Monday is not everyone’s favorite day. I truly get that. I usually get less than 3 hours of sleep, followed by a 10 hour workday. It can be tough to get up mentally after enjoying a great weekend with family and friends.
When starting any project, including the work week, our attitude at the beginning goes a long way to deciding if we will succeed or fail. That is why it is so important that you find any means at your disposal to create a positive attitude on Monday morning. Sounds impossible? Here are a few things to try. You can begin by focusing on what you have to be grateful for. Life isn’t always what we would like, but it could always be worse. You can focus on the purpose of why you are going to work. Whether that is being able to spoil those you love, or keeping a roof over your head and the lights on. Imagine what it would be like without those things.
Starting the week with a good attitude will increase our chances for it being a successful week. Above we listed 2 ways in which you can make that happen. I would love to hear any ideas you have for making Monday, or any other day, a positive one.
Depending on its use, one phrase that can drive me crazy is, “It is what it is.” This is true in some regards which we will get to later. When used as an excuse not to take any action to change how it is, that drives me crazy. The only thing worse is people who constantly complain about their circumstances and expressing their desire that they were different. This takes away valuable time from making the most of them.
On a personal level, I was born with a few health challenges. I have asthma. This prevents me from doing some of the physical activities as good as I would like. I have a deformed heart that I was born with. This not only forces me to take a few more precautions that the average person, I also have to be routinely tested. Neither of these did I contribute to. They came with birth. Many people tell me how sad and unfair that is. In this case, I do say “It is what it is.” Nothing will change the fact that I cannot breathe that well or that I get nervous every time I have a pain in my chest.
That was the fate I was born into. I can choose to despise it, or I can love it. Why on earth would I love the fact that I was born with these issues? One, it helps me relate to others who have these, and other, medical conditions. It also motivates me to take as good of care of my physical health as I can. On the days when going to the gym does not sound like the best idea, I think about the fact I could die. When I don’t want to do cardio, I know the more I work my lungs, the better they will function. Not to mention, I have no urge at all to start smoking. If I didn’t have asthma, sometime along my 23 year journey of bartending or my time singing in a band, I would have picked the habit up.
When it comes to the life we are dealt, there is no use in crying how unfair it is. That may very well be true, but now what? If life knocks you down, that can often not be your fault. Finding a way to get back up is entirely your responsibility. Fate can be kind, it can be cruel. When we can’t control that, we can control our reaction to it.
Today is Friday the 13th. Many people view this day as a scary superstition. Do you know what I think is scary? Walking around with a dirty mind. No, not that kind of dirty mind. One that is filled with negativity and unnecessary worry. We are all a little guilty of that at times. If we look around at the world we are living in, it is no wonder. News, some things on the internet, even members of our social circle can have us seeing the storm in every rainbow.
What is the big deal about having dirt in your mind? Not much if you clear it out. If left to fester long enough, like real dirt, the consequences can start to mount up. It will affect your mental health. You may find yourself more on edge. You might experience brain fog or have difficulty concentrating. This can only add to the negative experiences in your life. Keep it up long enough and you will see physical results. You will feel tired and run down. You might develop ulcers or have a depressed immune system.
How on earth can you clean your mind? It is not like you can stick a cleaning brush in your brain. Consuming any kind of bleach product is not recommend, despite what you may have heard. Above we have some really good ideas. I would like to touch on a few. I would love to hear your suggestions as well. We can all benefit from sharing our ideas.
The first is to take a hard look at your social circle. I devote an entire section to this in my book, Living the Dream. It amazes me how many people tell me social media is negative. What they see is only drama and negativity. The same is said for what they hear from people. I stare at them blankly and ask them who controls what they see on their social media page? If there are people and pages that do not bring you joy, get rid of them! Better yet, add pages that bring joy to your heart. That could be things that make you smile or even just hobbies you enjoy. As for people? Keep your circle small. If someone is a constant source of drama, limit or eliminate the time you are around them. Better yet, spend more time around people you find uplifting!
Above you will see other amazing suggestions. These range from meditating to going for a walk in nature. I would love to not only hear which one is your favorite, but if you have any suggestion or ideas which help clear your mind.
I want to talk about your health for a second. Not your physical health. Not even mental health, which finally is getting the attention it deserves. I want to talk about the health of your spirit and how important it is to pay attention to. Have you ever “Woken up on the wrong side of the bed”? You know those days you wake up feeling irritable and you might not even know why? I am sure it is a feeling we all have.
