Can a man, by worrying, add a day to his life?

“Every evening I turn my worries over to God.  He’s going to be up all night anyway” Mary C. Crowley

Have you ever seen the Traveler’s Insurance commercial where a dog takes his bone and tries to find a safe and worry-free place to place it?  He tries to bury it.  Then he places it in a safety deposit box.  That night he tosses back and forth worrying about the bone until he can’t take it anymore.  He then returns to the bank and takes it out.  Worry!

My mother used to always tell me not to worry about anything until you have something to worry about.  I love that!  So many of us allow ourselves to worry about things that have not even happened yet.

We start to build in our minds scenarios of what can possibly happen to us as a result of something that is going on around us. We think of the worst possible outcomes and then may even find ourselves unwittingly working towards making them happen.  Have you ever heard someone say, “I am a worry wart?”  It’s almost like they wear it like a badge of honor.

During one of my speeches I asked the attendees how many of them were filled with worry, anxiety and fear?  Several of them raised their hands.  I asked, “How is it working for you?”  They all started to laugh.  Laughter, that’s a good thing.  Laughing at things you cannot control takes some of the power and sting out of the situation.

The next time you are tempted to worry, think about giving the following a chance to help you overcome the temptation:

·         Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen?  Then develop a game plan so in the event the worst happens, you are prepared to face it head on.

·         Don’t sweat the small stuff!  Don’t let the small stuff be bigger than it is.

·         Fill your mind with positive thoughts!  Displace the negative with the positive.

·         Remember:  This too shall pass!  Whatever you are going through will not last forever.

·         Lastly, pray and read your Bible.  Filling your heart with God’s soul food will leave you full and satisfied.

Although life will never be completely worry free, remember, worry never solved a problem or added a day to your life. 

What side of the bed did you wake up on?

Each day we wake up faced with the choice of how we are going to embrace the day.
  
How you embrace the day may depend on the amount of sleep, and the quality of sleep you had during the night.  How many times has your alarm gone off and you hit the snooze button because you are not ready to get up?  The quality of the sleep you had can make a tremendous difference on how you see the day.

Have you ever heard the term “he/she woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”  How many days during the week do you wake up feeling crabby and out of sorts?  Although sleep may be ". . . little slices of death” (Edgar Allen Poe), all of us need sufficient sleep.

A good night’s sleep can energize you and open up your mind to creative thinking.  When I get good sleep, I feel like there is nothing I can’t accomplish.

Before you get out of bed, providing you did not oversleep, be grateful for waking up to see another day. While lying down, take time to get a good stretch.  Take a deep breath.  Take time to collect your thoughts.  Now get out of the bed.

One of the worst things you can do in my opinion is to jump out of the bed and rush out of the house before you can even think about your day.

Instead of waking up on the wrong side, try waking up on the right side, the choice is yours.  

Do you have an Attitude or an ATTITUDE?

When you think of attitude what goes through your mind?  How you answer the question can reveal a lot about your current state.  Would your answer reveal someone who appears to be happy all the time or maybe someone who walks around with a chip on their shoulder?  Obviously, one is positive and the other negative.

A positive attitude is more than walking around with a smile on your face or projecting an air of happiness, not that there is anything wrong with that as long as it is genuine.  I think a positive attitude is more than just being upbeat and appearing happy.  I believe there are other forms of a positive attitude that can be just as liberating and uplifting to the people we interact with in our lives.

 

Here are just a few of the positive attitudes that I embrace:

• An Attitude of Compassion – A desire to free those who are hurting and suffering.
• An Attitude of Gratitude – Appreciation and thankfulness expressed for the blessings we have received.
• An Attitude of Forgiveness – Acknowledging the hurt and the wrongs done to you, but being willing to forgive whether you are asked or not.
•  An Attitude of Service – Living life with your hands stretched out with palms down.  Giving, not receiving.

Attitude is everything.  It is important that you embrace an attitude that elevates your mind and heart, which positively impacts the lives of those you come in contact with.

My father in-law used to say to my son, “There are a lot of attitudes out there, now go pick a good one!” 

This Is Not a Rehearsal

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”

Wayne Dyer

This past week I met with a friend of mine that I haven't seen for a long time.  I asked him what's happening and he simply said, "Life is happening." 

