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Give Yourself the Gift of Gratitude

Some people see their lives filled with abundant blessings and find thankfulness easy and natural; others are so pre-occupied with tending to past wounds or current crises that they simply don't feel grateful.

Regardless of where you fit on this spectrum, I hope you will make a commitment to give yourself and others who deserve it the gift of gratitude.

Sincerely thanking others for something they did or for the role they play in your life is not merely good manners and good ethics. I think William James was right when he said, "The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated." Fortunately, it's a need easily met. It costs so little and means so much. Just putting appreciation into words can make someone's day, or even change their life.

But there is another side of gratitude and it should play a much larger part in your life. Expressing gratitude is what you do for others, but experiencing gratitude is what you must do for yourself. Willie Nelson, after struggling with depression and addiction, said, "When I started counting my blessings my whole life turned around."

Feeling gratitude is a potent tonic that can immeasurably improve your happiness and sense of well-being. Author Melodie Beatie tells us why. "Gratitude" she says, "unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."

The platitudes are true. The key to happiness is deciding to be happy. It's not getting more than you have; it's appreciating what you have.

So, whether things are going well or poorly, ... open up a new emotional bank account and start filling it with all the things that deserve your gratitude. If you do, you will have even more to be grateful for.

Michael Josephson
www.whatwillmatter.com 

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5 Steps to Discover your Real Life Purpose


If you'd like to experience a real pizzazz and joy for life, start your day with meditating on your life purpose. There is something magical, super powerful and healing that happens when you are in touch with why you are here, and what you're here to do. All your so called "problems" no longer have a grip on you. You are sooo excited, focused and exuberantly on fire about being ALIVE that you cannot even stoop down to feel anything of a lower vibration. Perhaps the greatest effect of all is that it becomes extremely contagious and everyone around you begins to live with this unstoppable joy inside.

Discovering your REAL life purpose is possible by doing this exercise down below. The first step is to understand that you may be operating under a false pretense that you are living your life purpose fully now. If you are not jumping out of bed with total elation and orgasmic joy for being alive, then you are probably fooling yourself that you're living on purpose. As children you were conditioned by your parents, friends, and siblings who told you what you SHOULD do with your life. Following their ideas about what will make you happy, successful, or a "good little kid" became your new habits for receiving acceptance, love and approval. This soon became what I'll call your Imprinted Life Purpose, that only can lead to a life that's robot-like, unconscious and produces no real fulfillment.

The more awareness you can bring to seeing what your Imprinted Purpose is, the less power it has in shaping the rest of your life. Finding your life purpose actually comes from revealing your "Imprinted Purpose". Did you ever see the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? When they were in the Emerald City, the wizard had a tremendous influence over Dorothy and her friends until they found out that a fear-based little man was behind the curtain pulling levers on a machine creating a lot of smoke and special effects. Once you begin to 'pull away the curtain' on your Imprinted Purpose, your true life purpose will begin to reveal itself and you can tap your red sparkling shoes 3 times to find your way home.
A few tips to help you first see your "Imprinted Life Purpose"...

