you will always have a purpose in your life. Actions that have meaning. That is the power of purpose in life, always having a force behind it.

Overcoming Fears

Fear is a poor use of the power of your imagination. We have all done it, though. We are considering the worst-case scenario and worrying about the future and what might happen or what someone else will think and how that will affect us and our lives. Worry is a misuse of imagination because most things won’t happen. And if they do, worrying about them won’t make them any easier to handle. Somehow we all take the challenges of life one second at a time. Actions always defeat and erase fear.

Fear is an illusion. We all experience fear because we are afraid of suffering. But once you recognize it and how it feels, you can start to create some appropriate action steps to lessen or eliminate the impact the fear will have on your life. Then list the positive results from those action steps being taken, and the fear will most often fade away. Faith is the opposite of fear. When it is difficult to see past the fear because it is pervasive in your life, keep the hope alive in your mind. You will overcome it.

The Great Mind Tool

Imagination is one of our most powerful tools, and it can help you create almost anything in your life. Whether those things are good or bad will be totally up to you. Imagining your goals from the end and moving backward is a powerful method to master your dreams and goals. These dreams bring purpose to your life, and purpose is the fuel to the enjoyment of life. Imagine that.

“The man who has no imagination has no wings.” – Muhammad Ali

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert Einstein

“What is now proved was once only imagined.” – William Blake

 

Your Magic Power!!!

Inside each person who has ever drawn a breath, there resides a personal power with which people can move down the path of their choosing in the manner they choose. A person can use their ability to gain great things and find incredible success. All people are capable of this, but it would be too easy if all people realized how powerful they are. We are born with the potential to use this power in our best interest. Still, life presents us with situations that slowly drain this power until we are left beholding to other people, places, and things to feel the energy we are born with. Don’t just give up your passion for reasons which don’t add any benefit to your life or existence.

All Power is Choice

Our personal choices drive us in every moment of the day and all situations. You are the one who decides to go to work on time or not. To be kind to someone else or not. The option to treat other people with respect and dignity or be selfish is all made by you and leads to the display of your power in the world. The effect your ability has on the world, and the experience of your existence will be determined by the choices you make.

We give our power away too quickly and often by either making poor choices or allowing choices to be made for us. When you drift away from your conscious awareness, choices in your daily life are made through the subconscious programming of your experience. Your life is at the mercy of a process with no thought involved. Take a moment and look at any situation you are in and evaluate the choices that brought this into your life. There are always choices you have made. And, of course, you can make choices that counteract your preferences. You are still in control of your power, and it stems from the decisions you are making moment to moment. Make good ones.

Don’t Let Strangers Dictate Your Path.

We are looking at your choices, which often give our power away for some silly reasons. One is to fit into what society portrays as acceptable. We are fed a narrative of what is pleasing to the world, and we buy it and never think of why. Each time we do this, our power is drained away a little. To fit in, to be accepted, to find our lives an unquestioned success, we need their approval of them. But we don’t know any of the people behind the message, and they certainly don’t know or care about you.

Let your heart dictate your path toward what makes you happy, and follow that trail to whatever end it holds. I have given too much power to strangers who judge me for being different or making choices with a bit of risk involved. The times I have given credence to these voices of criticism, things have ended poorly. When I follow my intuition and make the choices that feel good to me, life flows positively. Our intentions are always our own, even when circumstances dictate otherwise.

Actions and Feelings

Whether you give away your power or claim it again, your actions follow through with personal choice. Each choice will lead to a story; each step will lead to a result of one kind or another. Look at the actions you take at this very moment. You will decide to look at your power and where you are giving it away. Then you will choose to continue on the path in front of you or move in a different direction.

Being in tune with your feelings about certain things will be a guide for you. Each thought we have, the choice we make, and the action we take will have a corresponding emotional guide inside of us. We are responsible for learning to read these feelings because they will tell us if we are moving positively or negatively. Too often, we let our thoughts be the only guide, and our mind is often confused or dealing with inaccurate information, but our hearts are rarely wrong. Listen.

