Tag Archives: Gratitude

22

The Positive Turn

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If you are wondering what your thoughts and emotions have led you to in life, take a moment and look at your life and honestly evaluate your circumstances. Nothing will provide a clearer picture. The events of your life are a living, breathing display of how you think and what you believe about yourself.  We make choices every day about what exactly we “deserve” to experience every day, and the accumulative effect of these choices is our reality.  So if you are working a job you are not wild about, that is a result of your preferences. Nobody else forced you into it. You chose it for some reason. The status of your relationships in all areas of your life results from the decisions you have made based on your beliefs about life and reality. That is a fact, and if you want to change things, you need to look at the ideas that led to your thoughts and discard the ones that are leading you in a negative direction. Here are a few thoughts to move in a positive direction. There is success in everyone. The potential for joy in every day and all of it is really up to us.

Take Responsibility

The first and only place to look in answer to: “Why am I in this situation?” or “How did this happen?” is to look in the mirror and accept your responsibility for all of your life situations.  You can cry and complain about this happening or wallow over the sadness that somebody else hurt you. That is a fact; people will hurt others, be callous, uncaring, and take advantage of others.  It happens to everyone in life, but you are responsible for your reaction to everything. You are responsible.

It is easy to slip into the role of a victim and feel sorry for yourself and think about how you couldn’t help what happened because someone else made the choices. That is a very slippery slope, and it slips in more areas once you allow responsibility to fall to something or someone else. The best choice we can make is to take complete responsibility for our lives and situations, and that gives us all the power to create whatever future we want.  You are responsible for your past and your future.

Grow and Take Action

You have the opportunity in every moment of every day to seize that experience and make it something powerful and productive. Too often, I have seen myself and others sit comfortably in the virtual recliner of routine behavior. If you dream of doing something, set your intention to create it, and then take at least a small action toward developing it. In action, there is a truth. It will tell you what will work and what you need to do differently, but it will always lead you toward your reality and the accomplishment of your goals and dreams.

Action will help you gain more wisdom regarding what you want, what will make you happy, and what might not. Learning is gaining knowledge and can come to you from books, videos, classes, other people, time spent in nature, or many different sources.  Nothing will lead you to wisdom if you don’t seek it, and nothing can stop you from finding it if you look for it. So make an effort to find the knowledge available to you every day, and then look for ways you can share what you have learned with the rest of the world. To receive is essential, but to give is the legacy of your life. Make it a positive one.

Choose a Happy Destiny

It doesn’t matter to me if you believe in destiny or not; you have an opportunity in your short life to create something magnificently fabulous or something tragically awful, or something anywhere in between. It is up to you to look at your heart and see what gifts you have to fine-tune and share with the world. Your destiny will be assured once you have listened to that voice within. We are all born with something to give, and then life covers it up through programming and expectations.  The journey to find it is up to you.

Often, the simple thought and feeling of genuine gratitude will guide you back to your true self. Be grateful for what you have in life, and more will come your way. That is what seems always to happen. Have a thankful spirit, and that choice will bring happiness into your life. Grateful people are still happy, and that choice can be yours now. No matter what your situation is right now, there is something to be thankful for, and through gratitude, a small glimmer of joy will enter your life whether you want it to or not. Look for it, create it, and move more positive feelings into your life.

Forgive

Another absolute power we all have is brought to us through forgiveness. It doesn’t mean you condone any poor behavior, and it doesn’t mean you are OK with bad things happening to you, but it means you are no longer letting something that happened in the past define you today.  Refer back to responsibility. You are the only one that can choose to forgive someone and all they do or don’t do. Holding on to anger, hate, fear, or whatever negative emotion you perceive from an event will harm you. These are released through forgiveness. Decide to give heartfelt and honest forgiveness to all those in your life.

The most important person you can forgive is yourself. Deep down, we hold anger toward ourselves for all things that occur in our lives.  Some see taking responsibility for their life this way.  Looking at the past is an impossible game because you can’t change anything that happened, and if you could have done better or behaved differently, you certainly would have.  So to use your past as a punishment for your experiences today is our choice.  And it can be released by only looking into our hearts and forgiving the people who hurt us and, most importantly ourselves. A forgiving spirit will guide you to greatness and a life without fear.

Persist Always

Finally, it is vital to develop and maintain a practice of persistence in your life. Some will start many things and have a high energy level initially but will lose their momentum at the first challenge they face and move on to something else. Persist without exception.  Nothing ever takes the place of persistence. It is a trait that will lead to success in all areas of life. Keep on trying. Get knocked down eight times, get up nine, and trim will be able to stop you.  It is a great faith in yourself that will allow you to be persistent in your pursuit of a career, health, a relationship, or anything else you are shooting for. Keep on trying, and don’t give up because it gets difficult or you have an initial setback. Those challenges are sometimes needed to teach you the information you need. Persistence is power and will always lead you in a positive direction.