  • It is a reason for living, doing, thinking and being that is all based in fear, in a need to survive. It's what makes us think we should do to be able to "make it" in the world.
  • It always leaves you with a sense of "Is that all there is?" When your life is shaped by your imprinted Purpose, we're constantly left unsatisfied and unfulfilled with everything we do.
  • It is a deep part of you that is very transparent, like water is to a fish. The fish isn't aware it lives in the ocean, yet the waves have tremendous influence on the fish's direction in life.
  • It's what runs the show when you're on automatic.
5 STEPS TO DISCOVER YOUR LIFE PURPOSE
  1. Watch the Movie of Your Life. Starting with your earliest memories, take several hours (or as much time as you can afford) to sit down, relax with a bucket of popcorn and watch the whole movie of your life from beginning to now. It's a really great show so you'll want to take some notes! Imagine yourself as a movie reviewer sitting in the seats of your fantasy movie theater watching The Life and Times of . Your job at the end of the movie will be to write a review of it. You'll want to take at least 30 minutes to write this review. Below is a format to help you write this review, just be sure to include lots of fun juicy details!
  2. The first thing to write is the Movie Script. On a blank sheet of paper, draw a straight line in the middle of the page from the top to the bottom. This line represents your Life Line. Write the high points on the right side of the line and the low points on the left side. Write out the catalytic events, the pivotal turning points, from your earliest memories, large and small, include everything that has truly shaped your life.
  3. On the top of the page write out your Movie's Theme. To do this, scan through your list of events along the Life Line and look for what could possibly be this Movies' Theme. Every movie has a theme -- boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back, etc. What's the MAJOR theme of your movie? Write out 2-3 sentences that sum up the major theme of your life.
  4. Look to see how your Life Events created your Imprinted Purpose. Review the criteria of an imprinted Purpose and begin linking it to feelings and memories you identified with in the movie of your Life. Identify the role you were playing in this movie and connect it with your imprinted Purpose. Be real and be specific! In 2-3 sentences write down what you think your Imprinted Purpose is. Use words you heard from people who impacted you the most in your childhood experiences (when your Imprinted Purpose was formed) and write down what you believe your Imprinted Life Purpose has been. Notice if there's anything missing or anything extra needed and if it fits the qualities of an Imprinted Purpose.
  5. It's time to be creative and discover your real Life Purpose! Take a deep long look at your Imprinted Purpose and see if you can first imagine what would be the opposite feeling, vibration or mission of this experience. Ask yourself what makes you feel free, alive, excited and on fire! What actions, behavior, gifts or service to the world will make you jump out of bed every morning with JOY even if you're never paid for it? Imagine a way of being, thinking and doing things in the world what that makes your heart sing your greatest song.
View all the inspirational aspects that were responsible in you for all the high points you listed on the right side of the page. What was really driving you to create those amazing experiences? What is the contribution you were wanting to make to the world all along? Write down a few trial statements about what kind of life would truly inspire you to be living that make you feel warm and tingly inside. Make a list of possible ideas and read them OUT LOUD. Then create one general statement to the world for what you FEEL your life purpose truly is! Don't get stuck on it, it may grow and change. You will most likely refine it later if needed. Just have fun and be creative! You cannot mess up, just do whatever makes you feel super happy and alive!

By Jafree Ozwald

Learn proven techniques for easily manifesting acceptance in your life with the 90 Day Manifesting Programby Margot Zaher and Jafree Ozwald. What would you manifest into your life if you knew you could not fail? How will you spend your time after you've discovered how to access a natural unlimited source of energy inside you? Imagine what it would be like to feel as fearless and unstoppable in your life as Superman. This may sound unbelievable, yet many are finding extraordinary outcomes from experiencing our Super Manifesting Package.

This program shows you exactly how to tap into your highest manifesting powers. You will learn how to awaken that "sleeping" part of you and actually experience your full manifesting potentiality in your life! The Super Manifesting Package is so effective that it will produce dramatic results in anybody's life in 90 days or less! 

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Getting Started


Chris's parents were proud of him when he graduated from college. But it's been six months and he hasn't gotten a job yet. In fact, he hasn't looked seriously. He has no idea what he wants to do and he's thinking of grad school.

He's living at home with his parents and things are getting tense, especially with his father, who accuses Chris of being lazy and afraid to enter the real world.

Chris thinks his dad is being totally unreasonable. After all, he's only young once and he needs some "space." During a recent argument, Chris said, "I'm not you, Dad. I have my own way of doing things. I want a job I enjoy."

His dad replied, "That's a nice idea, but in the end they call it 'work' because it's about making a productive living - not having fun."

There are many youngsters like Chris who are having trouble getting started with a serious job and becoming self-reliant. 

Some, like Peter Pan, just don't want to grow up. Some are afraid of making a wrong decision or of being rejected. Others are victims of what psychologists call "magical thinking." They believe that when the time is right, everything will fall into place. So they wait for opportunity to come knocking or until they feel inspired or excited about their next step.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. What's crucial is to begin. Things happen and opportunities appear most often when we're moving, not standing still.

Momentum is vital. Basic physics says it's easier to alter the course of a moving object than to start movement initially. In the end, it's not really about finding yourself. It's about making yourself.

The first steps are the hardest, but the key to success in anything is getting started.

