As an elderly person with all those years of experience judgement becomes understanding and forgiveness.  It would be comparable to the way we look upon our children, trying to teach them a better way or guiding them into finding a better way themselves.  So when faced with trying times, think about ´loving like you´re 70´; it could just make all the difference in helping someone else and in turn saving yourself a lot of anguish.

“The buck stops here”

This phrase originated with poker to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a person didn’t want to deal, he would pass the buck, a marker such as a knife with a buckhorn handle, to the next player.

Since President Truman, this phrase has come to mean accepting responsibility. As President, this meant accepting responsibility for everything within the Federal government.

One of my best traits has always been the ability to get things done. Regardless of the situation, whether it was at work or a personal matter, I knew that as long as I was in the right, by going up the management chain someone would listen, take responsibility, and then do the right thing.

Unfortunately, that is a thing of the past. Try going up the management chain today and see where that gets you.

The problem now is that almost everyone passes the buck. Corporate leaders, whose company is caught in a scandal, plead ignorance, passing the buck to subordinates. If profits aren’t high enough, they pass the buck to customers and workers.  Killers pass the buck to their parents. Criminals pass the buck to society. Adults pass the buck to their parents. Even Washington has joined the bandwagon. The president passes the buck to congress and to the other party. Congress passes the buck to the white house. All of them pass the buck to somebody else, when things are bad, yet take all of the credit for anything good which has happened.

The majority of people pass the buck when things go bad, but take it back when things improve. Many actually proclaim the ‘buck stops with them’, but make it impossible to find or reach them in order to give them the buck. One can send a letter to the White House or the corporate headquarters of many corporations addressed to the President, but the letter would be screened by so many people that the likelihood of the President actually seeing the letter are very slim. That is unless the letter was overflowing with praise.

As a result, there is no empathy from those around. There is no motivation for anyone to do what’s right, especially knowing they’ll get blamed if something bad happens, and that someone else will get the credit for anything good.

Many of us are exactly the same way. We continually pass the buck. When things go bad, we think to ourselves “It was David’s fault I got laid off.” “It was Susan’s fault Jim left me.” “It’s my partner’s fault that I’m not happy, or broke, or depressed.”

If we want others to take us seriously, to have empathy for what happens to us, we have to begin accepting responsibility for our lives. If we want to be happy and not worry what others are thinking, we have to take responsibility not just for ourselves, but for what happens to us.

If you want to be able to live with yourself, you have to take complete responsibility for your life. This also means that you have to be reachable, that someone can reach your heart and your mind.  It means that you don’t ‘yes’ people, but actually listen to what they’re saying.

We don’t hesitate to take credit when something good happens. When things don’t go our way, we have to take responsibility for it. By taking responsibility, we’re acknowledging that it’s within our power to make it right.

Always remember, no matter what everyone else is saying or doing, when it comes to you and your life, the buck stops with you! Don’t just say it, but live it!

Taking responsibility for everything that happens to you is an awesome idea. If you want to improve your Self, you must blame yourself for more of the bad things that happen to you. “Doesn’t that go against everything I have ever learned about improving myself?” you might ask. Well, let me tell you how I came to that conclusion.

Earlier this month I took one of those life-sustaining winter vacations out of cold New York and into the tropics. My destination was Oahu, Hawaii, where I was set to attend the Wanderlust Festival of music and Yoga, which was co-founded by my teacher Schuyler Grant. I also got a chance to catch up with my other teacher and mentor, Baron Baptiste.

It was when I was relaxing on the beach during some down time that I finally, really, noticed the ocean. Pulsating and vibrant like a community, it went from being a really large amount of salty water to millions of unique waves who just happened to be traveling with one another. Some were bigger and took up more space, but there weren’t any quarrels or wars. They were at peace – and so much peace is abundant in the ocean – so much, you can choose to take as much as you want with you.

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
-Lao Tzu

This meditation on the sea had a dissolving effect on the accumulated tightness in my muscles and my mind. Is everybody on the beach enjoying this as much as I am? I wondered. I realized my perspective is unique only to me and it is always within my power to change perspective – so in a sense, it was possible to take responsibility for everything I witness. If I “blamed” myself, then I could fix myself. A little spiritual algebra.

