Daily Gratitude: More quotes to hopefully cement this concept in your mind. Each of us can control our peace of mind. It is within our power since it’s a feeling and we can take charge of our emotions. Have you ever seen someone who just amazes you when you see how calm they are in the face of trouble? Until I understood that this all was under my control, I couldn’t figure it out. And now that I’ve calmed my nervous system a lot, I am more able to pause before responding (which used to just be an automatic reaction) and think about how I want to feel. I ask myself “do I really want to feel crappy because of this tiny little bleep on the screen?” And usually the answer is no I don’t want to feel upset. It’s weird but i no longer like how it makes me feel. In the past I don’t think I even noticed a difference. Paying attention to my body and my nervous system has enabled me to notice the difference. Start with small things and see if you can keep from getting upset. If not, don’t worry. At least you accomplished the first step – being aware. Nothing that’s important comes overnight. Keep working work it. You will be glad you did.

Daily Gratitude: We seem to never give ourselves enough credit. Whenever we’re worried or anxious about what “might” happen, we forget whatever troubles have preciously come our way…and which we’ve conquered. How did we do that? Sometimes it’s with the help of others but most often it begins within ourselves. We decide we have to or want to handle this situation. Then we call upon our internal resources to assist. That may be as simple as having the courage to ask for help. Or it may be telling ourselves “yeah this hurts…a lot…BUT I am strong enough to endure it. Or at least I’m going to try!” I think we can get overwhelmed if we think of how long we have to “try” or how long we need to employ these resources. As with my appreciation for Nike’s “just do it” slogan, I feel the same about “one day at a time” and frequently it’s more like one minute at a time. At vol state for me it’s one guardrail at a time. Remember how we talked about “chunking” things down. This is a perfect example. We really do have enough of whatever resource is needed to make it through a minute or an hour or a day. Take stock of the resources you have within (patience, humor, endurance, ability to ask for help, etc) and realize that you can put up a good fight against anything that comes your way!