Author:  Michael Josephson
Read more of his stories at www.charactercounts.org

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Practise Being like a Child

child1Remember the master teacher once said 2000 years ago, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances are zero; you haven't got a prayer."

A major consideration for adults.

Be like children and remember there are four ways to be more like a child no matter how old you get…
1) Curiosity - Be curious; childish curiosity. Learn to be curious like a child. What will kids do if they want to know something bad enough? You’re right. They will bug you. Kids can ask a million questions. You think they're through. They've got another million. They will keep plaguing you. They can drive you right to the brink.

Also kids use their curiosity to learn. Have you ever noticed that while adults are stepping on ants, children are studying them? A child's curiosity is what helps them to reach, learn and grow.

2) Excitement - Learn to get excited like a child. There is nothing that has more magic than childish excitement. So excited you hate to go to bed at night. Can't wait to get up in the morning. So excited that you're about to explode. How can anyone resist that kind of childish magic? Now, once in awhile I meet someone who says, "Well, I'm a little too mature for all that childish excitement." Isn't that pitiful? You've got to weep for these kinds of people. All I've got to say is, "If you’re too old to get excited, you're old." Don't get that old.

3) Faith - Faith like a child. Faith is childish. How else would you describe it? Some people say, "Let's be adult about it." Oh no. No. Adults too often have a tendency to be overly skeptical. Some adults even have a tendency to be cynical. Adults say, "Yeah. I've heard that old positive line before. It will be a long day in June before I fall for that positive line. You've got to prove to me it's any good." See, that's adult, but kids aren't that way. Kids think you can get anything. They are really funny. You tell kids, "We're going to have three swimming pools." And they say, "Yeah. Three. One each. Stay out of my swimming pool." See, they start dividing them up right away, but adults are not like that. Adults say, "Three swimming pools? You're out of your mind. Most people don't even have one swimming pool. You'll be lucky to get a tub in the back yard." You notice the difference? No wonder the master teacher said, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances, they're skinny."

4) Trust - Trust is a childish virtue, but it has great merit. Have you heard the expression "sleep like a baby?" That's it. Childish trust. After you’ve gotten an A+ for the day, leave it in somebody else's hands.

Curiosity, excitement, faith and trust. Wow, what a powerful combination to bring (back) into our lives.

To read previous articles, quotes, and Q and A from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine Archives, or to get a complete listing of Jim Rohn's books, audios, videos and seminar schedule, or to place an order; please go to: http://www.jimrohn.com or call 800-929-0434 M-F 8:00-5:30 CST.

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Mottoes – Motivation, Inspiration, Transcendence

Recently, at my daughter's Year 12 Graduation, during the rollcall and the handing out of certificates, each graduating student's motto was read out. These included, "Start each day as if it's your birthday," "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," "Smile and be around people who smile back," and my daughter's "The best way out is through."

I got to thinking about my own mottoes; the many. Those quotes and mottoes that inspire me most are those I need most; revealing those life issues I struggle with most.

Our mottoes are the reflection of our struggles.

Mottoes wouldn't hold us if we didn't need them. Mottoes don't represent things we are experts in, but they represent the areas of life we would like to master. Mottoes actually reveal the hypocrite in us. But if we are honest we will know where we want to grow and how far we have to go to get there.

ADOPTING A MOTTO OR CREATING ONE

Mottoes, and Words of God, direct us on our way.

Whenever we read something inspiring, something that resounds within us as meaningful, we can be assured that both consciously and unconsciously we have a need for it. We know somehow this motto could improve our lives, make us happier, more content, more motivated and inspired, more valued, and more purpose-driven.

We all want the successful life. And this is the sort of life that comes individually wrapped; a life that comes as a mystery for us to unwrap - through getting to know of ourselves, our purpose in life; that for which God has called us to.

So the motto has relevance as far as two things are concerned:

1. They help us identify the call God has placed on our hearts, and

2. They help us identify the gap between the vision we have of that call and our present reality.

If we haven't discerned our life motto or mottoes yet, we could take the opportunity to develop one. Such a self-reflective process is enjoyable because we are getting to know ourselves more.

In getting to know ourselves more we get to know God more.