If you are in a relationship and there are things that are not working in that relationship, whether it be a romantic relationship or a friend, whatever it is, you can assume responsibility for the situation, even if it is not your “fault.” The real reason these things are happening is me…an unlikely mantra but one to consider.

As a welcome byproduct, you will find yourself inspired to go about things differently. You will put yourself in charge of your life instead of doing a lot of blaming and claiming. Your intuition will guide you to the things that make you feel good and and if something or someone bothers you, you will have a safe and speedy way of processing it.

And now you see how blaming yourself for everything that happens to you can be a perfectly healthy thing to do.

Denise K. Bonnaig, Esq.
Authentique Coaching
(212) 374-1511
dkbonnaig@gmail.com

In this video, Deepak Chopra spells out the key in solving our perceived problems; feeling seperate and living from a ´contracted state of awareness´ creates fears and problems.

Feeling connected, at one with other people and the world, creates peace and solutions in your life.

Check this out:

George Bernard Shaw
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them

What is it you are looking for? Most people would say that our journey here is to search for happiness.  If that´s so, then it is indeed searching for us too.  Whatever it is we are searching for, we attract into our lives.  Life creates a reflection of our desires – both positive and negative.  The more you desire and think about an idea, the more strength it has in manifesting.

Life gives back to us what we put into it and so what you seek is actually seeking you in the form of the Law of Attraction.

Be conscious and mindful of what you want because it will also be looking for you.

Invest in yourself!  By looking after no.1 you are actually looking after everyone else around you.  By being true to yourself and allowing yourself to be happy, you create more energy to spread the happiness around.  Your joy is contagious and will allow others to do the same for themselves.  Honour yourself and set the example.  If everyone was happy what a different planet we´d be living in.

Check out what happens in your life as you invest more time on yourself; click here.

Rejoice in who you are and your authenticity.

Appreciate what you have and your how your life is right now.

There is no competition and nothing to defend.  Inner peace means you are content with yourself and how your life is, knowing you have the capacity to change what ever you want,  including to decide to appreciate everything around you.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.  When you realise there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.  Lao Tzu

I’m going to tell you a couple of secrets to success in any business with two simple concepts: 1. You discover a want or need and fill it.  2.  You discover a problem and offer a solution.  If you aren’t doing one or both of these things, you’re not likely to have a business for long.

Herein lays your responsibility – to find out how or if what you are offering can meet one of these two requirements – determine how it is important to your customer and adequately communicate it to them.  I hope you see the power in this.  While nothing guarantees a “yes” response, you have increased your likelihood of success in combating this problem.  Again, your business isn’t failing because of them; you see where and how it now lies with you?  Perhaps you need to find a new approach in communicating with them.  Perhaps you need to get more training, work more with a mentor, develop better interviewing and listening skills; but in the end, it is up to you to change what isn’t working.   It isn’t important to them until you have successfully discovered why and how you can use your business to solve their specific problem or fill their specific need and have adequately communicated that to them.

Also follow my “Path to Empowerment” blog:  http://socialmediabar.com/pathtoempowerment

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The law of the universe dictates that there are no empty spaces.

Feel secure in knowing that if anything disappears from your life there is always something in the wings ready to take it´s place.  Relax and enjoy the ride.  Realise that it´s not all down to you to force things to happen and that nature too has it´s active role.   The universe is an abundant force ready to supply you with whatever makes you happy.  Just open up your thoughts, allow yourself to receive, and let nature do it´s thing.

People that practice responsible thinking examine how their actions or inactions affect every outcome in their lives and business.  So looking at the first example, “People don’t care about my products or opportunity.”  To a certain degree, this is true, as we all don’t care about the same things.  What’s important to you isn’t necessarily important to someone else.  That’s a fact as certain as the law of gravity but that’s not where this ends.  If you think that is your prevailing reason your business isn’t growing you start by asking yourself, “How am I responsible for that?”  Before you say you aren’t responsible for that, consider the things you can do to overcome that.  Ask yourself if you are truly listening to the people you are talking to and finding out what is important to them and showing them how your products, services or business opportunity can be important to them.

