What Do You Believe?

I wonder why some find it so very hard to believe?  to have faith?

Is it because you HOPED something would happen and it didn't - so now it's all about self-protecting?  Maybe you've been hurt in the past? Maybe you like tangible things - proof? evidence? facts?  Maybe it's easier to be a cynic than a dreamer?  Safer to be 'practical' than to appear to be foolish by someone else's standards?

Maybe you're just scared... afraid of being disappointed?

Whatever the reason you simply don't dream anymore... maybe you were never taught to dream as a child? So you don't really know how.............

How about if we talk it through together?  Because a DREAM requires faith and belief -

1. What is FAITH?  Defn: strong or unshakable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence.  
2. BELIEF/VE?  Defn: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.
3. What is FEAR?  Defn: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. 

Isn't it interesting that 'fear' shows up PRIOR to anything actually happening?

So okay, let's start with something simple:  What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archeologist & an oceanographer.  I loved history and wanted to discover it firsthand.  I wanted to explore. [and this was before Indiana Jones ;) ] 

As a child, I was taught to BELIEVE I could do or be anything I wanted.  I was taught POSSIBILITIES...

Were you?  If you weren't, it's time.  It's time to ALLOW yourself the freedom to be wrong, the freedom to make a mistake(s), the freedom to be disappointed without being devastated, the freedom to be courageous.

See, everyone has fears.  Everyone feels afraid.  The difference is when you CHOOSE to believe YOU and YOUR DREAM is bigger and more important than your fear.  It means being afraid and making the choice to have faith ANYway.  It means BEING courageous in spite of, in the face of fear.

Your dream - your vision - is worth a little faith.  It is worth your belief in it.  YOU are worth that.

What do you believe in now?  Allow yourself to dream again.  Allow yourself to believe in your dream - whatever it is - because if you can't believe in your dream, who else will?  Make the one choice that requires no money, no investment whatsoever but is entirely FOR you.

- BELIEVE in You and Your Vision -

Speak your own Truth.
Dare to have Faith in your Dream.
Believe.  And don't apologize for making that choice.
Live Courageously...

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.        ACT.

Meet Nick...

Attitude is Altitude

A friend shared Nick Vujicic's video on Facebook. I was moved and amazed. 

He truly does remind us all of the unbelievable power we each possess to shape our own lives through the choices we make about a Vision for ourselves - who we are now & who we want to be.

Thank you, Nick.

Your willingness to laugh and challenge us all is a blessing...

Quote from Nick's website:  "With Nick Vujicic what you see is not what you get..."

Why we struggle...

The more people I talk with the more I hear different versions of virtually the same story.  So many right now feel overwhelmed, underpaid, lost, alone, tired, unhappy, angry, depressed... the list goes on and on.  And all those things are negatives.

What's going on?

Why - given that we live in the wealthiest nation on earth, the home of democracy, free enterprise, freedom of religion, the Bill of Rights, (again the list goes on and on) - WHY so negative?

Where is our joy?

...and maybe more importantly, WHY are we so afraid?

I've heard all sorts of explanations and justifications.  But it all still comes down to FEAR:  Afraid of losing my job; afraid of not finding another job; afraid of losing my home, my family; afraid of being a bad parent; afraid of never being a parent; afraid of letting people down; afraid of failing; afraid of moving... Afraid.  Afraid.  Afraid.

Fear.

We give FEAR so much power.  We let it steal our time, steal our joy.  We allow it to infuse us with worry and regret, sprinkle our thoughts with insecurity and doubt...

UNTIL we either erupt into a rage against our circumstances or dissolve into a puddle of non-functioning tears on our bathroom floor.  We turn to alcohol, prescription drugs, food - you name it; all in an attempt to dull the pain from the negativity rather than DEAL with it.

The thing is, the onslaught of emotions and flood of negative thoughts that run through our minds are not coming FROM us (from you).  NO, those words are all coming from Fear.  YOU are a powerful person, divinely created with every hair on your head numbered.  You ARE so much more than the negative thoughts say that you are... In fact, it is Fear's JOB to keep you down.  To bombard your mind - every waking and sleeping thought - with negatives to beat your will into submission through relentless exhaustion.

To force you to believe the lies of those negative brainwashing thoughts about yourself:  "You can't do that!" "You won't win, why bother trying?" "They are all against you." "You really are a failure - even your kids see it."  "S/he doesn't love you anymore - how could s/he love what you are now!" "Nobody understands..."

We see inequity everywhere.  Feel the injustices deep within our soul.  The hurt grows more and more each day...   Sound familiar?

The problem is that we have all seemingly forgotten this one simple truth:  The greatest battlefield is in our mind.

