What a wonderful mantra….sometimes it just takes a mind over body choice to change how we feel.
Photo from http://feel-infinite-with-me.tumblr.com/
Category: Bytes
Spring Cleaning…Leave When It’s Time to Go
Pursuing through the book store one afternoon I found a daily devotional type book and flipping through it found this entry. It was so good I wanted to pass it along.
There is such a truth to this concept of moving along in life. There are people that will come into your life, stay for a while and move along. Then there are those that will take up permanent residency in your heart. Take the time to identify who and what plays which type of role in your life. Some people are “for now” people, brought into your life to help you learn, to support you, to teach you, and learn from you. But they can often have an expiration date, and what we need to realize is that’s not a bad thing.
I love her concept of escorts. Some people in your life are escorts, they will come and they will go. Living a life that you create means respecting you time and investment, and that of others. Make sure that you are keeping those that enrich you, and that are open to being enriched in return.
So funny that I found this quote at this time. Just yesterday I was speaking with a few different girlfriends and we were talking about the pre-conceived idea that people in our lives WILL (or MUST) always be there forever and ever. People change, people grow. We have to give the freedom for those things in our own lives as well as the lives of others.
As you may be spring cleaning your house, your cars, your Facebook and your possessions take a few moments to spring clean life. Dust off those little shelves and back corners. You’re time is precious, your thoughts are truth and your energy is constrained. Assure that you’re investing these resources into the people, causes, thoughts and activities that enrich your life and allow you to do that same for them. Remember that it’s okay to say goodbye.
Book: Journey to the Heart
By: Melody Beattie
Leave When It’s Time to Go
It’s time to pick up, pack up, and leave.
You knew you wouldn’t be in this situation in this place with these people forever. Trust the rhythms and cycles of life. Take responsibility for yourself within each cycle. Take responsibility for yourself as each cycle ends and a new one begins.
You don’t have to hold onto messengers after they’ve delivered the message in your life, or escorts after they’ve taken you where you were trying to go. You don’t have to stay in a classroom after you’ve learned the lessons and finished that course.
Open your heart. Thank the people, places, and thing that have helped you create your world, shape you, form your experiences. Then pick up, pack up, and leave. Say good-bye with love and gratitude in your heart.
And go on down the road…
Do you Know yourself?
“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.”
— Abraham H. Maslow
Stop. Look. Listen.
Step back from life and be alert of situations around you. Be aware of yourself, your responses, your thoughts and perceptions. Learn about who you are. Change what you feel needs to change to make you a better person and help you become the person that you wish to be. Keep your eyes on the prize…you’ll get there!
What are you made of?
There are times that life just spins you around, flips you you upside down, then pushes you over seemingly just to show you who’s boss. Situations will happen that are completely unexpected and often uncomfortable. Sometimes our choices are the catalyst of these situations and other times, well that just how the hand is dealt.
While these times of adversity are often extremely uncomfortable and stressful, they provide an incredible potential to be building blocks of our character. A phrase I’ve come to really appreciate is, “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” I read this phrase, believe it or not, on the back of the bread we buy (which is INCREDIBLE bread; Dave’s Killer Bread. If you get a chance to read his story here, DO so!) That phrase cuts to the core of what adversity truly is; an introduction to what you’re made of.
Hard times WILL come, and the only thing that you can control is how you respond to the situation. Don’t waste your energy worrying about things out of your control. Take it one step at a time. Ask yourself, in this moment or new few moments, what can I control. You’ll find that the only answer is, “my response.”
I challenge you to change your mindset on adversity. Often we view hard situations as something we have to try to “live” through. Instead, take it as an opportunity to roll up your sleeves and take a good look at who you are and what you’re made of. Trust yourself to handle each situation as it arises and remember, it will all work out. Not usually as you planned…but sometimes that opens the door to opportunities you had never even imagined.
When you just feel overwhelmed and need a reminder, revert to this picture, posted at right. Own those words and remember that it WILL be okay. Things WILL work out, we just have to keep our chin up and take one day at a time. Rachel always knows JUST what to say to cheer us up and encourage us to face the day and kick it’s butt! You can read her inspiration on her blog, Daily Peptalk From a Best Friend. (Direct link to picture at right found here).
Positive Minds Live Positive Lives
I am continually amazed at how much power our mind holds. Sometimes changing your entire mood and outlook is really just deciding to making a mindful choice and willing yourself to feel differently.
Today, my mental outlook mirrors the color dominating Seattle today, grey. Just…simply grey. I’m finding myself with no energy, no drive, no real passion or goal that I’m chasing after today. While browsing the Fitness section on Pintrest (LOVING the site!) I saw this picture and it actually made me stop, re-read it twice and ponder how very true it is. I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you!!
This is SO true! Happy people act as such because they’re happy inside. Think of one person that makes you happy, or one person that when you think of them you smile because of their contagious laugh or positive mental outlook on life. Days, like emotions, come and go and some are harder to bear than others. But one thing remains true, YOU determine how you feel and thus, your mental outlook on life. Stop for a moment and take a mental check list of your passion, happiness and outlook on life. Are you living the life you desire? If not, what needs to change?
Make the choice to act the way you desire to act, even if you don’t feel like it right now, and you will naturally focus your energy on achieving it.
“I think, therefore I am” (Descartes )
If you need a little boost, check out the awesome site that the image above came from: http://positive-notes.tumblr.com/
You Are Not Carrie Bradshaw
Take a moment and read this GREAT post that a girlfriend passed along to me. Even though I have seen only one episode of Sex in the City (I know I know ladies, gasp away!) I am familiar with the story line and even more familiar with the true to life events and scenarios that Carrie faces during the show.
We all have mental struggles. We’ve all, at some point, created our own persona of who we “should” be, how we “should” act, and what job(s) and lifestyles that we “should” be living. (Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike the word “should”?) I’ve written a few letters like this to myself and have come to realize that when we battle ourselves in our own mind there is an unfair advantage of well, to put it physically, a syndrome similar to 1000 super charged psychotic bouncy balls in a confined space. Our mind is strong and plays tricks on us sometimes. But YOU ARE stronger!
Remember that YOU can choose WHO you want to be, how you respond and act, what you spend your time doing and how you spend your money resulting in a lifestyle of your choosing. Remember that you have the power to create what you desire, sometimes it just takes a little reminder like this. Sitting down and writing a letter like this out takes thought and commitment but it’s an investment in the most valuable thing you’ll ever own: your self-awareness.