Let’s face it folks, it’s not about us!  This is business.  It might be your business but your prospects don’t care about your business.  When you lose sight of that, you’re missing the big picture, the key element to succeeding in business.  No one joins and stays with your business because of how important or how excited and motivated you are about what you do.  You need to listen carefully and write this down – if you can’t get people to see why your business is important to them, you’re completely wasting your time.  To get others to join you, you have to find the value in it for them.

[If you like me, then LIKE me.  If you SHARE me, may fortune smile upon you!]

Also follow my “Path to Empowerment” blog:  http://socialmediabar.com/pathtoempowerment

Sometimes I focus on my worry

Sometimes I focus on the bad, confusing, frustrating, sad issues in my life

Those feelings and emotions grow

and the bad stuff grows

When I shift my focus on my happiness

When I focus on the good, clear, exhilarating, successful, fun parts of my life

Those feelings and emotions grow

and the good stuff grows

Then I remember… Happiness is a choice

~~~

www.BeckyDue.com

Novels for women going forward in their lives.

I think one of the most important things we can do is to share our stories, to lift up others because we where once knocked down.  Lead by example and be the light of hope others are looking for.  That may seem impossible when you’re living in the dark, but I promise you that opened eyes will find that glimmer, that small flicker called hope, that will lead them out of the despair where all victims live.

So what does all of that have to do with your business?  Using the “I Create it All” concept in your business is no different than using it in other areas of your life.  It’s a powerful concept that separates the successful from those that only dream of success.  It works in all areas of your life.

If your business isn’t growing or perhaps it’s even moving in the wrong direction, try asking yourself how you created it.  Ask, “What did I do to create the state of my business?”  “What did I do that is causing my business to fail?” “What am I doing, or not doing, that is keeping my business from growing?”

You have to look at your actions or inaction, listen to your self-talk.  When you find yourself blaming other people or situations you are being a victim.  If you are saying things such as, “These people don’t care about my products or opportunity,” or “These leads never call me back when I leave them a message.” How about, “The economy is so bad no one wants to join my business”, or perhaps “My business builders aren’t doing anything and don’t want to work.”  All these things may be true but is that really why your business isn’t growing? As you can probably guess by now, these are victim excuses; these are powerless ways of thinking.  This is the kind of self-talk that drains your power, robs your energy, kills your creativity and causes 97% of people in this industry to fail.  So while their businesses manage to fail they manage to become professionals in the blame game.

Also follow my “Path to Empowerment” blog:  http://socialmediabar.com/pathtoempowerment

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making the ordinary extraordinary; ´trash´ portrait by Zac Freeman

You have the power to take something perfectly ordinary and mundane and transform it into the extraordinary. We may be the only species on earth with the imagination and capacity to do this, and then appreciate the beauty that we created.

And you don´t have to be an artist to do this. Everyone is born with an innate creativity. Simply having an idea that never existed before and making that real is being creative. If you have an imagination, you have the capacity to decide how you see the world around you.

You can make your world into a wondrous beauty and enjoy the delights it brings.

Three things cannot be long hidden, the sun, the moon and the truth. Buddha

The truth is a complicated subject.  Who really knows the truth and what is real? Take a look at a previous post of mine: Life is an illusion saying that reality is an iluusion and a subjective one.  But here in lies the key.  By speaking your own truth of what you believe to be real and honest, you step ever closer into knowing your own happiness.  So freedom, in this sense, equates to happiness; being able to express yourself openly and honestly without having to hide or pretend.  The chains of being attached to a version of you which is not authentic are broken free when speaking ´your truth´.   Having to act or give false appearances is lost and leaves you with an abundance of extra energy to focus on your true dreams and aspirations.  You start the quest in finding out what is in tune with your field of happiness, your version of truth, and your own freedom.  Truth is what is true to you, just as reality is what is real to you. Express your truth and you are on a sure path to that freedom.

Here´s a nice example where Ellen de Generes appeared on Oprah and ´came out´.

No one said it was easy. They just promised it would be worth it. Harvey MacKay

Appreciate the small things in life now and you´ll be ready and prepared to appreciate the big things for longer.

Verbal communication is only a portion of leadership.  Leadership is also about action.  As my friend Eric Kapitulik told me, “telling someone who’s not confident to be more confident doesn’t often work.  However, meeting them for extra practice until they actually do execute with more confidence does work.”

