The practice of gratitude involves intentionally focusing on the good things in our lives and expressing appreciation for them. It can be as simple as thinking about the things we are thankful for or writing them down in a journal. While it may seem like a small and insignificant act, the benefits of practicing gratitude are numerous and far-reaching.
One of the gratitude’s most significant benefits is its effect on our mental and emotional well-being. Focusing on the things we are grateful for helps shift our perspective from a negative to a positive one. This can lead to increased happiness, contentment, and overall satisfaction. Gratitude can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, as it allows us to see the good in our lives rather than dwelling on the negative.
In addition to the psychological benefits, practicing gratitude can positively impact our physical health. Studies have shown that appreciation can improve sleep, a more robust immune system, and even lower blood pressure. It can also lead to increased energy and motivation, which can help us be more productive and achieve our goals.
Gratitude can also have a positive impact on our relationships. When we express appreciation for others and what they do for us, it can strengthen our bond with them. It can also make us more likable, as expressing gratitude is often seen as a sign of good manners and a positive attitude.
Finally, practicing gratitude can have a ripple effect, as it can inspire us to be more giving and compassionate toward others. Being thankful for what we have can inspire us to pay it forward and help those in need.
In conclusion, the benefits of practicing gratitude are numerous and far-reaching. It can improve our mental and emotional well-being, physical health, and relationships and inspire us to give more to others. We can significantly improve our overall well-being and happiness by simply focusing on the things we are grateful for each day.
Today, I am grateful that I have little regard for what anyone else thinks about my beliefs and actions. As we develop through childhood, it becomes more and more challenging to be who we are. We are programmed from our earliest days to fit into a particular form. Anything that doesn’t work exactly like that isn’t acceptable. Making people feel inadequate about who they are. It can become a lifelong affliction if you aren’t careful. Today, I am grateful that I don’t care what anyone else thinks about who I am and what I do.
Building Your Cage
You are worrying about what other people think is a full-time job. When you are younger, you worry about everything. How your hair looks, what you say, how you walk, the clothes you wear, and any other aspect of your existence can be judged. You begin building your cage when you start to construct those things to be the least offensive or give the least amount of fodder for others to pick on.
This cage doesn’t seem too harmful at first. The bars are constructed with every compromise you make with yourself about what you let the world see. An opinion you keep to yourself to avoid a conflict up goes a bar. Actions you take which go along with the crowd, even though you don’t believe it right, up goes another bar. Bars start to be constructed so quickly that you don’t have time to notice the cage you have placed yourself inside. One of the expectations of others is the worry you won’t fit in. The fear that your true self will be seen and then rejected. Over time living like that is who you think you are, but that isn’t true. You are not in a cage. You are free.
Breaking Free
Me, I lived in that cage for a lot of years, pretending not to notice the limitations of life. The worst part is that you forget the parts of yourself that you were hiding from the world in the first place.
Something started to happen in life, and events began to occur, reminding me of something I couldn’t remember. Who was I? Why didn’t I seem to have the correct answer to those questions? That is the beginning of breaking out of that cage.
Remembering who you are shouldn’t be as hard as it is, but you begin to see the cage disappear when you start to remember so quickly that you wonder why you let the cell encompass you in the first place.
Today I am Free
To be free is when what you think and how you behave is your true self, and I am living with that thought. I believe what I know in my heart is right, and I do what I know is right, and I don’t let the idea of what someone else might think to stop me.
The fear that my authentic self will be rejected is almost totally removed because I realize it isn’t my job to be liked and understood by everyone else. The thoughts and issues others have with me are none of my business.
The type of person I am in my heart is my business, and I take my business very seriously.
So hate me, love me, ignore me; it is your choice. I do give a flying fig, newton, what you think. And I mean that in the right way. I am grateful that I don’t care what others think of me. It’s time to break free.
I am grateful for the fact that I can be creative. The writing process is where I find my outlet for ideas, but it is not the only one I have tried. It may be the only one I care to share, but creativity in any medium can free up your mind and make you more productive, expressive, and even happy. Taking something that only exists in the recesses of your mind and turning it into a real thing is a fantastic human quality that allows the expression of our deepest selves. It is a procedure we should cherish and pursue in all circumstances and areas.
Finding My Creative Outlet
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, or how old you are, and there is a need for you to be creative. You may recognize this in yourself and create it regularly. I believe that each of us is blessed with some creative talent. These talents may be used for us to enjoy alone and not put on display for everyone to see. Your talent exists still, even if nobody sees it. Some people write, some draw, some dance, and others sing and create music. It doesn’t matter how you make; it only matters that your talent is fully expressed.
