Focus On The Possibilities

Who agrees that worry is an absolute waste of time?  I love the quote by Erma Bombeck …. “Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere.”  Can we agree this statement has merit?

How many times do you allow yourself to worry over circumstances you have absolutely NO control over?  I’m guilty of it and I am sick of wasting precious time on something that 9 times out of 10…NEVER happens!!  In reality all this energy I’m expending on a situation that I’m creating in my mind, never comes to fruition!

God forbid a situation would really arise that would require my immediate attention. I’d be so depleted of the energy required to handle it (because I’ve exhausted myself on needless day to day worries) what good would I be for anyone? I’ll answer that…NONE! Worry is exhausting and causes undo stress. Let’s face it, it steals the joy out of your day. It’s crippling and debilitating….it’s the devil in true form!  Next time you start to worry about a problem ask yourself … can I solve it?  If so, great … work on it and fix it! If on the other hand it is a “what if ” situation, for example “what if I lose my job” etc.,  that falls in the “waste of time” category and uses up way too much effort.

We really need to keep in mind that life is too short and we need to enjoy our time here on earth to the fullest.

Have you ever looked in a mirror and repeated the words “I Love Myself Unconditionally”?  My bet is the answer is NO for the majority of you.  Or, perhaps like myself, you have said it a few times but a taunting memory of your past appears and you convince yourself that you are not worthy to repeat those words .

Why not love yourself?  Is it something in your past that makes you feel unworthy? If so, I am here to tell you … you need to let it go.  This nonsense has to stop because the truth is, if you have trouble loving yourself….how do you expect others to love you?   Nothing deters us more from moving forward, if we cannot free ourselves of our past mistakes and nothing good comes out of not forgiving yourself.  Everyone makes mistakes and after all … we are human …. right?

Be gentle with yourself… “forgiveness holds the key to freedom” …. whether or not you believe this, it is true. I have read that if you repeat something for 21 days it becomes habit forming. So today I challenge you to get your mirror out ….look yourself straight in the eyes and repeat…I LOVE MYSELF UNCONDITIONALLY.  This doesn’t cost you a dime to do, so why not give it a try?

If you can generate a little self esteem from this affirmation…isn’t that a step in the right direction… I would say YES! Also, remind yourself often ….YOU ARE worthy of loving you! ♥

Sometimes do you just feel stuck and aren’t certain which direction to go? Do you ever ask yourself why you can’t get out of a situation that you know longer want to be in?   I know I have and it’s not a good feeling.  I realize there are many circumstances that must be taken into consideration before we can make any changes to our lives but if we want to go for the “Pot of Gold”…we can’t let anything get in our way.

We are only on this earth for a period of time, shouldn’t we enjoy it?  Why be unhappy and glum, this just doesn’t make any sense to me.  If we continue to allow our doubts and fears to take over our lives and keep us trapped in a lifestyle that makes us miserable …. we have no one to blame but ourselves.

We all have choices and I know some might be harder than others but take a moment to vision what it would feel like to be living the life you always dreamed of living…if feels good…right?  That feeling is the motivation that will keep you focused on your dream. Anytime you think change is too difficult, bring yourself back to that vision and don’t allow yourself  to give up!  Remember only YOU can make it happen.

Do you have dreams that you feel will never be attainable?  I look around at people everyday that do not seem happy.  I wonder to myself if it is our society today or if it is just life in general.  Life can become difficult but its up to each and everyone of us to create the life we want to live.  The key I think is to have goals.  Without goals you truly don’t  have anything to motivate yourself.

One thing I do and would recommend is to create a “vision” board.  Put everything you want to happen in your life on this board, find pictures, words and affirmations that will help you to stay focused on your goals and post them to your board. After completing your vision board, place it somewhere in your home where you can see it everyday.  You truly have to BELIEVE in this concept before it will ever work and the more you focus on these goals and focus on how you want your life to be….your dreams will appear before you know it!

Keep in mind, in order to achieve anything it will require belief in yourself, vision, hard work, dedication and most importantly FAITH and remember…. all DREAMS are possible for those who BELIEVE.

Example of a Vision board:

How many times during a day do you feel like you want to just throw in the towel?  I am certain we all can agree life isn’t easy but I think we can also agree that these problems don’t stick around forever.  So the question has to be asked….is the “struggle” worth getting sick over??? Our health and well being need to always remain a priority, even though it may be hard to focus on yourself during difficult times.

I am the type of person who has to stay busy constantly, especially when I am going through a rough patch.  Although I realize this doesn’t work for everyone, this is the only way I know how to keep going.  There have been times in my life that I would completely shut-down.  It took me days to get back on my feet but I refused to quit.  At one point, I did reach out to my doctor and unfortunately the only solution he gave me was a bag full of “happy” pills that (in his opinion) I would most likely need to take the rest of my life!  I am not making judgement in anyway here, because I do understand there are many situations where these prescriptions are necessary…. but they weren’t for me.

My two stress relievers are Yoga and Walking and I try to incorporate them into my daily routine each day.   I found this article with 23  additional ideas that will also help to reduce stress.  http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/stressrelievers.htm.

Lets face it, what is the alternative if we don’t take care of ourselves?  I think we all know the answer to that question and the outcome is never a good one.

I am creating this blog for those of you who may need an extra special lift in your life to motivate you on a daily basis.  Every day I come across someone who is either having a bad day due to relationships, work, money problems, health issues or just life in general. I’ve been through it all, bad relationships…loss of employment…single parenting a husband who has Parkinson and now student loan debt and I still maintain a positive outlook.  I know you can rise above it all too…. if you just have faith and believe.

This philosophy is hard for most people to relate to and unfortunately it is easier for them to just give up.  I have to be honest, there were moments when I thought that way also but then something changed.  I began reading self-help books and one book in particular suggested that I start writing down the things I was grateful for.  I know there are a lot of people who do not believe in this practice but I am telling you it works!  When you focus on the negative…more negativity will appear. You need to reprogram your mind and focus on all the positive things going on in your life.  I am not promising your problems will all disappear but with the right mindset, you’ll be able to focus on solutions to those problems in ways you couldn’t before.

I challenge you to give it a try, today writing down one (1) thing you are grateful for and everyday after that build on that list.  Keep your list visible and glance at it periodically throughout the day…I promise you, your attitude towards life will begin to change in ways you won’t believe! Mine did and I can’t wait to share with you some of my experiences that took place in my life just by “programming” my thoughts and outlook on life.