Daily Gratitude: I wish more people were aware that they have the power of choice. You can choose to be affected by all that goes on around you or you can choose not to. Do you want to be a puppet in the wind, constantly blown here or there- at the mercy of others? I am pretty sure you’d say no.

Whatever happened to you is over and done. It’s in the past. Why hold on to it? If it was something that you learned from, you can hold on and on to the lesson while letting go of the event and even the memory of it if it brings up negative feelings.

Have you ever asked yourself why you hold on to things that weren’t so good? Do you let those things define you and if so, why? Is this a leftover from your childhood? Is
What happened reminiscent of what you went through when the influential people in your life told you you were this or that. “You’re a bad person if you do x,y,z” “See, I told you you were a failure” “you’re no good at anything. Just a food good for nothing” and so on.

If that happened to you you have to work hard to overcome all of that. The good news, though, is that it is possible. And it’s fascinating if you engage in IFS (Internal Family Systems).

Always remember that you are you and you are not what happened to you

Daily Gratitude: Boy can I attest to this. My life used to be so very narrow. I was afraid of everything that involved interacting with people (outside of work). It was funny how I would become a different person when I walked through the doors of the ER, almost like Clark Kent (for those who know who he is). Not that I would become Superman but that I would strip off my cape and become a different type of person.

It took me over 70 years to shed some of those fears and to develop my courage (again i attribute that to IFS). As more and more courage came through the mucky goo concealing it for so long, my life really did expand. I began to be more comfortable around people. It was and continues to be a process but I am here to tell you that it’s worth every second of it.

One reason I write so much and do my daily call is that I hope I can help others change their lives sooner than 70 years. They deserve to enjoy everything and everyone much much earlier.

Make a commitment to yourself that you will make the journey into your inner self so you can find out where your stumbling blocks, your swamps and quicksand are. And as you come to each, do whatever it takes to clean them off so your courage can rise to the surface.

Daily Gratitude: I think this is important for us at this time. But since I know many people won’t be able to embrace this on a macro level, I want you to think about this statement defining “world” as your world – your family, your career, your friends etc.  

Think about some disagreement or even just a less than pleasant discussion you may have had with someone.  The further back in time the better to start with.  

Does it still bother you? Was it something really that much of an issue?  Is it important today? Or have you moved on to other issues perhaps?  Was it even as bothersome the next day or did you cool off some. Or perhaps as they say was it overcome by events (OBE)? 

Remember that when you get upset or angry (and even just anxious) your frontal lobes shut down. When they stop working, you’re not responding with any logic or careful thought. 

Can you take that pause (from the two arrow concept- the pause between arrows) and wait before you decide how something is going to affect you? So what if someone cut you off in traffic? Do you really believe that the other driver intended to make you made and is a bad person? Of that you’re a victim all the time and that makes you mad? Is it worth that much to get so upset? What are you really upset about?  That is the key question.