When you seek an answer to something, one way to find it is to quiet your mind by occupying it with something. Once all of your focus is on that thing, it frees up space for your heart to speak to you and allows you to listen to that conversation’s emotions. Creativity makes this possible, and the great thing is anyone can do it. Rather than sit in confusion and wonder, take a moment and get creative. You will be amazed at all the things you can create. And the good that can come from it.
Why I Share
This creativity isn’t for anyone but yourself, but eventually, you want to know if what you are creating resonates with anyone else. So we venture out to share it. For me, it is easy to do. Publishing on this website is my playground of creativity. I am allowing myself the chance to share my thoughts and have all my imagination examined by others, for better or for worse. But I can put my style into my writing and work out my thoughts and emotions in my words. I almost always include a song expressing my feelings about a particular topic at the end. If you play the music while you read, it will make sense. But that is up to you. My part is to create.
I am sure that it needs some work, and none of my writing is perfect, but it does express something inside me that I feel has to come out. I think I hope that someone else will read it and say, “I get it. I feel just like that!” I was recently told that it is a cathartic experience to know that your existence is not isolated. We are not alone and not the only ones going through something. There is a feeling of joy in knowing you are not alone. How else will you find those who share what you have seen, felt, or heard in life unless you put it all out there? We are all connected, and through creativity, you can see how.
Try Something New
Even though you may have found your creative outlet. Keep on trying other forms of
A drawing I made once when I had writer’s block. Expressing yourself is always healthy and positive for you.
Creativity presents itself in your life. I have found that even though I have no talent for it, drawing can help me be more creative in writing. Something about the process is foreign to me, but so much fun. I do not have talent in this area, but I do have enjoyment, which is enough reason to pursue something. Perhaps it’s singing or playing an instrument. Whatever it is that you like, please give it a go. What is the worst that can happen? It is for you and not anyone else, so who cares if you are not the best at it?
I am grateful today for having creativity and the courage to share it for all to see and know. They may like or hate it, but it is still a natural part of me, and that should be enough. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your creations; what you think counts.
There is no reason to include this song today except that I wanted to. It is a great song, I love it, and I think there isn’t a reason you should be more creative in every way!! Enjoy.
Presented with the opportunity to teach anything I wanted, and assuming that anyone wanted to learn, there is no doubt that I would try to teach a few of the things I have learned from life that I think are important.
There were many important things that I never considered early on in life, which have proven invaluable and nearly vital knowledge today.
These lessons may not be mind-blowing, but I think they are essential for you to be all you want to be in life. Whether you believe they have a place in your life or not is up to you.
1. There is Greatness in You
No matter the circumstance of life, each of us has the potential for greatness inside. How that greatness shows itself is different for everyone, but it is nonetheless. The secret is to find your area of expertise and allow it to grow.
Ignore the limiting thoughts of others. DonDon’tt your own negative self-talk discourage you. Follow the feeling in your heart that tells you quietly and confidently what you should be doing. Know that you are great, and allow it to show. Some of us have hidden our talent for so long that we have forgotten what direction to look or what to look for.
The first step to finding out what your skill set might contain is to start to look for it. Once you do, I have found that things tend to fall together quite naturally to develop and present you with a path to follow.
Before any of that can happen, you have to accept that you have greatness in you with the potential to do whatever you dream of.
2. Love or Fear will rule you.
There are two forces inside each of us, and everything we do comes from them: love or fear. You can choose which one you pay attention to in any situation.
Love is not just romantic love. That is a tiny part of the entirety of the emotion, and it includes all branches of this positive emotion. Kindness, acceptance, joy, peace, love, humility, empathy, and truth are all things that come from this positive force.
Fear is the opposite and leaves its calling cards behind, evil, anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority, and ego. Following these feelings and thoughts will bring more situations to make the same choice. What you think is who you are.
With every situation you encounter throughout life, you will be faced with this simple choice of how you approach it, and your choices will determine what kind of life you experience.
It is important to remember this choice because sometimes you may be in a situation where someone elselse’soice will affect you.
How positive the impact you have in life will, in a nutshell, be boiled down to which of these two opposing forces you align yourself with.
3. Gratitude is the Attitude
I do not know if gratitude can be taught or not, but it is vitally important to have a good life. Often, we spend life looking at what we dondon’tve and wondering why.
This thought pattern will only bring more awareness to what you dondon’tve. Since you spend all of your thought on the lack in your life, that is precisely what you will continue to experience.
The alternative is to focus on what you do have, and even if it isnisn’tch, being genuinely grateful for what you do have will open the door’ for more to come into your life. Since your thoughts are about gratitude and being thankful, the world will find a way to see that you experience more of these things.
Being grateful is recognizing what you have and experiencing some joy about it. Being grateful will allow you to enjoy that thing and experience a feeling of joy surrounding it.
