How will you live today?

I saw this great quote yesterday which I'll attach that says that one of your best decisions is what mood you'll pick for the day. I made an active decision several months ago to start the day by choosing to be in a good mood. It's not always easy because thoughts of things that didn't go well from the day before tend to creep in. But the key it seems is to determine how much attention the thoughts and the day before warrant. If we give them power, then they have power over us. But if we decide to focus on what's good in life especially at the beginning of the day then we have a better chance of having a day worth remembering.

One of the first things I do when I open my eyes and think of at least a couple of things I'm grateful for. Then I tried to read something positive for a few minutes or make a quote for the day that I can share on all my social media platforms. If I have time I even try to listen to a positive audio. That gets me in the right frame of mind for whatever the day brings.

This can be seen as law of attraction where like attracts like. Or it can be an example of how our brain works according to Dr. Deepak Chopra who said in a recent meditation session that the brain creates links and thoughts similar to the ones before it.

So I already did those first three things and now I'm speaking this blog. This is the first time I'm trying that but I'm hoping with my positive mindset for the day that it will work just fine! If not, it's not too big of a crisis and I'll try another way but I think it will work.

So how will you choose to start today or if it's later in the day how will you start tomorrow?

The Power of Appreciation and Gratitude

I study a great variety of people in a quest for a more peaceful, joyful and successful life for me and those I interact with who are seeking the same.  Pretty much all of them talk about the power of gratitude to lift us at any given moment.

Like most people I have my own challenges to deal with.  I have a go-to list of strategies to implement when they present themselves as inevitably they do.  One of the top on the list is gratitude.  In fact I start the day as soon as I open my eyes with thinking of at least 3 things I'm grateful for.  The feel of my sheets is always on the list. It's simple.  It's there and they really do feel good!

Law of attraction theory says that starting the day that way starts a momentum of positivity because you attract what you focus on.  Starting it thinking of all the things that went wrong the day before will start the day in the opposite direction.  We get to choose.

I'm listening to Deepak Chopra's newest meditation series that he produces with Oprah Winfrey currently.  He co-authored a book called Superbrain with Harvard brain scientist Dr. Rudi Tanzi. Chopra says that when we start thinking positively, the brain gathers another thought like it...and then another...and then another.  They don't call it attraction as such.  It's more the function of the brain as it lines up neural pathways.

I don't care what the reason is.  I just know that starting the day that way really helps me have the life I want.  Do I have everything?  Of course not.  Who does?  But I have a sense of peace, joy and abundance that seems to constantly bring more of the same to me.

I can't change others.  I can't alter certain life circumstances.  But I can change me. And that does change everything.

Everything is always working out for me

I study positive strategies from a great variety of sources.  I love reading the various perspectives and am gratitfied to find out that most come down to the same basic principles that are easy to understand but often not too easy to implement. I love quotes which I turn into memes (quotes on a background like the one to the left) because I never know what turn of phrase will make me see the world just a bit clearer, more optimistically than I did before I read it.  Quotes were part of every daily sheet I gave my Strategies for Success students.  Back then weren't so sure they liked them but now many of them post their own or share the ones they find from me on my Facebook page.

The most recent quote is from Abraham-Hicks Law of Attraction work.  "Everything is always working out for me."  When I first heard it, I thought that I couldn't say it because everything wasn't exactly how I wanted it.  Whose life is?  But then I remember someone on one of Dr. Wayne Dyer's audio series saying that when she first said a positive affirmation, it sounded like a lie.  After a bit of time, it seemed that it could be possible and ultimately it became a reality.  That's what's happened to me.

I said it all the time I was away at my time share in Florida to my best friend, those friends I visited and those I left behind.  My best friend was doubtful as I had been.  After a couple of weeks with me, she was a believer because everything was always working out for me.  Little things like wishing there was a certain restaurant nearby and it was to traffic opening up.  I had been a bit disappointed that I didn't have the Pre clearance for security as I had for so many other recent flights.  Then I found out the airport was testing a way to let us all through without taking anything off or anything out. Even a major business opportunity that I thought hadn't worked was well received.  It seems to be a never ending stream of things working out for me.

How about you?  Are you willing to try this phrase out for a while?  I know that those of my somewhat doubtful friends are now believers...and that's what it takes.  Believing that things are working out, even those that seem like they might not be at first glance.

Give it a try...and let things start falling into place in your life!

Until next time, keep shining!
Marianne