“The truth I know for sure is that if something feels good and makes you happy on the inside, you’re probably moving in the right direction.”- Jacqui Holland

“Surround yourself with people who talk about ideas and visions of positivity and do not waste time talking about other people.” 

 

22

Being Grateful

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gratitude-logoOne of the simple things in life that we all know we should practice gratitude for the things we have in our lives that bring happiness.

It is easy to look at the struggles and challenges of life and forget to see all of the things that make each day a positive experience. One of the best practices is setting aside a time of day to look at the past day and decide what you are grateful for.

Build Your Mindset

MindsetIt is a great time to build your mindset of appreciation for whatever makes your life a little better. It is my practice to write ten things a day that I appreciate, and I try to make 2 or 3 new or original. This practice gets your mind looking for ideas that you might add to the list throughout the day. Seeking gratitude improves your focus to include good thoughts and moves you away from negative thinking and worry.

Open the Door for More

Being grateful and appreciating the positive things in your life opens the door for more of those things to come into your life. A gratitude journal is a reflective moment that will only make you happier and make you feel better about life and the things you experience in it.

Open-the-door-to-moreThe other choice is to complain about everything you don’t like about your experience. That only puts your focus more on those negative things, and of course, more of those things will come into your life. Nobody cares about your complaints; they are your issues. At best, anyone you are complaining to is just looking for an opportunity to share their grievances about why they are unhappy.

Like most things, it comes down to a simple choice that anyone can make. You don’t have to be intellectually superior to be grateful, but you must be smart. It will make your life better and bring more of what you want into your consciousness.

The Power of Thank You

hqdefaultThere is a lot of power in using the words Thank You! It has been clinically proven that if you thank a new acquaintance for anything they do, it makes them more likely to seek to further your relationship. Gratitude makes you physically and mentally healthier, enhances empathy, reduces aggression, improves the quality of your sleep, improves self-esteem, and makes you think more efficiently.

Best of all, there is no downside to the practice at all. Have you ever heard of someone being harmed by being grateful and saying a simple thank you? Of course not. Those two little words make others feel appreciated and open the doorway for more positive creation in your life.

Appreciation Game

A high activity that I read about is the Appreciation Game. When you are feeling angry, upset, or just in a negative mindset, it is because of the thoughts you are choosing to entertain. Our minds are fantastic tools, but they are only tools to be used by us. They are capable of thinking one thought at a time, and you decide the content, tenor, and tone of that thought. So you choose to find things in your life that you appreciate and think about. I understand the weather. I enjoyed my coffee today. It makes life better. I appreciate my spouse. I know the kind thing my kids did. I appreciate my health. I appreciate having money. I appreciate my success. I appreciate my life, etc. It will flip your mindset to the positive side if you let it.

Of course, you can choose to stay mired in the negative for whatever reason you want. Anger, jealousy, and judgment are just different masks of fear. These have something to do with not meeting your needs and some pain coming your way.

The choice is yours, live in fear, or live in gratitude.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” —Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” —Zig Ziglar

“Learn to be thankful for what you already have while you pursue all that you want.” —Jim Rohn

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” —Oprah Winfrey

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” —William Arthur Ward

 

22

Thank You Kindly

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Thanks– an expression of gratitude.

ThanksIt doesn’t matter who you express your gratitude toward in your daily life. It is only essential that you tell your appreciation to everyone you can by saying thank you for all opportunities. No matter where you are in life, there is a chance to thank someone and feel gratitude for what you do have. The energy created by using this simple sentiment will be dominant in your life. Gratitude is contagious in your life. If you are thankful for what you have, more things will come into your life. The beginning of this process is simple, consciously look for opportunities to say thanks today. It could be for something tiny, but the more you use the phrase “thank you,” the better your day is going to go. Consciously seek these changes in your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions today and see what stems from them. Focus and say thanks for everything positive in your life.

Thank You For the Good Things

The most comfortable place to start is with all the good things already in your life. It could be a job, your family, those who care about you, your physical and mental ability, the money you have, the trips you are going on, or any other positive thing that exists in your life right now. List them and appreciate them by saying thank you. And mean it, in your heart. Be grateful for being able to experience your life. It is a fantastic thing.

Every day we are given a gift of life and experience. You have a choice of what you do with that gift. Take advantage of it or waste it by feeling sorry for yourself or angry about a tiny aspect of your experience. One of the best choices you can make every day is to be grateful for the positive things in your life. The human mind can only entertain one conscious thought at a time. If you are thinking of the things you are thankful for, that energy will be transferred to the rest of your day. How many items should you say thanks for in your day that you take for granted? Count them.