If you are experiencing joy, even on a small scale, it is hard not to be happy. If you are happy, well, isnisn’tat the purpose of this little game called life? I think it should be, and I am grateful to be able to tell you this.
4. Live in the Present Moment
Speaking of being happy, you must learn how to live in the moment. That means you are aware of and appreciate what is happening in your life. It would seem simple to do, yet very few people do it.
Distractions take out minds to all sorts of places rather than where we are. You cancan’tjoy today if your mind is lost in yesterday or tomorrow. If you arearen’tesent, then your happiness will evade you.
Look at people walking down the street today; most are focused on anything other than where they are. On the morning commute, almost every eye is looking at their phone or Apple Watch searching for something that is not with them.
The present moment and all that it has to offer is ignored for a fantasy of thought that takes you anywhere, but at the moment, you are actually in.
This is important because if you live your life half aware of what is going on right in front of you, it will be challenging to experience long-lasting happiness. Simply because if your joy is in the past or uncertain future, it is not with you right now.
conclusion
I would include many other lessons in my lesson plans for life, but that will have to wait for another day. I am grateful to all of you who have read to this point! You just made my day! Remember that the end game of life is to be happy. So if you are making decisions or having thoughts and experiences that arearen’trking to that end, you need to change them. You have the power to do this anytime you want, and you have to like it.
Reflections on the way things used to be…….. lead to knowledge
Each person makes a simple choice in their lives, ultimately defining the tenor and tone of their life and all the experiences in it. No person is exempt from this decision, and we make it daily in all we do. It is impossible to fake our decision because it is written in big, bold letters on our soul’s billboard. You can try to fool the outside world and pretend for a time about your thoughts, but eventually, the truth of your choice will be revealed to yourself, and of course, to the world. It is such a pervasive choice; you can see the answer in every person you meet and in each interaction you experience throughout your life. Are you ready to think about your choice? The decision is basic and straightforward. Do you choose to be happy? Or do you choose to be unhappy?
Seems Too Simple
I thought this was too simple a choice when I first was exposed to this thought. There are many more powerful decisions than this, but look at each person you know or have ever known, and their lives are a direct display of their answer.
Your happiness is a light to others, and your unhappiness is a pervasive wet blanket of doom.
About personal happiness. I have known people in challenging situations who have found it in their constitution to find a happy thought, even behind the pain. I have also known people who have very fortunate circumstances and manage to find unhappiness in every blessing in life. This is nothing more than a personal choice.
Where do you fit in your pursuit of happiness? Do you look for the positive? It is always there behind the darkness we face. Sometimes the dark seems so pervasive and complete that we also want to allow it to define us. The death of a loved one, the end of a relationship. Or any other thing we can define as unfavorable consumes us and become a part of our story. But it doesn’t have to be, and we determine the value of these things to us. Nobody will be happy about all the suffering in life, but you can suffer, learn lessons, and not let negativity define your life. That is the choice of being happy in life.
Look Around You
If you doubt this simple choice is before everyone in the world, look at all the people you encounter in your path. Not only will you see this choice in people’s actions, but you can also feel it. Most people make a clear essential choice on a subconscious level to live a happy life or not live a happy life. Fear is the factor robbing people of happiness in life. Fear of losing something, not getting something, of the suffering of all kinds, of the past, and course of the future. Fear is toxic to your happiness, and it is virtually impossible to be afraid and happy simultaneously.
You have this choice continually in your life. You can be unhappy with your job, family, current situation, or anything else in your experience. Spend your time worrying about a million things that probably will never happen, and if they did happen, most often, it isn’t the problematic tragedy built up in your mind. You can spend that time being grateful for what you have and enjoying the things that are good and a part of your life. A good joke at work, a kindness showed, something comfortable you have in life right now. The person deciding whether you are happy in your life or not is always going to be you. Could you take responsibility for it?
Not Blind Faith
I can hear the people’s thoughts determined to be unhappy right now. Not everything is going to make you happy. That is true; how can you be pleased about losing something you love? You can’t but how you deal with that loss is your choice. You can let it destroy you and change you into a life of continual unhappiness. When you are suffering, it is hard to maintain a cheerful countenance, which will always be the truth. However, there is always something in your life, a person, hopefully, who can bring out the best in you.
If you don’t want to consider this choice, then you have made your choice already, and the results of your life experience will reflect it. I encourage you to look at your option and take responsibility for how your life unfolds for you today and every day. I choose to have a positive thought process because choosing otherwise is counterproductive and seems like a choice for continual unhappiness. Some people may find wallowing in anger, sadness, jealousy, envy, selfishness, etc. I will choose love, kindness, joy, giving, gratitude, peace, and acceptance.
