“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”
— Benjamin Spock

Instinct is a powerful thing in life, in relationships, in business, in friendships, in making decisions, etc. I can remember well the times that I heard my intuition screaming and still chose to not listen. But even then, I had some great lessons in life taught in some very powerful ways.

Nonetheless, start believing in yourself. And start believing in your decisions. You will not always get it right, but that only shows that you are human, so that’s fine. Most of the time, you will make the right decisions if you listen to your instincts.

Trust yourself. You are your best friend, your best counsellor, and your best guide.

“Whatever you are doing, love yourself for doing it. Whatever you are feeling, love yourself for feeling it.”
— Thaddeus Golas

Have you checked in lately with your higher self? It’s always good to take some time to see where you are at with your self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence every now and then.

Do you owe yourself some praise for some good work accomplished? How about some understanding for a few set-backs? Anything left in the corners hiding that your higher self would like you to notice and bring to the forefront?

One great way to get in touch with your higher self is to meditate. Daily is optimal, but even if you take the opportunity when it comes you way to clear you mind you will be pleased to here the messages that come your way. Another good way to check in is to go with your gut; anything that intuitively bothers you may be an indication that there is some focus needed in that part of your life.

I just got access to this amazing online interview about the current economy and what to do to ensure your financial situation isn’t devastated by what’s happening in this market. The interview is with T. Harv Eker – I’ve mentioned his work to you before and he is in my recommended products list on this site. This interview deals specifically with how to create opportunities during this economic crisis and how to set yourself up to keep your abundance flowing because of the choices you make today.

Just click on www.millionairemind.com – you’ll see a button for a Report; click that and put in your email address and both a text and audio file of the interview will be emailed to you directly.

I’ve already listened to the report myself, and it really got me thinking positively about what I can do right now to make sure I’m successful – in any market. I’m sure you’ll get as much out of it as I did.

Enjoy!

“You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others.”
— Henry Drummond (1851-1897)

How easy it is to fall into the trap of seeing the world only through our eyes. Our stories seem to take over and even the slightest annoyances take so much of our energy that we forget that there is a bigger picture going on around us.

One quick and easy way to bring back a more worldly viewpoint to your life is to take some time every day, or every week, or even every month, to serve others.

What does that mean? Well, you could volunteer your time to a worthwhile charity or cause. What about helping your family with their tasks without being asked? Maybe pick one thing that you do that you know annoys someone close to you and take a week to consciously avoid doing it?

It doesn’t matter what it is, what matters is that you move your focus toward the bigger picture and bring a fresh perspective into your old stories. And you may find that you have so much fun serving others you won’t bother to go back to your old ways.

“Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.”
—Og Mandino

Just for fun, imagine all the things that have happened to you in your life were all planned. The people you have had in your life, the challenges you faced, the joys you experienced. All were worked out at the soul level before they ever happened.

What would that mean for your life right now? Picture this as a crazy example. Here is your soul “upstairs” asking around for help with learning about cheating: “Hey Joe, can you be the one to cheat on me in this lifetime?”, “No way! I’m not going to put up with that kind of anger!” “Sam, how about you?” “OK, but only because I love you so much.” “OK, affair taken care of, who wants to be my kids in this mess? Anyone, anyone?”

When we can look at our life and see all the lessons and reasons why we may be experiencing each situation, everything can be seen in a much brighter light, no matter what you are facing. I like the thought that we are all here to help each other learn and grow. And those who are seemingly giving us the hardest time are those souls that love us the most.

It’s a complete 180 degree perspective change, but give it a go and see how much fun you can have with it. It may give you the chance to laugh at yourself and at life.

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.”
— Wayne Dyer

As I note my day-to-day moods, I have to come to the conclusion that this quote is very true. When I am miserable, I hear this conversation with myself actually deciding whether or not I want to stay that way a little longer, or to just shake it off and move along to something better.

I was miserable one moment, then the next I wasn’t. Did my circumstances change? Nope. Only my attitude about them did. And funny enough, because my attitude changed, the problems that I labeled the cause of my misery also seemed to change somehow. They suddenly seemed lighter, less important. Or at least other things seemed more important.

I have now begun to focus on positive constructive ways to alleviate the situation that was bringing me down. That was my choice.

“You know what makes my problems bigger then everyone else’s? They’re mine.”
— Fictional character of the sitcom “Ally McBeal”

Ah, the lure of our story. The drama of our challenges. If only you could have heard the stuff going on in my head at 3 a.m. while I was doing my best to meditate myself to sleep for at least a couple of hours last night.

And it seems, no matter how much I know all the advice and I live my advice, nothing I could consciously and logically tell myself last night seemed to tame the inner voice, my ego running on fear.

Thankfully, I have a very good life coach who today helped me to see that I was just being overly critical of myself and that I simply didn’t let myself recuperate from some very challenging situations these past weeks.

So the moral of “my story” is that everyone will have problems pop up in life. That is what life is about. Remember to be bigger than your problem, deal with it, and allow yourself the time to heal. Then keep going. Move forward. Take over the captain’s chair from your ego that wants to keep you moving slowly and cautiously even in the best of weather.

I think I am ready for a good night’s sleep tonight.

“If there is a challenge in the great tragedies that are visited upon us, it is only this: that if we were not to transcend them, we would descend into a darkness so great that, like a star burning in upon itself, we would implode, taking all with us as we died.” — Kent Nerburn

Ah, the wonderful feeling of having a huge weight lift from your heart. Forgiveness. Forgiving someone else, as I have often mentioned, is truly an act of self-love as you are freeing yourself from the burden of anger.

But what about yourself? Are there things for which you are not forgiving yourself? Are you burdening yourself with guilt?

I find that when people are not able to forgive others, it actually starts much closer to home. There usually lurks some past issues that they have not dealt with completely. And since they cannot grant this gift to themselves, it is impossible to give it to others.

Once again, take the steps to free yourself from your past and make this your newest mantra: “I forgive you as I forgive myself”.

“Resentment or grudges do no harm to the person against whom you hold these feelings but every day and every night of your life, they are eating at you.”
— Norman Vincent Peale

I was asked the other day, what is the one thing that I would rank as the most important thing for personal growth. Easily and instinctively I said, “Forgiveness”.

When I look at the world, when I talk to my friends and neighbors, the majority of the time I can hear situations where grudges, resentment, anger, and even hatred rule their lives more than they even realize.

Some ask, why should you forgive if someone has deliberately harmed you? Take a look at what non-forgiveness does to your life and you won’t need to ask. I have a friend who says there is barely a minute of the day that goes by where he isn’t thinking about how much he was hurt. Then there are the sleepless nights and nightmares that haunt as well.

Why put yourself through that? Aren’t you worth more than that? How much more would you be able to accomplish if you could free your mind of those negative, resentful thoughts. How much better you would feel if you could get a good night’s sleep.

Therefore, forgiveness is really simply an act of self-love.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
— Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Here are a few ideas to supercharge your life:

* Focus on what you WILL do, not what you can’t do.
* Prioritize. Be proactive by putting first things first.
* Purposefully act, don’t react.
* Face difficulties with courage.
* Be willing to make mistakes, learn from them and move on.
* To prevent being overwhelmed, ask yourself: ‘What one thing am I willing to do differently today?’
* Communicate with positive language. Watch your thoughts and patterns of inner talk, and listen to yourself when talking to others.
* Teach and lead by example.
* Spend time with people you admire.
* Be bigger than your story
* If you feel yourself getting into victim mode, ask yourself what the payoff is.
* Feel and own your personal power. Know that you do have a choice.
* Celebrate your results!