Spending the week at our local state fair, there are many new culinary creations to try. Believe it or not, this is one I tried last night. It is a sausage made with gummy bears on the inside, then garnished with honey mustard and gummy bears on some sort of flavored bun.
This is not an item for the faint of heart. Nor for the faint of stomach I might add. The only other person brave enough to try it was my lovely Margie. By try it, I mean she had one bite and said “Oh no. Not for me.” Still, you have to try crazy things in life on occasion. It keeps you young. Another fun fact, the ladies serving these delightful morsels were all wearing gummy bear earrings!
So many times in our lives we can become overwhelmed. A good many of these times is our perception. Inky Johnson, one of my favorite speakers, always says “perspective drives performance” meaning, how we look at things can determine how we act.
We must be careful not to fall in two categories. First, is those who busy themselves with trying to know everything there is and paralyze themselves into inaction. There is a time when you have to go for it!
On the other side of the spectrum, is those who fly into action, or make judgments without having enough information. In order to properly make a decision and come to a conclusion, we must do our best to look at life from as many angles as possible. Hear both sides of the story. Often we find possibilitieswe never thought of or saw! Today try looking at things from a different angle!
It is Monday. This is always a day where many of us struggle. The truth is, it is the beginning of the race. No race is ever lost at the beginning! This is your chance to work hard and set yourself up for the win!
One way to think of Monday is the harder you run at the beginning of the race, the sooner you are to cross the finish line. Earning your weekend starts on Monday. Let us all get after it!
Have you ever thought about how often we think about building our future? When we are young it is almost all we think about. People are constantly asking us, “what are you going to be when you grow up?” Sometimes we even ask ourselves that question. Children can often be heard saying “I can’t wait until I’m 18 and can make my own decisions and live my own life!”
Then what happens? We do grow up. We can make our own decisions and live our own life. Sadly, we often forget, or take for granted, that we have this power. Our thoughts, which when we were young were almost always about building our future, have become almost entirely about surviving our present. How to pay the bills. How to get the kids on school today.
Today let us change that up. Whether you are 18 or 80, you have a future. Devote at least one day a week (Thursday thrive?) To building your life and not just surviving it. Learn something new. Invest in improving yourself. Think, and put into action,things that can improve your relationships.
Let us go back to when we were young. Let us decide again what we want to be when we grow up. That doesn’t have to start when you are 18, and it never has to stop.
Above is the results for a 5K race that I ran last Wednesday. I run this race every year. It is held at the Wisconsin State Fair park. This is one of my favorite places to go. This year, I had open-heart surgery in January. My goal was to come back and finish the race in 30 minutes or less. As you can see, I fell short by 7 minutes. I was disappointed to learn this. My cardiovascular and breathing were just not up to the task. I vented to those that did the race with me. I figured 6 months after surgery would have been enough to get back in shape. I was reminded for the first 4 months after surgery, you are advised to do little, if anything at all. This means that I really only had 2 months to train for this race.
Although this made me feel slightly better, I am still a little disappointed I did not make me goal. Normally, I am the fellow who advises you to find and focus on the positives in a situation. This is true here too. After having my chest sawed in half and a chunk of my heart cut out and replaced (and dying for a brief period of time) I still finished with the same time I did the year prior. It was only 6 months after surgery, and I was told it will take a full year to be back at 100%. Still, I want to keep this feeling of disappointment with me. Why on earth would I want to do that? I want to do what I advise everyone to do in my book Living the Dream. Find a way to use your emotions instead of letting them use you.
In this case, on the days I do not feel like going to the gym, I am going to remember that feeling of disappointment. When I do not feel like eating better, I am going to remember how it felt to struggle as I ran. These feelings will not only serve to keep me on track, but will push me to better myself. That is how to put negative feelings to work for you. Is there something you are disappointed in yourself for? Did you yell at your spouse when they didn’t deserve it? Use that to push you to get a better control of your temper and to find ways to make it up to yourself. Disappointed you didn’t get what you wanted done at home? Use that feeling to get you up and out of bed the next day to tackle the activity you want to accomplish.
So called negative emotions will always be a part of our lives. As we work to limit them, we should also find ways to put them to use for us as well. In that way we turn what used to be a negative into a positive. What are some ways in which you have done this in your own life?
Many times, changing the way we view certain things can benefit us greatly. I have often spoke about viewing your life as a business and the benefits that can have. I think this picture above, comparing your brain to a computer, can be very helpful as well. Most of us are guilty of treating our computers better than our brains at times. If you find it hard to find the motivation to read and educate yourself, just think of it as updating your software. This even sounds fun. Imagine telling your friend, “Sorry Bob, I would like to hang out tonight but I am updating my software.” Bob may think you’re crazy, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is a good way to look at filling your mind with healthy and positive material.
How about the discipline to go to bed at a decent hour? You are not getting some sleep, you are recharging the batteries of your super computer brain! Would you run your computer, your phone or your car until it ceases to work, or would you allow time to rest and recharge? What if it was the only phone, computer or car you could ever have in your lifetime? We only get one mind and body, but all to often, we treat these with less care than disposable devices which we can replace.
Cleaning your computer’s hard drive will allow it to run with greater speed and efficiency. The same can be said about the super computer brain you have. How do we clean the hard drive of our minds? Above are three great ideas. Meditate, journal and positive self-talk. Clear out some of the stress and emotion. I also recommend working out and walking in nature.