This is the choice you have been making your entire life; imagine what the world would be like if everyone chose to be happy in their lives.
“If you want to be happy, be.”- Leo Tolstoy
“If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.”- Roy T. Bennett.
“You can only have bliss if you don’t chase it.”- Henepola Gunaratana
“For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We don’t laugh because we’re happy – we’re happy because we laugh.”- William James
Like many people, I look at how much I have and wonder if I should be doing things to attract more into my life. More money, more love, more everything! My interest led me to investigate, and I started to do some research on the topic. I found a bunch of ideas about attracting more abundance into your life. We all think that we will be happier if we have more money, love, fame, or whatever. That is a philosophical statement for another day. Today, there are three simple things that you can start doing today that will make your life more abundant in what you are seeking.
Gratitude Journal
I have always been a fan of the gratitude journal. I have kept one sporadically over the last three to four years. When I was diligent, in all honesty, more came into my life in all areas. You get busy and tell yourself; I will think about them and not write them down. In my experience, much of those thoughts’ power is left behind. So the simple process I use is: I write ten things I am grateful for each morning over the past 24 hours. I will try to make 3 of the new stuff. I believe the activity’s value is thinking about the genuine gratitude you feel about each thing. Adding new items creates a mindset of looking for what you are grateful for and not taking things for granted. We are a fortunate society, and you see a list of items daily to feel thankful for.
I think this works because it creates an energy of gratitude. If you are a believer in personal power, what you focus on brings more of that into your life. Being grateful for what you have will get more of that into your life. Be thankful for the love in your life, and soon you will find more of it in your life.
Give Freely
This isn’t easy because I always say I will gladly give when I have more stuff. The problem with that is I never know when that is. Fear of not having enough will stop you from passing, but to get it, you always have to give. I don’t think it means giving everything you have but establishing a mindset of giving. That allows you to deal with a feeling of abundance, not lack.
Giving doesn’t have to be financial either, and I think giving with the right attitude of your time and talents can be just as powerful for creating abundance in your life. Again I believe that the attitude you start by looking for opportunities to give is the key to attracting more lot into your life. Give without a chance of recognition, and that creates the best energy. When you give, you accept that there is more on the way, and it always is. If you are afraid that you will be lacking, you focus on lack, and what you focus on will grow in your life.
I would encourage people to start small and see what happens. Give and watch. I have done a few experiments, and most have positive results. Give a small amount freely and see what happens. Give because you want to and focus on that. Don’t think of the lack. Think of the abundance, and hope that your gift can genuinely help someone else. It could be money, donated clothes, the time you gave, or even a conscious choice to be kind.
Set Clear Intentions
Almost every book I have read about creation, abundance, or self-improvement. The first thing you have to do is to know what you want, specifically. Many people have the generic answer of more love or money, and those generic intentions will bring generic results. It seems that asking clearly for what you want is essential in attracting more abundance into your life. Don’t be afraid to ask for exactly what you want.
Like anything, practice is the key to doing this. We have been conditioned to believe that we have no control over what we get. But there is increasing evidence through Quantum Physics that we are absolutely in control of what we see in our lives. Set a clear intention, and believe that it can happen, take action toward it, and it will happen. Don’t skip over that TAKE ACTION part because that is the key. Your efforts provide the momentum to your intention and move them from the page of thought into reality.
You can try these three simple practices today to investigate, drawing more abundance into your life. More money, love, or success. Whatever it is that you are looking for. I always try to remember that we are unique spiritual beings placed on Earth to have a great experience, not suffer and be unhappy.
Our minds work overtime sometimes, and we must establish a clear representation of our thoughts, goals, and perspectives on life to find our direction based on the things we truly believe. All knowledge will change you and move your consciousness one way or another and leave you with a final set of core beliefs representing your experiences and how you choose to interact with the world. Looking at my experiences over the last year, I needed to revamp my collection of what I think and look at other people.
So here is the current version of MY Mission Statement. Presented in no particular order, here are a few things I hold as truths in my life.
We Are All Connected
Call it God, the Universe, or whatever your religion dictates, but to me, we are all connected through a divine order. All people have the same abilities for great love and equal power to commit evil, which is just a part of this crazy game called life. We are given individual gifts at birth to make our unique mark on the world if we choose to do so. When you look at all things, events, and people in your life, you can see the thread that connects everything.
This connection runs through the hearts of all people. There is an illusion that our experiences are seperate events; a universal force is running between us all, connecting all of our stories. Remember this the next time judgment of others and separation’s effects enter your life. There but for the good fortune of your circumstances, go you. There is no difference between you and anyone else but choices and details. We are all connected.
