Aging

Let us never know what old age is.

Let us know the happiness time brings,

not count the years.

~ Ausonius ~

Youth

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind.

It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;

it is an attitude, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions.

Youth means a predominance of courage over timidity,

a preference for adventure over love of ease.

Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

Whether seventy or sixteen, there can be in every being's heart a sense of wonder,

the sweet amazement at the stars, the challenge of new events,

childlike curiosity and the joy of living.

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; 

as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;

as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

So long as your heart is warmed by the messages of beauty, hope, cheer,

courage, and meaning in life, you will remain young.

May youth be forever yours.
~ Anonymous ~

Never a Dull Moment

No matter how long I live

there will never be a dull moment.

~ Harriet Doerr ~

Dream For Yourself

At least once a day,

allow yourself the freedom to

think and dream for yourself.

~ Albert Einstein ~

Basis of All Love

Had we not loved ourselves at all, we could

never have been obliged to love anything.

So that self-love is the basis of all love.

~ Thomas Traherne ~

Having A Bad Day?

The next time you think you are having a bad day, think about this letter that a man sent to his employer:

Dear Sir:

    When I reached the construction site I found that the hurricane had knocked some bricks off the floor of the main building.

     So I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted up a couple of barrels full of bricks.  When I had repaired the building, there were some bricks left over.

     I hoisted the barrel back up again and secured the line at the bottom, and then went up and filled the barrel with extra bricks.  Then I went to the bottom and cast off the line.

     Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was heavier than I and, before I knew what was happening, the barrel started down, jerking me off the ground.  I decided to hang on, and halfway up I met the barrel coming down and received a severe blow on my shoulder.

     I then continued to the top, banging my head against the beam, getting my fingers jammed in the pulley.  When the barrel hit the ground it burst out the bottom, causing all the bricks to spill out.

     I was now heavier than the barrel and so started down again at high speed.  Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received severe injuries to my shins.  When I hit the ground I landed on the bricks and received several painful cuts from the sharp edges.

     At this point I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go of the line, and the barrel came down, giving me another blow on the head and putting me in the hospital.

     I respectfully request sick leave.

                                                                                    Your servant,
                                                                                     Ricardo

  
    

Overlook the Old

Be not the slave of your own past -

plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep,

and swim far, so you shall come back with

self-respect, with new power, with an

advanced experience that shall explain

and overlook the old.

~ Emerson ~

Important to Our Well-Being

Self-esteem is as important to our well-being

as legs are to a table.  It is essential for 

physical and mental health and for happiness.

~ Louise Hart ~

What You Think of You

Well, we all know that self-esteem comes from 

what you think of you, not what other people think of you.

~ Gloria Gaynor ~

Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem is like driving through life

with the hand-brake on.

~ Maxwell Maltz ~

Self-Esteem

Many of the problems we see today, especially with addiction, violence, bullying, and depression are the result of low self-esteem.  Self-esteem is actually an emotion.  It is NOT an intellectual inventory of our favorable characteristics, but how warm, loving, and appreciative we actually feel toward ourselves...despite our mistakes and human frailties. It is also not egotism or conceit.  Rather it is knowing you are good and wearing it well.

High self-esteem is the greatest gift you can give yourself and others.  Years ago, Gallup pollsters did a study on self-esteem.  The study found that one-third of our country suffers from crippling low self-esteem, one-third feels OK about themselves, and one-third feels really good about themselves.  As with most things, we cannot give away with we don't have.  So, in order to care about other people, we must first care about ourselves.  In the bible, Jesus says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself".  This same concept is found in other religions as well.  This may be a crucial insight into what is going wrong with our world.  Too many people do not love themselves and consequently, this dislike or even hatred toward ourselves spills out to hatred for others.  The intolerance we see permeating our social media and airways may be a direct result of low self-esteem on the part of the perpetrators of the negative behavior that has, unfortunately, gotten so common.  Feeling good about yourself, however, exudes from yourself and can positively influence everyone with whom you come in contact.

So what can you do to improve your self-esteem?  There are some things that you can try, such as:

1.  Lock out all negative, destructive criticism of your OWN performance.

2.  Control your self-talk by eliminating putting your self down.

3.  Use affirmative reminders to input new beliefs.  Some examples include:
          I love myself unconditionally.
          I am in competition only with my own best self.
          Mistakes enhance my awareness, allowing me the opportunity to grow and improve.
          I enjoy making my own decisions and choices and accept 100% accountability.

When you feel good about yourself, you will find a greater willingness to make others feel good about themselves by giving them praise, avoiding teasing and sarcasm, and engaging in positive conversation.

Look around at the actions of yourself and others and ask yourself, "Is this a result of low self-esteem?"  Improving the love for ourselves first, and then for others, just may be an important way to make our world a loving place in which to live.

Fathers

My father used to say that it's never too late

to do anything you wanted to do.  And he said, "You never

know what you can accomplish until you try".

~ Michael Jordan ~

Happy Father's Day!

A Box of Crayons

Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world.

Constantly color your world gray, and your picture will always be bleak.

Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor,

and your picture begins to brighten up.

~ Allen Klein ~

Limits

When you put a limit on what you will do,

you have put a limit on what you can do.

~ Charles Schwab ~

Tolerance

Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us
into fascinating beings.  I hope we can embrace that.  I pray we may all
challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our
hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, 

tolerance, and compassion.  We are all in this life together.