Thanks for the Tough Times

All lives have moments that are difficult to experience. Challenges arise all the time. Some are very tragic, and of course, we can live without them. But once something has happened, it has happened, and no matter what you do, you can’t change it. All you can do is choose how you will deal Thankswith it now. Some choose self-pity and to kill their feelings with drugs or alcohol. That is not going to solve anything. If you experienced the loss of someone, be grateful for the time you had together. Thank them for all they provided in your life—the memories and lessons you learned.

Moving forward after a tragedy is complicated, but that makes it a fantastic thing. Sometimes the drama of life will wake you up to what you have been missing. Recognizing the words to thank you for at these moments is even more powerful. Always say thank you to those who matter to you because you never know when that chance for them to hear it will be gone forever. The tough times always wake you up to what you take for granted in life. As you get older, you experience more challenges and become more and more awake to the good things in life. Enjoy them and say thanks even when it is hard.

Thanks for That

There is a chance for you to appreciate things right at this very moment. Since the human mind can only think one thought at a time, if you are Thanks for everythingthinking thoughts that are consciously negative, feeling frustrated, angry, or judgemental of others, take a moment. Just take a moment and a deep breath and start thinking of the things you appreciate in life. Say thanks to yourself, the universe, or somebody else for them, and soon your mood will shift. It has no choice.

Every day will start to look pretty good when you start looking at things this way. Your mood will shift, and not only will your energy be more positive, but the energy of those around you will also seem more positive as well. Look at the world and take a moment to see the things right in front of you which are miraculous. The sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the stars, or just the current weather are all fantastic in how they work. Please take a moment and appreciate the grand scheme of things that brings them all about. Be conscious of the items in the world which are more significant than you. Say thank you to them.

Be Conscious of your Thank You’s

Today is a day like any other, but take time to notice the times you consciously say thanks to someone else. Even take extra time and look for opportunities to thank anyone and everyone you can. It takes just a little effort and see what the rewards are. Be grateful for what you have in each moment of every day. A place to live, a person who cares about you, someone to care about yourself: all of these can provide an excellent opportunity to say thanks. Be conscious today of that and the number of times you can say thanks on a regular, ordinary day. It all begins by noticing your thoughts and being aware of the emotions, words, and actions that spring from them.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” — Frank A. Clark

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

22

To Give

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Giving and Gratitude- You must provide to receive.

One of the better-known but often forgotten forces in the universe is giving and gratitude. These are two separate things but work together to bring a lot of good into the world. The old is replaced by the new as a person lets go of something without reservation, allowing for something new to enter its place. You can only hold on to so much at a time. What if the things you are grasping onto are old, outdated, or heavy and cumbersome. The only way to move to something new is to give them away freely. Then when new things arrive in your life, practice a pure, honest feeling of gratitude for them. This simple process will help you live a more fulfilled life. Develop an attitude of giving and receiving that keeps the energy of life flowing around you.

Mentality of Giving

It is easy to say, “Give!” to someone else, but there are always issues when it comes to yourself. If you have had feelings of lack your whole life, those will have to be conquered. Scarcity is not just referring to finances, it can also be applied to love, caring, nurturing, or any other aspect of life. When we fear there isn’t enough for us, we develop a lack mentality. It is a catch 22 because there won’t be anymore if you hold onto what you have for fear. There probably won’t be anymore.

The mentality of giving is that you can give freely and without fear because there is no lack in the world of what you seek or desire. If you give freely and without a doubt, what you need will come back to you in all areas that you provide. It will also allow for new and exciting things to enter your life. This can be intimidating and scary because change is always a little unsettling. But to keep your positive energy flowing, giving is a must. Give with an open heart and mind and expect nothing in return. All you need will come to you.

Gratitude is the Thing

How often do you look at someone else and envy what they have? It is a waste of time looking outside and being envious or angry because someone else has something you would like. Look at your life, enjoy the things you have, and feel grateful for them. All of us have something to be thankful for. The basics, eyes to see, ears to hear, food to eat, a place to live, freedom, love, family, or anything else has come into our lives. If you don’t appreciate what you have, why would you attract more into your life? Learning to be appreciative is a skill that is not taught to many but needs to be determined.

Honest feelings of gratitude are essential to practice every day. Note a grateful sense in your mind for all the things you have that make your life better. If you do this consistently, you can’t help but be in a good mood. We all have something. The joy that gratitude can bring will make life a better experience and allow for more things to be grateful for coming into your life. It has been a tradition in many religious teachings to count your blessings because you will see what has already been created for you. Knowing all the things already coming your way allows more positive things to enter your life.

The Good of Giving

Many people think having a lot of money will make them great, or having a powerful job will give them respect, but the truth of the matter is that how much you give to the world is going to determine your value to it. Our view of life can get blocked by pursuing material goods and financial well-being. There is nothing wrong with having money, but giving is also essential for energies to flow.   Giving is also something that becomes contagious. Giving something to someone often sparks them to give to someone else.