Our Beliefs Control Our Lives
Each of us has developed throughout our lives a core belief system. We established most of these beliefs early on in life. These are limiting beliefs that delay or even stop our development completely. Our expectations were built by our parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, religion, and peers. Most were developed before age ten and have remained with us to this day. Our beliefs have to power to achieve goals or stop us from becoming what we should be.
The great thing is that all beliefs can change at any point in life when we look and find irrefutable evidence that contradicts them. All of the “you can’t,” “no’s,” “you’re not good enough’s,” “You can’t make a living doing that’s,” or any other limiting statement from your youth making you feel like you are not good enough can be eliminated — the processing and acceptance of new information about you and your abilities.
Here is a secret; you are powerful and can do anything you set your mind to accomplish. You have the chance to try anything. Look honestly at the barriers stopping you; most often, you will find insecurities and limits that we place on ourselves because of limiting beliefs we choose to accept. Accept new ideas to guide you.
Your Actions Define YOU
Talk is cheap; what you do is the definition of your character. I have heard the soft and sympathetic words that were worth nothing but have been blessed by the actions of many great people. Saying you are something means nothing, and being that thing means everything.
Each day is a new opportunity to take action toward a goal or a dream that you have. Take a step, mail a letter, make a call, or do whatever small thing you can that will lead you toward your goal. Action is the power source for people’s dreams and will cancel out fear.
Every person that has ever been born has had a dream of some kind, and there are no exceptions. When a person takes action, they can make their dream come true. If that action leads to failure, then at least you know, and a direction more suitable to you may show itself from the effort.
Thinking Positively Leads to Positive Results
Bad stuff happens to everyone at some point in life; how you deal with it is crucial. Life is full of things that we define as good or bad. Positive thinking is not about ignoring the “bad” in life and always looking on the bright side, although those factors result. Positive thinking is bringing the focus of love, understanding, kindness, acceptance, and peace to all you experience—ignoring your counterpart’s hate, judgment, separation, meanness, and conflict.
All experiences have the power to bring the positive or negative inside a person to the surface, and what emotions and thoughts you let dominate your behavior will decide what actions come from you and what feelings are happening inside you. All things are just things until we assign a value to them and determine how we look at them.
All People Have Value
A person’s value is difficult to remember when I am angry or someone has hurt me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I believe this is true. People live differently, make poor decisions, and look differently, but they are all valuable and unique individuals. All that separates us from the circumstances of another is mere chance. At our core, we are all beings of love, and understanding and are looking for acceptance in the world.
We are all born with a unique gift that can contribute to the world’s good. It is the meaning of life to find out what that gift is and how to use it. Some people lose their way through the experience of life and bury their talents too profoundly to be retrieved, but the reward is still there. With the right nurturing, perhaps it could resurface.
Gratitude is the Gateway to Abundance
How often do you appreciate all the positive things in your life? Moving through life each day is easy; let events and people swirl past you without absolute acknowledgment. Stop for a moment and give thanks for each experience. Even when the lessons are not what you are looking for, they will provide clues as to the direction you should be moving in.
Being grateful and putting yourself in that mindset each day creates an energy of acceptance around you, and that energy attracts more into your life. What you focus on multiplies; if you are grateful for what you have, you will have more things to be thankful for having in your life. Take time and reflect a bit each day on the blessings in your life. Breathing in and out and having an experience is a blessing many lose daily.
Forgiveness is Necessary to Move Forward
To forgive someone for something they did that harmed you is very difficult. It can’t just be lip service of saying you forgive; it has to be inside your heart. The only one who can give forgiveness is you, and the sooner you give it, the sooner you can move on. Letting go of pain, sadness, anger, or any other negative emotion is key to enjoying life. I read somewhere that you know forgiveness occurs when you think of that person, and there is no subtle searing inside your heart. It can take a conscious effort, but with forgiveness comes freedom and strength.
Embrace Love, Avoid Fear
All people carry this inside of them, and the one you pay attention to will determine how much you enjoy this ride we call life. Focus on the love-based emotions like kindness, understanding, generosity, acceptance, patience, and love while avoiding the fear-based feelings and thoughts of anger, hate, separation, jealousy, stereotyping, and judgment. It can be harder to do than it sounds, but the effort is well worth it.
Remember that fear will be a continual battle for you throughout your life. It will attack you both outwardly with dangers real and imagined. It will also subtly invade your life through indirect methods, invading your thoughts and being powered by your emotions. All things will work out if you let them. Some powers exist which are far wiser than you. Learn to trust them.
Our beliefs are essential to the type of life that we live. If you do not work to control them, they will direct you. We all have to live with the results.
