growth Archives - Page 4 of 11

Be Present, Even When It Seems Impossible

Being present isn’t something that comes easy. It takes practice and mindfulness to achieve an organic state of awareness.

Of course, if it was easy, everyone would do it and the world would be a bit better. How can you begin to become more present and self-aware in your life?

Anxiety And Worry

Anxiety and worry are two of the biggest stressors in people’s lives today. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, or even how they will handle today.

How many times have you been in a situation where you’re doing something, but you’re not fully focused because your mind is somewhere else? Or, you’re listening to a friend and you begin to worry about their problems as if they were your own?

One way you can control your anxiety is to prepare as much as possible. You may not know what will happen in the future, but there are some things you can be ready for. Things like paying bills on time, keeping an umbrella in the car or having an emergency fund – all of these can help curb your self-imposed stress.

Another way to avoid anxiety and worry is to be present and find a solution. Worrying won’t make anything better – focus on what’s in front of you and how you can solve it, now. Some things aren’t in our power to personally manage, but yet, we still take it on as if it’s our responsibility. Either identify a result, or simply, let it go.

Fear

What makes people fearful? One of the biggest factors is being judged by others. Everyone wants to look good in front of other people, so we put emphasis on how we look and what we do. We do this to gain other people’s approval and to be accepted.

This is the wrong way to think. You don’t want to fit in with other people, you want to be yourself. When you are your authentic self, the right people will come to you. Being fake and trying to make others like you will only build a false sense of security – it’s important not to do this to yourself.

Find your presence when you feel the need to be validated by someone else. Think of what you’re doing in that moment – is this something you want to do or is this something you think someone else would want you to do?

You should always aim to please yourself before you please others. Living your life by someone else’s standards won’t allow you to thrive. Everyone has a unique gift to offer the world, but you must let go of that fear and be present enough in your own life to realize it.

Regret

Eventually, fear leads to regret because you were so scared to do that thing, you didn’t do it – now, you regret it.

Being sorry that you didn’t do what you wanted to do is like holding yourself hostage. No one is making you do anything, but for some reason, you choose not to do it anyway (possibly due to fear).

Don’t let self-doubt stop you in your tracks. We tend to box ourselves in the older we get and we don’t do what we want to do because we’re “adults” now and we lose our curiosity for life. We allow our responsibilities to become distractions (like bills and kids) and it takes over our lives. Before you know it, life has passed us by.

Take the time to be present, even when you’re an adult. Bills and kids don’t have to stop you from being present – be present with your kids. Pay your bills on time so you can afford the luxury of being present, instead of worrying. See the cycle?

Be Present Today And Always

Just about everything leads back to being present. If you want to become the best version of yourself, becoming self-aware is a great start.

Anxiety, fear and regret (among other things) all hold us back in one way or another. By being present, not only do you acknowledge that the only time is now (the present), you also begin to recognize the daily improvement within yourself.

Go ahead and give it a try – whenever you begin to feel overwhelmed by your thoughts, situations or other people, bring yourself to the present. Focus on what’s in front of you and what you can do in that moment. Worrying won’t make it better, fear won’t make it happen and regret won’t offer you another opportunity.

Life is lived in the present. Be where your feet are, today.

Success Is Always On The Next Level

Success isn’t a one-time event, even though we may treat it as such. After you achieve your goal, there should be another goal in place to take you to the next level.

This is where some people get stuck – they succeed at something and then, they stop. They hold on to that one accomplishment for so long, they don’t realize they should have put new parameters in place to keep leveling up.

The World Keeps Moving

What happens after you reach your destination? Most people celebrate. They tell everyone about their achievement and wear it like a piece of gold. “Look at me – look what I did!”

While celebrating is fine, it doesn’t push you to the next level of greatness. It feels good to be successful, especially if you worked hard to get there. At the same time, you must remember that it’s not the end of your journey.

