10.31.08
The reward is closer
What can you do when there seems to be no hope? You can keep going.
What’s the best option when you feel like giving up? The best option is to keep going.
How can you respond when circumstances are acting against you? The most effective response is to continue working your way forward no matter what other factors may be present.
All that you know is based on past experience, and yet the future does not equal the past. For right now you can take action to determine that future and to change the way things will be.
Though it can be easy to give up, remember this. When you’re at the point of giving up, you’re also at the point where maximum value can be created.
If you feel like giving up, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing to push forward. Keep going, for the reward is closer with every step you take.
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10.30.08
How To Celebrate During a Season of Waiting
Portions reprinted from “Climbing the Ladder in Stilettos” by Lynette Lewis
No one likes to wait. Waiting is something that makes us anxious and causes us to make hasty decisions sometimes. Waiting will make us focus on what we do not have instead of what we possess right now. I have enjoyed the book by Lynette Lewis entitled “Climbing the Ladder in Stilettos.” Lynette gives some very practical advice for women throughout her book, however one of the portions that struck home with me was her section entitled how to celebrate during a season of waiting. Lynette explains that they are 5 ways to celebrate while you wait:
1) Record why you’re grateful. (Now you know I am all about recording things you are grateful for since every Monday we have the Grateful Monday Party here on the G.I.R.L.S. Blog) Jot down in a journal all the tings you have to be grateful for right now. Write them in detail; meditate on why they are worth celebrating.
2) Remember your dreams. Spend time regularly describing the things you are still waiting for and imagine the possibilities. At the same time, look for threads of hope in the things you already have.
3) Acknowledge the perks. Consider what unique advantages accompany the season of life you’re in now. What experiences are you having that other season will not afford you? What are you learning form these unique experiences that you can take with you into the next season? How can you celebrate the perks of this season?
4) Listen to those who know. What books have been written about the experiences of your life right now? Find authors who biographies read like yours and gain insights from their stories. Think about how you might write your own story.
5) Log your life lessons. Organize a file entitle” Lessons from My Life Thus Far.” Regularly fill it with the lesson you learn or are learning in this season.
If we were to do the suggestions by Lynette we would see a great change in our lives. Why? Because our focus would not be on what we do not have, but instead on what we posses right now, what we can enjoy right now, and how our life story right now will be of help to others as well.
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10.29.08
OVERCOMING THE NEGATIVE
We must all wage an intense, lifelong battle against the constant downward pull. If we relax, the bugs and weeds of negativity will move into the garden and take away everything of value.
Humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease.
If you spend five minutes complaining, you have just wasted five minutes. If you continue complaining, it won’t be long before they haul you out to a financial desert and there let you choke on the dust of your own regret.
You cannot take the mild approach to the weeds in your mental garden. You have got to hate weeds enough to kill them. Weeds are not something you handle; weeds are something you devastate.
Excerpted from The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn. Copyright © 1994-2008 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Did you get your Free gifts?
10.28.08
7 Steps to Discovering Your Passion
Even before the first tip, you simply must get out a notebook, journal, piece of paper, napkin…SOMETHING to write on to save your discoveries! These tips will only help if you pursue them, so please either take a moment to find writing tools NOW or print this out and promise yourself to complete this exercise later. It may take you some thinking time to get it done……and now….here are your tips…..
1. Find Your Joy Factor Look at the whole of your life history. When did you experience the most sustained period of Joy? What were you doing then? Where were you? Who were you with? How did it feel?
2. What Are Your 3 Most Favorite things to do? If you had a free day with NO commitments, where would you be found? What would you be doing with whom?
3. In what area do you excel? (NO MODESTY ALLOWED HERE!)Truly, what are you complimented on a lot? This could be ANYTHING.
4. What do you most want to be remembered for? If you were designing your epitaph, what would you want it to say? (NOT what your Mom wants, or your SPOUSE wants or your third cousin twice removed, but what do YOU want your headstone to say?)
5. If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your life TODAY? How would it look compared to how it looks now? Which aspects of your life ARE changeable, both short term and long term?
6. How does your Joy factor overlap with your favorite things and the areas in which you excel? Do the areas in which you excel bring YOU joy, or are they really for someone else…..do you see which are obvious matches, and which do not fit? Those that overlap, that bring YOU the most Joy, are most likely the things that would bring you into Passionate Living.
7. What is the first even teeny tiny step you can take to living out your Passion as you have defined in #6? Take some time to really think this one through… concentrate and focus, and then you will be able to start the next step…BUILDING YOUR ROADMAP.
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10.27.08
The Practice of Gratitude
A surprising list of words related to gratitude goes from greed and jealousy; through taking things for granted and feeling entitled; then to those we know like appreciation, acceptance, and satisfaction. The practice of gratitude would be an appropriate prescription for whichever one of the above “surprising” words describes our attitude.
