MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear”

-Rosa Parks

Now some of you has let me know you enjoy my blog, but say “that stuff doesn’t work in real life” Here is a prime example of a women who overcame not just her own challenges, but the challenges facing an entire nation.  Still think you can’t turn your life into one that is positive and rewarding both for yourself and those around you?  Having an end goal in mind and staying focused on that goal makes everything if not easier, at least bearable.  You make a mistake, fall down on the path to your goal? Get up, dust yourself off at get back at it!  It has been said airplanes on their way from point A to point B are off course a full 90% of the time.  Constantly making minor adjustments to correct changes in wind, currents, air pressure and a million other factors I know nothing about.  How, if they are off course so often do they arrive, usually close to on time, at their destination? The easy answer is ‘radar’.  True, but what good is technology if you do not have a clear destination?  So decide on your destination.  Develop that resolute purpose so demonstrated by Rosa Parks.  If one woman could challenge the thinking of a majority of an entire nation, we can certainly overcome our challenges!  like the airplane with its radar, we have an internal radar.  It is called our feelings and current state of mind.  Have you ever noticed when you are engaged in an activity designed to bring you closer to your goal that even if it appears not to be going so well at the moment it seems easier to stay focused?  So make a clear decision on a goal, write it down, find or draw a picture of it to hang in the bathroom mirror.  Whatever you have to do to keep it in your mind.  Then stay focused and marvel at the great things you will accomplish. Whenever doubt starts to creep in, just think of that single woman sitting on a bus and all that she conquered.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT YOURSELF?

Normally I don’t advocate focusing on things you do not enjoy especially about yourself.  Lately though I have been learning through a lot of great people strength in looking at things from a totally opposite perspective.  This is one fine example. Like the title asks, what do you like least about yourself?  Why would we want to think about that you may ask.  Well, it was pointed out to me, that things we may like least about ourselves is something others may give the world for.  Think of the person that just seems to be unable to lose those last few pounds, with someone who’s life is compromised because they can’t store any body fat.  The example the person who shared this idea with me used was freckles.  She grew up disliking the fact that she had them.  Through the years listening to people tell her how much they love them, she has grown to as well. (side note, they do look amazing on her).  So as I often do, when a great bit of knowledge or a deep thought is presented to me I tend to share it with those around me.  Much like I am doing with you here.  There is a young man who comes in to the post office I work at.  He is a veteran of Iraq in his late twenties.  He mails small boxes from a veteran group he started after he returned.  I was sharing this story with him and he seemed quite riveted, which I must confess is unusual for people listening to a story I am telling.  Suddenly when I got to the heart of the story, about how the thing you love least about yourself somebody else would love to have, he started to tear up and get quite emotional.  I apologized and asked if I had said something to offend him.  The next course of events took me a bit by surprise and made me emotional as well.  He asked if I could come around the counter.  Well, considering the story I had told him was the reason he was so upset I thought it was the least I could do.  When I did come around he took me by surprise by instantly giving me a huge hug and crying on my shoulder.  He apologized as he composed himself and lifted up his pants leg to reveal a fake leg.  “Ever since I have returned from Iraq after having my leg blown off I have cursed the fact I only have one good leg.” he went on to explain while he was in the hospital both over there and back here he saw men younger than him who had lost both legs, an arm and a leg and other conditions.  “Those kids would kill to just have lost half a leg, but do you know what beats that?” he asked in a mix of laughter and tears. I kind of nodded as I was left speechless at the moment. “Do you know what I send in these boxes?” he asked.  “T-shirts to families that have lost someone over there.  The men that died would have given anything to trade places with me.  To be able to hug and talk to their families.  Here I was just being selfish, I should be grateful for all I have” he said. For hours after that man left all I could ponder was how wonderful we have it.  How each of us has so much more that we should be thankful for then we know and all we do is worry about what we like least.  I’m still not sure who got more out of that conversation, and quite honestly I do not care.  So tonight remember the things we like least about ourselves someone would love to have.  So be grateful, hug your family while you can and while you are at it, thank the brave men and women who keep us safe.  Thank you

BE STRONG MY FRIENDS…

A lot of talk in the ‘self-improvement’ field can tend to sound like there is something wrong with us.  Well bad news first, I don’t care who you are, we all have something wrong with us.  Funny thing is we can sometimes be the last to see it.  That is a subject for a different post.  Now for the good news, we all have many things that are great with us!  When people tell me they are going to try to “fix” this or that about themselves so they can start living a more fun and positive life.  My first thought is to commend them, but let’s face it thinking about our weaknesses and how to better them is really no fun at all.  Instead I have a better suggestion.  Focus on what we all do well.  Think about it, what do people compliment you on?  Are you a great cook?  Perhaps you could cook a meal for a friend and arrange to bring it over so they don’t have to worry about making dinner.  Perhaps you play a musical instrument?  You could plan to play at a senior center or veterans home?  Truth is we all have talents and things that we both enjoy and are good at.  Finding new ways to use our talents to bring joy to the world can quite often bring joy to our own lives!  Plus, as we develop our strengths it will give us the needed confidence to tackle those pesky little areas we need to work on.  Which may not look so important after all.  So find the light inside of you and share it with the world today!