Don’t remain stuck in time, bragging about your one success. We’ve seen people who keep reliving that one glory moment – they bring it up as if it’s brand new, in every conversation.

While everyone else is pursuing their present lives, they continue to stay locked in that time capsule. For whatever reason, they’re unable to get past that moment of bliss. Everyone else has moved on, but what is it that holds them back in time?

The Fear Of Elevating

Of course, you don’t want to be the person that everyone avoids because you can’t stop talking about your one accomplishment. No one wants to be around that person.

Being successful can be stressful because it takes so much effort and action to accomplish your goal. Going through setbacks, constant mistakes, dealing with fear and overcoming obstacles – it’s definitely not for the weak.

What keeps people from pushing to the next level of their lives is the fear of being uncomfortable. You don’t want to go through all of the challenges again, so you hold on to what you’ve already done. You keep reminding people of the same old achievement because you fear fighting a new battle.

You don’t stay relevant by repeating the same story a thousand times. The only way you will overcome this mindset and move to the next level is by creating a new you.

Getting To The Next Level

If you want to get to the next level, you will have to create a new you. The old you is attached to the old success. The new you will find a new success to work towards and claim.

Creating a new you doesn’t mean you have to forget who you are and change your name – it simply means that you put new standards in place to help reach those new heights.

Yes, it may be a bit more difficult, but how else will you elevate yourself to the next level? No one will hand you success – it is something you work for and earn. If it was easy, everyone would be successful.

It may take getting up earlier, learning a new course, rearranging your schedule or sacrificing a little comfort. Just like a video game, you can only level up after conquering the last one. With the new level, your character changes by possessing a new advantage they didn’t have before. You must do something different if you want to see something different happen.

There Are Levels To Success

Being content and comfortable does not promote success. Right before you reach your goal, a new one should already be set. The world doesn’t stop just because you won once – you must keep winning.

Success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. Don’t be afraid to create and meet the new you. The only way you’re going to make it to the next level is to eliminate the fear of moving forward, by setting new standards and rules.

Distractions and obstacles will always be there, but it doesn’t mean you have to accept them and stay stagnant. Continue to build yourself into a more productive and disciplined person – you can do this by learning new skills, improving your circle and creating different habits.

Anything you do is hard until you accomplish it. Never back down from a challenge – it could be the path to the next level of your success!

Don’t Find Yourself, Create Yourself

No one ever talks about how to create the person you want to become – it’s always about “finding” yourself. The way you use words matter and in this case, it can mean the difference between drifting through life and living intentionally.

What does it mean to “find” yourself? Have you been lost all this time? Is life already planned out, without your input? Would your thoughts and ideas even make a difference?

What Is “Finding” Yourself?

Life as a young adult can be an adventure. We have many options, depending on our situation – going to college, finding a job, sitting at home or just figuring things out.

There’s another option what some people like to call “finding” yourself. This phrase is mostly used when you don’t know what you’re doing, where you’re going or how you’re going to get there.

Fast forward five years and ask the person who was “finding” themselves what they are doing now. Some will have a story to tell, but most will still be stuck at figuring out who they are and what they want to do.

When you’re “finding” yourself, it implies that you’re lost. It seems like you must go somewhere and reclaim an identity that someone stole from you. There’s nothing lost about you – who you are is not randomly waiting for your surprise arrival.

Sometimes you’ll find things and sometimes you won’t. Do you want to take that chance in the peak of your life? Or, would you rather be deliberate about following a path that will lead you close to where you really want to be?

How To Create Yourself

Taking some time to “find” yourself should be phrased differently. We like to call it creating yourself (words matter).

Instead of “finding” yourself, create yourself. This gives the idea that you are in control of directing your life. “Finding” yourself happens by chance, but creating yourself happens with intention.

If you don’t know who you want to be, this is the perfect time to begin building a foundation for yourself. You get to develop quality standards and enhance certain habits, everyday.

