Perspective
Is your glass half full or half empty?
You miss so much if you look at life through the
half-empty glass. Taking the negative slant on life
leads to a life of negative thinking that never can never see
the good things that life has to offer.
Take a piece of paper. Fold it down the middle the long
way. On one side write down all of the things you feel
is wrong with your life. Then on the other side, write down
all of the blessings you have. For a negative person, this
can be hard. Did you wake up in a warm bed this
morning? Were you able to see, hear, and move about?
Did you have breakfast? Did you go to a job? In a car?
Did you have clean, decent clothes to put on?
Each and every one of these things are blessings and
are a positive part of your life. It can be so easy to
think about the negative things and forget about all
of the things that are going right!
What do you ever get from looking at the negative
aspects of your life? How much worse could things be?
Try thinking positively as a way of finding happiness
and satisfaction in your life. Complaining does
nothing except make you and others around you feel bad.
Consider this as you move forward today!
Fear
Facing your Fears
Fear is a part of life for too many people. Not the
typical, well-known and talked about fears like
claustrophobia and hypochondria, but the fears that
keep you from going after dreams you know would make
you ecstatically happy.
Our own self-esteem issues can keep us from taking
steps that could help us achieve things we've been dreaming
of. We are often our own worst enemy. Negative self-talk
keeps us in our comfort zone. The fence that surrounds
our comfort zone is our fears. Some fences are bigger
than others, but fences nonetheless.
Take the time to think about what would make you
happy. Clue: it is not something you can buy! Is it a promotion
in the field you are presently in, or something totally different?
Will it require you to go back to school? Is it marriage?
Start with a written list of exactly what you are
dreaming of. Life can be just what happens to you or, you can
make it purposeful by taking steps toward bringing your
dreams to reality!
Think about what you are afraid of. Do this when you
are alone and can think without interruption. Be
honest about your feelings. Why are you afraid of that?
Where do those feelings come from? What is the worst
that could happen to me if I faced this fear head on?
Sometimes we can learn a lot from children. I was conducting an
intake with a child one day and I typically ask them about the
existing coping skills they have. When I asked one what she does
to overcome anxiety and nervousness she replied "Ms. Jacque, I just
do it until I'm not afraid anymore!" Wow, that really hit me hard and
I often share this concept with my adult clients. Sometimes we just
have to look at life like the brave child we have within us. As adults we
can become so analytical and talk ourselves out of our dreams. Maybe
we should re-think the way we think and recapture the child within.
Stress
Circumstances beyond Your Control
Being happy is easy when life is going well but what
about when circumstances spin out of control and bad
things happen one right after another? We all have times
when it feels like we can't move from under the
storm clouds. How do people stay happy during the tough
times? It’s been said time and time again that when the going
gets tough the tough get going, but some people don’t
find that easy to do.
Positive attitudes can help, but knowing that there is
a greater purpose for our lives lets us know that this hard
time is only a bump in the road and will soon pass. This deep
acceptance of faith is called joy; and hard times simply can’t
compete with pure joy.
We may not understand why bad things happen. but we can rest
understanding that life has both ups and downs. If we keep
pressing forward we will experience the good again! Find joy in
the simple pleasures in life and don’t let the circumstances of
the day (or week) get you down!
Success
Achieve Success in Your Life Using These Principles
We tend to make living a successful life more complicated than it needs to be. It’s human nature to want to overcomplicate even the simplest concepts, because we can’t seem to get how something could be that simple. We often maintain this ideal to stop ourselves from being successful. Sure, life can be difficult or hard, but that’s how it was designed to be sometimes. Achieving success isn’t as difficult as you might think, just use these 3 principles.
#1 Begin with what you can control
If you are like most people, you spend too much time worrying about things that are outside of your control. These things can cause you stress because you spend your day focusing on how terrible your situation is rather than how you can change your situation. What you can control is how you react when those curveballs are thrown at you. Your mind is a powerful tool. There is no quick fix. Be willing to put in the time to make needed adjustments and confidently move forward.
#2 Intentionally develop a process to build momentum
Your developed mind is a tool to use to be proactive in attaining your goals. You can use it to develop a process to build momentum to reach your goals. Momentum can be tough to build, but there are countless rewards. The concept is easy, but the execution can be difficult. You will build confidence in yourself once you develop a process that works for you. This process will work no matter what goal you are trying to achieve. You build momentum by making a commitment to being a person who can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Don't leave giving up on the table as an option.
#3 Start making decisions about what is valuable
Strolling through life aimlessly can cause you to get off track with your goals and waste time. You can increase how effective you are by using a set of values to guide you. Everything you do should be guided by the value you place upon your time and where you are headed. You don’t want to get left behind because you were distracted by things that were not related to your end goals. You always want to give your most to things aligned with what you value most.
Implement these 3 fundamental principles into your life and begin enjoying the benefits and the success.
Gratitude
4 Ways to Create an Attitude of Gratitude
How do you look at life? Do you find yourself complaining about every little thing? Do you have a long list that goes on and on and on…. Job stress, friend problems, family that’s treated you wrong, the weather… and on it goes. What you may not realize is that if you wake up in the morning and you find something to complain about that’s pretty much how your day is going to go. In other words, you shape your perspective.
What would happen if instead of waking up complaining, you opened your eyes and gave thanks for your life. Just that little shift in your attitude from complaining to gratitude can make you more aware of the pleasures in your life and all the blessings that surround you. Gratitude will start your day with the right perspective. When you view the good and the bad, you will be able to move past the constant complaining.
Let’s look at 4 ways to incorporate more gratitude in your life:
#1 Start a Gratitude Journal
Try setting aside a few minutes at the end of your day to write down 3 or 4 things you are grateful for. It can be as simple as you woke up this morning or as complex as something that happened during the day. Writing down what you are grateful for can help you realize how blessed you are.
#2 Take Time to Stop and Smell the Roses
Start to handle your day differently than you have been. Take a minute to stop and smell the roses. In other words, stop rushing through your day or living in your future. Stop yourself before you become overwhelmed and the negative feelings start to take hold. Stop, breathe, look around, find something beautiful to absorb. Nature is always great, but if you are nowhere near nature, perhaps there’s a piece of art, etc. that catches your attention. Learn to live in the present.
#3 Turn a Negative Into a Positive
This seems unrealistic and is not possible in some situations however; if the situation permits looking at things positively will benefit you greatly. Before you allow yourself to get upset, stop yourself, and think it through with a positive outlook. You might have to meditate on it, you might have to get yourself into a calm state before you address the situation – whatever it takes. Take a minute to look for the good in the situation.
#4 Acts of Kindness
Share kindness with those around you. Say something nice to a stranger or a friend. Spread the love and lift up another human being. You will make their day and yours too!