Giving also makes all parties happy. It feels good to offer, and it feels good to receive. If you look at the act itself and perform it with a pure heart, then the benefits of giving will shine through. Joy and happiness are the results. The only way they can’t is if fear enters the picture. Either the person giving is afraid they will never receive anything back. Or the person receiving is worried about what the gift means. Either way, give because you want to accept someone did something beautiful for you and let the process spread the happiness it should.

Take some time today and think of ways that You can give. Compliments, caring, Kindness, understanding, or love are all excellent ways to provide that cost nothing at all but a bit of thought and consideration. Receive all of these things as best you can and know that they are given positively. Smile and spread positive feelings to those that you come in contact with. Giving is the first step in receiving, and gratitude is the doorway it walks through.

“The heart that gives, gathers.” Tao Te Ching

“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”- Khalil Gibran.

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”- Lao Tzu.

“Don’t wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly, lead the way.” Steve Maraboli

 

22

What is Your Direction?

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trustprocessAll things are changing at all times. Absolutely nothing or nobody stays as they are right now. Either something is moving in a positive direction, or they are becoming less favorable, and your life is a reflection of the transformation you are currently experiencing.

Personal wealth, health, and relationships are developing each day, and your choices fuel that process one way or another. Fortunately, we are creators and can take charge of the transformation process. Here are six factors that lead to change in a positive direction. All of our lives are an exact replication of who we are on the inside. If you don’t like what you are experiencing, you have no one to blame but yourself. The optimistic view is that you will be able to make changes on the outside and in your experience by changing the way you think and the thoughts you entertain. That is totally up to you.

What you focus on grows.

If you are not where you want to be right now, your attitude is one of the first places to look for change. Often your focus will determine where you are in life. Focusing on what you don’t have or what is going wrong will invite more of that into your life. Concentrating on what you want in life will bring more of that into your life. Be grateful, loving, accepting, kind, and understanding, and avoid hateful, judgmental, transform-yourselfangry, or limiting thoughts, and you will see transformation occur in your life.

Where your focus is will lead to the flow of energy. If you live in fear of loss or worry consistently about what may happen, you will experience the worst side of life. Remember, focusing on the thoughts and things you want to happen in your life will allow you to develop your reality in a way you would like. You are either in control of your existence or reacting to the things that happen to you.

Always be Better

In life, transformation in a positive way is called Growth. Each of us has the opportunity to grow every day. Growth sometimes happens naturally in life, but we need to seek it more often. Seeking it can be as simple as spending time in nature or reading a book with crucial information you need.

Or it could come through watching a video in the instruction of something positive. The growth provides excitement, and as you expand into it, the transformation will be a positive thing in your life. Growing is the force that brings your dreams and goals into reality. Always strive to be a better version of yourself because it will lead you to find your talents and gifts in the world.

Develop Positive Beliefs

What we genuinely believe colors our reality and dictates what we can experience. If your life is not moving in a positive direction, then look at your beliefs. Many of our limiting beliefs have been developed through the conditioning of our youth. Parents, siblings, relatives, teachers, peers, and the media have given us the rules that our consciousness accepts as accurate.

It is vital to a positive transformation that we recognize the limits and understand that we can change them at any moment. Developing these positive beliefs and replacing limiting beliefs allow a person to experience a real and positive transformation regarding money, love, health, or anything else.

Practice Gratitude and Appreciation

Another factor in positive transformation is learning to practice gratitude and appreciation for the things you have in your life. Looking at the right things and being appreciative of them will allow more of those things to show up in your life. Be a consistent giver of gratitude, and your transformation will be moving in a positive direction almost effortlessly. It allows you to see better and making a daily list of these things gets you to look for something to be grateful for throughout your experience. The human mind can only entertain one thought at a time. When those thoughts are negative, focus on things that you appreciate right now. Appreciation will bring you to a positive level.

It allows you to see better and making a daily list of these things gets you to look for something you are grateful for throughout your experience. The human mind can only entertain one thought at a time when those thoughts are negative; your experience will follow. Focus on things that you appreciate right at this moment. Appreciation will bring you to a positive level. You can’t be both negative and positive at the same time, you can only choose one, and that choice is up to you.

Avoid Negative Influences

A simple method for positive transformation is to avoid negative influences in your life. It seems simplistic but looks at the people in your life and the activities you participate in and evaluate them honestly. If you have friends that are engaging you in gossip or negative talk about others, it will bring negativity into your life.

The activity which causes you to judge others is harmful to your existence. Avoid these negative influences and add more positive things to your life. Either change the conversation with a cynical friend or change your friends to those who are more optimistic. If you watch television, which focuses on negative thoughts and feelings, watch something else. Positive transformation is as simple as changing the channel.