Your value as a human being is determined by how you think about yourself and the choices of thought you entertain. We all accept from the world the importance we place on ourselves, our time, our talent, and our productivity. If you receive a specific salary for eight hours of your day, that is your value. You accept particular treatment from others because that is where you see your worth. Are you stuck in your self-worth, or can you improve? This writing wouldn’t be much of a thought piece if there were no hope for becoming more valuable to yourself and expecting appropriate treatment from the world to match it. Here are a few simple things to start raising your value now.
Belief Adjustment
The first step is learning the difference between random thoughts, opinions, and beliefs that run our lives. We are run by our subconscious mind most of the time, and our beliefs control that mechanism. Start to question your old ideas about yourself and how life is constructed and look to move beyond them. If you believe that people who have money are wrong, you will subconsciously create situations where cash is scarce. Look beyond. If you feel all members of the opposite sex are the same and will treat you poorly, that is precisely who you will end up in a relationship with. Look beyond and see your actual worth and believe it. Then see what types of money and people show up in your life. Your worth will increase about the time you start to value yourself.
Accept It All
We fight a constant battle in life between who we are and what we perceive the world wants us to be. Increasing your value will come when you start to accept all of the things about yourself you see as flaws. We all struggle to fit into the image we create in our minds of what we should be and how we should look based on media images we were exposed to. We are all trying to fit ourselves into a mold created by someone else of how to look, how to act, what to like, and what we think is entertainment. It is all a fantasy and impossible to attain. The worst part is there are great things about all people, and we allow these images to destroy our self-esteem and make us ashamed of who we are.
Accept your perceived flaws. Maybe it is your height, your hair color, or some other gift of birth. Accept it as a part of you and learn to value it. You will be surprised at how much your change of attitude will change how the world perceives you. Accept all of the old wounds from your past, allow yourself to feel them accept them, and move past them. Something that happened to you 35 years ago has as much bearing today as you will enable it to have. Move past it by practicing acceptance of who you are, what you have done, mistakes you have made, and things you didn’t do. How you see yourself and your power is a choice. Choose wisely.
Practice Gratitude
If something is valuable in your life, take a moment to show appreciation for it: a possession, a person, an experience, or any part of your life. When you show gratitude, you increase your value, and guess what will start to show up? More of those things. Be grateful for something in your life because it has great power for you. You are taking things for granted, and showing and feeling ingratitude will bring less of those things into your life. How many great things are you taking for granted right now? You will not appreciate them until they are gone.
Learn to appreciate every little thing that comes into your existence. There is something positive about almost everything. Sometimes we are just too close to the fray to see it. But it is there when you pull back and allow your focus to come clear. Showing more appreciation for things naturally raises your value in the world. When you grow your worth, you increase your level of expectation, and your experience will become more abundant. Start a simple gratitude practice today by making a list of three things you are grateful for. You can do it at the beginning or end of the day, but the approach will change your focus and raise your value.
Find Connections and Pursue
There are things we do that bring us closer to who we are. For me, writing my thoughts down is one way I do this. Exercise is another. All people have different activities that allow them to connect to their inner selves, enabling you to do this and pursue them. All of those who stop you from this feeling, move away from them. Most people build addictions to things that are not healthy for us, from sugar to drugs to alcohol. Many addictive behaviors we fall into are not beneficial to our becoming our best selves. Put these things aside.
The connection to yourself will fill the holes you may feel in yourself. Your parents didn’t pay enough positive attention to you. You didn’t fit in at school. You were not popular. These things can be moved past because they have as much power as we choose to give them. All people have experienced this when you do things because you view it as a positive from your inner world. Rather than doing something because of how others view it, you will be much happier. And isn’t happiness the feeling we all want to feel? Please connect to the things which make you sing on the inside and do them. Your worth will increase.
Finally Creative
Being creative is one of the most powerful skills to pursue to raise your value. There is a well of creativity inside of you and ideas available to you on the outside. Our mental limits and perceptions stop many from finding their unlimited imagination. We believe in limiting things others have imposed on us, and they prevent us from making our lives the best they can be. We are so worried about fitting into the mold society has cast us in. Originality flies out the window. You have an unlimited well of ideas inside you, and it just takes a little effort to draw them out. Once you bring them out, don’t let your mind talk you out of them. Being creative is one of the most powerful things you can do.
Increase your value by practicing creative thought daily in your work, play, and all aspects of your life. Creativity is the cure for all challenges. Use your power.