A NEW USE FOR AN OLD FRIEND…

Anyone who reads this blog or knows me personally knows that I am a big fan of keeping a journal.  There are several reasons why.  It is a great way to vent.  It may be an easier way for someone who has trouble expressing their feelings.  It is a great way to gain a little clarity when things seem overwhelming and confusing.  All of these are true, but a friend of mine recently gave me a great idea of a new benefit you can gain from writing down your thoughts and feelings. Continue reading “A NEW USE FOR AN OLD FRIEND…” →

RANDOM ACTS….

Ok, so a post about random acts of kindness on this blog is probably not shocking to anyone.  That being the case however, let us look at what those acts can accomplish.  First of all, the purpose of doing random acts of kindness is not to help ourselves, but to help others.  Even when doing a selfless act though, we can’t help but to bring a little bit of joy to our own lives.  A few examples both I have heard about and experienced personally are as follows.  My friend told me about a time her father was just in a terrible car accident and her mother had called her up frantic asking her to leave her job and take her to the hospital.  Well of course she left right away and picked up her mother, but as they were trying to merge onto the street which lead to the hospital traffic was at a standstill.  Her mother frantic, she looking for a spot to squeeze in and worried about her father at the same time, her heart sank as she noticed traffic seemed to stretch for half a mile.  Suddenly, and for no reason at all, a gentle man just stopped and let her merge in.  She could hardly believe it and almost missed her chance, as the other motorists began honking their horns and this driver who dared make their wait even longer when clearly they had been waiting long enough already.  There is no way that driver could have known where my friend was going and there certainly was no reason for him to let her in.  He will probably never know how much he helped my friend and her mother that day.

Speaking of hospitals, my uncle recently suffered a very serious heart attack and i went to see him late in the evening at the hospital.  I had started work at 7 that morning and this was around midnight.  My aunt was extremely upset and things looked bleak. We stayed until about one, and when we left had honestly thought he would not make it until morning.  Well as can happen in a situation like that, trying to capture the little sleep I could before work the next day, I planned to go right home.  That is until I heard my gas warning go off.  I pulled into the nearest station and filled up.  Then, out of force of habit I asked to purchase a lottery ticket.  The man asked if I knew it was almost 2am.  I apologized and said I did not.  This cashier at a gas station patted me on the shoulder and said looks like you had a rough night already, don’t worry about it.  I simple compliment, but it did mean the world to me.  Perhaps I should’ve expressed my gratitude, but I sure felt it and he may never know how much that meant.

My point today is this, you may never know that your small act of kindness may mean the world to someone else.

THINK…BACKWARDS…

So often I hear people say, “I’m in such a bad mood and I don’t even know why” I must confess to having felt that way before.  This can be a rather perfect scenario for being happy.  Now you may be wondering if I have completely lost my mind.  While that has yet to be determined, at least let me explain my last statement.  When it comes to adding more joy to your life, as with any worthwhile goal, one of the greatest challenges lies in just knowing how.  Let’s face it, if there was a simple step by step plan to a happy life, wouldn’t we all follow it?  One of the greatest challenges I have had in both putting together both this website and my book is people are different.  What makes one person happy, well it may not work for the next person.  So how can we discover what truly makes us happy and develop a formula to continually accomplish that?  I have two suggestions and they are complete opposites and involve thinking backwards. Now before I loose everyone completely, let’s take a step back.  Here is the first method. Even in the darkest of lives there are moments if not days when things just seem to be going your way.  Think back have you ever had one of those days where you are just happy with the world?  Here is a suggestion, try retracing your steps.  What do I mean?  Simple, start from how you are feeling and work back through your day.  Perhaps you had completed a project you were working on?  Maybe you brought a smile to the face of a friend or even a complete stranger.  Maybe you just finished listening to one of your favorite songs on the radio, or working out.  It will be different for everyone, and there may be a few things in there that just seem kind of crazy, but if they lead you to happiness…who cares!  The point here is to look at what makes up a great day for you.  Perhaps write them down on a list, or in a person journal (more on that in later in the week).  Ok, so perhaps you haven’t had one of those days in a while? Maybe you can’t remember what made you so happy, or just want to enjoy the feeling without trying to figure it out. Fair enough.  Even if you find yourself having a miserable day, it is cause to get excited!  Why would feeling miserable be anything to be excited about you may ask.  This is why, it works the same way as being happy.  If you’re having a bad day, stop and think about all the things that transpired to bring you to that point.  Make a list of those things too.  Not only will you come up with a list of things you would do well to eliminate from your life, but if you look at the opposite of those things, you have the seeds for what will make you happy.  So even knowing what you dislike can be a very healthy thing.  If you were to say, I dislike all the negative people I run into.  You will know limiting your exposure to negative people might be something you wish to work on.  You may also phrase it as “adding more positive people to my life would make it better”.  So as this week continues, try thinking backwards and form a plan for your own happiness.  A plan that would be as unique as the person writing it!

