“It takes 30 days for a change in behavior to become a habit, and six months for a habit to become the automatic way a person does things, … If they haven’t changed in 30 days, it’s not happening.”
— Mark Goulston

Habits are funny things. At first they seem not so easy to make. And then there are others that seem impossible to break. You know what I mean. Making new good habits like working out, eating healthy, going to bed at a more reasonable hour. Sounds so simple, yet after a week or so, I find the tendency to let them slip. And then changing the old (shall we say bad) habits, how come they seem so challenging to break?

So what can you do? Well, some studies show that it can take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months to change your behaviours (habits) either adding new good ones or eliminating the bad ones. So that means keeping at it until you make it over that hurdle. Often, when you do something especially when your mind and
body is fighting against your better direction, it solidifies the change process.

So, choose an action today that challenges you and moves you forward. Take that action today, in spite of any negative feelings or what your mind might tell you. Write it down first thing in the morning and at the end of the day, write down the feelings that came with accomplishing the action and how it has helped you grow.

“You must BE the change you want to see in the world.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

What could you work on now that would make a difference to your life. Simply pick one thing that you could change or improve that would give you a new start, a new perspective, a new direction.

You may want to look at the things that concern you in the world. Or you could start with your day-to-day routines. Making a difference to your life could be as simple as picking up the clutter in your house. Gives you immediate results (a cleaner house). May help to reduce your levels of stress (mess is stress). And gives you a goal to maintain your new sense of well-being (keeping the clutter from accumulating, therefore less work for the future).

So that was my one thing to make a change quickly and effectively. Now your turn. What’s one thing can you do today to put on your list of successes and make you feel better? Remember, it’s a start. And sometimes that’s all you need to get the journey of change rolling the way you really want it to. Before you know it, there will be a long list of accomplishments to your name.

“Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.”
— Unknown

Do you feel happiest when you are busy, productive, or working on a project? What happens when you have quiet time? Some people use work to avoid dealing with unhappiness or challenges in their personal lives, such as an unhappy marriage.

In order for happiness to be authentic and last, it must come from more than work. Balance in joy comes when we are with our families, learning new things, helping others, and yes, even when we are in quiet solitude.

See if you are experiencing the busy-bee syndrome, avoiding all that life has to offer and resolve to bring balance in your life through joy in everything and everyone.

“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened”
— Winston Churchill

I just finished writing to my step-daughter about worrying. She is in the middle of a worry-fest and I needed to help her release her fears around the situation. Why?

First because she doesn’t even know what she is dealing with, and therefore she is expending a lot of energy on something that she can’t even put a real name to, let alone do anything about right now. Secondly, because she is such a busy person that it is a complete waste of her time to focus any of her thoughts into such an unknown territory. As this anonymous quote points out well, “Worry is like a rocking chair—it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” And she has plenty of better things to do and bigger places to go.

So my advice for those who fall into the common habit of worry; keep living and solve the issues when they come up, because if they aren’t real enough to fix right now, they may not exist at all.

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” — Marian Wright-Edelman

Call it baby-steps, Kaizen theory, day by day. You name it. What it adds up to is change. It may not seem it at first… and it shouldn’t if you are taking it slowly and steadily. But it does make a more lasting impression on your lifestyle and mind. And it actively creates permanent, positive change in your life.

“For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news.”
— Gloria Borger

Turn on the TV and watch the news and what will you see? Most likely you will get a recap of the days violence in your city and around the world. OK, now read the paper. What do you get there? More violence, fraud, and negativity most likely, focusing primarily on informing us of things to fear in life.

It’s no wonder that with all these negative images and stories that we find ourselves focusing on the negative things in our lives as well. This also can help to escalate the fear-based reactions in our day to day living.

What if we were to focus on not only surrounding ourselves with positive people, but positive news as well? Imagine we would celebrate together as a society all the good things that are happening in our city and around the world. Maybe we would be building up the positive energy in our minds to the point where it would be spreading faster than the negative energy?

Spread the positive energy by surrounding yourself with happy news and stories. And then tell others of these happy events as well. Here’s a web site with just happy news for your fun and enjoyment: Happy News

“Appreciation is a powerful tool to shift perspective. Finding something to appreciate during a difficult situation quickly moves the perspective to the big picture from the little picture.”
— Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer, From Chaos to Coherence

What do you have to appreciate in your life right now? During the challenging moments in our life, learning to shift perspective can be the true key to your present and future happiness and success.

In our daily bustle and routine, we may slip into a state of complaint or pity. And it is when we allow our focus to remain on the difficult situations that the pain and challenge seems to amplify.

Allow yourself to find something good in the picture and allow that to grow instead. As you get the benefit of both perspectives you will learn to be consistently thankful and approving, and your life will subsequently grow in value. (more…)

“The truly important things in life — love, beauty, and one’s own uniqueness — are constantly being overlooked.” — Pablo Casals

When we focus on what is important right now, we can become the best we can be even in the most challenging moments. Deciding that the activity or goal in the present moment is the most important thing we can be doing in our lives, we can begin to see things that were previously overlooked due to our distracted minds. Being in the now means that we are not experiencing an urge to be somewhere else, to do something else, or to think about something else.

To achieve this clear state of mind, you must know who you are. Trust that you will do what is right for you at the right time. Mark Twain once said, “I have worried about a great many things in my life. And a few of them actually happened.”

Experience the joy, the self-confidence, and the excellence that comes with living in the now. Let go of what you think should be happening, in order to enjoy and fully experience what is actually happening in your life.

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.”
— Bruce Barton

There are different moments during the year or the month or even the week that seem particularly busy to me. Sometimes I would even use the term overwhelming. However, I am doing my best to not use that particular term, because I find myself feeling worse when I allow my mind to “feel overwhelmed”. Next thing you know I am using words like “burnt out”, “exhausted”, too tired” and the snowball effect has happened yet again.

My new tactic during the busier periods of my life is allowing myself to expand my energy to be able to handle all that comes my way. It all goes back to the Law of Attraction — if I panic when things seem to get busier or move faster than I can manage, I will only be attracting more things to get worked up over. On the other side of the coin, when I allow myself to believe I can handle it all, despite the apparent circumstances, I will succeed. Remember, focus on the desired outcome — avoid focusing on what you don’t want.

Imagine being happy and balanced and successful no matter what is going on in your life. Even when things don’t appear well on the outside, or when circumstances outside your control happen to you, feeling well and balanced on the inside will make all the difference in your life.

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