Be Kind to Yourself and Others

Finally, being kind is a simple method to transform your life positively. Kindness is free; it feels right for everyone involved; it is fat-free and delicious. You can’t get or give too much of it. Judgments of others move us away from kindness, which drives us negatively. Look at someone who annoys you or bothers you and then send them service, and you will see your transformation take place.

Our judgments and anger toward others only hold us back. Practice kindness and send love toward others. That is also true in how you treat yourself. We are often our own worst critics and are not supportive at all. Look at the way you speak to yourself and temper it toward kindness. Being kind toward yourself will be an essential factor in your ultimate happiness. When you choose between compassion and something negative (judgment, anger, meanness, etc.) BE KIND!!!!

  

 

    

 

      

 

22

My Darkness

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relax-and-succeed-i-am-grateful-for-the-darknessThere is the gratitude I feel for the downtimes, the darkness, and the sorrows of life. A thank you. That needs to be said and felt.

Why am I grateful for these things? Well, there is no other choice because these things will exist whether I am thankful for them or not. But when you think about it, difficulties and hardships are a vital part of the journey. They reveal much about ourselves, what we are made of, and force us to grow.

Darkness Shows Light

light up the darknessI heard it explained that without the night, the light of a candle would lose the value and unique power that its light provides. When I look back on less enjoyable times to experience, I can see the opportunity to shine within them. As a human being, the challenges life throws at you are tests that allow you to rise higher than you could without the problem or, unfortunately, a chance to be crushed by the difficulties you face.

The most significant people in history resulted from difficult historical times, and the same can be said about your life. The hard times or darkness allow you the forum to shine and succeed.

Make You More Grateful for Good Things

grateful-for-everythingWhen you have things in life that are not pleasant, it makes you appreciate it when things are going pleasantly. If you have had a time of loneliness, companionship feels all that much better. If you have had tough economic times, the gratitude for bountiful times is all the more significant.

These sensations will not exist in their intensity without the contrast of darkness or hardship and downtimes.

Do Not Fear Difficult Things

tough-times-dont-last-tough-people-doOne of the most challenging things to deal with is a fear of difficulties that may come in life. When you look at your life and think that everything is going well, it used to be a time when I would worry a lot. There was nowhere to go but down. Yet, worry didn’t stop problems, hardship, or poor decisions; it only made my enjoyment of the great things in my life more appreciated.

Do not be afraid that hard times may come your way. You always have the strength to pull them through if you can persevere. Keep moving forward with gratitude, and inevitable change will carry you to a better time.

So today, I am grateful for the hard times and the darkness of life because it allows people to rise and shine their light and become great.   My wish for you is happy days and sunny skies and the courage to handle anything that comes your way.

“All things are as they should be, relax and enjoy them.”

 

21

Grateful

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Thank You For Being You!!

grateful Moving through your life, from task to task, work time to free time, one of the most important thoughts to keep in your consciousness is to be grateful for all of the things in life you experience every day. Some people and experiences bring joy, and some get lessons. All need to be appreciated for what they are because……….

Being grateful is an attitude that increases your positive energy, makes you more efficient and is in the doorway of abundance. In every situation, there is a choice of opinion. One can decide to be angry, disillusioned, bitter, or worried. Or a mind can be appreciative, grateful, accepting, and joyous. In each moment, the choice of gratitude exists, and I encourage you to be thankful in your thoughts, words, and actions today. Show that appreciation wherever you can by choosing the simple words, “Thank you!”

Don’t Take Things for Granted.

When life is going well in any area, relationships, financially, or achieving personal goals, take a moment and be grateful. Recognizing the presence of positive and enjoyable things in your life will open the doorway gratefulfor other “good” things to come into your life. Those who take things for granted tend to experience little to no joy, no matter what they have. Does it matter if you have everything if you don’t have the mental acuity to appreciate these gifts? Look to be grateful for the smallest of things, and joy will arise in you.

You never know when the good things in your life will pass away and disappear like smoke from a smooth summer’s fire. Each moment you have which are joyful and shared with someone you love should be appreciated, and a feeling of gratitude should accompany it. We are not guaranteed anything in this life, only a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is up to you to either appreciate your life and those in it. Or you can choose to take it for granted and be angry. This decision is one we make every day. Where are your choices leading you?

Say Thank You Often

In the course of your activity in a day, seek out situations to use the phrase “thank you.” Be mindful of why you use the term, and you will see more conditions the words can describe in your life. Each time you are grateful, from your heart, for something someone else has done, you increase the positivity of the world in just a fraction. Thank you have the power to show, share, and transfer the feelings of being grateful to other people.

It is also essential to be able to accept gratitude from others. If they take the time to acknowledge your acts of kindness with the words, thank you, make sure to keep the positive flowing by responding with a heartfelt word. The best one I know, I was taught by my great-grandmother. When I would thank her for one of the millions of kindnesses she showed me, her response was always cheerful and heartfelt “You are very welcome.” It still transferred the joy she felt in giving and made me feel loved and appreciated. Spreading that feeling can’t be a bad thing. Be conscious of the opportunities to thank you today and show how grateful you are for all things, big and small.

