Today is April Fools Day. Traditionally, people play jokes on others on this day. I’m not really a fan, but to each their own. One thing we must caution against is fooling ourselves. We do this by the way we talk to ourselves.
90 to 95% of your life is controlled by your subconscious mind. It really is a miraculous thing. It heals your wounds. It keeps your heart beating without you having to think about it. The one thing about the subconscious mind is that it can’t think for itself. For that it trusts the conscious mind. That would be your normal thinking mind.
How does your conscious mind communicate with your subconscious mind? By the words you say to yourself. Your subconscious mind accepts whatever you say to yourself as true. It then proceeds to act on that information. If what you say is mostly negative, such as “I am always so stupid.” Not only will you be more likely to make stupid decisions, you will be far more likely to notice when you do.
Keep in mind the power of your words and use them in a positive manner. Let today remind you not to make a fool out of yourself!
I love this reminder. Words you hear all over social media and in a lot of self-improvement sectors are words like ‘hustle’ and ‘grind’. Sure, working hard is important. It is what allows us to rise above the crowd and become the best version of ourselves. What makes no sense is working so hard that we sacrifice the enjoyment of life. It is true that we have to make choices in regards to our priorities. We might have to skip thatshopping trip that sounds fun to make sure what we need to do around the house gets done. It may not be as enjoyable, but we will feel better long term. The key is to find a way to enjoy cleaning the house.
Whatever your goal in life is, make sure to add “enjoy the process” to the list. Not only will you enjoy chasing that goal more, but you will enjoy that part of your life more. After all, isn’t that the goal? To enjoy as much of our life as possible.
Here is one of those lessons in life that seem contrary, but they are not. As you read this, I will be on a beach in sunny Jamaica 🇯🇲. Sounds like a pretty fun time does it not? I am assuming it will be. We were, however, supposed to be in the Bahamas. Due to a better deal, and more convenient departure, we chose Jamaica.
If we were to focus on how much we wish we were in one tropical paradise, we would be unable to enjoy the one we are currently in. What a great problem to have, but people do this regularly. There are so many beautiful and amazing things in life, if we are always focused on what we lack, we will miss those things. Conversely, if we keep our focus on what we have to enjoy, we will go through life from one beautiful experience to another!
The same is true for waiting to arrive at our destination. My love and I are going to enjoy the process of getting there. We are going to create memories on the way to the resort as well as the time we are there. I’ve said this many times, we spend most of our lives on the journey of life. That is what we need to find a way to enjoy.
Even in hard times, look for what you can enjoy. This is not always the easiest thing to do, but it is possible. It is a lot easier if you have the habit of doing so in the good times. Maybe the good thing is just having someone to stand beside you while you are going through whatever it is that is trying your soul? There is always some beauty to be found if we look hard enough.
Here we are at the start of a new week. We can already feel overwhelmed with our ‘to do lists’ and obligations for the coming days. How many of us have self-care items on our ‘to do lists’? All too often, our self-care gets pushed down to the bottom of the list. We really must understand the importance of taking care of ourselves and the benefit to others.
Look at so many other things in our life. Take our cars for example. We get their tires rotated, we change the oil. Why do we do these things? We do them so our car will be able to get us from point A to point B. How about our cell phones? We keep them charged and updated. Why? So they will run at optimal speed and we can put them to full use.
When it comes to inanimate objects, we understand that taking care of them will help them serve us better. In the case of the car, the better we maintain it, the longer it will last and the more efficient it will operate. If we keep our phone fully charged and updated it will have a better connection and speed in use.
How come when it comes to ourselves we somehow think these rules don’t apply? If, like the car, we maintain our bodies with good food and fitness, won’t we last longer and be more efficient? Like the phone, of we allow ourselves to recharge, won’t we have a better connection with the world around us, and those in it? Won’t we have more energy and be able to operate in a faster rate than if we are living off 2 hours of sleep and 3 large coffees?
This week, stop viewing self-care as something selfish. See it for what it is; a necessary step to bringing the best version of ourselves to the world at large and to those in our life we care about. Next time you get in your car, or pick up your cell phone, remember how much better they operate when we take care of them. The truth is we operate a lot better when we stop and take care of ourselves as well.
When I first read this, I smiled to myself and thought, “That is a cute thought.” The more time I spent pondering it, the more the profound truth contained within came through.
Let us think about an awards ceremony. People are being honored and appreciated for something. This can range from a talent. Think of the Oscar’s or the Grammys. It can be an accomplishment such as in the world of sports or even the corporate world. It can be to honor someone’s charity works or their selfless giving to their fellow humans.
What happens next? The person being honored is asked to give a speech upon accepting their award. When they do, it usually filled with respect and gratitude for the people who played a role in why they are being honored. In recap, one person is being honored and return, they are expressing gratitude for all the people who played a part in the event. There is seldom bragging or self-centeredbehavior. What a great way to spend a day!
Wouldn’t it be great if everyday life were like that? Days spent giving accolades and expressing gratitude? Here is my powerful 2-word question to you – why not? Why can’t our lives be like that? I have a fun solution that I invite you all to be a part of.
