Daily Gratitude: How often do you decide to do something (or not to do it) because you want someone to think better of you? I know I do that way too often. It was something i was wrestling with during the race over Labor Day. But I finally was able to do what I felt was right regardless of anyone else’s opinion of me. That was when I decided to do the 100 mile option and not the 112 mile one. I was ok with that this year (don’t know about next year). If people thought i wimped out then so be it. I know what I am and did what I had to do. Will that attitude carry over into other parts of my life? I hope so but don’t know for sure. But it’s a step. What’s been your step?

Daily Gratitude: Sometimes, especially when things aren’t going well, we tend to fall back on our past, wondering where things went wrong or what we did to “deserve” this. This is only useful if we can find out what part of our thinking needs to be changed. When we change our thoughts, and keep them changed consistently, our lives will change. We have to keep our eyes focused on the future. But at the same time we have to understand that things will happen in the time frame designated by the universe – just as a seed will sprout ONLY when it’s supposed to, no matter how much we try to make it grow faster. People get frustrated because things in their lives don’t change right away – they say “I’ve changed my thoughts and am focusing on the good and on what I want for at least a month now and nothing has happened!” Ask yourself how many years you have NOT been thinking in that vein. I’ll bet it’s longer than a month. We need to exercise patience at the same time as we are changing our thoughts. I can’t recommend the small book “As a Man Thinketh” (James Allen) enough.

Daily Gratitude: This is so important. You’ve heard people talk about the “holy” people who go to church and act like they are so pious and then the rest of the week they are mean or just not kind. How often do your actions show how grateful you are for all you have? How can you use your blessings to help others? Can you take some time this week to figure that out? It’s not necessarily a daily thing although that would be great too. But if you think of some way you can use your talents or your things to help others at least once, think how much fuller your life will be. Then you might want to do it again and again.