The world has told you that the more you do the more productive you will be. Sadly, you then are more than willing to trade your valuable time and energy for the possibility of increased happiness and gratification from your life.

You fill your calendar and To-Do list with far more than you are capable of completing. You take great pride by staying in a perpetual motion and work hard to push through your life each and every day. Then, after you have worked yourself to complete exhaustion, feeling totally empty and unrewarded you ask yourself one of these questions: Why am I so unhappy? Why don’t I like what I am doing with my life? When will it get better?

Fortunately, you can change! It is possible to slow down. You can keep your focus. You are capable of prioritizing your life. All it takes is your decision to make better choices. You can start by saying “no” to all those things that just don’t matter. It is possible for you to be a participant in your own life, which will strengthen your overall productivity. Make a schedule for your life. Give yourself permission to take time off. But, most importantly, schedule yourself that necessary breathing room needed to enjoy every day, not just some days.

Start making a difference in your own life this week and enjoy the magic you create for yourself. Remember the steps below for success.

• Start by doing less – choose to identify the things in life that matter most to you. Then, do that!
• Participate in your own life – Be single-minded and focus on one thing at a time.
• Remember to create breathing room – schedule that free time on your calendar.

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

When you choose to carry a grudge it heavily weighs you down. Many times one small simple thought of how you were hurt in the past triggers a new physiological response that drags your energy level into a downward spiral. This can be very hard to overcome, or is it?

There is a way for you to free yourself from this unnecessary downward turn and continue to move forward for success. That solution is forgiveness.

Many times it can be difficult to turn over the proverbial new leaf so that it can be pruned and grow back new and refreshed. The first step it to let go of the incident that is causing you pain. It is in the past and cannot be changed. The anger, frustration, resentment, sadness and discontent that is weighing you down will be released when you make the conscious choice to forgive. Is it easy? Many times not. But I can tell you from my own life that when I choose to forgive I feel much, much better. Start today and see how freeing it is to release those negative thought patterns and just let go.

Here are five steps to freedom from pain:

• Start by recognizing the past pains that are holding you back.
• Then, write down each are where you benefit and suffer from hanging on to the negative thoughts that are causing you pain.
• Follow this by making the choice to let it go.
• Finally, write a positive commitment to replace those negative thought patterns with an action of forgiveness. Also, write the benefits you will receive when you forgive.
• Repeat as necessary for any people or events that are holding you back!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

Good or bad, we live in an achievement focused society. A world where success becomes so expected that our accomplishments many times get overlooked. We have been trained to set the bar high and then make sure we hit the mark time and time again.

One thing we have not learned to do as often as we should is to take the time to celebrate our successes, which means we lose out on the opportunity to boost our creativity, ride the energy and build confidence in what we do. While it is very important to recognize our successes most of the time we choose not to do so.

I am not talking about ego overkill, but instead a strong confidence that we generate within ourselves. We do not need to brag for others, but instead we simply need to make sure that we know what we have done is good. So…clear that high bar and then take the time to let your success sink in. After all, you deserve it!

Here is one simple solution. Make the choice to recognize your accomplishments – each and every day.

When you choose to recognize those achievements you will feel more satisfied, strengthen your motivation and build momentum. Take time today to make a difference in your own life.

• Start by capturing your daily achievements
• Make sure to write them down. I strongly believe in having a journal just to follow my accomplishments. When times seem tough, I can go back and look at all the things I have achieved.
• Then, and most importantly, recognize your success and take time to celebrate!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

One of the great purposes in life is to be alive, to grow and bring more of your natural and even sometimes unnatural gifts into the world. As a child, you naturally explored your world. You reached for more and developed new skills, new strengths. Some of those skills came naturally while others took more work to achieve. As an adult, you need to be more deliberate about growth.

You are actually equipped to keep growing. It is your natural state. That is why if you stay too long where it feels painless and comfortable you start to feel a little bored by your life. Here is a simple reminder to assist you in keeping inspired, eager and involved in life.

Be willing to work outside of your comfort zone and experience what more is out there for you. Then, look for ways to expand the boundaries in your life. One of the ways I do this is by working on my fear of heights. Whenever I have a chance to grow, one step at a time, I will take that chance. It might not be easy, but it is always rewarding. Last, you will need to teach yourself to live in the state of mind that will strengthen and stimulate you to keep growing. 

• Find areas where you have chosen to stop growing and recognize where you feel excited to broaden your horizons.
• Commit to develop those areas and make the time to invest in your growth.
• Next, make a list of actions you agree to take for your growth.
• Then, get started. Remember, YOU CAN DO IT!

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

re-posted from 11/18/2013

How many times has someone just told you to be yourself? For me, it seems infinite. The real question should be, how would you know if you are really becoming yourself?

When I ask myself that question, there are several questions that come to mind.

• How do I act when I am with the people who I am most comfortable with?
• Do I smile more often when I am with them?
• Do I laugh more when I choose to be around them?
• Do I choose to show them kindness even when I know they cannot or will not give me the same courtesy?
• When am I most comfortable? When I am by myself, with friends, with family or even with strangers?
• When I am with others, how do I feel?
  

Maybe you ask yourself these same questions.

I think my comfort zone is being around friends. I can be myself when I am with them. In fact, while my friends are always honest with me (even when it hurts) I almost always seem to have the same groups of feelings. I never feel inferior but I do feel at peace, a certain sense of stability. My friends never make me feel awkward or try to intimidate me, but instead show me love, kindness and always seem to put a smile on my face. Maybe, just maybe it is because I am choosing to be myself and do not feel like I have to react to them.

Most people give their inner critic far too much time. They brain spins over the errors, relives the past failures and focuses far too much on what “HAS NOT” been achieved. These self-destructing thoughts do nothing but empty our enthusiasm, dampen our attitudes and destroy our desire to self-motivate.

It is far more invigorating to focus on all that is beneficial in life. There are always things you can be thankful for in your life. By simply framing the experiences you find in your life you can greatly change everything. You live and you learn. You choose to look ahead with confidence, and you celebrate your achievements.

This is how you renew your attitude, increase your understanding and create new possibilities. Make it a DAILY routine to see the best in who you are.

• Acknowledge your improvement – each and every day
• Write down three areas that you have seen improvement
• Appreciate how you have grown and take notice of the changes your life shows

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!

Original Post Date 11/25/2013

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get things done when you feel inspired? In fact, studies have shown that when you feel inspired it is actually easier to see more clearly what can be done. It is the positive emotions, those that raise your courage, fuel the fires within and vastly increase your idea making.
Truth be told, the more you make the choice to actively build your excitement for life, the easier life tends to flow. This is one reason that it is so important to make positive inspiration an essential part of your daily routines.

Positive inspiration provides that surge of energy that helps you to focus and look inside yourself for those inspired thoughts and ideas. That positive inspiration literally breathes life into your vision, with a positive and enriching new energy. It not only connects you to what is possible, it helps to even the weight and allow for the thoughts to flow in a more “easy to handle” manner. Like with any life changing routine, the more you develop it the easier it is to find.

• Start today by making a list (make it thorough) of who and what inspires you.
• Re-read the list and see how you can make use of that positive inspiration. Take notes and write down any inspired thought that comes to mind, no matter how trivial you might think it is.
• Take action on one inspired thought at a time. Remember these are to be positive uplifting actions that benefit you and your internal psyche.
• Then, choose to make use of these positively inspired actions every day!
• Finally, watch the difference you make in your life and in others!!
  

Remember, life can ALWAYS BE BETTER!