It is not the world around us or the other people in that world; no, the battle is within us.

The reason why we struggle is that we are all meant for something.  We are meant to fulfill some purpose - a Vision - and Fear is standing diametrically opposed to our success.  It prays on our hurts and escalates the circumstances around us to make us feel disrespected, misunderstood, and totally - wholly - completely ALONE.

The key then is to first RECOGNIZE what is happening and recognize the difference between your heart's voice and the voice of fear.  Yoda probably said it best when he was telling Luke to 'calm yourself, control your thoughts...when you are at peace, see things you will! Concentrate.......... 

See things you will, indeed.  BUT only when you are at peace:  To overcome fear, you have to put it in its place and see it for what IT is - not for what YOU are not... and you have to allow yourself a moment or two of peace.  Peace is not a feeling.  It is a state of being.

And in that respect, peace is a gift:  God grant me the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Choose to struggle against the Fear itself - not against the circumstances; not against the other people; not against the changes that must come.

Choose.

Write your Vision!  Write your vision for yourself, your career, your family, your life... Write down what you want and then write that you BELIEVE in it.  Fear cannot stand Faith - of any kind.

Tired of getting beaten to a pulp by those negative thoughts?  Fight back!  GET MAD at the Fear not your circumstances... Beat back the fear with your Vision - with your Faith in the possible. That's the real war - the real struggle.  See it in your mind for what it actually is - and now look again, you'll SEE the struggle IS turning in your favor.  Believe it.

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT. 

Handling Heartbreak

Lately it would seem that there are any number of things pushing people to the edge.  We are all being challenged on so many fronts, it's often overwhelming.  It is especially difficult when someone or something that you love lets you down or does something that hurts you.

When you feel broken, so many things that may otherwise not affect you suddenly feel painful or personal. 

Thing is - others will almost always fail you at one point or another,  in some way or other; just as you will fail someone else someday even when you don't intend it.  So we all have to deal with hurt in our lives.

One of the many blessings (or curses - depending how you look at it) that we have is that we can neither pat ourselves on the back nor kick our own butt... so what do you do to handle heartbreak when it happens to you?

I honestly believe that as human beings, part of living simply involves hurting.  If you think back on your life, generally speaking, some of the greatest lessons you'll learn come from painful situations.   Why is that?  Hmmmm.  Well, that can be debated any number of ways but what do you do with all those emotions - especially the hurt?

The first thing I think is simply acknowledging the hurt.  There's no point in denying how you feel.  It doesn't help.  The next thing is to ask myself what in the world am I supposed to learn from this and THEN decide what's next?  Would it help you or the situation to tell the other person they've hurt you?  If you can honestly answer yes to either/both of those questions, then go for it.  If not - as is sometimes the case - how do you release your hurt?

For me, it often starts with breathing in and out... and eventually involves some kind of writing:  Writing TO or ABOUT the person(s) or situations that hurt me - even if I never send it to another soul to read.  I still write.  I write to release...

Boxing or some sort of exercise is good too when you need a physical outlet as well!

Regardless, I've found that I have to purge that negativity SOMEhow; and more often than not, I need to do it more than once.  I think the frequency is directly proportional to the depth of pain you feel... even when you're hurt so deep that you don't seem to feel anymore.

And when you're in that place, ask for the strength to simply look up from where you are.  You WILL begin to see there are things in your life worth living for... worth more than the pain of the present.  At that point, you have the power to CHOOSE - so choose wisely.    Choose to remember who YOU are... and if you hadn't done so previously, WRITE who you want to be.  Write Your Vision for yourself, for your life!

In the end, there is only ONE 'you.'  You are greater than the hurt... and you are valued more than you realize - more than those thoughts in your head care to acknowledge.

You can handle the heartbreak, even when it brings you to your knees.  You can rise up again and smile again.  It's okay to acknowledge where you are, how hurt you are; but seek the strength not to stay there: focus differently!  You'll find you may never get over the pain but you will get through it.

If you haven't tried writing, I encourage you to give it a shot.  It's free and requires no skill whatsoever.  Start simply by putting what you feel on paper one word at a time:  Hurt.  Angry.  Lost.  And then, allow yourself to write just one thing you are thankful for... Think about that ONE thing.  Write it down.  How does that thing make you feel?  Write that down.

Just start there... and then let me know what you came up with and if it helped?

       THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

Compassion is Significant

How many times has someone asked you to put yourself in their shoes?  It seems I'm hearing that a lot lately and have even started repeating it myself.

But can you REALLY do that?  Probably not.