FRIENDS…WITH BENEFITS…

To add to the list of great and quite often unexpected benefits of doing our best to live a positive rewarding life is often the things that seem to just show up in your life.  Now of course there is some science as to how this happens.  When you are focusing on the positive, quite often the things that are most positive seem to attract your attention.  Perhaps you suddenly notice a beautiful garden you drive by every day on your way to work.  Perhaps it is a beautiful painting that hangs in your favorite coffee shop.  All these ‘fringe benefits’ continue to add joy to your life, but no area I think has been greater effected then that of the people in it.  This was made very clear to me this afternoon as I shared a cup of coffee with someone for the first time.  As we shared stories of each others lives and she gave me amazing ideas for my upcoming book, I was overwhelmed with how grateful I was to have such a wonderful person enter my life.  So later as I was going over my notes from our discussion and working on the next chapter I reflected on how we came to know each other, and how I may discover more hidden gems in the vast sea of humanity.  Well, here is how we met, and how living a positive life had a key role in that.  One of the most important things you can do to assist you in keeping a positive attitude is to surround yourself with people who are positive.  Now we may not get to choose our family, or our co-workers, but we can choose who we talk to and who we become friends with.  As i mentioned earlier, once you’re focusing on the positive it seems to stand out everywhere.  I couldn’t help but notice this young lady every time I bought a cup of coffee where she worked.  She always had a smile and a kind word for everyone she helped.  One of those people you just can’t help but smile after sharing a moment with them.  So naturally when I began working on my book about living a positive life, she came to mind as someone who might have some great insight.  I asked her if we could share a cup of coffee and perhaps I could ask her about her source of happiness and how she shares it with others. After having the chance to do just that, I not only gained a great insight in ways to become and remain positive, I also gained a dear friend.  Upon reflection, since I began this journey in earnest about a year ago, I have noticed without much effort on my part, negative people have seemed to naturally fade from my life and I am continually introduced and surrounded by more and more positive people.  Just another pleasant ‘side effect’ to look forward to as we make our way to a more positive and rewarding life!

FOCUSING ON THE DOT ON THE WALL

A few years back I went to see a counselor for some relationship issues I was having.  Not sure how much it helped, but I do recall something she told me that I really found value in.  It applies not only to relationships, but life in general.  While listening to me discuss all the issues I felt were troubling the relationship, she said “I see what one of your greatest problems is”.  The fact that I had just mentioned like three different things seemed not to matter.  I was interested.  If there was one issue that connected all of these things and by addressing that the relationship could improve on several different levels, well I was all ears.  What she said next really confused me a bit.  “You’re focusing on the problem too much”.  I thought about that for a second.  “How the hell can you solve a problem if you don’t focus on it”  I thought.  Imagining what I must be thinking she took me over to a wall across her office. She pointed and asked “Do you see that nail hole in that wall?” Well it took me a second, but I found it.  She asked how bad it affected the wall. Well considering the wall was pretty big and the hole was small I answered not much.  Move closer she told me. So I moved closer until I was mere inches from the hole.  How does it look on the wall now?  The point was fairly clear.  Until she had pointed it out to me I really never even noticed it.  Then when staring so close at it, the rest of the wall seemed hard to notice.  It is focusing on solving the 10% instead of growing the 90%.  How many of us do this? Not just in our relationships, but with our jobs, or our cars, or anything really.  We seem to focus on what needs to be fixed or what we wish was better instead of appreciating all that is right.  Now I am not advocating ignoring any issue or just pretending it doesn’t exist.  Just that we must put things in their fair perspective.  Problems are only a part of life.  Some things are good, some things are not so good.  Yet, as we discussed in the post on gratitude, it is important to give attention to that which is working.  We may be mad at our spouse for something they said, but if we stop and think of all the nice things they have done or said we realize things are not that bad.  Focusing on a challenge can often make that challenge seem bigger and more intimidating than it really is.  So focus on a solution and everything that is working.  Put your problems in their place.  It will help you feel a lot better and make them a little easier to handle.