The rules of gratitude are not as simple as they seem at first glance. For example, often instead of rejoicing in what we have, we greedily want something more, better, or different. We can’t be grateful because we are making comparisons and coveting other possibilities.
When this happens on a personal level, when it’s our soul (our mind, will, and emotions) that is dissatisfied, then we are ungrateful. When we want something more, better, or different from the glory of God and what He has for us; we focus on what is temporal and not on what is eternal.
To learn to be grateful in all things we must practice saying “thank you” for happy and challenging experiences, for people, things, memories, and dreams. We must count our blessings, and praise God. We must express our appreciation to everything and everyone we encounter. By blessing, we are blessed. Today as always is our Grateful Monday Party here on the G.I.R.L.S. Daily Blog so let’s begin by practicing being grateful today.
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10.24.08
How to identify what you want–and begin taking steps to get it.
Have you ever made a list of what you want from life? From the kind of career you work at to the kind of income you enjoy …to your relationships, your health, your vacations, material possessions, spiritual well-being and more?
If you haven’t, it may surprise you to know that simply deciding what you want is the often first and most important step to getting it.
It’s true. Our brain is a goal-seeking organism. In fact, scientists now know the brain uses its own reticular activating system to filter through the millions of images, sounds, impressions and other messages we receive each day – to let into our conscious mind only that information we need to survive or meet goals we have identified.
When you decide what you want, you instruct the brain to start looking for information, resources, opportunities and other ways to achieve the “want” you’ve identified. While this may sound like an impossibility given your current situation or circumstances, we’ve seen countless individuals “suddenly” get what they want–often from a source or opportunity that already existed in their life or sphere of influence. They had just never instructed their brain to find it before.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT?
To help your reticular activating system begin finding YOUR wants in unexpected places, take time now to decide what you want in the following seven areas. Don’t hold back! And forget about whether YOU think it’s possible for you right now.
Jot down anything and everything you’ve dreamed of being, doing, owning or having. Then don’t be surprised when it shows up in your life!
FINANCES – Write down how much income you want to make, how big your savings account should be, what your investments will be like, when you want to pay off your mortgage, how much you’ll want for your children’s college education and so on.
CAREER/BUSINESS GOALS – Write down your dream career or the dream business you would like to own. Write down in vivid detail what you want a typical day to be like. Write down the kind of people you would like to work with and so on. What is fulfilling to you?
FREE TIME/FAMILY TIME – If you could have any amount of free time or any kind of family experiences you wanted, what would they be? Jot them down now. How many days off a year do you want? What kinds of vacation experiences and trips do you want to go on? What would your hobbies be if you had all the free time and family time you wanted? What kinds of special events would you attend?
HEALTH/APPEARANCE – If you could look, feel and act exactly as you wanted, what would your health and appearance goals be? Would you lose weight? Would you wear designer clothes? Would you eat healthier…even have your own private chef? Would you overcome a chronic illness or medical situation you are in right now?
Write down now what you want in terms of your health and appearance.
RELATIONSHIPS – We all thrive and live more fully when we’re surrounded by people who love, appreciate and empower us. Decide what kinds of relationships you want in YOUR life. Is it someone to love, a fantastic relationship with your spouse, better bonds with your children or siblings? And what about your professional associations? Do you want phenomenal mentors, important friends, powerful business associates or other influential people in your life? Decide now who they are.
PERSONAL GROWTH – Do you want to be better educated or become a more powerful, confident person through personal growth? Decide now what you want to learn and know. Or perhaps you seek greater spiritual knowledge or teaching…or simply take a yoga class and get more balance in your life.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE – Do you want to volunteer for the Peace Corps or donate millions of dollars to your favorite charity? Do you want to mentor others, befriend a group of needy individuals or otherwise make a difference in the world? Decide now what you want your role to be.
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10.23.08
Daily Battles of the Mind
As a Life Coach and Minister I am always helping women deal with their thought process. And one book I always recommend is “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer. Here is some of what Joyce has to say…
Did you know that we are in a war every day? We see the casualties everywhere—people falling from disease, divorce and tragedy. Looking around at all the suffering, we may think the battles in hospitals and divorce courts are being lost. But in reality, we’re losing the advanced and more important conflict—the battle in our minds.
Each day our minds are bombarded with a constant stream of nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts and fears. While any one of these can cause defeat and devastation, we are often plagued by more than one…filling our daily lives with mental combat against an array of aggressors.
Since we fail to identify the battlefield, we also fail to correctly identify our foe. We tend to believe people, money, religion or “the system” are our problems. In an attempt to defend ourselves, we build strongholds in our mind. Strongholds are areas of thinking not based on truth but lies. Instead of protecting us, they actually imprison us. Unless we renew our mind, we risk continuing to believe those lies and making important decisions based on deception.
Let me give you an example of how strongholds of wrong thinking can destroy a marriage. Mary and her husband, John, are not enjoying a happy marriage. There is strife between them all the time. They are angry, bitter and resentful. Now their two children are starting to show signs of being affected by all the dissension at home. One of the kids is even developing stomach problems brought on by stress from the conflict.