It got me to thinking how many days in my life that I just let life happen to me. How many times do I go through the days and weeks with no real plan.  As I continue to mature as a person, I realize that there are no do-overs in life, this is not a rehearsal.  I also realize that I can change the course of my life by living it the way God intended me to. How? By serving others, my family, friends and the new people who come into my life.   

Life presents so many challenges, but it also presents just as many opportunities to accomplish great things, and to make a significant and positive impact in the lives of others.

If you want to live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful you can start today.  It is not too late!

Are you living life as though today could be your last day on earth?  

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

Worried about losing your home or your car?  Are you in jeopardy of losing your job?  Is the economy running you through the proverbial ringer?   If you’ve lost your job, do you feel like you will never get another one?  Has the loss of your job affected your marriage and relationships?

The economy is down and then we hear that things are turning around, but for many of us, we do not see it.  Fuel and food prices are still high!  We want to buy nourishing food, but all we can afford is the cheaper cuts of meat and canned vegetables.  Life for many of us is a struggle.  I hear so many people talk about how hopeless they feel.

It is incredible to me how much time and energy we spend fretting and worrying about things we cannot control.  The result is sleeplessness, anxiety, and overwhelming fear.

I know you don’t believe it now, but THIS TOO SHALL PASS!  It will not always be this way.  Many of the people who went through the Great Depression and the Great Recession of the early 70’s also experienced tremendous financial loss.  But, you know what?  It Passed!

The key to making it through these tough and trying times is staying focused on the fact that things will get better.   Armed with a positive attitude and laser- like focus on uncovering new opportunities, you can make it through this dark tunnel.  There is a light at the end.

Until then, take time to enjoy the simple things in life, like a cup of your favorite beverage, a book, or visiting family and friends.   I know this may sound overly simplified, but there are so many of us who, because of circumstances, forget to take the time to remember . . . THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

THERE IS POWER IN THE STILLNESS

Do you find the days, weeks, months and years flying by? I know I do. I cannot believe that the year is almost half over. Why, it seems that I just celebrated my 50th birthday, but that was almost 2 years ago.

Recently I heard about a woman whose life was so fast paced that on a hot summer day while running numerous errands, she jumped out of her car, leaving her toddler behind. Upon returning to her car she found her daughter’s lifeless body. I will never forget her saying, “How could a mother forget her child.” As she recalled the story she said that her life was full of busyness and she very seldom took time to slow down. It took losing her daughter for her to finally realize that she needed to reevaluate her priorities.

Although her story is not a common one, it does highlight how we can sometimes get caught up in the “To Do” of each day.

I believe we all need to get out of the noise, if only for a few minutes each day. We need to find a quiet place, which is just ours, a place of solitude. When you find that place, protect it from the noise of the world! I love to sit in my car in the morning to pray and read my Bible. It prepares me for the day.

Don’t let life consume you and dictate the pace if your life. Take time to reflect, reinvigorate and renew your mind and body.

There is power in the stillness!

What a Wonderful World This Would Be…

While sitting at Peets Coffee in Pleasant Hill, CA with my daughter, we engaged in a wonderful conversation with a woman.  She said she remembered my daughter because of her smile and her laughter.  While speaking with her she asked the question:  What if everyone smiled at someone they did not know?  And what if every day we focused on doing something nice for someone else?  We then started to discuss some of the ways we could make a difference in someone’s life in very simple ways:

Pay it forward – if someone does something nice for you, do something nice for someone else.

Open the door for someone – How many times have you held a door open for someone you didn’t know?

Buy someone a cup of coffee – While in line to buy a cup of coffee, someone bought my coffee for me.  It made my day!

Pay the toll for someone behind you – The woman we were speaking with said someone did it for her and the next day she did it for the car behind her.

Say hello to someone with authentic sentiment – A genuine heartfelt hello can be more than courteous, it can signal to the receiver that all is right with the world, if only for a few seconds.

Smile at the people you encounter no matter their response – There is a connection that happens between human beings that is hard to verbalize when someone smiles at another.  It can be a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

Let someone behind you in line go ahead of you – If you are in a grocery or bank line, try letting someone ahead of you.  They may fall over from shock.

Call a friend that you have not spoken to for awhile to say an encouraging word.

Say thank you -   Be gracious when someone does something kind, say thank you.

Give a Hug - Hug every member of your household before you leave or before they leave the house and tell them you love them.  Make it a habit!   

With all of the negative news and lack of civility in our world today, if each one of us extended some small courtesy, what a wonderful world this would be.