Daily Gratitude: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

This could also be said as stop beating your head against the wall and start peeling away your layers so you can look inside.

Ideally if the situation is out of our control we shouldn’t even be trying to change the situation. Unless it’s to take yourself out of those circumstances.

I feel it’s always best to work on myself first. Of course if you’re sitting in a burning building and there’s a way out, you want to extract yourself. But most of the things we get ourselves into can be better dealt with by examining our reactions and responses.

My upcoming race may be problematic due to medical issues. But I’m going no matter what. And I’m going to apply what I learned last year. I’m going to have fun and enjoy the challenge. I could spend the time between now and then “worrying” about (aka obsessing about) the issues. But what good would that do? It would just ruin the days I spend thinking negatively.

My time is better spent experimenting with possible solutions, doing the best I can and enjoying each and every day as it comes.

Remember that over 90% of the things we worry about never happen. It doesn’t mean to ignore things but attending to something is not the same as worrying.

Use that energy to look for the positives. I am so grateful for the mess I made of last years race because not only did I get a new book out of it but I learned so much that I’ve already applied in my life. These improvements have made it all worthwhile.

Think about something in your life that is such that you can challenge yourself. See what happens to your mood and your outlook.

Daily Gratitude: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

I think this is a special quote. It can and should apply to all of us. At some point we may find ourselves feeling as if we can’t achieve something because we don’t have what we think we need.

Last year at vol state I couldn’t move very fast at the times when my legs felt dead. Thanks to the wisest woman I know (Jan) I ended up just walking (waiting to fall behind Oprah). I didn’t have any more energy to put into it then. I just did what I could, as little as that was. Eventually, I got some sleep and food and my legs got back to normal. Then I could go faster…for awhile. Then it would all repeat. I am still astonished I finished.

How did I finish? The exact way this quote says. I did what I could with what I had right there. It made a believer out of me.

Can you think of some time in your life when this quote played out in your life?

Daily Gratitude: “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

It’s often helpful to make an intention of taking a certain period of time (a day, a week, a month etc) where you pay specific attention to only seeing the good in your life and around you.

Plan for this period. Figure out a way to catch yourself if you start complaining (the opposite of good). Come up with a mantra to redirect your thoughts. You can use something like this quote. Perhaps “my life is filled with abundance and everything that fills it up is good.” Or come up with your own redirection.

You might also have something like a swear jar where you determine how much money you’ll put in it if you complain? That could be fun.

Try this and then let others know how it has affected your life.