Personal Power Is Yours

These things dictate each moment, and to live your life without fear is the best way to find, keep, and grow your power. This is difficult to do in a world seemingly inundating us all with fear from all sides of existence. But you are restoring your energy when you learn to make choices without regard to the worry that seems to accompany everything we do. To take action without regard for the result. That is to do something because you know it is right in your heart and not because of a product you seek.

Look at our lives as a conduit to experience certain things and turn these experiences into a guide to take you in the direction you are supposed to be moving in. Disregarding the worry about the future or regrets about the past dictates the substance of our lives.

Maintaining Power

Don’t let life chip away at your power over time. People bleed their energy away over attachments built to specific outcomes in life we think are suitable for us and can’t see the better option sitting next to that poor choice. We allow the accumulation of things to become a false standard of our value when things are nothing. It is the experiences in life that build the substance of our lives. Seek knowledge and value the ones you are allowed to have in each moment of each day you live.

Fears and problems are developing in each person’s life; we continually give our power to these things. Most have arisen from simple distress or pain from a childhood memory or experience that has grown out of proportion. Even significantly traumatic experiences from childhood can rule our lives with power if we let them. Reclaiming our energy will come from forgiving others and, most importantly, forgiving ourselves for whatever has happened in our memories’ deep, dark recesses. Taking our power back starts with this.

Give it a Try

Look at your power today and see that it is responsible for creating your current life. If you have dreams, you feel the urge to follow and pursue them. In each choice you make today, look at the result and get used to seeing how powerful you are in all of your conscious decisions. Too often give away our strength because we are afraid of asking for what we want. Ask for what will make you happy and bring you experiences in life you want to have.

Start right now. Today. With the very next choice you make. Will this add to my power, or am I giving it away to something or someone out of my control? See where this path will lead you.

“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.”

“Your soul has a plan, but it may not be
the one you could ever have dreamed of
without reaching for expanded consciousness.
Keep your eyes on the unlimited skies of Spirit
so you won’t miss something amazing.”

“Love is like emergency oxygen masks in an airplane:
just as you must put on your mask before assisting others,
you must love yourself first in order to love others next.”

“Your higher self guides your true voice,
who knows your life plan and can whisper advice
that will lead you down the path you were meant to take.”

 

 

 

 

What is Your Charge?

Every one of us is entirely made up of energy. The nature of your charge determines the types of thoughts you choose to entertain and the choices you continually make in life. For example, judging others and ourselves brings a negative amount to you, whereas gratitude brings a positive feeling and experience to your life. Your energy is something you will experience and transmit to others.

Have you ever been around someone with a negative attitude? It is something you feel, and it feels cumbersome. Some people bring you down by being in your area. Then others take you in the opposite direction. They are so positive they make you smile without saying a word. How do we create this positive energy? How can we become positive energy people? Think this way about yourself and others, and you will be well on your way to lifting many dark clouds from others, but more importantly, you will make yourself virtually immune from the negative vibes of others.

Be Grateful for Everything

It is incredible how many positive things come back to the simple act of being grateful. Building positive energy almost always starts with this practice. There is a difference between saying you are thankful and feeling grateful. Gratitude is a powerful emotional burst you have when you see something and know your life is a little better or more enjoyable because of the circumstance of that thing being there. Practice gratitude in all situations, and create a vortex of positivity around you.

There is a bonus that when you are grateful, the Universe seems to bring more of the things you are thankful for into your life. If you spend your effort and thoughts on judgment and negativity, You will find many more items in your reality to judge and be cynical about. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like it, but this is all a choice we make. The energy you have inside yourself is a creation of you and the decisions we make every day. Think about this when you are experiencing angry moments about silly things like traffic or waiting in line at a store. Be grateful for a vehicle to be in traffic or the money to buy whatever you are in line to purchase. Gratitude is the attitude of positivity and the bedrock of the right kind of energy, making you a positive energy person.