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Yesterday while listening to one of my favorite motivational speakers, Anthony Robbins, I heard him say something that made me understand why I seem to agree with much of what he says.  He said that when you should listen to what makes sense to you and the rest say “Well that Tony Robbins he is just crazy”.  It is refreshing to hear someone not profess to be ‘the answer’ or ‘the guru’.  When I mention to someone I listen to him, or Wayne Dyer, or Joe Vitale or read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” or watch the secret, they always seem to stress what they do not like about that person, book, or whatever it may be.  I’m here to tell you, expose yourself to as much material as you can.  What makes no sense to one person may change the life of the next.  Decide for yourself.  Make good use of your public library, or better yet, find a friend who is also interested in improving themselves and their life.  I am fortunate enough to have a few of those.  In fact, one friend of mine meets me for lunch and we exchange books and ideas.  If a person knows you it is like a second set of ears and eyes to look out for something that you may benefit from.  Plus, when going through any transformation there are always bound to be challenges and it is great to have someone in your corner cheering you on.  So take that class on self-hypnosis, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to try to listen to that motivational speaker your friend is raving about.  Even if you only get one thing out of it, you have just improved your life that little bit more. Who knows you may just find what you need to take your life to that next level!  So keep an open mind and have fun exploring.

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW…

Yesterday marked the end of a very important issue in my life.  a few years ago I was all but forced to take out a loan for $11,000.  Yesterday I made the final payment to finish off that loan.  Although that is indeed reason to celebrate, and I shall, it is not the reason for this post.  No, what I wish to discuss today is how I came to have that debt in the first place.  The year was 2009, after several great years at the post office things began to unravel.  That year began the uneasiness that continues to this day.  One day you may have a job, one day you may not.  One week 40 hours, one week 4 hours.  So the stress of not knowing where the money may be coming from day-to-day really gives you an opportunity to test your faith in the universe.  Well, add to that a letter I received right before christmas.  Like many Americans I had credit card debt.  In relation to my income at the time is was incurred it was not much, but with my job situation shaky at best it became oppressive.  Just the same, I never missed a payment and at the very least managed to make the minimum payment.  So imagine my shock when I read in the fine print I believe they do not expect you to read, that my interest rate was going from 9% to 19.9%! Knowing that would raise my minimum payment to something I may not be able to afford, I called the company and asked why my interest was being more than doubled if I had never missed a payment in 7 years.  The answer took me by surprise “Not everyone pays like you” the lady on the other end said.  For clarification I inquired whether I was being asked to pay more to make up for the companies loss on those who didn’t pay. “If that’s the way you choose to see it” was her reply. I was dumb-founded. So I attempted to bargain with her “how about 12%? 13?” the answer was a firm ‘no’.  Then I had one of those moments where words come out of my mouth without traveling through the brain.  I swear it goes right from the vocal cords to someone else’s ears. In this case the words were “Then I shall take my business elsewhere”.  To which the helpful customer service rep said “Well do what you have to” I million thoughts raced through my mind ‘How can a company turn away business like that?’ ‘where is the other place I am going to take this debt?’ Who would give me a card with the limit to cover the debt and a lower interest rate?’ ‘What if I lose my job and can’t pay any of it?’ Looking back I realize i was focusing on the all the problems, and potential problems, and not on the solution. I felt life was being so unfair.   The company I worked so hard for the last 13 years seemed to care less about my well-being, the credit card company I faithfully paid for the last 7 was pretty much the same. While venting this to one of my favorite bankers, who also happens to be my mother, she simply said, “why not get a loan?” great idea except I had to collateral and a job that couldn’t be counted on. She said “let me sleep on it” The next day she agreed to put up some of her assets as collateral and we went to the bank and I signed for a loan for $11,000.  Now other than reminding me what an amazing mother I had, this brought a whole new set of worry.  If I had defaulted on the credit card it would reflect bad on me, now if I don’t make the loan payment it would reflect on my mother as well.  Not only did that spur me on to pay it off quickly, but my interest rate was far lower than the initial credit card rate.  So as I wrote the final check today, I realized something. Had that world not been so ‘unfair’ that year, had the post office not cut my hours, had the credit card company not raised my rate, or even settled for one of my offers, or if the customer service lady on the phone been nicer, I still would have that debt.  So it took 4 years, but I realized several blessings out of what seemed like one of the darkest periods. Remember, without the rain, we would not appreciate the sunshine so greatly!