“Know your worth. Then add tax.” Anonymous
“Never forget how rare you are.” Anonymous
“Things of value require sacrifice. If people are too hurt, too busy, or too damn stupid to see that you’re a blessing they’ve been asking for, just fall back. Know your worth.” Anonymous
“I don’t know why we all hang on to something we’re better off letting go of.” Meredith Grey
“When you start seeing your worth, you’ll find it harder to stay around people who don’t.” Anonymous
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
So 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 experience 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
It is only natural to look back and reflect on the events of your life and attempt to give them meaning in your life. Positive and negative things happen in life, and there is always a lesson to learn. I have had many of these over the past year, some big and some small but all significant. This writing is a short attempt to list these lessons hoping someone else will benefit from my experiences. Each is a wish to you that you will find joy every morning when you wake up and carry that feeling throughout your day. Life is full of situations that take our happiness. You deserve to be joyful and have a heart that sings in the light of hope, which breaks in every new day.
Life is too short to be unhappy.
It doesn’t matter if it is in your job, your relationship, or just living life from day today. If you are unhappy with something continually, you need to make changes. Our experience is finite and short and could end at any moment. It is too valuable a time to be spent doing something you don’t enjoy or with people who are toxic or make you feel bad.
Choose the activities and people who build you up that make you feel valued and happy in your daily life. Once you find them, enjoy them while they are there because they may not be there forever. One day at a time is the only way to live. Enjoy things at the moment and understand that is all there is. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone. Yesterday is gone, and you can’t get it back. Enjoy the moments. Life is too short to be unhappy all the time.
Taking Action Will Change Your Life
Taking action is one of the essential igniters of positive change. You can plan all you want, weigh all the options, and compare the pros and cons for weeks and months, but only through action can you find out what will work and what will not. There is a power in this knowledge that empowers you, and it defeats fear because what is fear but a thought, worrying about what might happen?
With action, you know what will happen, which will change your life. Actions don’t always work out the way you envision, but they still bring answers, and in the knowledge, there is power and in power is an inner strength that guides a joyous life. It takes courage to take action, but the alternative to brave decisions is to live a half-life of thought. You will never know, dreaming continually of what might happen or what you could be. Take your action, place your bet, push your chips to the middle of the table, and see what kind of cards you get. At worst, you will learn. At best, you will become that person of your dreams.
Gratitude should be a part of Life.
I know that gratitude is supposed to be a part of your life. Here are the things I experienced with gratitude this year. First, taking a moment to be grateful for things builds a genuine appreciation. You realize that you have great things in your life and your mindset naturally moves from one of lack to one of abundance. You never know when something will change, turning your life upside down. Some things you love will leave, and it is up to you to carve happiness out of the life left behind you. Be grateful for what you have right now and the joy it brings you.
Begin each day with a mental list of all the people and things you are grateful for today. That mindset will allow you to look more objectively at life. Too often create an automated list of all the problems we are facing and difficulties in life, and we are taking our focus on the issues we have. Where focus goes, energy flows. Like all people, there were difficulties this year for me, but maintaining my gratitude for what I do has, allowed me to survive. It was not easy at times, but I am still here.
We Must change limiting Beliefs
I have been on the trail of my own limiting beliefs for many years, and this year I have had experience changing them and seeing that change play out in my life. Our limiting beliefs are built as we develop early in life, and they work to create our experience in life and lead to what we expect from that experience. It depends on the message we received and how it was delivered. y We are taking in a lot of
Limiting beliefs lead to the same old thinking and disappointing results, a closed-loop or negative feedback mindset. Change is up to you!!
Information and figuring out where we fit in the world. As children, the conclusions we come to are hard-wired into our subconscious and rule our actions for the rest of our lives, unless we change them.
Changing a limiting belief can be a challenge. You can do it through hypnosis, repetition of affirmations, and sometimes direct old willpower. (Having enough) I have changed my own beliefs to some degree and want to see what I want in life. I have also experienced setbacks and heartbreaks because of the limits I placed in my mind. You can change. You can do this new way, and it doesn’t have to take a long time to do it. You have to be willing to change how you think about things and desire a change in your life experience.
People are Doing the Best They Can
Many people have come into my life over the years, some for a short time, and some seemingly for the duration. Each one has brought a lesson of some kind because all people come ready-made with addresses attached. How to live, how not to live, do this, or don’t do that, this is how you treat others, and how never to treat someone else. These lessons have been there throughout my life, but I have never really seen them with the clarity I do now. Pain is a great teacher, and it has ingrained its lessons in my life.
Even the meanest, least pleasant person you meet has a lesson for you. It might be as simple as don’t ever make others feel the way this person makes people think. Or it could be more complicated, but look for the lesson in each person you see each day and be conscious of the class that you are teaching others each day. The lessons you teach others are your legacy and the things that will be revisited you in your life. When you have a choice, be kind, understanding, and considerate of the needs of others. But never compromise who you are to please someone else. When you do, you cease being you, which is a crime.