Be Creative

Creativity is continually positive. Taking something and moving it from the realm of thought into reality is a fantastic trait of all humans. When you allow this creativity to come from inside your soul and speak to the world through whatever medium you choose, never stop talking to the world in this way. It is the most positive expression you can have, and if we aren’t here to make new things, why exactly are we here? It is easy to forget we have this power when we get stuck in our judgment and start to compare our experience to that of someone else. Life is not a competition, even though it seems it is sometimes. It is cooperation, and our creativity is how we cooperate.

Take some time every day and look at your thoughts and see how you feel about them. Your feelings that arise when you think of something will tell you whether you should pursue it or not. It will also determine what kind of energy you are producing because of it. Creation is always a positive thing for yourself and the world. Create your art. Create your plans. Start a business. Try something new. Sing a song. If it comes from the heart, it will bring positivity to your life and make you a positive energy person.

 

Allow People to Be What They Are

If you are the kind of person who sees the choices that others make and face them with judgment, then you have to learn how to allow them. People are all on their journey and maybe at a different point than you. Lessons need to be understood and how someone else learns is their issue, not yours. Perhaps your course is patience and understanding. You never know the full extent of what another person is experiencing, even if you are in a relationship. That is the secret of their mind. Don’t judge; allow people to be who they are.

Then allow yourself to be who you must be. Too often, we live a comparison life to others where we compare our bodies, bank accounts, and relationships with others. It doesn’t matter how this imaginary competition goes; you are still who you are with your body, the same bank account, and the relationships you have nourished. Your life is what it is and reflects your attitude about life. If you don’t like what you see, you can make other choices today to drive you in a different direction. Get healthier, wealthier, and love more. Allow yourself to be who you are. If you could have done better, you indeed would have. Look at the good in you and others and allow it to exist in growth in your thoughts and actions today. There is greatness in all people. It will only be found in you when you believe it exists. Become a positive energy person.

“Energy is contagious, positive, and negative alike. I will forever be mindful of what and who I am allowing into my space.” Alex Elle

“Everything around is made up of energy. To attract positive things in your life, start by giving off positive energy.” Anonymous

“Let your unique awesomeness and positive energy inspire confidence in others.” Anonymous

“Take responsibility for the energy you bring.” Anonymous

 

Welcome to the Morning

There seem to be two ways to look at the morning. Once it is the beginning of yet another day, the possibility of what you can create has begun. Either way, you look at it, today is here, and we have an opportunity to attack our lives with a dynamic passion or with a weak resignation to the fate of the calendar. Here are a few ideas to make this day and every day the best they can be. It is always a matter of the thoughts and emotions you will accept from yourself.

Positive In, Positive Out

One of the first choices we make each day happens when we wake and Monday accentuates this attitude because it will often set the mood for the week. A positive thought is essential to your day and your energy throughout life. Rather than look at your job and existence as drudgery or something you have to “get through,” you can view it as a great joy and adventure. It is always your choice to energize your life with positive thoughts and peaceful emotions at every possible opportunity.

Some days can be challenging; challenges are always going to arise. You will have bad moods, but you can change your attitude when you realize that your attitude is a choice of thought. All emotions result directly from the thoughts we entertain. Choose a different idea if you feel angry, upset, frustrated, defeated, or any other negative emotion. This optimistic attitude about yourself is available at any moment throughout the day. Your thoughts will energize your life one way or another. Positive thinking in mind leads to positive energy.

Become More Conscious of your Energy

As your day gets going, be conscious of the energy you are producing with your thoughts, words, and actions. Through your power, you can make your life better in every way. You can choose to eat healthier and participate in activities that increase your vibration. Your life will naturally be a more positive experience for you and those you deal with daily. Many people get in trouble when they start looking at things and become concerned that their needs aren’t being met.

When you adopt this mentality, you will be operating from a mindset of lack and fear. Fear of not meeting your needs will pollute your day with negativity, anger, jealousy, and worry. There isn’t any adverse action or mindset that can’t be neutralized with its opposite positive thought and action. Feelings of lack contradict beliefs of abundance, fear with love, anger with peace, worry with confidence. These things can be done instantly because we choose the thoughts we entertain in our consciousness.

