Daily Gratitude: As usual it’s all about how you perceive things. Remember that William Shakespeare said “nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so”. Let’s say you’re moving along your life and everything is going fine. Next thing you know there’s a “road block” up ahead. At the least this will slow your progress down. At the worst it will totally stop you in your tracks. In the majority of ways it’s up to you and how you respond. Are you going to let it totally derail you? Or, are you going to stop and say “mmmm, let’s see what we have here. How can I use this to make me a better person or improve my life. Or, maybe even how to improve someone else’s life? How can you share lessons from this experience to help others navigate similar situations more easily? If you make this a constant question in your mind (whether things are good or bad), you can’t go wrong. We are all meant to be teachers and coaches. How many people can you influence with your handling of situations. And you don’t have to write a book or start a corporation to do that. People watch the actions and behavior of others whether you know it or not. Remember that too and let it guide your actions today…and every day.

Daily Gratitude: Playing the “when” game is almost as destructive as the “what if” game. “I’ll be happy WHEN I lose 10 pounds”. Not to be morbid but what if you get hit by a car the day after your idol (the scale) pronounces that you’ve hit that magical (arbitrary) number and so today you should be happy. Suppose you get fired that day or have a big fight with your spouse. Are you happy? Did losing that 10 pounds negate all the lousy feelings and perhaps consequences of the fight or the firing? I bet not. That 10 pounds doesn’t seem to matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Instead, work on being happy now. Doesn’t the smile on your loved one’s face make you tingle and feel so blessed? Saying “hi” with a smile to a friend who is depressed might totally make their day. Isn’t that worth more than a number on the scale? “When I” is like tomorrow. It rarely comes and when it does, it’s immediately replaced by another “when”. Live your life in the now, not in the “when”.

Daily Gratitude: “How can this be?”you may be wondering? How can someone suffering from a terminal illness be happy? Personally I am not sure I could be, but I certainly want to try and learn from those who have achieved this. There are people out there who find happiness in everything they do even while knowing they are dying. I am always amazed and dumbfounded when I see these folks. What courage they demonstrate. Think about it though. And practice being happy every day. Use contrast if you have to. What person in some third world country wouldn’t trade with you right this minute? You have running water, a means of transportation that isn’t solely walking, a job probably, a house that most likely won’t fall over in the next bad storm. And yet for some reason that’s not enough for you to be happy? Make a concerted effort every day to find something that makes you happy and then cherish it. Hold it and caress it, don’t just look at it with a brief glance and then toss it away, searching for the next shiny object.