The Secrets to Life: Choices

After years of looking outside 'stuff' that would impact on me and help me get what I wanted in life. it dawned on my not too long ago that I had to look inside. No external event or person was going to take me to where I wanted to be. How I reacted to events determined the outcomes. It was and always will be my choice.
We are all where we are today due to the choices we have made in the past.
It wasnt the weather, the government. our partner or parents and teachers. It was us.
We must choose on how we are to live our lives.
Sometimes we make the wrong choices but always they are our choices. Learn from you past, don't be shackled by it.
To grow as a person we must encounter difficulty and hardship. Some of us are lucky enough to have minimal exposure to grief and loss but regardless of the hurdles life puts in our way we must choose to grow and overcome.
One method to meet Life's challenges is to live a life of gratitude. Be grateful for what you have. If it is little, think of the millions around the world who live a life of desperation and would gladly change places with you.
Its your choice.
"If you want things you have never had, you will have to do things you have never done."

Music feeds the soul

Have you a 'trigger' to fire you up or help to re-focus?
When I am down or need to get pumped, it is music that acts as my trigger.
There are two or three songs that resonate with me to fill my soul and make me positive. I play these whenever I am feeling lost or down.
When there is a need for creativity or sustained thinking, music is playing in the background.
Why not build a library of music that becomes part of your kitbag of tools to help you maintain your balance and zest for Life.

Replenishing your soul

Nature is the great healer.
If you are down, lost or just needing mind space, reconnect with Nature. It doesnt matter whether you are in the garden, on a river or in the park just stop and use all your senses to hear, feel, smell and absorb the glory of Mother Nature.
Glass and concrete will not renew your mind or body. Nature will.
From the plant life to all creatures great and small, nature provides us with wonder at every moment we are alive to Her.
Mankind cannot create the magic and wonder of Nature despite our technology and intellect. Look around you and take it all in, the clouds, trees, birds, insects and colour. Feel the breeze, smell the ground and sense the wonder.
Cant make it outside then grow a plant indoors.
Anything to connect with Nature.

Know Yourself

The only way to get what you really want,

is to know what you really want.

And the only way to know what you really want,

is to know yourself.

And the only way to know yourself,

is to be yourself.

And the only way to be yourself,

is to listen to your heart.

Mike Dooley

Live Life

Isn't Life Glorious! Isn't it Grand!

Reach up – Take it –

Hold it tight in your hand.

Squeeze every drop of it into your Soul.

Drink the Joy of it, sun-sweet and whole.

Laugh with the Love of it. Burst into song.

Scatter its richness as you stride along.

Isn't Life Splendid and isn't it Great,

Reach up – Reach out, it’s never too late!

Love yourself

One of the great steps forward in your journey of self discovery is to become comfortable in your own skin.
Love yourself.
Not be in love with yourself but appreciate all your gifts and place in the Universe.
The more you can have love in you the more love you can give and this can only come about when you can look in the mirror and like who you see.
We all have rough edges but that is what makes up our character and defines us as individuals.

With any win or loss in our life, each should be viewed as building block in who we are and who we wish to become.

Socrates Triple Filter

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?" "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like yo t pass a little test. It's call the Triple Filter Test".
"Triple Filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're are going to say. That's why I call it the Triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutley sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "Actually I just heard about it and...". All right," said Socrates.
"So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?" "No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test thought, because there's one filter left; the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?" "No , not really." "Well," concluded Socrates, "If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Gratitude

Everyday I am filled with a sense of gratitude. To have the opportunity to live a life where I am free to make choices is never taken for granted.
Are you in a state of Gratitude?
I realise there a many who's lives are not what they want and can at times feel crushed but try and step back and think of what you can be grateful for. Even if it is just for the smallest of things. The more you look the more you will find and it will help you move towards a better life.
At the start or end of the day just reflect on what you are grateful for in the day. Something may have gone off the rails but just reflect on the lesson it may have given you.
Try and find a space in nature and look around you. I mean really look around. Soak up the wonders of nature and be grateful for the gift.
The more Gratitude you have in you life the more Life you will have in you.

Affirmation

FIRED UP AND FOCUSED

My entire day is one continuous affirmation.

I am walking, talking and behaving in a cheerful and positive manner, visualizing and feeling enthusiastic about everything I do.

My mental movies, combined with Emotion, are the previews of My life’s coming attractions. My biggest single job is to exert the self-control, self-mastery and self-discipline needed to keep My words, thoughts and pictures off what I don’t want, and focused squarely on what I do want. Add to this a dash of confident expectations and I’m on My way to a positive mental attitude and happy, satisfying life. I am Happy, Healthy and Wealthy

I am worthy of my Dreams and Goals.

I am Grateful for all that is in my Life.

My Life is filled with excitement and success.

Dreaming

I have always been a Dreamer. In more recent times I have made the effort to channel these dreams into goals that can be pursued with a sense of purpose. Never one to write reams and reams of detailed goal steps my process is broader and relies on the Universe to guide me in the right direction.
By having my dream(s) at the forefront of my mind, it is amazing how the right decisions and actions appear. Sometimes they will take you away at right angles to your goal but for a very good reason. It comes down to trust a lot of the time. Trusting that being a good spirit will deliver the outcomes I seek.
Make sure you are a Dreamer. Find the time and space to let you mind create images of what you want your Life to be and achieve. Make sure you have the discipline to make the time. Even ten minutes a day will make a tremendous difference.
Most of the great achievements of mankind have started with a dream.

What are your secrets to living a good life?

This my new blog.
Here we can share our ideas on what we believe are the secrets to living a good Life.
Share your thoughts with the world.

My personal journey

Tomorrow I leave for India to spend just over 2 weeks working with a volunteer organisation in a village somewhere in Rajasthan.
This is going to take me so far out of my normal lifestyle which is making me very excited.
Hopefully I can contribute to the villages lives in some way but most importantly it will give me the opportunity to see first hand what their needs are. From there I can make a difference by spreading the word to educate others.
My belief is we must always seek to grow as individuals and one way of doing that is to move out of your comfort zone.
I will keep this post going with words and images.