Start by doing research on the person you admire most. Do they wake up early in the morning? Do they read ten books a month? Are they only working four hours a week? Where do they live? Do they work more than they sleep?

These are lifestyle habits that give you an idea of how to follow your own path. You don’t have to do everything single thing that they do, but it gives you a sense of building yourself. This is how we all start – we pull what we admire from others and piece it into our own lives.

At the same time, if there’s something that doesn’t work for you (like waking up every morning at 5am), don’t be afraid to change it. Make adjustments to your liking. Everyone’s blueprint isn’t the same. Some people are early risers and some are night owls.

This is where the creating comes in – this is you building yourself. If a certain routine doesn’t work for you, create another one. Take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Don’t be timid about making mistakes and experiencing failure – they only point you in the right direction.

Be Proud Of Your Progress

Eventually, creating yourself will put you on the right path to the life you want to live. Don’t just set out to “find” yourself, be intentional and have a purpose.

Be thoughtful about who you want to be and what you want to do. Don’t leave it up to the world to tell you who you are, CREATE who you are! The power is in your hands – you are the writer, director, actor/actress and the editor of your life’s movie.

Take what you already know and use it to your advantage to grow even more. The progress you make will inevitably lead you to your success!

#TBT: How To Change A Bad Past Into A Bright Future

Judging your future by your past impedes your progress and stifles your potential. If you have control over the possibilities, why not stretch and see how far you can go?

What is holding you back at this moment? Is there something you want to do, but that invisible voice keeps giving you excuses and telling you it’s not possible?

We’ve all experienced the doubts and fear that creeps into our minds, convincing us that it won’t work. All it takes is a few seconds of listening and we decide to play it safe, without even putting forth an effort.

Effort and failure is what carries you to success. Giving up because it didn’t work the last time you tried, is not the way to go – get out of your past and take action towards a better future.

The Past Is Your Teacher

Learning from the past can be a good blueprint for life. There are unfortunate things that happened, which you don’t care to experience anymore. This is helpful when making quick decisions.

Things like not putting your hand on a hot stove, or wearing a seat belt while riding in a car – those things can prevent significant harm or save your life altogether. Because of this, you depend on your past to help you in the future.

All of the various situations you experience in the past can contribute to how you live your life, currently. Some good, some bad, but it’s up to you to determine how it allows you to move forward.

The present is always happening. Your mind is constantly having thoughts and reacting to stimuli. Your past has a tremendous influence on each moment, as it occurs. How does this affect you in your everyday life?

The Past Doesn’t Decide Your Future

Sometimes, you can let your past dictate your present and future. Unconsciously, you can hold your present hostage by reacting with what you know, as opposed to doing something different to change the outcome.

If you had a bad business deal in the past, it doesn’t mean that every business deal will be bad. If you failed a science test, it doesn’t mean that you’ll fail every science test in the future.

Just because something went wrong the first time around doesn’t mean it will go wrong forever, whenever it happens. When it’s in your control to change the outcome, think of how you can adjust the details to make it work.

Turn the hot stove off, instead of touching it. Get past references before doing a business deal. Attempt to study in a different place before the science test. It is your responsibility to build your future by correcting the mistakes of the past.

How Analysis Paralysis Occurs

Analysis paralysis is a real obstacle. It’s when you overthink or consume so much information, you end up not doing anything at all. It’s better to proceed and make a mistake, because you learn what not to do and can make another attempt. Sitting still and not doing anything because of your fear of what might happen, is not effective.

Researching information is necessary for making decisions, but if you give yourself too many options, you’ll end up doing nothing. You’re so full of different choices, you become unable to make a move. The confusion alone becomes the new issue that needs to be conquered.

Realize that consulting with your past has it’s benefits. If anything, it should assist you in moving forward more strategically, putting you in a place to win. The rear view mirror is used to make better decisions, not to see how terribly wrong things might turn out.