There is a great deal of drive and satisfaction we can derive from having a motto that motivates and inspires us. The motivational and inspirational value of the motto drives us on toward a place of character where we transcend the present self; a better reality by far than backsliding.

***

Our mottoes drive us on toward excellence; toward every vision of the abundant life. Mottoes which are meaningful engage our hearts, inspiring us to transcend our present selves.
...........................................

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Steve Wickham is a Registered Safety Practitioner and holds Degrees in Science, Divinity, and Counselling. Steve writes at: http://epitemnein-epitomic.blogspot.com.au/ and http://tribework.blogspot.com.au/

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Be Secretly Happy No Matter What Is Happening in Your Life

 Can you keep a secret? I mean, can you keep a really, really significant secret? If you can, then you have a big head start on holding yourself happy.

Tragedies of many "degrees" occur all the time. Happenings occur that are way beyond your control. How do you keep going?

Steve came through the door of my office looking as though he had been run over by a pickup truck and left for dead. He was literally dirty, clothes torn, blood dripping from his left nostril.
"What hit you?" was all I could manage.
"I just got mugged down town on my way to see you. That's way it been going these last several weeks," Steve said. (Not his real name.) "My life is a mess. I jammed up and my wife left me and took the kids. I was laid off the job that I had for 17 years. My mother died two weeks ago. Father was already gone. I am about to have my house foreclosed. I am just not happy."

Pardon me, but I almost laughed when he said, "I am just not happy." I managed to stifle the impulse, however. Steve didn't say that to be humorous. He said it because it tallied up his entire life at that moment.
We went to the restroom across from my office and got the bleeding stopped and his face clean. Then back to my office so we could talk. He told me the usual tale of how he had been raised to believe if he just had the right stuff, the correct job, lived in the proper neighborhood, drove a certain car, he would be happy. Instead, all these, plus his family, were gone in a few weeks time.

I said, "I'll teach you a confidential way. It won't heal your problems, but it will help you contend with them. Can you keep a secret?" I am sure this sounded much too light for him, but he was game for anything at that point.

I told him happiness resided on his inside, not his outside. I said to him that I was not making light of his circumstances, but the secret was he could be happy even in the midst of great discomfort or tragedy. He could always be happy if he remembered this secret and applied it in every circumstance.

"You have seen, unfortunately, first hand, that depending on outward situations does not bring happiness," I said. "You need to develop an inward hidey-hole, an escape-room, where your happiness is locked away. Then nothing can ruin you."

I told him all he had to do to have and keep this escape-room was to determine it was so. Decide that at the Core of the Universe, and therefore his own core, there was deep, profound and eternal Harmoniousness that nothing could trouble or destroy. He needed to latch onto that Harmony by being making contact with the Harmony daily. Taking just a few moments in a day to deeply center in on being happy on the interior. That he needed to see this happiness sending out rays to range over all possibilities.


Is there such a place within each of us? Oh, yes. Make no mistake, we are hardwired to the Core of Harmony of the Universe.

So, I told Steve, the world can be falling apart around us, yet we can remain enveloped in our happiness. Not as a means of permanent retreat from the substantial world. But as a place of evacuation where we can refresh our spirits and reach our strength for the disturbances in life. Steve left my office a little bit better off than when he appeared dirty and bleeding. As I communicated with him over the weeks to come, he was feeling much better about himself and his world.

You, too, can feel much better when you evolve and hold this secret base of happiness within you. It takes just a few minutes each day to retreat to this site of safety, to reequip yourself for whatever is happening in your corporal world. Does it solve problems? No. But it surely helps you contend with them. Decide now, right now, that you have this secret of happiness within you.

Author:  Dr Robert Henry Schwenk  Working with me through blogs, emails and newsletters you will be uplifted, given ways and means to make yourself even better than you are. You will be able to solve the problem you may have of low self esteem, knowing your own worth, feeling as if you deserve the best. Life is too short, I believe, not to be able to find someone to help you solve the problem of the meaning of life. I am here 4 U. In my works you will find the way to happiness, which is the meaning of life. I will help you find a way that leads you to happiness that is ever-present and everlasting.
To that end I have a few credentials: 40 years as a life coach; B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College, M.Div. from Wesley Theo. Seminary, D.Min. from United Theo. Seminary. Have published two books, several ebooks, many blogs, over 150 articles on EzineArticles.com.
Sometimes named "The Maven of Meaning," or "The Harbinger of Happiness."
If you would like to contact me you can do so at drbob4u@gmail.com
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Letting Go.