Make Today Great

There is no other day that we are guaranteed to have than this one. It is up to us to choose if we want today to be great or not. Yesterday is over, and no matter how good or bad, it is now a part of history, and we can’t change anything about it. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to anyone. Today is all we have, and you can choose to be more conscious of what you appreciate in life and the great things that make you the best version of yourself. You can decide to make today optimistic or pessimistic. It is all up to you to choose hope and joy in your life. Make today as powerful as you can.

 

All our dreams can come true–if we dare to pursue them. –Walt Disney

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. –Les Brown

Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. –Jamie Paolinetti

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. –Lao Tzu

 A year from now, you may wish you had started today. –Karen Lamb

To Be Alive

f405364503cdebb61939dfa03ddd1ad5 Consciousness

Today-on or in this present day.

Each day, we are given a new opportunity to create greatness in the world we live in and in our personal lives. As we embark on our daily adventure, it can be derailed most often by our limiting thoughts and fear-based behavior.

I wonder what would happen if we could fully grasp the magic available every day and make life the grand show it was meant to be. The first step to doing this will make a change in consciousness and be aware of our thoughts today, the resulting emotions, words, and actions. That is the beginning of appreciating and behaving today.

Look At The Possibilities

Each day is born with a nearly unlimited list of possibilities. You could win the lottery, see an old friend, make a new friend, find your passion, experience something new for the very first time, discover a unique food, have a once in a lifetime conversation, become famous, save a life, build something new, see The Rock,  develop that million dollar idea or any other great thing that you can think of. All of it can happen today if you look for it.

When you approach the day as a mundane chore, like it is something that we need to get through to find something on the other side……….the weekend, that vacation, a trip, a visit, that bonus at work, or whatever else you are thinking of. These thoughts rob you of the potential that today has stored away for you. Each moment that today brings for you is a succulent treat to be enjoyed for what it is. Tomorrow will be different and get with it, adventure and potential of its own.

How to Make the most of today

locked up blessingsSo that is all well and good, but how do you start to look for this adventure and potential each day? That is a good question, but it isn’t as hard as you think. You can do several things, but the first and most potent is to practice gratitude.

Be grateful for all of the things and people in your life daily which makes you happy about being a living, breathing human being living on the face of the Earth. What is it you love about life? What is it that makes you smile? What did you do that provided satisfaction? Were there any pleasant moments? Conversations that you enjoyed? Needs met? Whatever you can be thankful for in your life, make a habit of marking them somehow. Gratitude will allow you to appreciate more about today and allow for more of what you love to come into your life. This practice increases today’s potential for you and what you can experience. Growth will come to you.

Leave Fear Behind You

Another simple way to harness the potential of each day is to leave fear behind you. We all will maxresdefaultexperience some anxiety on some level each day of our lives. There will be something that we will be afraid of, which is life. How we deal with this fear will define our lives and determine the enjoyment we get from it. As with all things in life, we have a choice to run from it, face it, or try to ignore it. Running gives fear of power, facing fear through action destroys it, and ignoring it does nothing. The fear is still there, living in the shadows until you face it and deal with it. It will be with you.

Action is the way to defeat fear, and it doesn’t have to be the most decisive step in the world. Still, just a conscious choice to act regardless of the fear that eliminates it and provides you with the courage and confidence to create, move forward, find strength, and accept the gifts and adventure each day has hidden inside for each of us.

Look into the Sky

Finally, each day there is a potential to know how vast the universe is. All you have to do is look into the sky. No matter the weather, time of day, or cloud cover, look and contemplate the size and scope of the thing you are looking at. It can be a giant blue backdrop highlighting the drifting of white puffy clouds as they drift by on their journey to nowhere. Or it could be a clear night sky with a million tiny shining lights facing you. This ever-changing canvas is available to everyone, everywhere in the world, all the time. It provides inspiration, hope, and wonder, and all you have to do is notice it.