Not long ago, one of the teams I trained and coached lost a hard fought game.  In my judgment we lost because our opponents demonstrated greater will.  The loss was emotionally challenging.

One of the reasons the loss was hard was because our captains were doing a nice job leading through their determined style of play.  For the most part, the captains were also saying the right things in the right way at the right times.  However, I thought they needed to make the people around them better by doing more than playing harder and verbal cheerleading.

After sulking for an hour after I got home from the game, I e-mailed the senior captains.  I wrote, “If this season meant enough to you — you’d choose to get your team together and go in for extra practice tonight.  You would still have tomorrow off to physically recover.”

“If your team’s success meant enough to you, you’d tell your teammates to stay after practices this week to watch film or improve each others’ skills.”

“You’re both saying the right things and stepping up your play.  The problem is that some of your teammates aren’t demonstrating the committed preparation that you want.  That’s when you have to take action, back each other and lead with deeds and words.”

The outcome of my e-mail was that one of the team captains immediately wrote me back. She said she was getting her teammates together for extra work on the team’s day off.  We came up with a plan to keep the extra practice short so she and her teammates would still have recovery time.  We also agreed that the session would emphasize quality,  not quantity.  As an example, the captain ended up pushing her teammates to make the best 30 moves of their lives using demanding scenarios — instead of 3 hours of mindless quantity that wouldn’t challenge their abilities.

This is what I call great teamwork and excellent leadership through deeds and words.  Bravo C. Lauren!

It´s a completely different perspective to realise that we are masters of our universe and not victims of it.  Even the difficult times that you would never imagine you created, you indirectly orchestrated for your highest good.  Every difficulty is a lesson teaching you something about yourself and giving you the opportunity to learn ways of dealing with all kinds of situations.  You designed that difficulty in order to learn how to master it.  Each step takes you closer to becoming wiser and worldlier. However, your perspective is paramount at realising your full potential in a more peaceful manner.  By realising that you are responsible, you can decide how the story goes and how you choose to act rather than react.  We are not here to be punished but rather to learn and evolve; to become the best we possibly can.

Unfortunately all that affects life, which includes the family structure is effected by the rapid changes. We are grasping at the last vestiges of ‘normalcy’ as the crumbling of that concept reveals more nefarious intentions. Although media in the mainstream hides this truth, it just takes some ‘noodling’ around to uncover it.

Nothing is what it seems, like a sinister plot in some Hollywood film. I WELCOME YOUR suggestions on whether it would feel better to post the more irreverent  satire/cartoons on a new blog site and leave the more dignified topics to this one. The next cartoon is a dilly. Any preferences?

I am geared up for change as nothing is permanent but impermanence.

Remaining a victim, after years have passed, is really hard work, and there are no rewards.

It’s like being forced into a corner and being afraid to move,

afraid to live.

It’s as if you’ve handed your entire life over to a creep who only wanted to hurt you.

Knowing that you are the only one who can save yourself…

you gain the strength, ability and power to overcome…

Take your life back!

Take Care,

Rebecca (From Returning Injury: A Suspense Celebrating Women’s Strength… available for .99 and on Audible.com/BeckyDue or visit www.BeckyDue.com )

It is a prime example of adults not taking responsibility for their actions, and another lousy example for our children of adults behaving badly. Cover-ups, lies, blaming others, arrogance…it’s all there in spades. It’s also an example of abusing power, and the cost of giving people too much power and adultation; putting people on pedestals.

Opening up all the records and coming clean would be one way to teach our kids about integrity and owning up to our mistakes. No matter what the church does, use this as another teaching lesson for your children. Use it as a great conversation about life, integrity, consequences, etc.

And also use it as a conversation starter about the good and bad of organized religions. I like kids to have the opportunity to have open discussions about EVERYTHING, so have at it!

Honesty is vital to making effective changes and identifying who you really are and what you really want. When you lie about who you are or what you really believe, you reinforce the idea that you need to pretend to be someone else or that you are not fundamentally “good enough”. Worse you undermine virtually every other key principle for self improvement because they are based on the premise that you have identified your authentic self and your goals. This is impossible to achieve if you are denying or deceiving yourself. Without the truth of who you are and what you really want, you cannot have clarity in life and you cannot achieve your dreams because you have no true direction.