Appreciation Game

One of the most reliable ways to turn your attitude around is to focus on the appreciation game. This gratitude is the mental process of shifting your conscious focus away from negative thoughts of regret or anxiety and being grateful for the positive things in your life. Look gratefulat how fortunate you are. All people can find something to be thankful for having. Some can never find anything. The choice is always up to you and your mind.

Look at your life today and list, either mentally or on a piece of paper, things you are grateful for in your experience. Good weather, people who help you, people who care about you, coffee, reliable transportation, a job you enjoy, the ability to learn, an act of kindness, something in nature you witnessed, or anything you can think of experiencing. Just a moment of being grateful for each thing, and your mood will flip because it is tough to be negative and thankful at the same time.

Be grateful today, say thank you often, and count the good things in your life. It will be impossible to be in a bad mood. You will be a light of positivity. All this comes by becoming more conscious of your thoughts, words, and actions of being grateful in life. I thank those who have lied to me because I learned how much I value truth. Thank you to those who have hurt me because, through suffering, we find our most authentic selves and understand what is important to us. I thank those who count themselves as my enemies; you have taught me to understand the opinions of others never define my value.

“Develop an attitude of gratitude and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” ~Brian Tracy

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” —Charles Dickens.

https://youtu.be/hQiipuDbbxw

 

 

 

21

Fall

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512566070029080548_1356144434Bad days happen. We fall, we make mistakes, and things fall apart. That is life. I have observed that the people who move swiftly through these mishaps manage to enjoy the positive side of life and have developed habits worth emulating. It is easy to let negativity creep into our lives as we live day to day, especially when things are not seeming to go our way. Consciously focusing our thoughts on the positives in life will provide value where it appears that none exists. Being in love with your life during each minute is a secret to happiness. It is not what happens to your thoughts about the thing which affects your life.

When you fall, make mistakes or lose something or someone, learning to manage your thoughts more productively will decrease the time of self-pity and sadness and allow you to take the lessons and move forward. That is all there is to do in life.

Let Worry and Fear Go

It is a natural part of our society to look at the future with worry and fear. tumblr_l86giqztyy1qcugwco1_500What if I don’t have enough? What if the money runs out? What if I am alone? What if nobody is there to love me? All of these questions and more will build worry and fear into today that will rob you of any enjoyment you may experience. You have the money; you are loved; you have enough; all these things are happening right now. Enjoy them. It is OK to be happy at the moment.

Happy people tend to focus on the positive things in their life right now and have gratitude for them. The future is uncertain at best, and it will happen. It could be great or not so great. It really will depend on the way you view the things that come your way. Why let it take away from the certainty that is good today? Let worry and fear go; they are limiting and will only make you unhappy. Worriers are generally people who are grasping at the control when situations become uncontrollable, always. No amount of worry or fear is going to stop the thing from happening. We all understand that life is going to end the same for everyone eventually. It is how you live in each moment of each day, which will define you. Live each moment well, and don’t fall into the trap of worry and fear.

Watch The Words

Words have a power that most people fail to recognize. Words can build, encourage, love, or support. They have equal potential to tear Quotes-watch-your-Wordsdown, discourage, hate, or undermine. The way you use your words will dictate the energy they have for others and yourself. If your comments are focused on Gossip and complaining, then your life will be filled with a lot of misery.

Watch your words and how many are spent on complaining about circumstances in your life or gossiping about the life of others. That will provide the energy to bring you and everyone you deal with down. Misery loves company, and so does contentment. Watch your words. Are they positive or negative? The words you use will define your experience every day. Avoid Gossip and complaining. What you focus on in life increases.

It is also worthy to note that when you withhold words you should speak, you are also harming yourself and those you care about in your life. Knowing what to say and avoiding direct and clear communication about your views and how things affect you is a limiting action. When one word may have saved someone else needless suffering, share your words when they represent what you think and feel about your relationships because sometimes the moment passes, and there is no way to repeat those things. In their silence, they cause pain, and they can’t reverse it. Open and honest communication is the best practice.

Comparison and Jealousy

Happy people don’t spend their time comparing their life and accomplishments to others. That is one of the surest ways to build misery. The experiences and achievements of others are not your business. People comparison-is-the-thief-of-joysee success for others and feel jealous. Why not be supportive of all people? It is based on the misconception that there is a finite amount of anything in the world. The truth is that there is plenty of wealth, success, and happiness for everyone. Most of us seem to lack the confidence to go after it and find our joy. We are responsible for our thoughts and actions in all areas of life, and the actions and thoughts of success are always available for us to grasp and hold onto tightly.