It’s also important to note that you shouldn’t live in your past. Get whatever information and logic you need in order to make intentional moves, but don’t get stuck there. Some people will stay in the past a little too long and begin to overthink the outcome and hinder their growth. This is a common path to analysis paralysis.

Intentional Decisions

When thinking through a situation, you normally go back to your own understanding and experience, but your experience isn’t the only way to creating a definite solution.

If you grew up with parents who were drunk all of your life, you can make one of two decisions. Your experience will either teach you to be a drunk parent, or it will teach you that you don’t want to be a drunk parent. You may have experienced it, but it doesn’t mean you have to follow through in that particular way.

Make intentional decisions. Use your past experiences to make calculated moves in the future. It doesn’t make sense to make the same mistakes repeatedly, especially if you know better.

You can change your outlook on life by making forward-thinking choices. Allow your past to guide you, but don’t let it drive you down the same road that leads to nowhere. Let it give you the boost you need to make more intelligent and constructive choices. Everyone has a past – don’t let yours define you.

#BeGoalden

Mastering The Art of The Start

Getting ready to start can be a hindering activity. There are so many plans and research that goes into making it perfect, sometimes, the idea may not actually come into existence.

They say the start is always the hardest part. It can be, but if you look at starting from a different perspective, it can be productive, just as it should be.

Thinking Ahead Of Time

We often think too far ahead when we come up with our bright ideas. It’s great to think forward, but you must think forward productively.

It doesn’t help when you overthink. “What if this doesn’t work out – who’s going to help me – how long will it take me to do this?” All of these thoughts are self-defeating. They only promote procrastination and fear.

What happens when procrastination and fear become involved? Absolutely nothing. Every little fear you have contributes to the delay of your idea. It’s a comfortable place to be, but you must avoid hesitating, as this becomes a bad habit that becomes difficult to break.

Doing the opposite will save you more time and mental energy. Upon thinking of your idea, develop the habit of taking some sort of action towards it. Of course, you won’t complete the entire project in one hour, but do something to get you going in the right direction. Taking immediate action allows you to build your ambition muscle.

Excuses, Excuses

Most of the time, it’s best to keep your ideas to yourself. Unless you’re surrounded with a supportive environment, it’s best to move in silence.

As soon as you share your thoughts about your goals, most people will automatically shoot it down. They’ll say negative things like, “You can’t do that – that won’t work – who do you think you are?”

This is why you must be careful of who you have in your inner circle. People will say negative things and give you excuses all day long, just to make themselves feel better. It’s as if they’re saying, “I can’t do it, so you can’t either.”

Don’t allow yourself to become trapped in that box. It’s an easy practice to pick up – before you know it, you’re saying it to yourself and others.

As corny as repeating affirmations may sound, it’s a valuable habit. Others around you are calling you names and constantly telling you what you can’t do, but affirmations provide the foundation of accomplishing what you can do.

Words can be powerful. Start replacing those easy excuses with positive affirmations – see how your thoughts and actions increase towards success.

You Are In Control

When you make a decision to start, you’re in control. You’ve made the decision to begin a new project and you will see it through. What happens during the process can sometimes be out of your control.

This is where overthinking and excuses comes in and destroys your efforts. You may not control how it goes after you start, how far it will take you or who sees it, but you won’t regret making the attempt. Planning helps, but be able to adapt and adjust. Get in the habit of starting without expecting perfection.

Yes, we should have high standards and work towards being successful, but also realize that it’s more about building yourself in the process – the results will come. Too many people get caught up in their emotions because it didn’t turn out the way they wanted, so they give up.

The fact is, you started and did your best. If it doesn’t turn out in your favor, do it again – now, you have constructive feedback and an improved strategy to go on. As long as you start, your skills will continue to develop and get better. No one gets it right the very first time, so get over it and keep going.

Start Starting

Have you ever looked back in your life and wished you would have started something? That’s what you don’t want to happen. Regret is one of the biggest disappointments you can live with. It can be avoided, but you must start and continue to start.