I get up for work 6 days a week at 4am. Let me tell you that I cannot recall a day I felt like jumping out of bed looking forward to going to work. For someone who loves to have a social life and enjoy time with his beautiful bride-to-be, getting up that early is quite a task. However, I also light keeping the lights on and getting gifts for the afore-mentioned beautiful lady. By the time I get to work around 5, the coffee has kicked in and I am usually in pretty good spirits.
This morning was different. I woke up and felt beyond irritable. Like I was mad at the world. This is a very rare state to find myself in. As I sat up in bed, it was apparent that something in my spirit was quite disturbed. I made a decision that I rarely, if ever, make – I called into work. I knew if I were to approach my coworkers in such a state, or if my boss made a questionable comment or decision in regards to me, I might be tempted to say or do something I would regret and be unable to take back.
I am not advocating calling in sick every time you do not feel like going to work. For the year, I believe this is only the second time I have called in sick. What I am telling you to do is to take care of your spirit. Not doing so can not only create some of the negative situations I mentioned above, but it can affect your mental and physical health as well.
The picture and the title of this post may seem not to go together, but they do. How can an Italian sausage be a miracle of life? While it is…and then again it isn’t. Confused yet? Let us clear all of this up and show you how every day can feel like a miracle. The Italian sausage stand pictured above exists at the Wisconsin State Fair. Anyone who knows me, or follows this blog, knows that is one of my happy places on earth. As you can see by the sign, it has been there since 1932. That is almost 100 years. The owner even wrote an amazing book about the Wisconsin State Fair. Their sausages are so delicious, that I make a point to have one at least once a year. They were available in select stores, but nothing tastes as good as having one fresh off of their unique vertical grill!
If you noticed I did you the past tense to describe their availability at the stores. The reason being is that without warning, it was announced they would no longer be in business. The family that owned, and served these delights, was calling it quits. On the second to last day of the fair, my mother and I got one to share. As we sat enjoying it together we mentioned how we must get one the next day before they were gone forever. As the next day came, Margie, my mother and I approached the stand to enjoy one last, mouth-watering Millie’s Italian Sausage. What we were told broke our hearts, they had sold out. There would be no more to be had. They had sold out in the store as well. Unknown to us at the time, that sausage we had enjoyed the night prior would be the last we would ever have.
Another owner has bought them out and will supposedly keep the same recipe, but we all know how that can go. Here is the thing, we were not expecting that to be the last one we would ever eat and would have savored it more had we known. This touching story about a man and his sausage is but merely a microcosmof the world at large. In a world of fast-paced change, so many things, and people, can be here today and gone tomorrow. Each moment is special and a miracle in its own way. When you think of how many people, places and things change, tomorrow is always new and different. That means today is always unique and a miracle.
In the United States, today we are reflecting on the terrorist events that took the lives of 3000 innocent people in 2001. None of those people expected not to make it home that day. The loved ones they left behind will remember the last moments they spent together as a miracle. It may not have been appreciated or viewed as such at the time, but that is what it was. We never know when our world will upend our lives. It happens to people every second of every day. That is why we must realize that every second is a miracle. As I sit in Starbucks writing this and sending messages to my lovely Fiancé, I realize any of these things could change. This moment is a miracle. Not to mention, my lovely lady is my little miracle. How about you? How are you appreciating all the moments that are miracles in your life?
While attending a convention on ‘Oddities’, which just happens to be something I am into, I came across a saying – memento mori. I saw it on a bunch of different items and had to look it up. It is a Latin saying that translates to “Remember you must die.” Again, for many of a us death is a subject that is avoided and viewed as taboo. This is crazy to me. There are very few things which every person on this planet has in common. The need to breathe air, the need to eat and drink and, of course, the fact we will die.
To be sure, death is not a fun or enjoyable subject. It rarely, if ever, comes at a good time. All too often it comes unannounced and unexpected. What death does do that is important is that it gives such value to life. Today finds us with our 800th day in a row of having a blog. In my busy and crazy world, I can often lack the motivation to write. I think back to the now famous story of when I was waiting to have open-heart surgery. Knowing it was a dangerous and perhaps fatal surgery, it gave me a sense of urgency. That fact that I did expire briefly, also reminded me how quickly life can be taken away.
