Got Problems?

What is the best way to fix a problem?  Would you believe that it is maybe to not to fix the problem?  The best way to move forward could very well be to render the problem irrelevant. How often have you realized that the best solution to the problem has nothing to do with the problem itself.  Often, our way forward is clouded by our perspective of the problem.  

Refuse to focus intently on the problem at hand so that you end up ignoring the overall picture. Your life is filled with abundant resources, and you can utilize them in an endless number of creative ways.

I challenge you to get out of the problem and into the realm of your most positive possibilities. Start to visualize yourself not as fixing what’s wrong but as creating something new and valuable.  The choice is yours.  You always have the opportunity to move your life forward. Strive to connect with your purpose, and remind yourself of what’s most meaningful to you.

Choose today that instead of being a victim of this or that, instead of getting mired in the problem, you will get inspired by the possibilities. If you choose to take a healthy dose of determination from the problem, you will find that your problems get left far behind.

Alive in the Gift of Today

Today is a gift that you’ve never had before. I challenge you to jump in and explore the exquisite treasure that is right now at your feet.  I challenge you to give for the sake of giving. I challenge you to love for the sake of loving.  I challenge you to live for the sake of living. It is great to be alive today.  Use every moment of it to learn just because you can.

Refuse to fill the future with ambiguous motives or any imagined fears. Choose instead today to fill the moment you’re in with the extraordinary richness of ordinary life.

Remember this day is a gift that you’ve never had before. Cherish each moment because you are alive in this gift.  

Life is beautiful.  Yet life’s beauty appears at exactly the place where you choose to see it. So why not choose to see the beauty and value of whatever situation you find yourself experiencing.  Chose today to listen to the part of you that resonates with life’s true and never ending goodness. You will find yourself able to experience again and again, in a new way each time, what it means to be alive.

YOU...

Every day you have a choice to make.  Will things happen to you or will things happen through you? It's all in your perspective. If you see things as happening to you, it is reinforcing the conviction that you have little or no control over your own life.

However, if you see things as happening through you, it means you operate from a far more powerful and effective position. Though it is unfair that you would be expected to assume responsibility for every aspect of your life, it is nonetheless the very best strategy for filling that life with richness and meaning.

You have no control over the many circumstances and events surrounding you. But, when you’re able to consider those things as happening through you, as being under your own responsibility, then they will work in your favor.

There is a world of abundance surrounding you, if only you will step up and claim it. Choose today to make life happen through you rather than letting it happen to you. You will discover that tt will make all the difference in the world.

Pretending is Beneficial....

As a child, we loved to play pretend.  At the time, we didn't understand that there was significance in it.  The exercise of pretending compels the actions which bring about the reality of actually being who you’re pretending to be.

Just think that all time we spent as children loving to play pretend.  We had no idea that in the process we were learning how to play for real. Pretending is a wonderful learning and development tool, no matter your age. So if you’re having trouble getting yourself to act in a particular way, try to pretend it first. Eventually, the pretending will give way to reality.

You have the opportunity to portray yourself how you want to be every day.  In the way you carry yourself, in the way you talk, your confidence level, the time you arrive at work, the intensity and commitment with which you follow up, in the people you associate with, the clothes you wear, what you read, your willingness to do whatever it takes, all these things can be portrayed the way you want to be.

You will find that in the process of truly pretending to be the person you want to become, you will start to take the necessary actions and develop the essential attitude that will in fact propel you toward being that person. So go ahead, pretend, and soon you’ll no longer be pretending.

Your Integrity...

Integrity is defined as a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, and morals.  Integrity can work for you or against you.  Anything that stands in the way of your integrity will eventually bring you down.  Integrity not only speaks for you but to you.  If you feel that something isn’t right, there’s a reason for that feeling -- it’s because it isn’t right.

When you act against what you know to be true, what you know to be right, there is nothing of value to be gained. When you act against your own integrity, you are doing an injustice to yourself.

If you seek to cheat others, you end up cheating yourself. There is nothing that you take away from someone else can ever be of any lasting value to you. True value and richness come from authentically being yourself and giving of yourself. The more you give of your love, effort, time, attention, and creativity, the more real and fulfilling abundance you’ll experience.

Refuse to withhold yourself from life.  You will find it only holds you back from really living. It’s truly great to be who you are, so do it with zest and integrity. Refuse to fight and argue over momentary pleasures.  You can be moving toward lasting fulfillment.  Whatever you choose will build your character, so choose not what is easiest or most expedient. Choose what is true, what is right, and you’ll be making the best choice for your life.  

Don't Judge....Understand

Imagine if you lived in a world in which there was nothing to annoy you. It is possible.  When?  When you let go of the constant need to judge, you will see that the annoyances drop quickly away.  Now don't get me wrong, your ability to make judgments can serve you well. But it can also cause a lot of needless trouble, anxiety, and pain.

Today, in this moment, I challenge you to stop making judgments about the things that don’t matter. Free yourself to focus on the things that do.

It may take some effort, but you can replace judgment with understanding. If you seek to understand others, you will find that you will be far better understood.

Certainly there will be times when a judgment is necessary and appropriate. You will find that in these times, your judgment will be much more powerful and effective because you haven’t wasted it on things that don’t matter.

Choose today to use your judgment wisely, if at all.  Choosing to be understanding will serve you so much better.