Mary’s problem is that she doesn’t know how to let John be the head of their family. She is bossy—she wants to make all the decisions, handle the finances, and discipline the children. She wants to work so she will have her “own” money. She’s independent, loud and demanding. Mary knows her attitude is wrong and wants to change. She’s been in counseling and is constantly asking people to pray for God to help her. But she hasn’t seen any improvement. Why? Mary has trouble controlling her actions because she has trouble controlling her thoughts. She has a hard time knowing what thoughts to control because of the strongholds in her mind—strongholds that were built very early in her life.
As a child, Mary had an extremely domineering father. For years she suffered helplessly as her father mistreated her and her mother. He was disrespectful in all his ways except toward Mary’s brother who could do no wrong. It seemed as if he was favored just because he was a boy. By the time she was sixteen, the strongholds in Mary’s mind were firmly established. The stronghold of lies went like this: “Men really think they’re something. They are all alike, and you can’t trust any of them. They will hurt you and take advantage of you.” As a result, Mary’s mind was made up: “When I get away from home, nobody is ever going to push me around again!”
Before Mary can ever have victory in her life and peace in her marriage, she will have to tear down the strongholds that are ruling her thinking. Do you see yourself in Mary’s life? Many of us have given in to deception at one time or another. How can these strongholds be torn down? We must be willing to receive the light of Truth in our minds. Our search for Truth begins in God’s Word, which says that the Truth will set us free (see John 8:32). This means we can be free from bondage, sin and strongholds in our minds. But just searching for Truth won’t set us free. We must be courageous enough to also believe the Truth.
Even when the Truth illuminates what’s inside of us, it’s sometimes hard to accept. It’s a painful process to face our deceptions and deal with them. It’s so easy to allow our past and how we were raised to negatively affect us for the rest of our lives. Our past may explain why we’re suffering, but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage. You may have some major strongholds in your life that need to be torn down. Let me encourage you by saying, “God is on your side.” There is a war going on, and your mind is the battlefield. But the good news is that God is fighting on your side!
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10.22.08
Are You Prepared For What You Can’t Prevent?
Eliminating all stress is impossible. However, you can improve the way you manage it. Take breaks, eat well, exercise and keep a positive perspective on the situation!
Stressful situations are the most important times to exercise, eat well and keep a balanced perspective. You can’t be effective if you’re worn out.
Today’s Questions:
How well are you taking care of yourself today? _________________________________
What are you doing right now to support your emotional, spiritual and physical needs? _________________________________
What can you plan today to help you better deal with stress tomorrow? _________________________________
“The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before.”
~ Steve Young
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10.21.08
Who Am I?
Who am I? Not my name, not my job or what I do, not where I live or even where I was born, not my physical characters. It is more than what is seen on the outside and it is not my denomination or my ministry.
Understanding who we are in Christ Jesus is what will help us determine who we are. We need to determine and settle this in order to do what God has for us to do for Him.
Ephesians 1: 4-5 tells us “Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]”
Verse 4 plainly tells us the He chose us and according to the Amplified Bible it says that he actually picked us out for Himself! WOW can you imagine that God picked you out for Himself! You have been chosen by the Father! Notice that the word chose is in past tense, it has already been done!
In verse 7 it goes on to tell us “In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor.”
We are redeemed and delivered through the Blood of Jesus for our sins.
So in asking yourself “Who Am I” you can see that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, that you were formed in your mother’s womb by God Himself and you my friend have a plan and purpose for your life! You are here on assignment from God to know His will and do His will. You are important to others and you are most important to God. He loves you so very much, no matter what. He will never leave you or forsake you. You my friend are a child of the Most High God!
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10.20.08
Gratitude
We have arrived here again….Grateful Monday, and for that in itself I am grateful! For the past year I have been declaring Mondays as Grateful Monday here on the G.I.R.L.S. ~ Girls Inspiring Real Life Success Blog. For those of you have been with us from the beginning you understand the importance of gratefulness in your life.
A 2005 study that was conducted by Japan’s Tokyo Women’s Medical University found one of the main causes of more heart attacks — blood pressure — was consistently higher in study volunteers on Monday than any other day of the week. An older study confirmed that indeed, more people suffer heart attacks on Mondays — 20% more than on the other six days!
That is one of the reasons I chose Mondays as the day to stop throughout the day and count your blessings. So today is no different than any other Monday here on the blog- it is Grateful Monday!
Especially in a world that seems very unstable it is all the more important to focus on those things you have to be grateful for, be they as small as the birds you hear chirpping as you go outside your home today, or the fact that you are alive and able to read this blog today!
I want to share some quotes on being grateful today………..
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward
Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~G.K. Chesterton
The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. ~John E. Southard
As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. ~Adabella Radici
The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher
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