Many people use self-deception and denial as a way of avoiding having to deal with issues about themselves, their circumstances, people around them or events from the past. What they often don’t realize is that this locks them in to an ineffectual cycle of self-sabotage and poor self esteem that blocks their ability to move forward in their lives and prevents them living their dreams.

Being honest does not mean that you have to confront all of your demons at once, but it does require that you make an honest start at identifying where your issues lie and accepting what they are. By identifying your issues, you are more able to see past them to your authentic self. Once you have identified your authentic self, it is easier to determine what it is you really want. And then you can start to move forward, choosing to deal with issues or simply work around them until you feel ready to deal with them.

You need to practice honesty at every level of your life, not just with yourself. When you are dishonest, you are effectively saying that you are not worthy enough, that you do not deserve good things and that the only way to get things is to lie or cheat. It really does not matter what it is… lying, cheating, stealing to exaggerating what you have done to impress people, not correcting too much change accidently given to you, having an affair… at the most fundamental level these things are not honest and are a negative affirmation to the self.

In this modern world of marketing, spin and half truths maintaining honesty might be seen as a bit of a challenge! But in reality it is not, we always know at a fundamental level what is truly honest and if you are ever in doubt, simply reverse the scenario and put yourself in the others shoes… does it still feel honest? Being honest does require a high level of self-discipline and is often really difficult to do at first because we have all got so used to those little lies and pretences that seemed to make life simpler. But that impression is false, being honest actual simplifies life considerably and releases an enormous amount of life energy from propping up complex and often completely useless webs of lies and pretences, that can now be channeled into something you really want to do.

The good news is that with practice being honest gets a lot easier, especially when you realize that others start to identify your authenticity and their respect grows accordingly. Furthermore you will be considered a far more reliable and balanced person because everyone will know exactly where they are with you.

Finally I would like to remind you to be kind and to always bring your truth from a loving place. Too often I have seen truth used in other ways, used like a weapon, wielded self-righteously like a sword and causing misery and havoc to all around. If you have found your honesty and your truth, you will also have learnt many other spiritual tools to help you cope with some of the difficulties that arise when you confront it. Remember that many of those around you will not be equipped with these advantages, so tread carefully. Not lying is not the same as thrusting your truth on everyone around. Stay honest with yourself, be honest with others and always come from a loving place.

Taking Responsibility

This is a very important principle. As an adult, you are solely responsible for all the choices in your life. So many people look to blame others or circumstances for the things that are not right in their lives. This attitude is self-delusional; pretty much every long term situation that happens to us in adult life can be traced back to some decision or lack of decision made by us either at a conscious or subconscious level sometime in the past. Once we stop denying, blaming and whining and accept that we had our part to play in the circumstance, and then we are in a better position to move forward and to learn from our mistakes. 

What people often forget is that it is most often by our mistakes that we learn, if we deny our mistakes or fail to take responsibility we fail to learn and improve. And you know, it is often those who go out into life, make mistakes and try again that are the most interesting people. Every mistake, every catastrophy is a life experience, part of their life story. By getting out there, not being frightened of making mistakes, learning from each chapter of their lives, they grow in wisdom and as a person. We all want to avoid mistakes and do things well, but when things go wrong you should embrace the moment as an opportunity to learn and do better next time.

We must also recognize that we are responsible for the way we respond to people, actions, and events in our life. In fact in my view one of the key determinants of how we perform in life, is not defined by what actually happens to us, but rather how we respond to the events life puts in our way. If your relationships with others if not going well, you need to examine your own behavior. It is often the case that people you interact with will “mirror” your attitude at a subconscious level. So if you are angry or full of resentment, this may come across in your words or body language and you will receive an angry or resentful response. The reality is that if you had approached the situation in a positive and open frame of mind, the outcome would almost certainly have been considerably different, with a positive outcome.

You are responsible for your now. If you hold anger or resentment or hurt for people or events in the past, it is important to try to deal with this, read the section on forgiveness. Remember we often blame people from the past or hold resentment, but the reality is that they may well have done the best they could, given the limitations of their knowledge, background, and awareness. Life is a rich tapestry and sometimes the threads that run through it contain hurt and pain. Remember nothing is finished until it is done, do not let those threads define your whole picture, rather let them highlight the threads of joy and love that you can choose to weave into your life. You have a choice.

