Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi
Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips – trust yourself collage
Good seasons start with good beginnings. Sparky Anderson
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. Pope Paul VI
We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. Mother Teresa
How are You Starting Your Year? Happy New Year! Each New Year, as we count down the seconds and celebrate the year ahead, many of us make a list of things we will do, hope to do, pretend to do, and claim to do, and we call it our New Year’s Resolution. The problem with that list isn’t the list itself, but the thoughts and actions that keep us from starting or completing our goals. Instead of making a to-do list and letting it sit on our desk looking forlorn, why don’t we start anew in 2017 by making friends with our mind first? Our first survival tip is to MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR MIND. How do we do that? Instead of letting ourselves fixate on what isn’t working, let’s focus on what does, repeat those actions with positive encouragement, and remember that what we focus on will grow.
The mind is a very powerful tool, and it can help us to grow and accomplish great things. Our mind can also hurt us unless we make a concerted effort to befriend it and feed it empowering, encouraging thoughts. So, for a change this year, when one of those negative, doubting thoughts surfaces, acknowledge it first, then replace it with a solution as positive feedback to the mind. There’s no magic to this, but it works because the more we make peace with our minds and make the effort to start afresh this year, the more likely we are to accomplish our goals. We become what we believe we can become, and we are all made beautifully with gifts and talents we can put to work in our lives. Instead of comparing ourselves to others and negating who we are, we can achieve our greatest successes by focusing on doing our best work in the here and now, and in increments. Will you start your year afresh by making friends with your mind?
A STORY: A WISHING TREE
A parable tells of a poor man walking through the woods, reflecting on his many troubles. He stopped to rest against a tree, a magical tree that would instantly grant the wishes of anyone who touched it. He realized he was thirsty and wished for a drink. Instantly, a cup of cool water was in his hand. Shocked, he looked at the water, decided it was safe, and drank it. He then realized he was hungry and wished he had something to eat. A meal appeared before him. “My wishes are being granted,” he thought in disbelief. “Well, then I wish for a beautiful home of my own,” he said out loud. The home appeared in the meadow before him. A huge smile crossed his face as he wished for servants to take care of the house. When they appeared, he realized he’d been blessed with incredible power, and he wished for a beautiful, loving, intelligent woman to share his good fortune. “Wait a minute, this is ridiculous,” said the man to the woman. “I’m not this lucky. This can’t happen to me.” As he spoke…everything disappeared. He shook his head and said, “I knew it,” then he walked away thinking about his many troubles. Zen Antics stories via Goodweb.cn
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” Dolly Parton
Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips – Enjoy your life
Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips – trust yourself collage
New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change. Sarah Ban Breathnach
What Kind of beginning did you have to 2017? Regardless of how you started the year, you can make a fresh start today. Instead of being present in our lives, many of us spend our days wishing about what was/ what can be/ what should be… Daydreaming can be a helpful, creative resource, but unless we move our feet and stay grounded in the present, our daydreams will remain dreams. So another survival tip for 2017 is to BE PRESENT. Be conscious of both your surroundings and your goals. Be attentive to the gentle prodding of your heart and the advice of trusted friends, family members, and the occasional angel who pops up in your life with a kind word or solid tips to help you along. When we commit to being present in our lives and see all circumstances as opportunities for growth, we let that inner wisdom surface and faithfully guide us on our path.
To kick-start our 2017 goals, we need to be fully present in our own lives. Often, many of us waste time living vicariously through others. We gawk and guffaw over what X is up to while ignoring our own talents and goals. There is nothing wrong with admiring and celebrating others’ efforts, but don’t ignore your own accomplishments and life. Celebrate the sunrise that woke you up and the sunset that confirmed you made it through the day. Celebrate the goodwill you extended to a stranger and the firm NO you finally dared to say to a siren. If we can start celebrating even our smallest victories, we will eventually learn to celebrate our greatest achievements. Being present also means being clear about our needs versus our wants. Which holds more value to you? Honor it.
A STORY: BE PRESENT TO THE RIPPLES OF LIFE
“The boat is coming to take me home because I have failed in my studies here at the monastery,” said the boy to his teacher. “What can I say to my family?”
“Say that you did your best and that is as much as anyone can do,” answered the teacher.