Live in the Moment...

Today I challenge you to live in the moment.  Refuse to give in to the temptation to push the fast forward button, to skip ahead to the next page before you’ve read the one you’re on. Don't get caught up in the mentality that jumping ahead will somehow make things better, or easier, or more exciting. 

The true beauty and joy of life comes in living through it. If you try to skip ahead or jump back, you are only cheating yourself out of the magnificent now, the opportunity to live in this moment.

Choose to live life as it comes. Each moment at a time, live it to the fullest. String them together, one after the other. Take the time to listen to the whole symphony from beginning to end, and savor each passage. Take the time to watch the shadows change as the sun rises in the east and works its way across the sky each day. Take the time to feel the wind against your face.

Live in the moment.  Take the time to listen, to know, and to love those around you. Each moment is a beautiful gift.  Take the time to savor all of creation and the awareness that you have of it. Take the time to live in the moment.

Be Positive...

Is there a way to be and remain positive?  A great way to start is to focus.  You need to find something positive toward which you can direct your thoughts at a moment’s notice. That way, when you catch yourself falling into negative thought patterns you can quickly switch your thoughts somewhere else.

Strive to create a habit, at the beginning of each day, to find something new to appreciate about yourself, your life, or your world. That way, any time you felt yourself being drawn into negative, destructive thinking, you can immediately put your focus on that day’s object of appreciation and gratitude.  Something that simple can have such a large impact on your day.

Genuine, heartfelt gratitude can have a powerful positive influence on every aspect of your life. It will be an effective counterbalance to all the negativity the world throws your way.

Think right now of something for which you can be truly grateful. Then, the next time you feel yourself being drawn into anger, frustration, spite, envy or despair, shift your focus instead to your ready-made gratitude.

Keep yourself genuinely and realistically positive with sincere gratitude. And each day will bring even more reasons to be thankful, to be positive.

Look and Find...

What exactly are you looking for today?  Whatever it is, you are most likely to find it. Your attention is naturally drawn toward and flavored by whatever you expect to see.

When you look for reasons to be dismayed, you will find plenty of them. If, instead, you look for reasons to be hopeful and enthusiastic, those are the things that you’ll find. When you’re on the lookout for things that offend you and things to complain about, you’ll see them everywhere. If, however, you look to find things for which you can be truly thankful and appreciative, that is what you’ll find.  

So ask yourself, are you looking for excuses to fail or are you looking for reasons to succeed? Are you looking to just get through the day or are you looking to fill each moment with real value?

Whatever you are looking for today, you will find.  Choose to look for excellence, for truth, for value, for the best, and that is surely what you will find.

Lesson of Consequences

Everything you do has a consequence, and every consequence has a lesson to be learned.  Life's consequences are superb teachers. You will find that the lessons touch you profoundly and will stay with you for life.

Many of the concepts you come across are quickly forgotten. However, the consequences you experience, the things you go through, are nearly impossible to forget.  Why?  Because experience is the best teacher.

It is through your consequences that you learn what works and what doesn’t work, what’s important and why it is important.

Consequences are memorable be they painful or joyful. Not only do you remember the consequences, you also remember how you got to those consequences.  You recall what specific thoughts and actions brought you to them.

The great thing about life is that you have the magnificent ability to make things happen, to create your own consequences. The more you learn from the experience of your consequences, the more reliably you’re able to create the precise outcomes you desire.

Remember that everything you do has a consequence, and every consequence has a lesson. Choose today to learn well, and create all the best you can envision.

The Best Reward...

Each moment you live with kindness, respect and consideration you grow stronger and your world grows more positive. No act of kindness, respect or consideration ever goes unrewarded. People may not ever notice most of the kind and considerate things you do, though your respect may not be returned, still you have your reward.

When you give quietly to life, you will make it better. All of your small and seemingly insignificant acts may not seem like much. But when you put them together they tend to make your world a more positive place.

Your kind words and deeds may seem to not be appreciated when they are offered. But, they will have their impact. Don't be discouraged. Keep them up. The less they are appreciated, the more they are needed. Take heart. You are making a positive difference. You are making the world in which you live a better place.  

It takes real, deep and genuine strength to be kind. It takes confidence to be respectful and considerate. Spite, anger and thoughtlessness are evidence of weakness, and they serve as a constant drain on those who live with them.  Don't let that be you.

Remember, each moment you live with kindness, respect and consideration you grow stronger and your world grows more positive. That in itself is the best reward for you.

The Sum of Your Choices...

Today has arrived.  You know that it is the way it is because of what happened in the days before. Every thought and every action has a consequence, and today is the sum total of all those consequences.

This moment right now is completely as it should be. If there were no consequences, then you would be completely ineffective. Though sometimes those consequences seem difficult and even unbearable, they are infinitely preferable to the alternative.

In your consequences reside all of life’s possibilities. If you choose to take action, it will produce a result. Every accomplishment is based on, and every dream depends on this mechanism.

Sometimes the connection is unclear. But regardless, that connection is there. Sometimes the necessary actions fail to get taken, and undesirable consequences will be the result. Yet even in such failure is the possibility of success, because as soon as the actions are adjusted the consequences improve.

Remember, you are blessed with the inevitability of consequences -- your thoughts and actions cannot fail to produce them. However, you can choose to use every opportunity to ensure that you get the ones you want by the actions you choose today.