This is success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you were to ask someone what would make them happiest in life, a large majority would most likely give answers like: “Spending more time with my kids”, “Having more free time to go out with friends”, “Getting the garden looking like I’ve always dreamed it would”, “Going out to camp, or fish, or travel”. These are the things that make our body, mind, and soul feel complete.

Strangely enough, the same people who gave these answers are the same ones that are working 24-7 to get the bigger house, more expensive car, and the bigger title. Which means they don’t have the time for their kids, friends, garden, camping, fishing, or traveling.

If you find that you too are stuck in this self-deceiving cycle, write down the things that would truly make you happy and post them someplace that you will see them constantly as a daily reminder to what really counts in your life. Start living true to your inner guidance for happiness.

Take control of your life

“The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”
— John F. Kennedy, (1917 - 1963)

Take control of your life by finding exactly what you are passionate about and living it in excellence right this very moment. When we allow ourselves to live each day to its fullest, our appreciation and gratitude for life increases.

Find the joy in the moments of life and have passion for what you do every day. This is our only opportunity to live today and express ourselves to our fullest potential.

Don’t keep waiting, wondering, and wishing. Your life is in your hands. What do you want to do with it?

Simply pick one thing

“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.

Thinking beyond our daily circumstances

“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.

On the path of self-discovery

“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.”
— Thomas Szasz

I’ve been reading and studying the best ways to improve my life, to live to my highest potential. So how have I been doing? Honestly? It’s still a challenge. There are still many things that I am constantly having to reread, remind, rework, and redo. Some days I am flying high and I am certain that nothing can slow me down and then, wham! Someone pushes an old “hot button” on me and I lose the balance and insight that have kept me on track.

However, I know that it is ok. I’m still doing well overall. I know that I am on a path of learning and self-discovery and part of that learning and discovery is finding out what still needs work.

Believe in yourself even when you may slip off the path for a moment. Put all that you have learned into practice again and bring it to life through your days. Every moment, even the off ones, are moments to learn and grow and create your life.

Another level of compassion

“The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands.”
— Arthur H. Stainback

When we think of being compassionate, it often relates to people that we already care about or situations we can understand through personal experience. Perhaps we also can extend compassion for those we see suffering in ways we have never known personally, but we feel they don’t deserve it.

But what about compassion for those we don’t like. Or for things we think are inherently “bad”? Do they not deserve compassion as well? If we hear a little voice saying things like, “They deserved it anyway”; Or “She wasn’t a nice person, so she brought it on herself”; take a step back and see if you can find a new angle on the situation.

Compassion comes also from finding value in things that we may judge or criticize as bad and accepting them for that newly found value. There is something good in all people and all things. That is part of the balance of the universe. Compassion does not mean condoning “bad” things. It means accepting and understanding that there is good in there as well.

How do I react to life?

“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”
— Mary Engelbreit

As I progress through my journey of life, I am coming to a big realization about a small thing — life is very much about our attitudes. Happiness, misery, strength, weakness are all about attitude. The funny part is they all require more or less the same amount of work on our part and we actually have the power to determine everyday which way it will go.

I have even heard some people state that life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we react to it all. That would mean it is vital to be in control of our attitudes and our choices that we make. How we see a certain situation or person depends on what we look for in it or them. Seek out the positive and you will find it. If you don’t like what you see, then change the way you look at it or think about it.

In-house pick-me-up

“The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”
— Marilyn Ferguson

What do you do to get your spring inspiration in gear? How about an in-house pick-me up to keep things fresh and moving? Between my daughter’s closet purging to rearranging our living room furniture, a little change in routine was just the trick to get our heads on track for new, fresh ideas.

If you find you are lagging in motivation or energy these days, it doesn’t have to mean big change to get your spirits in gear once again. I find that it’s even easier to make the necessary attitude shifts when I begin with little changes in my surroundings. Reorganize the layout of your bedroom. De-clutter your workspace. Bring in some fresh cut flowers.

These minor changes sometimes can have enormous effects on the flow of energy in your house and in your life. And it may be all you need to kick-start the change of attitude needed to make the bigger changes in your life unfold.

Maintaining Real Life Balance

“You lose your balance when you say, ‘I will not accept what is happening to me.’”
— Marilyn Eileen Charlton, Life on the Causal Plain, A Glimpse of Heven

You lose your own intuitive guidance when you don’t accept what is happening to you in your life. The main goal for change is to become balanced again. In the simplest terms we are all striving for balance in our lives. However, this balance actually comes by going with the flow of life and accepting even the times that are not as easy to understand or to accept.

Life is not simply a predetermined destination. It is the journey that we are on every day. There may be unexpected curves and turns in the road we are on. We may encounter low valleys and high mountains. However, with each step we take on this journey, we are shaping who we are and who we will become. And with this adventurous path, every day, we will discover the best in ourselves — if we accept what happens to us along the way.

Staying in the game

“You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.”
— Marian Wright Edelman

When I attended a seminar a couple of years ago (Millionaire Mind Intensive), I learned a very valuable lesson that I didn’t even realize I needed to learn. It was about staying in the game. Not taking myself out before I even gave something a go (thanks to that little voice in my head coming up with all the reasons I shouldn’t do something). Before that moment, I didn’t know that I did this. I had to admit though, once the concept was presented to me, that I did indeed, at times, take myself out of the game before I even started playing.

For example, have you ever really wanted to do something you had never tried before, but chickened out even before giving it a real effort? Perhaps a dream job that you don’t apply for because “they wouldn’t hire you anyway” (your ego calling out to keep you safe). Or that solo in the church choir they are auditioning for — “they always use the same person for the solos so why bother”. Perhaps they always use the same person because no one else bothers to even show up to audition?!

Stay in the game. Maybe you won’t win all the time. But that’s OK. Just don’t take yourself out before “the tribe has spoken” (for all you Survivor fans). As the cliché goes, “You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.”

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