I think so many of us are too hard on ourselves for what we didn't accomplish or what we should have done.  The first step is to forgive yourself for all the things you didn't do that you should have and all the things that you did do that you shouldn't have.  Get rid of the guilt.  Negative feelings don't do you much good.  The way to deal with them is to forgive yourself and forgive others.

Forgiveness is a tricky term.  It does not only mean that you apologize, although regretting what you did is part of it.  You may want to make amends if you can, but there are some circumstances where there is nothing more you can do.  Even when you cannot mend fences with others, you need to tell yourself:  "Yes, I did it and it would have been better if I hadn't, but now I want to forgive myself for having done that negative deed."
Forgiveness helps you come to terms with the past.  I've learned how to forgive myself, and this has helped me no longer feel deep regrets or sadness about my past.
There's a difference between using your past and wallowing in it.  Say I had an experience with a nasty person and I got nasty back, but I don't want to be that way anymore.  I can use that experience to work out a different response whenever someone is not so pleasant to me.  If I don't like my reaction, I can change my response.
You can review your past, benefit from your successes, and learn from your mistakes without judging yourself.  This is an excellent time to do a life review, to make amends, identify and let go of regrets, come to terms with unresolved relationships, and tie up loose ends.
Morrie Schwartz
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Your smiles heal you and your neighbor.

A compassionate attitude helps you communicate easily with fellow human beings. As a result, you make more genuine friends; the atmosphere is more positive, which gives you inner strength. This inner strength helps you voluntarily concern yourself with others, instead of just thinking about your own self.

Scientific research has shown that those individuals who often use words such as me, I and mine face a greater risk of a heart attack. If one always thinks of oneself, one’s thinking becomes very narrow; even a small problem appears very significant and unbearable.

When we think of others, our minds widen, and within that large space, even big personal problems may appear insignificant. This, according to me, makes all the difference.

To develop concern for others one could start by analyzing the value of negative feelings, or ill feelings, toward others. Consider what that means to you, and how you feel about yourself. Next probe the value of such a mental attitude and the value of a mind that shows concern and compassion for others.

I am suggesting that you analyze and make comparisons between these two mental attitudes. From my experience, I have found that insecurity and a lack of self-confidence brings about fears, frustration, and depression. However, if your nature changes to a selfless concern for the welfare of others, you will experience calmness, a sense of inner strength, and self-confidence.

The capacity for compassion that one has for others is the measuring rod for one’s own mental state, and compassion develops an inner strength. It is unnecessary to see the results of our acts of compassion. In some cases, our sense of compassion may not be appreciated. Many people have the impression that the practice of love, compassion, and forgiveness is of benefit to others, but will serve no specific purpose to one’s own self. I think that is wrong. These positive emotions will immediately help one’s own mental state.

By His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer to your heart.

You're good, but you're going to be great.

You're the best, but you're going to get better.

Sometimes the paths we take are long and hard, but remember: those are always the ones that lead to the most beautiful views.

Challenges come along inevitably: how you respond to them determines who you are - deep down inside - and everything you're going to be.

Increase the chances of reaching your goals by working at them gradually. The very best you can do is all that is asked of you.

Realize that you are capable of working miracles of your own making. Remember that opportunities have a reason for knocking on your door, and the right ones are there for the taking.

You don't always have to win, but you do need to know what it takes to be a winner.

It's up to you to find the key that unlocks the door to a more fulfilling life.

Understand that increased difficulty brings you nearer to the truth of how to survive it - and get beyond it.

Cross your bridges.

Meet your challenges.

Reach out for your dreams, and bring them closer and closer to your heart.

Get rid of the "if only's" and get on with whatever you need to do to get things right.

Go after what you want in life, with all the blessings of all the people who care about you. And find out what making your wishes come true really feels like.

~ Collin McCarty ~