One of the issues that is brought up rather frequently is how bad/negative the world appears to be today. I say ‘appears’ because with the advancement of technology and dissemination of information I believe we just hear more of issues we might not have in the past. That being said, what of the world’s problems? What can be done about them? Of course there are plenty of organizations dedicated to change and peace that could not all be listed here. Joining a cause you firmly believe in is truly a great idea. What can be done now, however? What can you and I do on a daily basis to address the crime, wars and other issues that plague this planet? The answer can be found by realizing how powerful we as individuals are. The world is made of nations. So to change the world change a nation. The nations are composed of states/provinces. You wish to change the nation, change your state. States are made up of cities and towns. You wish to change the state, change your city or town. Cities are made up of communities. You wish to change your city, change your community. Communities are composed of several households. You wish to change your community, change your household. Households are made of individuals. You wish to change your household, change the individual. What individual do we have the greatest control over? Ourselves. So truly if you wish to change the world, the first step is to work on ourselves. By improving ourselves we make our household more pleasant. By improving our household we add something to our community. This continues on out into the world. I would recommend taking a second look at the post for the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” So remember, even the smallest improvement in ourselves makes the world a better place to live.
Month: January 2013
2 DOGS
I am pleased to share one of my favorite Native American stories and how it stresses the importance of living a positive life.
There was a young child who was walking through the village and noticed he saw two distinct kinds of people, ones who were genuinely nice, and those who were not. He approached the tribe shaman and asked “Grandfather, when I grow up will I be a good person or a bad person?”. The old man replied, “That depends on the dog”. Very confused the young man asked him to explain. The shaman explained to the young man, that inside of every one of us lives to dogs, a bad dog and a good dog. The bad dog thrives on anger, gossip, negativity and expresses itself in depression, hostility, selfishness, sickness and a bad life. The good dog thrives on joy, kindness, compassion and positivity and expresses himself in happiness, great health and a kind way of treating others. Knowing quite well he wished to live the latter he asked “Grandfather which dog will win inside of me?” the old man looked into the childs eyes smiling and said just one thing before walking away, “It depends on which one you feed”
Now I have heard this expressed in a variety of ways, good vs. evil, God vs. the devil, light vs. darkness. How you choose to see it does not matter. What does matter is that you understand that both exist in every person, including you and I. At some point both will win. The question is which dog are you going to feed?
THE PASSWORD IS…
Passwords…how many do you have? One for your ATM card One for your email? One at work? It can sure be annoying having to remember all of those. Your dog’s name plus the number one? Your birthday backwards? I almost used to dread when my passwords were coming due. There is also the famous ‘secret question’ in case you forget your password. They say that everywhere you see a problem lies the seed for the greatest opportunity. This example is no different. Let me explain.
People are always telling me, “I know I should try to be more positive, but it is too much work. Why can’t it just be automatic?”. Well here is your answer. Why not turn your passwords into a daily dose of motivation or inspiration? I’ve used passwords such as ‘joy4me’ and ‘happiness4all’ or ‘smile2day’ The possibilities are endless! That way every time you time in your password, you are reminded of something positive. Let’s face it, you must have a password anyway, why not make it work FOR you? Even if it may not seem to be making a difference, how do you think saying “joy4me” everyday in your head will affect you? Even on a subconscious level. Not to mention, you probably already know your dog’s name plus one.
INSPIRATION AND ABUNDANCE DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR MAILBOX!
I know it takes a little effort to be on the lookout for positivity on a daily basis (it can be a really great habit once you get used to it) so why not have it delivered right to you? As a postal worker I see that almost every cause, hobby and interest has a magazine to go with it. So imagine my excitement when walking through the bookstore I discovered a new publication dedicated to living a more rewarding life! I could not wait to sit down and share it with my readers interested in loving their lives more. The magazine is simply titled “Law of Attraction” and it is filled with ways to feel younger, happier and healthier. As well as tips to increase the amount of Love, prosperity and gratitude in your life. So check out both their website and Facebook page listed here. I am always happy to share any new discovery of things that can increase the quality of our lives and ask you to feel free to do the same!
http://www.LawOfAttractionMag.com
http://www.facebook.com/LawOfAttractionMagazine
Please feel free to let me know what you thought.
THE DECISION
Ok, so you have decided to start the journey to a positive and rewarding life. That’s great, but do you realize how important it is as well? Let me explain. I know several people who have hard time making decisions mostly out of fear of making the wrong one. Not only does this lead to inaction and an inability to move your life forward, but it comes at the cost of one of your greatest assets. Making a decision actually liberates us from lots of stress and worry as to whether or not we are doing the right thing, or on the right path. Let us take the decision to bring more joy into our lives. If we make that choice with clear conviction a great deal of our life becomes clear. Simple test, take any situation in your life, is it making you happy? If the answer is no it tells you that situation, as it presently stands, will not work in your life. If the answer is yes, that is an area of your life you should try to grow. Not only that, but knowing the ‘end game’ allows us to stay focused when the inevitable challenges show up. If a ship is knocked of course by a storm, it does not give up and head back to port. No, it adjusts its course and continues on. We must be like a ship when the storms of life come calling. If we find ourselves without joy, we must adjust our course and set sail as soon as possible. The further we get off course the longer it takes to get back. So remember to know your destination, have it firmly fixed in your mind. (writing it down may not be such a bad idea either) If you don’t know where you’re heading, you will never get there.
