life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Habits”
just one step today
We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down. – Eleanor Roosevelt
be inspired by art journaling
I am excited to give art journaling a try very soon. I have been studying it for a couple of years now and, I must admit, I have been a little intimidated by it, but here I am ready to try it!!!
Check out the new issue of Songs from the Valley on Inspiration!
http://www.songsfromthevalley.com
We don’t deny the negative, we just put it in the proper context as being miracles for our own growth. – Mastin Kipp
Everything you take for granted is a blessing. Everything you fear is a friend in disguise. Everything you want is a part of you. Everything you hate you hate about yourself. Everything you own does not define you. Everything you feel is the only Truth there is to know.
Everything you wish for is already on its way to you. Everything you think creates your life. Everything you seek for you will find. Everything you resist will stick around. Everything you let go of stays if it’s supposed to. Everything you need is right where you are.
Every time you bless another your bless yourself. Every time you blame another you lose your power. Every time you think you can, you can. Every time you fall you must get up and try again. Every time you cry you’re one tear closer to joy. Every time you ask for forgiveness, all you have to do is forgive yourself.
Everyone you see is your reflection. Everyone you know mirrors you. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to live in joy. Everyone seeks a higher purpose. Everyone breathes the same breath. Everyone needs love to survive. Everyone has a purpose to fulfill.
Everyone’s the same as everyone else. We just get caught up in labels, names, skin color and religion. Everyone’s the same as everyone else. No one wants to feel the pain. Everyone’s the same as everyone else. Everyone is dying for love to remain.
– Jackson Kiddard
Via The Daily Love
www.thedailylove.com
Don’t get bogged down with all the details of how it’s going to come together. Just do the dishes. And watch the momentum build. – Brian J
Here are ten things to do even if others judge you for it:
1.Take car
e of yourself. – Your relationship with yourself is the closest and most important relationship you will ever have. If you don’t take good care of yourself, then you can’t take good care of others either; which is why taking care of yourself is the best selfish thing you can do. Read The Mastery of Love.
2.Do what you know is right, for YOU. – Don’t be scared to walk alone, and don’t be scared to like it. Don’t let anyone’s ignorance, drama, or negativity stop you from being the best you can be. Keep doing what you know in your heart is right, for you. Because when you are totally at peace within yourself, nothing can shake you.
3.Follow your own unique path. – Every new day is a chance to change your life. Work on making life all that you want it to be. Work hard for what you believe, and keep your dreams big and your worries small. You never need to carry more than you can hold; just take it one day at a time. And while you’re out there making decisions instead of excuses, learning new things, and getting closer and closer to your goals, know that there are others out there, like me, who admire your efforts and are striving for greatness too.
4.Lock yourself away from the world and work on your goals. – Dream big dreams, but realize that short term, realistic goals are the key to success. Success is directly connected with daily action. The way we spend our time defines who we are. Successful people keep moving, by doing small things every day that bring them a couple steps closer to their dream. They make mistakes along the way, but they don’t quit – they learn and press on. Read Getting Things Done.
5.Adjust your goals and dreams as life changes. – A great deal of pain in life comes from having a specific dream that 
you’ve fallen in love with, and when it doesn’t work out exactly as planned, you become angry that you now have to pursue a different path. If you want to tame your inner demons and make the most of life, you must not become rigidly attached to just one specific dream, and remain open to there being an even better, equally as happy path ahead. Life is unpredictable, but it provides plenty of opportunities to make dreams come true. Just don’t forget that sometimes taking a positive step forward requires you to slightly adjust your dreams, or plan new ones – it’s OK to change your mind or have more than one dream.
6.Forgive those who have wronged you. – Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong and wise. Forgiveness allows you to focus on the future without combating the past. To understand the potential of everything going forward is to forgive everything already behind you. Without forgiveness, wounds can never be healed, and moving on can never be accomplished. What happened in the past is just one chapter. Don’t close the book, just turn the page.
7.Show everyone your love and kindness. – If you are reserving your love only for those who you have decided are worthy of it – all strangers excluded – it may come as a surprise to learn that this is not love at all, it is called judgment. Judgment is selective, love is all embracing. Just as the sunlight and the wind do not discriminate, true love does not make any such distinctions either. Love and kindness is a way of living. Where there is love, there is no judgment. Where there is judgment, there is no love. Read The 5 Love Languages.