We can be reminded of this after a close call on the freeway, maybe at the funeral of someone we really care about or a few other situations. What happens is that after a while, no matter how present we try to be, we take our life for granted. “Oh not me!” I hear many of you saying. Trust me, we all do. Even myself who not only got to think about a life and death surgery for 2 months, died briefly and had to give 5 eulogies in one year, can still take life a little bit for granted. If we fully appreciated how fleeting and how precious life is, we would be walking around looking at every moment as the miracle that it is.
Does this sound like a bunch of hype? It is not. How can waiting in traffic, or the line in the store be a miracle? If you knew you were going to die in a year, a week, or maybe even tomorrow, how would that transform your wait in line? What if you knew that it might be the last time you ever waited in line? Things can change so quickly these days it will make your head spin. We will look more at that next post. Thinking that you may not be around to ‘enjoy’ many more traffic jams may sound crazy, or even morbid, but it is true and I think adds great value to our life.
An occasional reminder that your time on earth is not infinite, can go a long way to making the most of the time we spend here. If you want to know more about how to become immortal, I suggest picking up a copy of my second book, Living the Dream, and reading the section titled “Become Immortal”. As for what we can do starting today to fully appreciate the miracle of life, perhaps putting this saying in a place that will remind us daily that our end is growing sooner by the second, may go a long way. Memento Mori -Remember you must die.
Here is a notice that I received from our wonderful friends at WordPress. That is the platform on which this site is ran. It is actually from a little bit ago. Tomorrow’s post will be number 800 in a row. That is 800 days straight that we have put out content. This is along with 55 hours a week at my day job, being a DJ on the weekend, working out 3 days a week. Oh, and yes trying to have a life and a relationship with the most beautiful woman on the planet.
Through the course of these 800 days, the number of people and followers on this page has slowly crept up. The number of countries we find ourselves viewed in is well over 200 now. What is interesting is that taken day by day, it does not seem like it is growing that much. If, however, we were to look back to 799 days ago we would see a dramatic difference. The reason that I share that with you today is that is works the same way in many areas of life. Take physical fitness for example. If you look at the changes in your body from working out 3 days a week after say 3 weeks, you would not see much of a difference. If you waited 800 days, you would see a big difference. That difference would be between day 1 and day 800. Many just look at the difference between day 799 and day 800 and decide we are not making much of an improvement.
Remember that much of the improvement in life can be gradual. It may not seem like you are making headway from day to day. Keep working. In a year you will look up to discover dramatic changes you may fail to notice if you are only looking from day to day. It is also important to remember that growth is not always linear. You can be up one day and down the next. Seldom is progress a straight line. Do not let that you become discouraged.
Today is the only day we have. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may never come. It is today that holds all of the power. Do you regret something in your past? Today is the day you can make up for it. Worried about something in the future? It is the actions that you take Today that can help you be prepared.
It is living in the past or the future that causes most of our stress in life. Do yourself a favor and live in the present. Not only will you have less stress, but you will use the day to your advantage!
I find it interesting that two things can be viewed so differently. Both our bodies and our souls are ours forever. Yet, one you must look at as if you will live forever and the other as if you will die tomorrow. What does this mean? Well, looking after our body we must act as if we will live forever. Why? The longer we look ahead, the better we will take care of our bodies in the future. 90% of disease is caused by diet and lifestyle. Think of that. 90% of everything that goes wrong with our health is mostly our fault. We didn’t eat the best. Maybe we did not take care of our physical fitness. In the moment, skipping the gym seemed like a good idea for our body. Years down the road, however, it came back to haunt us.
What about this soul business? Acting as if we will die tomorrow? If you read the last post about the value of time, I think you might get a glimpse as to why this is important. When I was told in 2 months I would have open-heart surgery, I thought about the legacy I would leave behind. Not the adventures I didn’t go on or the possessions I did not own. When I realized I could die in 60 days, I looked over at the woman I love and worried that she would never understand the depth of my feelings for her. I looked at this website and worried about the people I had yet to reach, encourage and inspire. When faced with the real prospect of death, it was things in my soul that I worried about.
Here is the funny thing. You do not need to be facing a surgery. There are many crazy ways in which our time here could come to a sudden and dramatic end. There was even a show called 1000 Ways to Die. It highlighted, if that is the right term, all the crazy ways people have checked out. That means we should tell those we love them how we feel now. We should try to reach and inspire as many souls as we can. Even that is only our friends and family. Does that mean we should just go crazy and live it up? Not exactly. We could end up living to be 100 years old or older. If we spent decades abusing our bodies, wouldn’t that suck? Stuck for years in a body that is constantly breaking down. Follow the advice from Augustine above. “Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.”
