Today, as this post is released, is a Sunday. Most people use this as a day of rest, or a day of worship. Both amazing things to dedicate a day to. Every Sunday night, many people start feeling a familiar knot in their stomach. That dread of another work week approaching. How can we finally get rid of that feeling for good? It starts the day before. It starts on Sunday.
One way to start feeling good is to take that first step. The step towards living the life of your dreams. It could be setting up a savings account. One way is to begin typing words on that book you have always wanted to write. They don’t have to be the perfect words. Trust me when I tell you as a three time author, they may not even end up in the book at all. It is in taking the action that you get that feeling. Motion equals emotion. Yes, it feels great to be on the top of the mountain, but do you know what else feels great? Taking the first step in climbing that mountain. Knowing you are on your way to accomplishing something great.
One of the areas that people overlook is the first step in a journey. It could be the journey of becoming a better spouse or parent. It could be the journey of becoming healthier or more full of inner peace. These are journeys that do not have a finish line, or a top of the mountain to reach. Knowing that you have taken the first step on a life-long journey that will positively transform your life is an amazing feeling. What action can you take today to begin a positive journey?
Here is something that rings true. You will never know the effect of every bit of kindness you have shown. Thisshould not stop you from being kind. On the contrary. It should encourage you to know that you positively impact far more lives than you will ever know. Your actions, be they good or bad, can have a lingering impactyears after they were committed.
Knowing that what you say or do can affect people’s lives for years, if not longer, should motivate you to be the best human you can. That small word of encouragement could help someone make it through a trying time years down the road. That harsh criticism can prevent someone from becoming all that they could be.
Knowing this, we should plant all the seedsof kindness, compassion and encouragement we can. We should do so to as many people as we can. We should also guard against speaking negative unless it is absolutely necessary. We make a difference whether we know it or not. Let us make sure it is a good one.
Happy first day is summer to my friends in the northern hemisphere! This is my favorite day of the year. I am definitely a summer person. Love the sun and the warm weather.
Today is supposed to be the ‘longest day of the year’. Meaning that the sun rises the earliest and sets the latest. That kind of reminds me of life. We all have the same 24 hours. What determines the quality of our life is what we do with them. Is there more sunshine (positive and productive activity) or is it more darkness (negative and wasted energy).
Today, let the first day of summer remind us to have as much light and positivity in our 24 hours as we can!
We are all worthy of a good life. Me, you, even the guy who cut you off in traffic. OK, we might not want to wish him a good life at the moment, but I’m sure he deserves one too.
When we convince ourselves that we are worthy of a good life we act differently. We set boundaries and practice self-care. We take better care of our health and focus on the long-term goal instead of the short-term pleasure. We are also far more likely to treat others with respect and compassion.
How do we convince ourselves we are worthy of a good life? We earn it. How do we earn it? By keeping our word to others, and even more importantly, keeping our word to ourselves. When we say what we are going to do and then follow that up by doing what we say, we earn well-deserved pride. Self-discipline is the greatest source of self-love.
Convince yourself that you are worthy of a good life today! Keep your word. Stay disciplined. Treat others with compassion and kindness. That good life will be yours in no time at all!
This is a quote from one of my favorite poets. It sheds light on a very important way to live your life. In my second book, a corresponding YouTube video, I encourage people to write their own eulogy. Not only as a reminder that life is fleeting, and you should live with a sense of urgency, but because it will help them better clarify what they want their legacy to be.
A eulogy is what people will say about you after you die. Sadly, if it is a good speech, you will not be there to hear it. You do have a great amount of control of what it will contain. What do you want yours to say? Do you want them to say you were a leader of your family? Are you currently acting like one? How about a loving partner? A hard worker?
One you decide how you want to be remembered, you can start working towards earning that eulogy. Meaning you are living in such a way that people will say kind things about you long after you are gone. Put another way, you are planting a tree you will never sit under.
I am not sure what a man fighting a lion has to do with this quote. Maybe he made a habit of fighting lions. Seems like that habit would lead to a fairly short life. That does reflect the point we are attempting to make here. The man may not actively choose a short life and quick death, but by choosing a habit of fighting lions, in a way he is.
The decisions we make in life decide our future. Do we make a decision to pursue comfort at any cost? If so, it would be highly unlikely that we will accomplish anything to great. Truly worthwhile goals requirediscipline, sacrifice and consistency. Even if our intentions are noble, if our habits are not it will amount to very little. When life gets tough we do not rise to our ambitions, we fall back to our habits.
Most of us would like to be successful in life. Success too is a habit. You cannot strive to be a success in one area while being lazy in others. If you are a person who drops trash in the ground and doesn’t pick it up, chances are you will not be able to maintain a high standard in areas of life you deem more important.