“But I wanted to be a famous monk and teach others.”
“You can.”
“How?” the sad boy asked.
“Live from your heart. I will show you. Do you see that boat making its way across the lake with the sun setting behind it?”
“Yes.”
“Do you see its wake spreading across the lake? See how the boat looks like the apex of a golden triangle as the wake fans out from its bow.”
“Sort of.”
“Squint,” the teacher said. “That boat is you as you leave the monastery. The lake is your life. The wake is the effect that you will have on the world. Each ripple triggers another ripple, which triggers another. By striving to live as wisely and lovingly as you can, you can teach the path of love to everyone you meet simply by being yourself; a few of them will pass on your good example to others. Thus the expanding golden wake of good works begets other good works. Most important, notice how each ripple catches the sun and bounces its light back to heaven…”
“Would you come home with me and explain all of this to my father?” the boy asked. Zen Antics stories via Goodweb.cn
If ~ by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can TRUST YOURSELF when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master,
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: CONT’D
Motivation Mondays details are below. Join in! The themes for December ’16 and January 2017 are:
DECEMBER
12/05 – 01 World AIDS Day, 02 Int ‘l Abolition of Slavery Day, 07 Pearl Harbor/Remembrance, 08 Immaculate Conception,
12/12 – 10 Human Rights Day, 12 Green Day, 16 Day of Reconciliation,
12/19 – 18 Int’ l Migrants Day, 21 Winter Solstice, 24 Start of Hanukkah, 25 Christmas Day
12/26 – 26 Start of Kwanzaa Day, 31 End of Year!
JANUARY
01/01 – 01 New Year’s Day, Hanukkah ends, 06 Epiphany, 06 Three Kings
01/08 – 08 Golden Globes Award, 11 Human Trafficking Awareness Day, 12 Full Moon
01/16 – 16 Martin Luther King Day, 18 Winnie the Pooh Day, 20 Inauguration Day
01/23 – 27 Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust, 28 Chinese New Year
01/29 – 29 Inspire your heart with art
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2017?
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.
— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab
More Below!
“Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips – trust yourself collage
If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one. Dolly Parton
Nature is infinitely creative. It is always producing the possibility of new beginnings. Marianne Williamson
Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities. William Throsby Bridges
What else can make our New Start/Beginnings a Win? If you noticed, I added Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem in the upper half of this post. I did so because it is quite long and I wanted it to catch your attention before you got to this part of the post. Most of us learned this poem at school and delighted in reciting its words of encouragement and empowerment. But what always stood out as the poem’s fundamental message wasn’t the list of ifs, but the resounding advice in the first stanza: TRUST YOURSELF. Our third and perhaps most important survival tip for 2017 is to TRUST YOURSELF. The difference between those who achieve stratospheric success and the rest of us is that they believe in their innate talents and are not afraid to persevere in the face of failure and naysayers; they are not afraid to face those people (some friends, family, and strangers) who think they are wasting their time.
How many times have you shared a goal, dream, or great thought, only for it to be quickly dismissed as nonsense? How many times have you let others tell you your ideas and goals are a waste of time? Self-trust brings a certain level of knowing and fearlessness that helps you build confidence in your dream. Self-trust gives us room to fail and get back up; it opens doors to our full skill set, and it stands up to the tyranny of our mind. Self-trust opens our hearts and gives us the wisdom to see others in their full light. When we don’t trust our own inklings, we also suspect others are up to no good. Self-trust shines a light on our self-worth and the worth that resides in others. Will you focus on trusting yourself to defend your self-worth in 2017? What are your thoughts for shining this year?
IF – by Rudyard Kipling CONT’D
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And, which is more, you’ll be a (Wo)Man, my (daughter) son!
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Have a Happy, Healthy 2017!
Any Zen Antics stories via Goodweb.cn
Positive Motivation Tip: Befriend your mind, be present, and trust yourself in 2017
Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge, or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.
Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a Motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)
Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment, and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)com
Category tag: – Share your post using Motivation Mondays
Twitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnM
Dedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-up
Facebook Page: MotivationOnMondays. Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will help others.
Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to complement the page. It’s another place to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.