Understand that the journey is what builds you. Everything from your level of discipline, focus, persistence, determination, resilience, consistency, work ethic – it all comes from constantly starting. Your idea can only advance through improvement.

The achievement will come, but first, you must master the art of the start.

Change Is What Grows You

Change is a scary concept to most people. Depending on how you look at it, it can be a terrible thing or life-changing.

We’ve been taught that change means something negative is about to happen, or that whatever it is, won’t work out.

As a result, we avoid change as much as we can. This stunts our growth and keeps us in the same place, year after year, yet, we wonder why nothing good is happening to us.

Change Your Perspective

Certain words strike a certain meaning when we hear it. We think failure means it’s over, a mistake means it can’t be done and a problem means to stop after the first attempt.

We associate all of these words in a negative way, but in reality, we can give them a more positive meaning. Failure means you’re learning, a mistake means you’re receiving feedback and a problem is simply a challenge.

Knowing that these words hold a different, more positive meaning, how does it make you feel? Do you think there’s a possibility that you can achieve your goal or do you still think it’s impossible?

Changing your perspective with words and different situations can help you become more productive. As you can see in the example above, words have power. When you change how you define those words, it changes your thought pattern and your habits for the better.

Fix Your Actions

Are you one of those people that does the same thing day in and day out and wonder why nothing is pushing you forward? It’s because you haven’t changed anything to spark something different to happen.

You must take responsibility for your own actions by changing what you do. Develop a different way to achieve what you want. We all hit a plateau after a while – that means it’s time to take it to the next level.

Don’t keep eating fast food and expect to lose twenty pounds. Ignoring your homework assignments won’t help you pass that class. Spending your money without saving or investing won’t get you closer to retirement. Something has to change.

Yes, change may be difficult, but if you want to be successful, it’s mandatory. You’ll have to change your habits if you want to see change in your life. You’re playing life backwards if you think you can get the best out of it by not putting in any effort. Even the best habits could use a little improvement.

How Do You See Change?

All change is not bad. It’s what promotes growth, challenges you and allows you to step into your greatness. Don’t be afraid if it comes up in your life – switch your perspective and follow through with confidence.

As long as you can control your response to what happens, you can make change positive. There are some things that happen out of your control, but if you can do something to make it better on the other side, change can be your friend.

If you want different results, you must be willing to shift. Everything you’ve done up to this point doesn’t have to stay the same – you can adapt and adjust at any given moment.

Nothing is written in stone. If you don’t like it (whatever it is), get up and do something about it. Make a change and watch how life opens up to progress and opportunity!

#TBT: It Won’t Work, If You Don’t Do It

As a child, we had wonderful ideas. We didn’t stop to think if it was stupid or awesome. All we did was take action and improve upon the finished project. There may have been a Debbie Downer in the bunch, but it didn’t stop us from bringing the idea to life. Being able to explore was our everyday adventure.

Somewhere down the line, someone told us, ‘that’s impossible,’ and we believed it. Our freedom of thought shifted to overthinking. We no longer rushed outside to see if we could do it. The idea of ‘it can’t be done’ killed our creativity. Our brilliant way of thinking just stopped.

How do we recapture our young mind? With work, bills, and stress, it’s kind of a challenge to reconnect with the freedom of thought we had when we were children. Now, our minds are tied up with why things aren’t going the way we want them to, among other things floating around in our heads.

Our freedom of thought hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s just been pushed to the back of our minds. It’s still there, waiting to be dusted off and put to good use.

We all have goals and dreams, but for some, that’s where it stops. Take some time to think it through and figure out how to make it happen. Once that’s done, all we need to do is put in the work.

“It takes too long,” or “I haven’t seen anything happen, yet.” That’s because your goal won’t work if you don’t do it. Don’t get confused – just because the goal is in your head, doesn’t mean it will come to life by your power of thinking. It’s going to take some work.