The point is to empathize and show compassion for the person(s) in a situation.  More often than not, it's difficult to do for any number of reasons.  I often think - well, I'd NEVER ____________ (fill in your own blank).

Thing is, while I may actually think that initially - I've lived long enough now to learn NOT to speak in absolutes because God has a funny way of bringing those very things I thought I would "NEVER" face or never do right into my path.  I think God and the universe DOES definitely have a sense of humor in that way.

At one point or another in our lives, we will face things we never thought would happen...

I think that is inevitable.

So, as you Write Your Vision for your future - expect that unexpected things will come up.  And when faced with a choice to show compassion for someone else, seriously consider doing it.  There may come a day when you'll wish for someone else to do the same for you.

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

Deer Corn

Life is full of interesting quirks.  I've been watching the deer families outside.  They come hang out throughout the day.  Sometimes they bring their friends so before long there's a deer convention gathered.  Soon they're joined by some squirrels too; and all sorts of birds.

Day after day.

At first I thought it was a fluke and wow, how cool!  Then I started paying closer attention.  To see what they were up to and low and behold, upon further inspection the entire clan was there for a snack.  Some folks up the road came through day after day to throw down a bucket full of deer corn.  Deer get happy.  Squirrels seem happy.  Birds chirp.  People smile.

One problem.

Wild animals think they have a new, free-flowing food source (see gold flecks).  UH OH...  Man, if you give a little, won't they expect it??

Sure enough, the past few days the buckets have stopped... but our deer friends keep coming.  They keep searching.  Keep hoping...looking.

Ever been given a simple gift and then another... and maybe even another and then have it stop?

We've all experienced that.  How did you feel?

Think about first dates.  You're new in a relationship.  You take pictures, you buy cards, leave notes, pick up dinner just because...  You're new on the job.  You come in early, make labels for your folders, are full of ideas, try new restaurants at lunch...  Or maybe you volunteer one afternoon at a shelter and then again the following weekend... you're the one tossing out the deer corn!  Or maybe you're on the receiving end getting jewelry, clothes, steak dinner with dessert.  ;)

Then what?  Somewhere along the way, the deer corn stops... right?

Here's the thing:
It's okay.  It's okay when the deer corn stops coming or when you stop tossing it... enjoy it while you have it.  Enjoy it while you give it.  It's a simple, special thing.  Savor those moments.  Those yummy, crunchy morsels. 

Don't be afraid to give for fear of the expectations that sometimes accompany the gift.

That said, keep in mind not every day can be pre-arranged with deer corn just for you.  And sometimes, you just don't have a bucket handy.  So don't beat yourself up - or your partner/spouse - if there's no deer corn for a while.  If it was there EVERY day, would it really be a special? 

hmmmm...

Okay, the moral of the story is:  every once in a while, a little deer corn doesn't hurt (no matter what your circumstances); and when you DO remember - grab a bucket! 

You might just change your world, even if it is just for one day.

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

The Need to Pause

We are all so BUSY!  Running errands, shuffling kids and pets here and there, working, going to the gym, or any number of a thousand other things... Life gets pretty crazy, I know.

I read something this morning that was a reminder of a couple of things:

1. The need to breathe and take time to appreciate my life as it is; AND
2. The need to start with where I am... "Here" is okay!

In short, taking time to PAUSE and just BE if just for a moment. 

The saying I read was that "the forest would be pretty silent if the only birds who sang were the ones with the best voice."  I thought that was an amazing perspective that truly illustrated the point that we are all blessed and that we all have something to GIVE.  But more than that, it reminded me too that IF we simply CHOOSE to sing - to belt out our own verse without fear, without hesitation - to just stand and sing in our moment, in our present we get to experience the miracle of our own voice.  Our own power... because I truly believe we all have something to SAY.

Now I can't sing a note but I will SO sing along to a song at the top of my voice in my car when I'm alone!  And how fun is that when we do it?  To just be uninhibited in our present!  To laugh at ourselves and to experience the joy that comes with taking a moment to pause and appreciate where I am in my life right now!  Now imagine if the song on the radio was one YOU wrote!

You are the author of your life's song.

SING in your car, in your shower, in your living room!  (Do the Risky Business "Old Time Rock-n-Roll" dance in your OWN living room one night!)

Find your voice.

Take time to PAUSE and consider Who you Are and What you have going for you already.  Set aside the constant criticism of what you think you don't have and focus on what you DO!  PAUSE... and allow yourself to SMILE.

You'll find that regardless of the circumstances you may be facing, you really do have a great life overall.

Choose to celebrate that - even for just ONE day.  ONE hour.

We all have a song to sing.  What's yours??

       THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.