Badge: I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo-editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’s integrated tool on your blog, or use mine. (see dedicated page)
Tag: – Motivation Mondays
Hashtag: – #MotvnM
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PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos – via Wikipedia and/or START/BEGINNINGS via Pixabay
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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This is such an inspirational post. I will make realistic goals. 2017 is a serious year for me, I need to improve myself and declutter everything.
This is brilliant tips! Making challenge yourself this 2017 is my goal and be fitness and healthy.
I am so excited for a new start! I have a feeling 2017 is going to be a fantastic year.
Good advice!
I like the new start of the new year. My new year so far has been frustrating though due to my bathroom remodel
I love the “Wishing Tree” story. I really want to start the year off strong and begin focusing on the little victories and accomplishments!
we are staying home and hanging out with each other! thats how we started our year!
Happy New Year! A good way to start new year with reading your amazing words and wonderful pictures.
I love the vibrant photos you used in this post!
I agree. The mind is a very powerful tool and we do not need to be present in our lives to survive in this chaotic world!
Happy New Year! Hope your year is off to a great start! Looking forward to a prosperous year ahead for all of us. 🙂
Great advice for starting the New Year. Making friends with your mind is an inspiring way to focus on the positives in life. Trusting ourselves is such a valuable lesson, too.
Very inspiring – what a great post to kick off this year!
I typically do not do a New Year Resolution. I think I saw too many people start and fail and decided it was just not for me. A new year does not mean I have to start something new, why not finish something I have already started? I love the photos you picked for the new year! 🙂
I love the parable of the wishing tree. I wish I could see a wishing tree and be that lucky but then again, I might end up like him and realized it’s not true lol.
What a good post for me this new year! I love reading this and so glad that you make me inspired, Btw I really love this photo
I love the idea of making friends with your mind and focusing on what works. I’ve found that the more you focus on the positive, the more the negative just seems to fade away.
Happy new year to you as well! Thanks for all your resources for giving me new ideas to get connected and to grow as well!
Such a lovelyy post to start 2017. Thank you for this
Happy New Year! Lovely survival tips and yes very ready for 2017 and got plans. Lovely quotes too
I am trying to stay positive at the beginning of the year. My life comes in waves and I don’t always judge everything by the date on the calendar. I hope that things are a little better this go round and I am excited to see what it brings.
I get so excited for the new year because it is a way to start over fresh. In a way, you can really begin to explore new things business wise you may not have before.
Another year and brand new you! Live simply, smile, be thankful and laugh. This is a serious year for me.
I intend to make my blog rock this year. I am off to a good start. Let’s hope it continues!
Packed full of good info!
Thank you for sharing this.
I love the parable of the wishing tree. In a way, it seems to define my business life. I have started many ventures with enthusiasm only to doubt myself midway – but all that is changing since I found proper training for bloggers. Thank you for the wise words!
You always have the best mindset in your posts! I love the enthusiasm you exude and motivation you have. 2017 hasn’t started out rough and am truly looking forward to at least a decent year ~ anything has got to be better than the last several! LOL Happy New Year!
That poem by Rudyard Kipling is written above the center court at Wimbledon. I remember reading it many, many years ago and being touched so deeply by the words. Today, its power still holds true.
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” this verse is true.. I always have doubt when it comes to big decision making. I always just trust myself and I never regret it. This post is very interesting!
Loved this inspiring post… Such powerful words!
Such a great read as always. Makes us reconsider on how we would choose to start the year. 🙂
This post is jam packed with motivation! Love it! Thank you so much for sharing! I love the giving tree!
I would want to start my year with a plan where I can have a listing of my goals and a list of wrong doings that I wanted to change for the better. Asking repentance was always a start of something new as well as giving forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. A positive outlook can contribute a lot for us to reach our goals, wishes or even ambition in life, and of course a perfect trust in Him our Saviour.
Thanks buddy. You made my day. Everytime your posts are wonderful that fills me with the positive thoughts. Keep up the good work.
I really have noticed a sort of renewed resolve among people this 2017. It’s very promising 😀
These are great tips. I love the photos and quotes too. Great post.
Loved your “wishing tree” story as it has many meanings. I think for me, the most important one is learning to appreciate the things I wish for, and work hard to make happen in my life.