The vastness of the sky can allow us to find all of the potential today has to offer. When you see something so wondrous and immense, it is not difficult to imagine the things we need to complete. Our potential is reflected in the vastness of what you see when you look up. Take a moment to see the blue or black in the sky and notice the quiet, constant show in front of you, and it will wake you up to the potential that today has inside of it for each of us.

Each day has its potential for greatness, and so does each of us. Take a moment and think about how you would like tomorrow to be different, better, and generous, and then the steps you can take to make it that way. Is it such a leap to find that happiness? It all starts with a conscious awareness of your thought process in life. The emotions that result become your mood, the words you speak to others, and your actions throughout the day. You can make it great today if you choose to.

“The past is where you learned the lesson. The future is where you apply the lesson.”

“The best way to predict your future is to create it” – Abraham Lincoln

“Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – Today.” ― Steve Maraboli

 

Enjoying the Moments

It is not uncommon to move through a day on a very

Every second provides an experience that may never come again
Every second provides an experience that may never come again

strict schedule, moving from event to event merely marking time as a restriction in completing your day’s actions. Move quickly, work quickly, think fast, love quickly. The conditioning of our lives leads us to value brevity in completing all tasks because it is viewed as the most efficient use of time.

Yet the more efficient I tend to be, the less I find real enjoyment in life. Ticking chores off the to-do list today as quickly as possible seems to lead to me ignoring the moment and living for the future. The real problem is that the end never arrives. The only thing we are guaranteed to experience is the exact time we are in right now. Our mind is always guiding us to the future, resulting in anxiety. Thoughts about the past only bring regret. The happiness of life can only be found and enjoyed by living and enjoying the present moment.

Where is This Future?

So often, I have spent large portions of my life planning the future ben franklinfor tomorrow, and thinking about the future. I went to high school preparing for college, went to college to prepare for a career, and started a career to give myself the money and materials to live a life and prepare for the time when I would retire in 30-35 years. We attach our expectations to the results of each step as well. Yet we never reach the goal line until life is over.

The problem I had with this life plan was what would I be preparing for after that? Death? Eventually, I looked at the scheme and realized that I had missed some of the best parts of life, and they come in every moment. Planning for the future is responsible, and we should all do that, but in making your plan, make sure it is the one you truly want for yourself, not something created for you by someone else. Or you may just be living your life to the tune of someone else’s programming.

Is This Mindfulness?

Each moment is precious. It contains all you are and all you are ever guaranteed to have. Life may photo-909be over in the next moment, and there is no way to predict it. Living in a time in the future is a waste and is impossible to do. You are only ever alive, right now, this second at this moment, and each moment provides an opportunity to witness a miracle.

Take your time and look at what is happening, really look—at the emotion of loved ones exchanged each day. The game you are currently playing, the fish you are trying to catch, the love you share, the task you are completing. Each part of the human experience is placed in your path to experience fully and completely. Take your time, drink it in, and enjoy it.

Each moment is valuable and potentially life-altering. Every moment is as unique from one another as every person’s individuality is one of a kind. Notice this in each moment, and life will change for you.

Life isn’t something to get done as quickly and efficiently as possible, and it is something to be savored and experienced in each moment you have.

 

“Loving this world, seeing the beauty in everything.
Appreciating every moment as a beautiful, wholly contained,   pearl of eternal nature, this is the world to me.

A never-ending string of pearls…. every moment is in and of its self a lifetime,
and when we have affection and let ourselves experience life without expectation…
that is when the majesty of the world opens her petals to us…
And welcomes us home.”    ~ Carlos Castaneda

Fear 

Khalil Gibran

It is said that before entering the sea,

a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,

from the peaks of the mountains,

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

and in front of her, she sees an ocean so vast,

that to enter

there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river cannot go back.

Nobody can go back.

To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean.

 

Your Time Is Ticking Away

 

time is now
What Time do you have?

It is so easy to get lost in thoughts about your past and what you should have done. Our mind can transport you effortlessly to those moments where you perceive you were pleased or to places you think watershed moments occurred, changing your life. They seem so much more significant than the experience available to you today.