~ Linda Thompson ~

Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together. Linda Thompson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/lindathomp714104.html?src=t_tolerance

Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together. Linda Thompson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/tolerance.html

Risk

There's as much risk in doing nothing

as in doing something.

~ Trammell Crow ~

Silencing Your Inner Voice

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, 

and that voice will be silenced."  

~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

Please Remember

     How many times a day do you think we say to our children, spouses, or partners statements that begin with the word “Don’t”?  Examples would be:  “Don’t run”, “Don’t forget the bread on the way home”, or “Don’t spill your milk”.  Our brains have a difficult time computing words like “Don’t”.  Rather, the brain can easily compute operative words that are often the very thing that we do not want to have happen.  These are words like “run”, “forget”, or “spill”.  These words produce the mental images in our children or adults that we want them to avoid doing.  How many times have you told yourself, “Don’t forget my cell phone” or other similar-type statements?  Do these statements insure that what we want to have happen does occur?

     So, rather than using statements starting with the word “Don’t”, try using statements that produce a positive mental image.  The statements above would be revised by saying, “Please walk”, “Please remember the bread on the way home”, and “Please be careful with your milk”.  The operative words that are now creating a more positive mental image are “walk”, “remember”, and “be careful”. 

     Using phrases that produce positive images may seem trite or insignificant, but you just might find that these statements improve the behavior or actions that we wish to occur.  Try using more positive statements for a week, on others and yourself, and see if there is any improvement.  

     And one more thing…Please remember this blog posting :)

Caution!

Caution!  The left-brained world wants you to "be realistic"...

"quit dreaming"... "get your head out of the clouds"...

"get your feet on the ground"...and "be just like us".

To advance and prosper, steadfastly ignore that advice.

~ Marilyn Grey ~

Know You're Growing

If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do.

If you want to be a true professional and continue to grow...

go to the cutting edge of your competence,

which means a temporary loss of security.

So whenever you don't quite know what you're doing,

know you're growing.

~ Madeline Hunter ~

Favorite Affirmation

My favorite affirmation when I feel stuck or out of sorts is:

"Whatever I need is already here, and it is all for my highest good".

Jot this down and post it conspicuously throughout your home,

on the dashboard of your car, at your office, on your microwave,

and even on the front of your toilets!

~ Wayne Dyer ~

My favorite affirmation when I feel stuck or out of sorts is: Whatever I need is already here, and it is all for my highest good. Jot this down and post it conspicuously throughout your home, on the dashboard of your car, at your office, on your microwave oven, and even in front of your toilets! Wayne Dyer
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=affirmation

Happiness

Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions,

it is governed by our mental attitude.

~ Dale Carnegie ~

Writing Affirmative Reminders

It is difficult to maintain a positive attitude, when almost on a daily basis, we learn about horrific and sad events occurring in our world.  It is important to remember that it is not what other people or events do to us, it is what we do to ourselves because of others that matters.  This requires an ability to maintain a positive attitude in spite of what is going on around us.

I have referenced Affirmative Reminders in previous posts.  These are statements, words, or symbols that are written on 3 x 5 cards that we review 3-5 times daily.  The words are not as important as the visual images these words or symbols produce in our minds as we close our eyes and picture ourselves achieving what the written affirmative reminder conveys.  In order to write an effective affirmative reminder, here are some important tips to follow:

1 

          1. Write affirmative reminders that are positive and in present tense (e.g. I am or I have).  Don’t use words like, “I will” or I “I may”.  You will use your affirmative reminders to affirm behavior or an attitude as if you have already achieved it.  Your brain has difficulty computing something that may occur in the future.  Keep your affirmative reminders in the now.

2      2.  Keep your affirmative reminders realistic.  Avoid words like “always” or “never”.  Rather use a word like “consistently”.  There will always be exceptions to any desired positive attitude or behavior.

3          3.  Pick a few attitudes or behavior that you wish to improve and write affirmative reminders accordingly.  No more than 5 affirmative reminders at a time is fine initially.  As you begin to improve on those 5, add a few more affirmative reminders.  No need to overload your brain initially.

4      4.  Review and visualize your affirmative reminders 3-5 times a day for about a month in order to begin to affect a positive change.   

Here are some examples of affirmative reminders:

I remain positive and in good spirits in spite of world events.

I am calm and in control in pressure situations.

I am patient with those who see things differently than I do.

I am consistently well-organized in every phase of my life.

I am an excellent speaker, well-prepared, logical and completely at ease with any group.

I am a great pro with super confidence.

I am very happy and enjoy life to its fullest.

I consistently do things when they need to be done.

I possess an abundant supply of energy and draw upon it at will.

   Using affirmative reminders does require some effort on your part, but it is certainly worthwhile if you want a better you.

Treating People

Treat people as they are, and they remain that way.

Treat them as though they already were what they can be,

and you help them become what they are capable of becoming.

~ Goethe ~

Something Very Special

There has never been another you.

With no effort on your part you were 

born to be something very special and set apart.

What you are going to do in appreciation of that gift

is a decision only you can make.

~ Dan Zadra ~

Altitude

Your attitude, not your aptitude,

will determine your altitude.

~ Zig Ziglar ~

Extraordinary People

Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable,

but rather what is impossible.  And by visualizing the impossible,

they begin to see it as possible.

~ Cherie Carter-Scott ~