Just like when you were a child, go for it. Don’t allow anything to hold you back. Yes, we all have responsibilities to take care of and things we must get done, but there is some down time in your schedule somewhere. That down time is when you make it happen.

We can hope and wish for our dreams to come true, but it doesn’t happen that way. When we push ourselves towards our goals, opportunities will begin to appear. Don’t let an opportunity go by, because you were shocked that it actually came your way. Be ready to take it on – this is what you worked for! It’s yours, so take it!

Let’s not get stuck in the humdrum of life. Allow your thoughts to get you excited again, just like when you were a child. Make that fort, build that go cart, and entertain your sold out audience! Life is your adventure to create. No one wants to end their life, thinking how boring it was and how they should’ve done more. Remember, it won’t work if you don’t do it.

The Standards You Set For Yourself

Standards give us something to live up to. It’s a way to improve ourselves without the constant influence and competition of others.

People who lack standards usually remain stagnant. There’s nothing to convince them that they can become better than what they already are, because they’re comfortable.

What happens when you become stuck in a rut and you’re unable to hold yourself accountable for your own actions?

Why Have Standards?

Standards allow you to elevate in life. When there’s a certain desire you want to live up to, it motivates you to improve and become better.

Having standards and rules for yourself promotes growth in life. You know how you want to live, how much money you want to make, the type of family you want to have, etc. – these things are thoughts and ideas that you hold in your mind while you strive and make them come true.

You also set yourself apart from others who have no ambition or goals, and you become the type of person you aspire to be. It’s not easy to live up to your own personal standards – it takes resilience, discipline and focus (among other characteristics), but if you make a plan to get there, it’s definitely possible.

Your Potential

Becoming a more productive version of yourself everyday is a great foundational standard to live up to. As mentioned before, it inspires your ability to grow.

When you hang around people who don’t seem to care about what they do and who don’t have any goals, it’s easy to adopt the same attitude. As they say, birds of a feather, flock together.

This can damage your potential, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. By changing your environment and who you hang around, you can adjust your standards and goals to new and more productive levels.

Always put yourself in a place of advantage. Once you master a task or situation, move on to something else. See how much you can learn and how far you can go. Push your limits and discover your capacity. Never allow anyone to bring you down to their level.

Holding Yourself Accountable

Part of living up to your personal standards is holding yourself accountable. You are your own responsibility – the only person that can save you, is you.

How many times have things gone wrong in life, whether you planned for it or not? Did you sit there and accept the outcome or did you take the time to reassess and create another solution?

This is where most people become stuck – things don’t always go as planned, but it’s your job to get up, figure it out and make one more attempt. You must hold yourself accountable in order to move forward.

Most people like to have “accountability partners” or someone to help them along their journey. That’s fine, but ultimately, the responsibility is yours. Your accountability partner may tell you it’s okay to eat a slice of cake or to buy one more lottery ticket. Sometimes, they can be your worst enemy, as opposed to helping you become better.

What Standards Do You Have?

If you have plans on becoming a better person, then you have standards. Anything you want to do to improve your place in life is a standard you have created for yourself.

Understand that you are your only competition – you should strive to be better than the person you were yesterday. It may be a challenging task, but that’s how self-improvement works.

Create your standards and work on them daily. Develop your daily habits to match the person you want to become. It may seem like a difficult task, but all you have to do is take one step at a time and you’ll become the successful person you’ve always imagined.

Move Forward And Get Out Of Your Own Way

Have you ever heard of someone say, “Get out of your own way?” As backwards as it may sound, there is some truth to that saying.

Instead of deciding to move forward, we blame others for things that happen to us. We find comfort in complaining and pointing the finger. This makes things okay at the moment, but it does nothing for you in the long run.

Deal With It

There are situations that happen and we tend to hold on to them, as if it was our fault. Things like being laid off from a job or the loss of someone close to you can have a negative affect on you.

We all deal with different things in different ways, but sometimes, we allow it to keep us stuck. Missed the game-winning shot? Don’t carry that guilt with you forever. It happened – the only thing you can do is move forward and practice even harder.

