Daily Gratitude: As I’ve grown older I’ve begun to have a more open mind. I lament that i wasn’t able to cultivate such a state long ago but rather than looking to the past, I am just enjoying this change. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of doors and locked windows in this big old house that my brain inhabits. However, being able to calm my nervous system and entertain different points of view is a lot of fun and very rewarding. As soon as I find myself making a judgment about something i catch myself and ask a question of two. Perhaps its someone who has sat at the red light for “too long” after it turns greeen and gets to go while I’m stuck waiting for the next green light. As I start to seethe i take a deep breath and say to myself “ok, have you done that before?” of course the answer is yes 99% of the time. If i somehow slip by the prosecution for that offense, i then ask myself “do you know what’s going on in their life that may be causing them not to pay much attention? Can you think of any time that you’ve had so much happening that your concentration was affected?” Again the answer is most likley “no i don’t know what’s going on in their life and yes, i can remember such times.” Going through this process allows me to have compassion for people and defuse my self-righteous high horse. Then I realize how nice it would be if i progressed enough that i didn’t even have to go through the process; that i could just accept things that happen.

Daily Gratitude: How many times have you thought about this? Another way of putting this is “It’s the start that stops most people”. It all has to do with inertia. Overcoming that initial inertia and resistance is the hardest part of any project. How many times have you mumbled “tomorrow…I’ll get that done tomorrow?” How many days do you say that? When is tomorrow going to come? It’s not. The here and now is all you have so it’s best to use it now. Whenever you put something off, make sure you acknowledge that’s what you’re doing. Then ask yourself why you’re not doing it right now. Too busy? Too tired? Don’t have enough time? Don’t think you’ve got everything you need? What else? Analyze each one and see how realistic it is. The time/too busy one shouldn’t keep you from doing one small thing right now to get you started. Too tired? You’ll be surprised how beginning something and getting your project started will give you energy. Soon you’ll realize that each one of these is just an excuse you’ve created. it may even be a believable excuse but it’s not a real reason you can’t at least do something. Make a list of those things you’ve been putting off and go through such a process with each. You may find that some of these things might need to be removed from the list- that they are no longer as important as you thought. And that’s ok. Things change. Narrow it down to the ones you still want to do (or have to do) and then figure out one tiny step you can take to get started. Then go do it.

Daily Gratitude: What dragons are you facing? What do you need to help you slay those dragons? Who do you need to help you prepare? Let those around you help you believe you can do something (slay your dragon); that you can conquer your fear. Take the tiniest thing you can find that you don’t do because of fear (for me, it’s making phone calls). Then find an innocent call to make that won’t upset you. For me it would be calling an automated prescription refill number. Believe it or not, this has been scary for me, even though it’s an automated call and there is no human being on the other end. Once i decide on that being the call I’m going to make (the dragon i’m going to slay), then I look at what it is about that call that bothers me. I break it down into as many pieces as possible. Then I look at where those fears possibly came from. Once this “puzzle” is spread out before me like a jigsaw puzzle poured from the box, i can attack each baby dragon separately and it makes it so much easier. Things that looked insurmountable now are small inclines and not mountains. I can convince myself that I can do it. Sometimes I even feel like laughing when I’ve done this surgery on my issue. Other times, i sit and remember how i have felt when I’ve made the phone calls before and felt the weight of the world off my shoulders. Try the dissection process and see if it helps you.