Failing to take responsibility.

The consequences for not taking responsibility can be very serious indeed and typically end-up defining your whole life. The typical indicators for failing to take responsibility are…

People Pleaser

   Dependent on others for recognition, approval, affirmation, and acceptance.
—   Angry, hostile or depressed

        Life treating you unfairly

         Fearful

         Unable to trust yourself to take a risk or make a decision

         Frightened of everything.

          Failing In relationships and the enterprises you take on in life.

          Emotionally or physically unhealthy

          Not supporting yourself.

          Addictive personality

          Escaping responsibility, looking for external answers.

          Over responsible and guilt ridden

           A need to rescue and enable others in your life,

           Having to feel needed.

           Unable to Trust

            Unable to trust or to feel secure with others.

             Resistant to vulnerability

             Fear of being vulnerable, often linked to past trauma.

Terms used to describe those who have not accepted personal responsibility?

Martyrs, self-pitying, depressed, losers, quitters, chronically angry, dependent personalities, complainers, addictive personalities, blamers, stubborn, persons in denial, troubled people, stuck, fearful, pessimists, despondent, mentally unstable, obstinate, hostile, aggressive, irresponsible, weak, guilt ridden, resistant to help, passive, irrational, insecure, neurotic, obsessed, lost

In order to accept personal responsibility you need to develop the ability to:

• Accept responsibility for your responses to the people, actions, and events in your life
• Accept that you are completely responsible for your own choices
• Be open to change, new ideas or concepts about life and the way life is.
• Get help from others
• Let go of fear and irrational beliefs
• Release anger, fear, blame, mistrust, and insecurity.
• Take some risks, be prepared to become vulnerable to change and growth in your life.
• Open Up.

Use positive affirmations

Self Care

If we are to be effective in the things we set out to do in life and in particular if you are embarking on a process of change, you need to be performing at your very best. To achieve this we must care for ourselves at all levels, ensuring that we receive the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual sustenance that we need and that as we expend our energies we allow ourselves time for renewal. Acts of self-care are acts of self-love and are essential to your wellbeing.

Do not skimp on this process; not only is it essential, it is one of the most enjoyable, worthwhile and fun aspects of life that we need to undertake, so don’t miss out on it!

Maintain Your Balance

Guard Your Boundaries

Your boundaries reflect what is or is not acceptable for you as an individual. They mark out the things that are important to you and how you expect to be treated by others. It is your responsibility to guard these boundaries carefully because they represent your authentic self and your life goals. You must be prepared to say “no” to requests or demands that cross those boundaries and demand treatment from others that is consistent with them.

Ask for Help

Life can be hectic and sometimes it seems that the only way forward is to do everything yourself! Learn to trust others, be open to assistance from others and ask for help. By doing so you demonstrate your trust and respect for that person and you give them an opportunity to demonstrate it back to you. By looking for and asking for help, you can enhance your relationships and reduce your “time stress”.

Have Fun

You know, inside each of us is a little child that just wants to play. I often wonder at what point in our journey to adulthood did we forget just how much fun playing is? If you have children… play with them, play with your partner or your friends… Laugh and have fun. True joy lies in these moments at last your inner-child and you get to play again as one. The benefits to your health, your emotions, and your whole physical wellbeing are truly enormous! If you find difficulty in achieving this, look for things that you love to do, look at things you’ve never dared to do and step out… go for it!

Express Yourself

Expressing yourself clearly and honestly is the key to maintaining good relations with others. Be warm; be kind, honest and where necessary firmly maintain your boundaries.

Listen

Always listen and be aware. Listen to your body, listen to your instincts, and listen to others. By listening, we become aware and even if at times we don’t agree with what we hear, we have an opportunity to prevent misunderstanding or problems before they become less manageable. By listening we have the possibility of learning so much!

Be Kind

Always be kind. Even if you have to enforce one of your boundaries do so kindly. Once you start operating from a loving place of the heart, this will occur naturally.

Show Your Appreciation

When people help you, or show some kindness; remember to say thank-you. By showing your appreciation, you not only reinforce such kind behavior, but your kind word will give them joy too! Give genuine compliments and share a smile!

Maintain Your Mental Health

Time to Relax