When you concern yourself with your success and happiness and how you behave, not only will positive things happen for you, but you will enjoy them more. Time spent being jealous or envious of someone else’s success is foolish and self-defeating. These thoughts will take away from the abilities you have to create your own most joyous life. Developing ideas and accomplishing goals is a good thing and should be commended and applauded. It proves that all people can be successful, wealthy, creative, and happy, INCLUDING YOU! To not see this is another way you can fall.

Life Is Hard, Not!

If you entertain the limiting belief that life is hard, then it surely will be. These thoughts are away many fall down. It is a simple fact that happy people ignore and look at life quite differently. Life is meant to be an adventure with many twists and turns, and each can bring happiness into your life if you let it. All people dont believeexperience loss in life; the damage is a lesson we all have to deal with at some point. It is your attitude about the loss that will define the rest of your life. I know words about loss can seem empty, but I have known significant loss, and my thoughts about it were my biggest weakness. The power I gave ideas limited my ability to be even just a little bit happy because I focused on the loss. Not on the gains and the possibilities ahead. To look at what is gone and long for it again is a natural feeling and desire. But many great things are not meant to last and are fleeting in their beauty. Love them anyway. Try not to fall down the trap of feeling one situation or person is all there is for you.

If you believe that there is no way your life can be good again, it most likely won’t be. That means that each loss, either a death, loss of a job, a relationship or

We all fall down sometimes; it is the fact that we get back up that defines us.

anything that is a loss brings with it a possibility of growth and wonder as well. That is a fact, and it depends on the choices we make.

We decide not to move forward or not look for a new advantage. Optimistic people seem to have found the secret of perspective. We can all practice this by looking at life as a road of endless possibilities rather than living as a complex, painful experience.

Your choices when you fall will define what you feel about your experiences and, of course, your level of happiness and enjoyment. There is nobody or nothing else to blame for the joy you have in your life. It is solely and entirely up to you and the mindset you develop over your life. Choose to be upset, and you surely will be. I am choosing to be satisfied and seeking in all I do in life. I have fallen down and am picking myself up and moving forward into opportunity.

“You don’t get drow by falling into a river. You get drown by remaining there. Falling accidentally and rising immediately was what distinguished Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln from the rest.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

“Life has pounded me down
and thrashed me around,
Time and time again,
But I always get right back up,
Because I still love life –
Just as the earth still loves
The rain.”
― Suzy Kassemn

“You fell down? Get up! You fell down again? Get up again? You keep falling down? Keep getting up! Refuse the direction towards the ground! Up and forward, that is the direction!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

21

Believing it

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my mind works overtime, sometimes
my mind works overtime, sometimes

 

I developed a post about my core beliefs a few years ago. Since then, I have experienced a lot, but, remarkably, so much of what I believed has stood up to the test of time.

These personal beliefs are ever-evolving, but this is where they stand right now.

All People are Connected

Call it God, the Universe, or whatever your religion dictates, but to me, we are all connected through a divine order.  All people contain the same abilities for great love and an equal capacity for evil.   I believe that the perceived separateness of the world leads to many of the problems we face in religion, race, age, sexuality, or any other label we can apply to each other. Just as many drops fall together to make the ocean, we are all unique pieces of the whole. The more we recognize the same, the more understanding and kindness we can show each other, and the better the world will be.

Practice kindness with all people because you are a few circumstances away from being exactly in their shoes.

Your Actions Define Who YOU Are

Talk is cheap. What you do is the definition of your character.  I have heard the soft and sympathetic words that were worth absolutely nothing but have been blessed by the actions of many great people.  Saying you are something means nothing. Being that thing means everything.

Taking action is the catalyst to all achievements, great and small. Having the courage to go, stay, jump, start, stop, begin again, love, share, understand, give, etc. It is the beginning of anything and will lead you to understand who you are and find your place in the world.

Live in the Moment, and it is all you have

It seems like I have wasted a lot of time, feeling wrong about the past and the things I can never change or worrying about the future and the things that most likely will never come.  When I can live in the moment, I find peace, motivation, enjoyment, love, etc.

Being in the moment and being grateful for all that exists with you at that time is a great recipe for happiness. Plan the best you can through goal setting and dreams but understand that you can’t control everything, and sometimes the things that happen, which seem unwanted, provide unforeseen growth and understanding. They catapult us into places we wouldn’t have thought to go.

Thinking Positively Leads to a Happier Life

“Bad” stuff happens to everyone at some point in life. How you deal with it is essential.  Life is full of things that you define as good or bad. Describing them as positives allows you to enjoy life more, be healthier, and support those you love. At the same time, negative thinking is defeatist and will supply you with the exact opposite.

How you choose to perceive anything will determine the overall value it provides to your experience of life. All things have the potential to work for good. Your mental state will determine how much interest they provide your life if any.