Instead of moving forward and practicing harder, we often keep that hurtful replay in our minds as we continue to grow older. Now, it makes us afraid to take chances in situations where others are depending on us. Most of the time, no one else is willing to step up and take that chance because of the possible consequences of missing.

But what if you make it? What if you succeed at making the game-winning shot? Then, everyone loves you and sings your praises. They will tell others how they knew you could do it – what an awesome moment to remember!

If you miss, some people will be mad and come up with excuses as to why they knew you should have passed the ball.

Your Mind Will Hold You Back

As you keep the negative impacting thoughts and memories in your head, your confidence decreases and your attitude begins to suck. Just because it didn’t work the first time, doesn’t mean you can’t make it work the next time.

This is the part where you need to get out of your own way. No one is holding you back – it’s your mind and what you choose to think that’s holding you back.

Think on another level. Leave the negative voices and impeding thoughts behind. It may not seem like it, but you do have a choice and it is your right to move on and make progress.

Train your mind to accept challenges. Study how to follow through and become courageous again. Remember when you were a little kid and you believed you could do anything? You and your friends would spend all day building a rocket. There was nothing that stopped you, no matter how long it would take or how much material you lacked – you kept working on it until it became real!

As a kid, you weren’t in your own way. As a matter of fact, there was no such thing as limits. You would ALWAYS find a way to make it happen.

Move Forward And Find A Way

This is the same mindset you should have as an adult. Don’t allow others to identify what you can or can’t do. Many people get stuck in the opinion of others, but you don’t have to.

Practice shifting your mind from lack to abundance – from no to yes – from “I don’t think so” to “Yes, I can”.

Most importantly, put positive action to those positive ideas, build your confidence and step out of your own way.

#TBT: Be Grateful For The Little Things

Taking the time to be grateful for the simple things in our daily lives is something that we tend to overlook. Between work and distractions, it can be easy to forget.

By being mindful of the things you are grateful for, it lets you work from a place of sincerity. Instead of different things ticking you off, you allow it to pass, without it bothering you or disrupting your day.

5 Simple Things To Be Grateful For:

Breathing – It may seem simple, but someone didn’t get to wake up today, or they didn’t make it through the entire day. There are even people who have a hard time breathing on their own and depend on machines to assist them. Be thankful for the natural act of breathing.
Challenges – We normally call these ‘problems.’ Yes, you should be grateful for your challenges, as well. Challenges may be difficult, but they allow you to grow and give you confidence. If you can make it through a challenge, you can do anything.
Thoughts – Your thoughts give you the ability to be creative and think on your own. You can come to your own conclusions and set your own standards. Your thoughts are the blueprint to your life. As Napoleon Hill said, “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Family and Friends – You may not like some of your family, or you may be at odd with some of your friends, but no matter what kind of relationship you have, they had a part in shaping you. You picked up some good habits and some bad habits – you learned what to do and what not to do. Observing them helped you to become who you are.
Freedom – Being free, you are able to do what you want to do. Unlike jail, you can wake up when you want to, go to work if you want to, or chase an opportunity whenever you feel like it. The choice is yours because you are free. There are some people in the world who are still being held captive against their will. Be grateful that you are free and have control over your own life.

Be Thankful For Life

We don’t know when our time is up, so make everyday count and be grateful for what you are able to do. Instead of putting things off for tomorrow (because tomorrow never comes), be productive and do them today.

Wherever your life takes you, be thankful for the experience. Life has a way of making us feel like we’re the only ones when terrible things happen. There is someone who has been through your experience and you’re never the only one who is going through that situation.

Even when things aren’t going great, continue to fight. It’s hard, but be grateful that you are operating from a place of strength and will come out more powerful on the other side. The hard times are what make us who we are.

Always remember to be grateful in the good and the bad times. It all comes together to create the perfect you in the end.

#BeGoalden