The problem with these trips to the past is that if you make them too often, you will find it difficult to enjoy your place right now. The other thief of the moment is the future. Everybody plans for the future. It would be crazy not to, but you cannot put off your happiness to tomorrow, or you will never be happy with what you are doing, the people in your life, or the events you experience. Now is the time you have today; this moment is all you will be guaranteed in life, and it is your obligation to yourself to enjoy it.

Live For Today

live-for-today_xLAs you experience the Time you have today,  there are opportunities to feel alive in the here and now. It can be time spent with a loved one where you share tender moments, or it could be a joke you share with a friend. The simple pleasure of seeing the beauty existing all around you can bring on a  laugh or make your day memorable all on its own. Since these moments are fleeting, a person must be ready and aware to catch them and make them count because they will be gone in a flash. All extraordinary things come with an expiration date. A perfect day must inevitably end, a winning streak will be broken, and the same can be said for bad luck. It will end eventually.

One of the things that I did, which helped me appreciate my experience, was to consciously note everything I noticed that was beautiful on that day. From the sunrise, I witnessed moving from a light orange film barely visible on the horizon to its culminating glory of creating an entire burning sky. The homes were silhouetted by the sunrise, with their chimneys gently puffing their stream of wispy smoke into a crisp winter sky. The list was long, but it allowed me to appreciate what I was experiencing in life, today right now.

Too often take today’s experience and brush it off as something we have to do and don’t appreciate that the new day is a gift. Talk to anyone struggling with a fatal disease and is not sure how many more sunrises they might see. How much o do they appreciate the new day and all of the little things that most of us never even notice? The sound f a car starting, the laugh of a stranger in the distance, the look in the eye of someone who loves you. Love them right back with all that you have. They may b  gone tomorrow.

Focus on The Positive

always-live-in-the-moment--sourceThis life is an endeavor that you can begin right now this moment. Many will say I will do this tomorrow or put it off until the new year, but waiting on the action is a losing proposition, and you know it. Before long, you will convince yourself that you will be happy when x, y, or z finally occurs. What do you o in the meantime? Your mind has a way of distracting you from being delighted by pointing out your flaws, worries, or doubts in the non-stop dialogue in your head, which is less than complimentary to you and often downright corruptive to your skills.

Ignore that foolishness because it all amounts to nothing in the end. When you are dying, will you wish you had only worked a little more, spent less Time with your loved ones, or had less fun? Of course, not look for the things that matter and pay attention to them. Forget the rest. A wise man once said, listen to your heart, and ignore the noise in your head. I believe you will have fewer regrets if you do, and I also think you will enjoy the ride a lot more.

Now, It’s All You Have

Finally, this moment needs to be treasured and appreciated because it is all you have. Looking at the p t is a fun escape, but no matter how long you think, yesterday is gone, and it isn’t coming back. Tomorrow may be g at, but there is no guarantee. Your life could be over in ten seconds. All of these thoughts are just fantasies we entertain ourselves with daily. There is only one thing: you and where you are right now in this moment. The choice to be happy in it, experiencing whatever is happening, is up to you and is exclusively yours and yours alone.

So you can spend your Time worrying about the future or be angry about the past and the supposed slights that others have perpetrated against you, but those choices will only make today less enjoyable. When you think about it, what benefit are you enjoying today less? None that I can see. Look at the day you’re in and what you are experiencing. Touch it, feel it, enjoy it. Now is the only moment  you have.

Enjoy the hell out of each moment you have because they are all you can ever be sure of.

Dream as if you live forever, live as if you’ll die today.

There are seven days a week and someday is not one of them.

A year from now, you will wish you had started today. – Karen Lamb

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

If not, now then when? If not you, then who? – Robin Sharma

One day you will wake up, and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now. – Paulo Coelho

People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness.

Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are so many tomorrows. -Michael Landon

Do it now. The future is promised to no one.

The best Time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best Time is NOW. – Chinese Proverb

The Time for the action is now. It’s never too late t  do something.

 

Personal Growth, Self Improvement, Positive Thinking