If you make the decision to live a life with more joy and love, you will be amazed at the power you will have over your life. When life tries to get you down just repeat to yourself “I am determined to live a life of inner peace and joy” or whatever words strike your fancy. Make the decision, that is the first step. The rest is just figuring out how to make it work.
WAKING UP IN NEUTRAL
What kind of day are you going to have today? About 90% of people will answer that question with “I don’t know” or some form there of. After all, how do we know if the alarm will go off at the right time? How traffic will be on the way to work? What mood the boss will be in? Simple answer, we don’t. Then why, day after day to we give the power over to situations? To often we let circumstances beyond our control dictate how we will feel about our day and to some extent ourselves. When you stop and think about it, that really is a foolish idea. So what to do? Stop ‘waking up in neutral’! At night when you go to sleep say to yourself, or even better out loud “Tomorrow will be a great day” if anyone asks you why, be honest. Say “I don’t know, it just will”. Then when you wake up repeat that statement. Repeat it as often as you can throughout the day, but especially early in the day. You make the decision how your day is going to go. Don’t leave it up to others, especially those who may not know or even care how your day goes. It may surprise you how effective this will be. Like anything else it may take a while to get used to, but stick with it. Take back control of your life! Then when the inevitable challenges do arise, you will know that even though the situation may not be exactly to your liking it will still be a good day. This often separates the happy from the unhappy. Don’t believe me? I’ll leave you with this quote from a former first lady.
“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances”
-Martha Washington
So let’s get out there and make it an amazing day!
SUNRISE
“There was never a night or a problem that coud defeat sunrise or hope”
-Bern Williams
This quote is almost a ‘secret weapon’ of sorts. What does it take to keep going when the going gets tough? What should we do when all seems hopeless and lost? The answer can be found in this quote. When we keep our minds, hearts and spirits full of hope, when we focus on the end result (see the post on vision boards) the obstacles and challenges that will inevitably show themselves lose a great deal of their power. So let us keep our goals and dreams in front of us so that we may keep our drive and motivation.
DRIVE
“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams”
-Les Brown
This may be one quick way to motivate yourself into action. If we admit our current situation is of our doing we often leave ourselves with two questions. If we are dissatisfied the question is “what are we going to do about it”. If we are satisfied the question becomes “Now what?”. Either way you can see accountability is a great beginning to a better life.
60 SECONDS
“For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let’s face it, we all get angry. Even a bartender/postal worker who writes a blog on living a positive rewarding life. In all seriousness, this quote may sound redundant or even a little bit humorous, but it is oh so true. While pondering it before I typed this I think it is a simple way to remind us of how little we stand to gain by being angry. First, how great does it feel to be angry? I can safely say there has never a moment where I said to myself “boy I wish I felt more angry today”. Our blood pressure rises, we can get headaches and generally anger leaves us feeling just plain exhausted. Rather a waste of our time, don’t you think? Now when you couple that with the thought of what we could be feeling and doing if we focused on joy anger seems almost like a ‘double whammy’ when it comes to our lives. Now we are going to get angry and sometimes we have every right. Knowing how much we lose by staying in anger, however, may help us spend less time there. When you focus on joy and forgiveness it benefits you just as much as, if not more as the other party concerned. So next time you and I find ourselves getting angry, let us ask “Is this really worth all I am losing by being angry?”. I am going to guess most of the time the answer will be no. So let us focus on joy, love and forgiveness and not let anger steal anymore of our lives. Not even 60 seconds.
SIMPLE IS THE BEST
Often I am asked what is the easiest way to bring a more positive outlook into your life. I stress doing little things everyday until they become a habit is one of my favorite ways to start. To that end, a good friend brought to my attention another great thing I recommend printing out and placing on the bathroom mirror, next to the coffee maker or wherever you will see it everyday. Try reading this simple 5 line mantra every morning. ideally you should try to feel the emotional truth behind each statement, however even reading it will change the outlook on the day. Again, like all of the tools offered here, I recommend reading it first thing in the morning and last thing before you fall asleep as this when the mind is most susceptible to suggestion. This mantra is from a book by Catherine Ponder a great author I suggest looking into.
I AM health, strength, peace, happiness and prosperity
I AM strong, well, vital
I AM beautiful, peaceful, poised
I AM eternally youthful
I AM happy and free
Now try reading those five lines first thing every morning, and last thing every evening. It should take all of 1 minute, what could be quicker and easier than that? Try it for 21 days and notice what happens when you start to remove years of negative programing. Trust me, you will not want to stop.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 