Take time to relax and unwind. Find something relaxing to do that you really enjoy and spoil yourself… you’re worth it! It doesn’t matter what it is, a bubble bath, a massage or just quietly reading a book, give yourself this important time. It is a gift to yourself and reinforces your own sense of self worth. Have fun!

Take Quiet Time

Whenever things are getting on top of you or you are feeling stresses, find somewhere quiet away form all noise and where you feel safe, secure and will not be disturbed. This is your thinking time, time to evaluate and access what’s been going on. It is a great time to meditate. Many of the key principles for success I have outlined require that you use this kind of moment to honestly evaluate yourself and events and to get in touch with your authentic self (inner-child). Very few of us take enough quiet time in our lives, often being too busy rushing around without taking the time to really consider where we are going or even if we really want to get there. Take quiet time for yourself.

Journaling

Journaling is where you write down the thoughts, feelings, ideas, events and other experiences that may have occurred in the day. Your journal is a safe place for you explore and clarify your life and priorities, enabling you to make choices and to take action based on those choices. It will give you a sense of direction, help you learn from mistakes of the past, and greatly reduce your stress level. More on journaling…

Look After Your Body!

Eat a good diet

Your diet is essential to your health, far more important in my view than is properly recognized by most societies today. If you want to perform well and to maintain yourself at peak fitness and health, you must take the time to eat well. Go for healthy nutritional foods avoid sugar and fatty foods. I do not generally advocate taking tablets for anything if you can help it, but taking vitamin tablets is one way of ensuring that you at least receive your minimum daily vitamin and mineral supplements ( do NOT use this as an excuse for not to eating good food).

Exercise Regularly

There is simply no getting away from this one! You must exercise every day if you can and exercise heavily every other day (out of breath – minimum 20 minutes) to maintain your peak mental and physical state. If you have not exercised recently, start slowly and always exercise within your own ability. If you have any kind of health issue, speak to your doctor about your plans and agree a suitable exercise regime between you. Exercise effectively dissipates physical and emotional stress; speeds up the metabolism, enhances the production of endorphins, and relieves muscular tension and basically leaves you feeling great! Even if your life or your choices do not permit you to commit to regular exercise periods, you must exercise. So find ways of naturally incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Be creative… Buy a pedometer and resolve to but 10,000 steps on it each day!

Get Plenty of Sleep

An adult normally requires between 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep allows the body time to heal, renew itself and to restore energy. Always try to get enough sleep and take a short nap (20 mins) if you need it to renew your energy in the daytime. To ensure a good sleep pattern avoid eating or exercising 2-3 hours before bedtime, never watch the news after 6.00pm if you can help it and spend a few minutes doing something quiet and relaxing before going to sleep; your journal perhaps or an inspiration book.

Drink Water

And lots of it, 2 liters a day of clean cool water! Tea, coffee, squash, juice, fizzy drinks…. none of these count! Water is a delicious and very refreshing drink and is fantastic for the body, helping to detoxify the body on a continuous basis. Try it; see how you feel after just 2-3 days.

Nurture Your Spirit

Do Your Affirmations

Keep up your affirmations; allow their positive messages to keep you inspired and moving forward.

Read Positive or Inspirational Material

Find positive books and other inspirational materials to read. They will provide continuous reinforcement and support for yourself and keep you feeling motivated.

Look around you. There are many people who struggle with life’s challenges and make horrible decisions. We witness their calamity and in most cases we walk on by. Jesus said in John 10:11, “I am the Good Shepherd!” He explained that he was different from those who help because they are looking to get something out of helping. Jesus helps because it’s his nature.

This being true, all who have been crucified with Christ have Christ living in them. This means that the life we now live in the flesh is a life of faith in the son of God who loved us and died for us (Gal. 2:20). So then, the Christ in me is a shepherd. And I need to take my part in the progression of the sheep. We have the ability in Christ to be game changers for some people. We know things, do things and have experienced things that would help others. A good shepherd searches for opportunities to do just that. And it’s easy to help people you know and care about. But what about the people who struggle that you don’t know? What kind of world would it be if we all took our “good shepherd” calling seriously? Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”

The Good Shepherd was willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Dear reader, Jesus is inviting all of his disciples to be shepherds and lead those less fortunate to a path of righteousness. He wants us to join him in loving and caring for all mankind. Now what are you willing to do?