Daily Gratitude: I ascribe to this completely. Often people jump on the bandwagon and try to encourage someone not to give up. I am sure that if I had posted that i wanted to give up at the Ohio race, people would not have asked why or what i thought was the best course of action. They would simply tell me “you’ve got this” or “you can do it” etc. I know I “could do it” and by that I mean keep going but I also knew my pace and that I wouldn’t be able to make it in the time. It’s the same sorry I have about the upcoming vol state. My pace had deteriorated greatly. However, there is a difference. I didn’t want the Ohio race enough. I do want to finish vol state. Take this advice for yourself and know when to quit something and move on to another goal. But also use it when dealing with others. Ask them what you can do for them. Ask what they need from you. That will most likely mean more to that person than anything. Often you can help them make the right decisions by asking good questions. You’re not stopping; you’re reconsidering!

Daily Gratitude: This is how habits creep up on you. Usually we focus on those we don’t like. I have had that experience with sleep and I continue to struggle to break it. I had gotten into the “habit” of getting up after I’ve been in bed for a few hours. I’d wake up and then instead of being able to go back to sleep, I’d toss and turn until I would get up. Then I would eat something and play a game on my phone. This was interfering with my sleep. It had crept up on me before I realized it had become a habit. Once I became conscious of it I could combat it by recognizing what was “about to happen” and then I’d “reason” with my mind and explain to it as to why we didn’t want to get up. For quite awhile it worked and then it seemed to creep back in. The neural circuits can get programmed without us even knowing it. The brain is an amazing organ. When you look at how easily you can develop habits that are small and seemingly unimportant, it’s not hard to see how engrained the beliefs about ourselves are – these are actually just habits too. Ever since we were young we’ve had so much repeated to us that we had no other choice but to believe these things. If they are positive thoughts that’s great but often they are not good things and the negative neural circuits are formed telling us we’re not smart, not worthwhile, etc. We end up believing these things about ourselves. But the good news is that since they are just habits, we can change them. Not easily but doable. James Clear has a great book on habits – Atomic Habits. There is also a book titled “Tiny Habits” by BJ Fogg which is also good.

Daily Gratitude: How hard this is. Yet how important, too. Most of the time we can’t (don’t want to) let go because that means giving up control. We’ve talked control several times in our daily gratitudes but i never think it’s too much because it is the hardest thing to let go of. But when we let go and just let things happen as they should, that is when my mantra proves itself over and over again. It’s then that “Everything always works out for me.” Even wholeheartedly believing that it’s still difficult to do. When I surprise myself and say “what will be will be”, I am even more surprised by the wonderful results and the speed with which this good comes to me. Lessen the resistance and the wall becomes like a paper thin wafer, easily blown away to allow the good to flow forth! Let’s remember this and try to wipe away all the walls.