8.Stand up for others, even if it’s the unpopular thing to do. – Sometimes you will say something really small and simple, but it will fit right into an empty space in someone’s heart. Dare to reach into the darkness, to pull someone else into the light. Remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others too, and lend a hand when they’re able.
9.Fight through your failures. – When you are feeling down or dealing with failure, don’t be ashamed. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You are going through a difficult time, and you are still pushing forward. That’s something to be proud of – that you are fighting through it and slowly rising above it. Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
10.Keep your head held high and keep on smiling. – Every day of your life is a page of your history. The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them. Don’t cry over the past, cry to get over the past. Don’t smile to hide the pain, smile to heal the pain. Don’t think of all the sadness in the world, think of all the beauty that still remains around you.
http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/08/01/10-things-to-do-even-if-they-judge-you/#more-493
well done
These days Olympic athletes are vying for gold medals, which only the very best will get. Although I’m not really into sports, I love watching people do things—almost anything—really, really well. Doing something excellently gives a dimension of beauty to it that makes it a joy to behold.
Sometimes new Olympic events are added, but some things you can never turn into a competition. It’s too bad there aren’t more gold medals anyway, some way of saying, “That was splendid!” I know a woman who was abused as a child—terribly—but she turned out OK. It took a lot of therapy, bad turns, good friends and self-discipline, but here she is with no bitterness, fear or self-loathing, and a lot of tenderness and wisdom. She ought to get a gold medal.
A friend of mine is exceedingly good at paying attention, listening with a deep, compassionate heart. There’s no medal for that. A kid in my church asks the best questions in the world. She should at least be in the running for a bronze. Someone can stop in perfect wonder at the shape and glory of a cloud. Another is always honestly encouraging. I know someone who can cry at the drop of a hat. There’s an old guy I know who’s almost always grumpy and cynical, but he’s 94 and he keeps going. Give the guy a medal. A newborn baby just lies there. Eats a little, poops and sleeps. Doesn’t even smile yet. And you can see the gold medal shining in her parent’s eyes.
Ephesians 4 says to “live a life worthy of your calling.” It says God gives each of us different gifts for building up the Body of Christ. We all contribute something to the community. You life’s work is to find out what your calling is, what your own gifts are. There are an infinite number of “Olympic events.”
And there are an infinite number of gold medals. “Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Christ’s gift is infinite. God’s grace is a gold medal for everyone, not for an outstanding accomplishment, not for being better than others, but just for being ourselves.
Discover what is is to be yourself, to live out the gifts God gives you. There’s no competition; nobody in the world can do it like you. Nobody. There won’t be a medal you can hang in your trophy case. But it will be beautiful, and a joy to behold. And whatever it is to be you, just to be you, know that it gives God that great smile of the coach whose favorite athlete has just won the gold.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net
never, never, never quit! Winston Churchill
If you try anything,
if you try to lose weight, or to improve
yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you
have already achieved something wonderful, before you even
begin. Forget failure. If things don’t work out the way you
want, hold your head up high and be proud.
And try again.
And again.
And again!
– Sarah Dessen
When things just don’t work out as good as you really thought
they would… It’s not rotten, it’s not over, it’s not
finished, or the end. All it means is something better is
waiting for you around the bend.
– Doe Zantamata
We are what we continually do – Aristotle
Habits Die Hard
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then…do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.
by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy / simpletruths.com
Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Rest in peace.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life’s principles) 
are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Prioritize, plan, and execute your week’s tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.
Habit 6: Synergize
Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.
7 Habits – repost from http://thedailylove.com/
don’t loose the simple definition: God is love
Yes, the people around us, and these lives we lead, are becoming more and more complex. There is no denying that the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place, as we have faster and faster means to get anywhere we want to go. Nothing seems to be very simple, yet at the root of everything in our lives, hearts, world is this one simple need: to feel loved and to give love – to be accepted and acknowledged for who we truly are.
Into that need comes our creator and He wants us to realize this truth: He IS love! We are His beloved! Pure and simple. He makes sure we all know – if we don’t have love, and live love – we have nothing. There is nothing else that is this important. Nothing else that is life changing and world shaking.
Today, sift through all your laters of complexity in your over-stimulated, over-scheduled, uber busy life and ‘turn up the quiet, cause love wants to dance’!
life: acoustic & amplified 