I started my year with my family. Instead of our usual trips, we all just stayed home. It was peaceful and comforting to be complete – it’s a beautiful way to start the year if you ask me. We’re all usually very busy with work and with our extracurricular activities so family time on New Year was really special. Being together is a beautiful thing.
I agree, a new year means new friends. I’m really excited for that part, last year had my life running more ups than downs thanks to a few new friends.
This sounds like a great post to read to kick start 2017. I agree that the mind is a powerful tool. It could affect our daily decision making and the perspective of life. Yes, I want to be friend with my mind. Happy New Year to you too!
I really enjoyed reading this. And the pictures are very pretty. I need to start thinking about some of these clearly. Like sharing a dream and dismissing it. I know I’m important, but sometimes I let myself take second… well, maybe most of the time.
I loved the wishing tree story. These posts are always so inspiring and I do enjoy reading them. Thanks for writing motivation Mondays.
A new year is always something to be blessed with. I know that I always tend to start out strong but fizzle part way through. Not this year!
I just love all of your photos this week! Great reading, I always enjoy your motivational blog posts.
I love all of these, SPECIALLY “If you don’t like a road, start paving another one” this is EXACTLY what I needed to hear today!
Make friends with mind is a great tip! I believe in having a positive attitude about everything. If it works its great, if not, its fine at least you learned something! Happy new year, have a great year. Keep inspiring with your posts!
I need to find things that help me motivate especially during Mondays. For some reason, Mondays are hard to get anything going.
These are great tips! I have begun my New Year with ” Courage” Face each and every fear, challenges and hard times will come but if you face it instead of turning away you are making a lot of progress.
A new year is a symbol of a fresh start, new hope and new goals! Love how you said ‘Befriend your mind, be present and trust yourself in 2017’ That is definitely what I need to do! Happy New Year!
These are some really great tips for everyone to follow. Also I love the story be present to the ripples of life. If everyone would believe in their self more, look at how much you have accomplished not how much more someone else has.
Thanks for sharing.
I started my year by spending time with my family and it was great, even though it left me with a cold. Can’t wait to get cracking on all kinds of new exciting projects.
always look forward to reading your post. so motivational and inspiring. great survival tips.
This is a great post. I love your starting quote by Francis of Assisi. You asked, “How are You Starting Your Year?”. I reflected on my past year and decided right away that this year is going to be wonderful. I am starting the year with an absolutely positive attitude.
I see you do a lot of Monday motivation posts. I need to check them out as I enjoyed this one.
I really loved the quote – “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi
I love a new year I feel like it is a fresh clean start and I get to write a new book titled 2017 with January being the first chaper.
I love this, I’m great at being positive and having a good outlook on goals aspiration and achievements I want to achieve yet sometimes / a lot of the time I allow my mind to second guess me which makes me stumble or withdraw from proceeding further.
Jump in do as we desire follow the dreams and turn the desires into action.
You share a lot of inspirational quotes and stories throughout your post. I love it.
And yes “Thanks for sharing” is not an insightful comment I may need to steal that from you.
Kade
I am not too friendly with my mind right now – I am finding the New Year and the Xmas festive times difficult – it’s always this way for me as a bipolar, the cold weather, the dark mornings and nights just sink me lower. I have faith and I am holding on to there but my mind isn’t my friend at all right now. But it will be again soon.
My favorite thing about the new year is reflecting and mapping out new goals!!! Good luck in 2017 :):)
A new start is always good. I think I love that the most about January. The cold weather I could do without but knowing its a new year and a new start always pumps me up!
I love the fresh start of a new year!!! I am hoping this year is a great one and full of success!
No change comes instantly but everyday is a chance for us to start fresh, what more if it’s the new year! I don’t make resolutions, I stick to goals instead, realistic ones that are attainable. I enjoyed reading about your stories today, they’re so motivating and enlightening as well. I’d love to start the new year with positivity!
Who wouldn’t want a fresh start for the new year! I am facing the start of the year with much hope and love. The past year was a little challenging and I’m glad it’s over! You always know how to motivate people and keep the positive mindset around enough to inspire us to do the same. Thanks for the wisdom!
I love reading this post, This would be perfect for me to keep being motivational. I’m so glad that you always share a message like this
Being present is a great way to start the new year! Leave the distractions and focus on what you want to get done.