Polish up your award giving talents. What do I mean? If you think about it, are there not many people who deserve an award in your life? I would give my mother an award for managing to always discover new ways to help others despite facing challenges in her own life. My beautiful Margie 😍 deserves an award for defying nature. She will work hard,sometimes sacrificing sleep all together, and as the years go by she seems to actually look younger! Our friend Sarais not only working to conquer the demon of addiction, but sharing her story to inspire others! Our other friend Sara not only stepped in to DJ with Margie when I had surgery, she was also kind enough to help us with our vacation!
This is just scratching the surface of the amazing people we have in our lives! I am not saying you have to present each person with a little trophy at a special dinner. Although how fun would that be? Even a simple card acknowledging their accomplishments or contributions would be amazing!
How many people do you know that deserve to be recognized? Many several times over! I think it is time we make honoring those people who play an important role in our life a regular activity. Try one person a week. How do you think your life would change in a year if you let 52 people know how important and valuable they are? Do you think your relationships would improve?
A quick side note. All too often, people can feel unappreciated or taken advantage of. Some people may be facing struggles we know nothing about. What impact would achieving a note of honor and appreciation do for them? Think about that. By letting others know how valuable they are, we all win.
Often a great change in the quality of our life can come from a small shift in how we look at things. What if we started to view every challenge in life as an opportunity to prove ourselves? Whenever I mention something like this, the sunshine challenged folks always mention that is just being ignorant.
Is it really? Tell me when our character is proven and strengthened? Is it when everything is going our way or when we have to battle through something? Our mistakes, our seemingly bad luck,our losses in life, all chances to prove ourselves.
In my own life I know this to be true. Right now, I’m feeling a little under the weather. My beautiful lady made me some chicken noodle soup for lunch and has been so sweet. The sickness sucks, but she is really showing how much she loves me. Even when the two of us are not seeing eye to eye, it is a great opportunity. How much respect can be gained by loving someone through disagreement? How loving is it to be the first one to apologize and work to make the situation right?
This weekend, let us look at every challenge as a chance to demonstrate and improve on our good character. After all, that is what every challenge is!
There are many things that make life great. One of them is laughter. Make sure to schedule that. I have an email that comes to my inbox with silly jokes every day. There are also apps for that. You can get a day by day calendar with jokes.
There are many other ways to get in your laughter. Include people in your life that make you laugh. Luckily, I live with just such a person. You should have a collection of funny movies. A group of comedy cds or dvds might not be a bad idea.
There are so many ways to inject laughter into your life. The benefits are endless. When you laugh your immune system strengthens. Your stress decreases. It helps shift your perspective on life. What is your favorite source of laughter?
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of the storms of life? You look around and feel like it is all crashing in around you. I think we have all felt that way at some point in time. It feels overwhelming. Almost impossible at the time. What do you do?
We will start with what you don’t do. You don’t sit still and dwell in your feelings. You can take a second to fully experience them, but don’t live in them. The antidote to the overwhelm in life can be summed up in one word – action. You can look at the quote from Winston Churchill above, or think about this one from Tony Robbins, “Happiness equals progress.”
Many of you might be asking, “What if I don’t know what action to take? I don’t want to take the wrong action. ” There are 2 solutions to this issue. First, any action will help. If it tends not to be beneficial, you will find out sooner by acting than sitting still. Second, the outside world, and maybe somebody that could help, will see youare not a quitter. Knowing you’re the type of person to fight through the storms of life will not only speak to your character, but give you a boost of self-confidence.
Still not sure if you can take action? Here is something that always works. Take action to help someone else. While you are helping someone else with one of their challenges, it may often make your own pale in comparison. Not to mention, the confidence you get helping them you can use on your own problem. In selfish terms, by helping others do you think they will be more likely to help you? Of course they will!
This week, or anytime in life, follow Winston’s advice. If you are going through hell, just keep going!
Here is a thought. We were talking about the positive effects of habits a few posts ago and how important it is to develop positive habits. The same can be said for negative habits. Especially, the habit of quitting.
When I have the opportunity to speak to young people, this is something I stress. Quitting, like success, is a habit. You cannot expect to quit on some things in life and have the fortitude to persevere in others. It just doesn’t work that way. The subconscious mind, our brain, is a slave to habit and repetition.
Think of your own life. Are there any situations that you often quit on? Make sure to work on eradicating as many as you can. The upside is that you will notice the benefits throughout all areas of your life!
Last post we talked about starting the day with a statement of intention. When crafting one that will serve you well, the key is finding something that affects you emotionally. Most people think this has to be serious. Not necessarily. Consider the affects of something that can make you laugh. That is certainly a change of emotional state!
We have all heard the saying, “laughter is the best medicine.” Starting the day with laughter means you are Starting the day with a smile! It also means you are more likely to remember your statement of intention. If you couple that with something empowering, you have a great formula for success. I would love to hear any empowering statements that involve humor that you may use!
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 