If you think your super computer brain needs a reboot, try engaging in some of the activities listed above. Viewing our brains as super computers, which they are, can help us evaluate and provide better care for the most important equipment we have. That is the equipment between our own two ears.
Today is the first day of summer where I live. To me, it is one of the best days of the year. I was born in the summer, I love the sunshine and I can never have enough summer fun. Thus, the official start of the season is greeted with great joy and enthusiasm. I am sure the same is true for those of you who enjoy fall or spring. I can’t really wrap my head around those of you who feel this way about winter, but the same must hold true there as well. Another thing that makes this day so special is that where I live summer is very short and fleeting. It makes the season we do have that much more special.
I do my best to enjoy as many wonderful events during this season as I can. As you read this, I will be attending an exciting bike race taking place just blocks from where I live. There will be a street party and many other fun things to do. I will also be enjoying the sunshine and the company of the woman I love. Finding new and exciting ways to celebrate the season I love is a fun adventure. I will do the same, with the help from my lady, for my birthday. We are also planning to take our first vacation in several years.
Both celebrating and planning fun things to do only serves to extend the joy of the actual event itself. Looking at videos of different resorts will certainly put us in an excited state. Perhaps planning a tour or two? Maybe even just planning where will we eat dinner on what night can be exciting. Looking at all the fun places to explore and learn about. This is all before the plane touches down on the runway. Same is true for my thoughts of summer. Margie and I were talking about more picnics and bike rides this year. My mother and I were talking about exploring new parks and woods to hike in. This is all before the season of summer has actually begun. Getting excited for these events will make them more enjoyable, and thought out, when they actually happen.
What events or times of year do you look forward to? How do you celebrate? Remember there is always something to celebrate and be grateful for!
What is your first thought upon waking? If you are like most of us, that can be beginning to fret over the list of things you have to do, or worrying about how little time you have to get ready and get to work. The attitude we bring to our day will tend to follow us the remainder of the day. How much better would we feel if we began our day with a feeling of gratitude for the gift of waking up to another day? How about the excitement at being able to show those we care about in our lives how special they are? The opportunity to make someone else smile? The chance to witness nature and all of its miracles?
Look, I get it. At 4:45 in the morning, these are generally not my first thoughts as the alarm clock wakens me from a blissful slumber. The realization I have to leave a warm bed and a hot lady to drive 35 minutes to go to work is not the most inspiring thought. How can we change this? I have several suggestions and I am looking for more! How can we wake up and focus on what is right with our lives instead of what is wrong? In the first 20 minutes after waking we are most susceptible to suggestion. This is true even when it comes to our own thoughts. That is why it is so important to start the day with a good one!
Here is one of the secrets, making the best of everything. Perhaps having this quote printed, or even written out, next to our bed for us to see first thing in the morning could change our mentality after that alarm goes off? We don’t even have to wait that long. A good deal of us use our phones to wake us up. Do you know there are so many ways to customize your alarm? You can pick a favorite song to wake up to. You can pick something funny or inspiring. I even learned you can type in a saying that your phone will say to you when the alarm goes off. How cool is that?
Another tool we can use is giving ourselves something to look forward to. I mentioned some of the thoughts I had early in the morning. Leaving my warm bed and hot lady. Driving 35 minutes, especially if the weather is not the best. None of these are things to look forward to. One of the things I do in the morning is make myself a cup of coffee. Having a coffee I like would be something to look forward to. What if on that 35 minute drive I had a good audiobook or some music to listen to? That would certainly be something worth waking up for. Sure, we may rather sleep in on any given morning, but having something to look forward to would inject a little positivity into our day.
Another thing I have is a daily calendar that features positive and inspiring quotes. Not only does reading something positive first thing in the morning help, but even looking forward to what they might say goes a little way to help me get out of bed in the morning. You can also get apps on your phone that do the same thing. I have such a thing. Regretfully, they do not post until 7am, almost three hours after I wake up, but it is something to look forward to.
Starting your day in a positive fashion can make the rest of the day, even the challenges, go more smoothly. What do you do, or what could you do to start you day off right? Could you place a picture of the one you love on the bathroom mirror? What about your favorite inspiring quote by the coffee maker? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below. Let us all share our ideas with each other for a more positive morning and thus a more positive day and positive life!
A little mid-week motivation for us this morning. In today’s society, it is always tempting to compare our life for those of others. We see people’s best lives on social media. We see the success of our friends and family. Although happy for them, we often look at our own life and wonder where our success is.
Today’s photo serves as a great reminder that we all have our own time to shine. One of the best ways to set ourselves up for the greatest moment to shine, is to celebrate the shine of others. While you are waiting for your moment to shine, look around you and seewho is having their moment in the spotlight, and celebrate with them!
We do this for many reasons. One, we should be happy for the success of those in our lives. In law of attraction terms, if we focus on celebrating success, the universe will ultimately give us more success in life to celebrate. It is only a matter of time before it is ours. Also, it helps us feel good. Celebrating the success of those you care about should make you happy. It will also deepen the relationship you have with this person. Lastly, you will have a lot more people willing and eager to celebrate with you when it is your turn to shine!🌞