Everyone Sees Life Differently
The reality experienced in life is different for everyone. You and I can share the same thing and have two different interpretations of the event. Our biases, beliefs, understanding, and experiences will color every event that happens. People generally believe what they want about people, events, and things. Two individuals can look at a star-filled sky. And one sees the wonder of the universe, and the other sees darkness. Be understanding of these differences and talk about them with those you share things with. Through communication, your experience can be broader, and you can, in turn, make someone else see more.
Over the past year, I have seen more of this. I have learned that it doesn’t do any good to proclaim the correctness of your perspective because if others have a different experience, no words you say can change their minds and vice versa. Be open to the views of other people. They may teach you something. Things don’t always have to be labeled as right or wrong, but they all can teach you something. Growth is the purpose of this life, and other people will allow you to grow.
Questions are Our most Powerful Tools
when you ask a question, your mind seeks an answer. It is a natural way to gain information, but items work in moving your thoughts and mind toward places you want to go and things you want to accomplish. How can it get better than this? How can this work out better than I could have imagined? What lesson is in this experience for me? What should I do next? What are the actions I should take now?
These are just some of the questions, and then the secret is to let the answers keep coming to you. The first one might be the best, but it might not, and it might just be easiest. Keep seeking answers because once you have accepted the solution, the possibilities are ended too, and there is nothing else you can create from that.
If you examine your answers but keep seeking them, you will find there are others. I have learned that as learners, we have been conditioned to accept the first answer we come to and file it away. Ask questions in the new year, and never stop looking for the answers for the rest of your life.
Some of My Favorite Books
For me, there is a list of books that have influenced me and my thoughts this year. Each of these added to my life and will add to yours, and I highly recommend them. Reading expands your mind, makes you think, and allows you to change your life.
The Alchemist- Paulo Coello
The Four Agreements- Don Miguel Ruiz
The Biology of Belief- Bruce Lipton
The Greatest Miracle in the World- Og Mandino
Being You! Changing the World- Dain Heer
Awaken the Giant Within- Tony Robbins
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success- Carol Dweck
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- Steven Covey
Reading is the best way to take in information and expand your mind. You can learn from the mistakes of others and glean wisdom from their experience. Often you can find your way through troubles and get a positive compass reading to avoid the pitfalls of your journey.
No matter what you have been through, life will continue, and what you learn from your experience is up to you and the story you tell yourself about it. The report will create a belief, and that idea will work in your life. Whether those stories are positive or negative is up to you.
“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”– C. S. Lewis Trust God Quotes
“It takes strength to step enthusiastically into each day of our lives. This strength comes more readily on some days than on others, but every day makes demands on us.”— Karen Casey, The Promise of a New Day
“Every day that you open your eyes is a new day and another day to get it right.” Jean Renee Porter, A New Day
The practice of gratitude involves intentionally focusing on the good things in our lives and expressing appreciation for them. It can be as simple as thinking about the things we are thankful for or writing them down in a journal. While it may seem like a small and insignificant act, the benefits of practicing gratitude are numerous and far-reaching.
one. This can lead to increased happiness, contentment, and overall satisfaction. Gratitude can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, as it allows us to see the good in our lives rather than dwelling on the negative.
relationships. When we express appreciation for others and what they do for us, it can strengthen our bond with them. It can also make us more likable, as expressing gratitude is often seen as a sign of good manners and a positive attitude.
Like many people, I look at how much I have and wonder if I should be doing things to attract more into my life. More money, more love, more everything! My interest led me to investigate, and I started to do some research on the topic. I found a bunch of ideas about attracting more abundance into your life. We all think that we will be happier if we have more money, love, fame, or whatever. That is a philosophical statement for another day. Today, there are three simple things that you can start doing today that will make your life more abundant in what you are seeking.
yourself; I will think about them and not write them down. In my experience, much of those thoughts’ power is left behind. So the simple process I use is: I write ten things I am grateful for each morning over the past 24 hours. I will try to make 3 of the new stuff. I believe the activity’s value is thinking about the genuine gratitude you feel about each thing. Adding new items creates a mindset of looking for what you are grateful for and not taking things for granted. We are a fortunate society, and you see a list of items daily to feel thankful for.
to get it, you always have to give. I don’t think it means giving everything you have but establishing a mindset of giving. That allows you to deal with a feeling of abundance, not lack.
Our minds work overtime sometimes, and we must establish a clear representation of our thoughts, goals, and perspectives on life to find our direction based on the things we truly believe. All knowledge will change you and move your consciousness one way or another and leave you with a final set of core beliefs representing your experiences and how you choose to interact with the world. Looking at my experiences over the last year, I needed to revamp my collection of what I think and look at other people.