Take a hard look at your habits. What kind of future are they going to deliver for you? If it is not the future you want, what habits could you adopt now to change that?
I love things that are simple. This is one of those things. When following any spiritual path, these 2 rules should apply. First, you obviously must begin. Dedication to a spiritual path does not need to involve some fancy ritual. It takes place inside of you. Sure, you could go to a secluded place in the woods to meditate, but that is not necessary. A commitment to a new spiritual path, or recommitmemt to a path, can just as easily happen while riding a city bus on the way to work. Neither one is more powerful than the other. The powercomes from the commitment in your heart.
Second, you must continue. When you truly dedicate yourself to a spiritual way of being, it is not a if/when proposition. You adhere to the principles of your path whether it is sunny or not. It does not matter if you are dealing with another spiritual person, or someone less-informed.You also continue even if that less-informed person is you. We all stumble. Being spiritual does not mean being perfect. It means being committed. Even if you are imperfect
Being truly enlightened means understanding that you will stray from the path and occasionally not live up to your standards. It means both giving yourself a little pain when you do, but also being able to forgive yourself and learn from it.
These 2 rules are very important on any journey. You must begin and you must continue.
One of the most prevalent problems we have today is a lack of energy. It is not always physical energy. It can be emotional, spiritual or any other drain. People just feel burned out. Is that you? Certainly, considering all of the things that I am involved in, it is always something to be on the lookout for. It seems you are working hard just to meet up with your obligations and then life picks that time to give you a tough challenge.
Have you ever felt like you were close to having it all together when suddenly you find yourself catching a cold? Maybe you finally are starting to feel some inner peace and that is when your spouse has a personal meltdown? It can be even worse. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can seem to be constantly working on keeping your head above water. You make it through a tough day at work. Your coworkers call in sick. There is more work for you because of that. Your boss is aggravated that the other employees decided to stay home and takes it out on the employee that didn’t. Namely, you. Then you get home barely making it through the day and your spouse has a meltdown. You snap at them because you have already had a tough day. After a minute you regret not treating them with compassion. Now you are not only stressed beyond breaking, you have created a new problem.
Here is where a great deal of this issue starts. We fight every battle that is in front of us. By the time we show up for the really important ones, we are often to tired and crumble at the first sign of struggle. That is why it is important to set boundaries and decide what is really important. You boss yells at you because other workers didn’t show up and they are in a bad mood. Is it fair? No. Does it suck? Yes. Is it really important in the long run? No. Do not waste your energy being upset about other people, which is something we cannot control anyway. This is the same for getting fired up listening to talk radio on the way home. I know a few people who listen to political or sports programs and come home full of rage. Why on earth would you do that? News flash – the athletes and politicians do not know or care about you. Your spouse does. Listen to some music that will help relieve the stress of the day and have you arriving at home full of love.
My day job is at the US Postal Service. Not only is there lots of stress there, but I work 55 hours a week. If I wasted my energy on every little thing at the office, I would come home drained and angry. Margie and I work at a bar on the weekend. If we played into every situation of drama and gossip, we would not only be wasting our time, we would be exhausted. My love for her, and my respect for both her and myself, is worth far too much for that.
How about you? What battles are you fighting that are draining you and not serving you? Could you set boundaries that would help you? Do you have a written list of what is your priority in life and what is important? How often do you review that list? Just a few minutes in the morning, or even in the middle of the day to recalibrate, would make a world of difference!
This is so true. In a world where people are mistakenly focused on material gain and other outward signs of success, it is important to remember where real change starts. If there is anything you wish to accomplish, you must start by becoming it. That may sound backwards to some of you, so allow me to explain.
Real change happens internally. If you do not change who you are inside, that change will usually not be long-lasting. That is why so many who won the lottery end up broke. They have not changed to someone who is comfortable with having a lot of wealth.
You must work on changing your mentality first. If you want to be fit, you must become a person who likes, and is dedicated to fitness. You want to eat healthy? You must become someone who has a better relationship with food. Someone who understands that you should eat to live and not live to eat. That healthy can be both delicious and fun!
Here is the tricky bit. When you start changing your mentality, you would think everyone would be behind you. Especially, those closest to you. Often, this is not the case. It can be a fear, be that conscious or not, that once you level up you will leave them behind. Sometimes that might have to be the case. When you are working on sobriety, you can’t hang around with addicts anymore. Maybe they just do not possess the drive to improve their lives? A little encouragement and reassurance can go a long way here.
In the end, you might be doing it alone. Quite often, self-improvement is just that – improvement by yourself. Those closest to you might be your most difficult test. Do not stop them from allowing you to bloom!
Quick side note. Be careful not to judge them either. Many people lack either the knowledge or the discipline to improve their lives. Some of the best ways we can help this is to offer encouragement and a positive example of what can be done! It may just be your success that will change their life!
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 