Positive thinking does not ignore the negative, and it should put it into a perspective of positive, as best that you can. It also doesn’t mean that you accept the poor behavior of others. It means that you do not choose to let poor behavior negatively influence you. I can’t control the behavior and choices of others, only the choices that I make. That is it. I try to do better than I did yesterday. That is all I can do.

All People Have Value

Sometimes, this is difficult to remember when I am angry or hurt, but that doesn’t change my belief.  People live differently, make poor decisions, and look differently, but inside they are all valuable. Every person that you meet knows something that you don’t, and that is the thing that is one of the many values of meeting new people.

All that separates any of us from the circumstances of another is mere chance.  At our core, we are all beings of love. Keep this in mind and be patient with others. There are always thousands of unseen reasons that lead to behavior. Don’t be quick to judge a story by the one short chapter you see. Read the whole book so that you can understand things in context.

Dreaming is Vitally Important

Every person that has ever been born has had a dream of some kind. There are no exceptions.  Life has a way of making many of us forget these dreams as we are swept up in living from day to day and the years drift past us.

Dreams of being a musician, a painter, a doctor, an astronaut, a professional athlete, or any other dream you might have had are a good thing.  Dreams help us to set our intentions for our actions. It is never too late to pursue a dream, and whether the dream is completed or not, the journey will be the valuable part that makes you who you are.

When a person takes action, they can make their dream come true.  That action will lead to a result of success or failure. Failure is not an ending, and it is the roadmap to finding another way to find success. Action toward your dream is the only way that you will know what works.

Gratitude is the Right Attitude

Being grateful for what you have in life leads to appreciation. Rather than looking for something else you don’t have for comfort or happiness, look at what you do have and be grateful for it.

There are many benefits that gratitude will bring to life, but happiness and enjoyment are two of the best. Remember that those you love and who love you are the greatest gifts and should never be taken for granted, be grateful for them.

Forgiveness is Necessary to Move Forward

Who hasn’t been hurt? Let down? We all have issues with others, and we all have a choice, be angry or forgive them. Forgiveness is a tonic that will allow you to be free. It isn’t condoning or approving of the behavior of others, but it is an acceptance of what has happened and making a choice not to let the power of that event rule you.

To forgive someone for something they did that harmed you is very difficult. It can’t just be lip service of saying that they are ignored. 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 that someone is forgiven when you think of them, 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 choice inside of them. The one you pay attention to will determine the experience of your life.  Focus on the love-based emotions of kindness, understanding, generosity, acceptance, patience, and love while avoiding the fear-based emotions 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.  Our experience is primarily the result of this continual decision. Fear or love?

 

21

Question Everything

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questioneverythingThe ability to question things is one of the greatest gifts that people are given.  It is not a skill that I developed until recently in life, but I think it should be one that our society encourages in all people, everywhere, all the time.

Why We Don’t Question Anything

For much of my life, I was conditioned to accept what authority symbols in my life told me.  Our parents started us off by giving us the rules of how we were supposed to behave. They passed the baton of behavioral instruction to teachers and religious Philo albertorganizations, who managed to move me toward a fear-based existence.   “Do what we say, or you are wrong.”  That was the mantra of society.   

You learned young that if you questioned something, you would pay the price of being evaluated poorly, a knock to self-esteem, and it was apparent conditioning, find the answers and speak the ideas you were told were right.

That would be followed by praise and reward.  This is easily transferable to the media and popular culture.  We don’t question easily because we were taught that the repercussions of asking questions were most likely going to be painful and harmful to a young mind.  So it is natural that we never question anything.

Main Stream Media Brainwash

We were taught through this process to believe what our authority sources tell us. As adults, we transfer that quite easily into listening to what the government tells us or, even worse, into what the media tells us to think about the government.

Our ability to reason and judge things based on their merit seems to be gone the way of the eight-track tape player.  I hope I am I_have_just_as_much_authority_as_the_pope._George_Carlinwrong, but there seems to be a strict and consistent idea of what questions it is OK to ask and which ones it is not.

We have been involved in a military conflict for a decade, yet nobody questions why?  If they do, they have to face questions about their judgment, patriotism, political leanings, and character flaws. It is our right as human beings living on the earth to question everything.

Why Questions are So Important

Without the ability to question things, it will be very slow in coming when change is needed.  The history of humanity is littered with examples of practices that society told people were good for them, that weren’t or were just plain wrong. These practices needed to be changed for the health of a person or a society. People believed that regular bathing was unhealthy, the world was flat, and the Earth was the center of the universe.  Not to mention the accepted racial attitudes plaguing society of just fifty to a hundred years ago.  Question everything that comes into your life because simply taking something perpetuates unfair and unjust practices.

I am grateful today that I live in a world where you can ask questions.  With each question asked, the world moves closer to finding an answer to solve its problems.  I hope that more and more people will take the time to listen mindfully and honestly look at their own beliefs.

Personal Growth, Self Improvement, Positive Thinking