What a good motivating post for me, I have a difficult 2016 I wish this 2017 I have a good year and thanks for this everyday motivating post to keeping me work hard
I will really do such a possible this 2017! You really have a inspiring quotes! 🙂
Happy New Year! You can’t go wrong with a little motivation in your week. It definitely helps after having to come back from the holidays!
My start has been amazing! I am goal setting, and striving for BETTER this year!
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one”. This is a great quote. The new year is great for making changes in your life.
Yes, being friends with you mind and understanding your thoughts are very important!
After a difficult 2016, I’m hoping 2017 will bring peace to my family. We lost loved ones in a tragedy and are still recovering from the shock. Your post is motivating on so many levels. I’m praying we all experience positivity and happiness in the year ahead
I am so sorry to read about your loss, and even though I’m reading this 10 years later, I do hope all worked out well for you and am sending healing love and God’s merciful grace to surround you and yours, amen.
Yes, this is what I like most about the New Year’s tradition. Sure, most resolutions are forgotten about by February, but it is an easy time to sweep the slate clean and have a fresh start.
Creativity wants to be the very leitmotiv of my 2017! But I’m starting from my body before than my mind! I’ll start sporting again and eating healthy! Creativity has less opportunity if the body not well!
I agree that the mind is such a powerful tool. It can really give you the right mindset especially starting a year.
A new year — a new start! This is an opportunity for us to plan for our own self improvement and to cleanse ourselves of toxic bad habits.
I love new starts and a new year is the perfect time for a new start! This year our new start is to be focusing on our family even more.
Happy New Year! It’s a New year and we can definitely amend certain things of the past and surge ahead.
I really don’t visit your blog as often as I should. I’m always super inspired and motivated after I spend a few visits reading through some of your posts. I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for you!
I’m still laughing about the boy asking the monk to come explain the metaphor to his father! Great story. And of course, I just love, love, love IF by Kipling. One of my favs.
Wow! That was a powerful story and has inspired a journal entry. Thanks for sharing!
I really love this post. Look forward to a New Year with good intentions is the only way to start. I hope you have a wonderful New Year!
These are wonderful tips for the new year! I like to start the new year with a brief recollection of the prior one and goal setting for the new. I make sure to remind myself that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. The small little steps to your goal matter even more than achieving the goal.
Great post – I love daily doses of motivation 🙂
Very good advice. I could always use some motivation in my life.
This year stated on a sad note for me. Someone I loved dearly, a family member, passed away on the first day of a new year. I agree with you, we are what we believe!
This was such a good post! Very inspirational I enjoyed the stories especially the one of the poor man and the wishing tree. You brought a lot of good stuff to pump it up for 2017. I’m loving the positive vibe you set out to kickstart this year. Well done 🙂
I really like the format of your blog! Happy new year!🎊
These are great tips! I love good tips for ways to get through the week.
I like the concept of making friends with your mind. If you see the world a certain way, there’s no use in fighting your own natural inclinations. Work with yourself, not against yourself.
I have to be honest I am not one for New Year new start and setting goals, I have life goals and I work towards them whatever time of the year it is. To me new year is just another day although I have recently realised that I need to stop stressing over things I cannot control and ficus on the things I can so I guess you can say that is a new development that I will be keeping up
In our lives we have a different Journey, I’m so thankful that I had a good journey last 2016 I am thankful to see another year. Thanks for sharing those survival tips. I’ll make sure to keep these in mind especially to MAKE FRIENDS WITH MY MIND. Happy New Year
My favorite way to end the year and ring in the new year is by spending time with family and close friends. Life is so fleeting, can’t imagine better people to celebrate and share my gratitude for their love with.
XO, MJ
I’ve never written out goals for the year before, but I’ve done that for this year! I also broke my goals down into monthly goals so they are easier to track! So far so good! 🙂
New year gives us the possibility to have a new start. I have always so many things I would like to do and achive but unfortunately things don’t always go the way I planned. Hopefully this year will be a bit better!
I hope you have a wonderful 2017! So far I started the year off being sick, but I am going to stay positive and make this year better than last.
Great post! I’m going to try and follow these also!! Thanks a mill!
Love this! 2017 I plan to focus more of my awesomeness and less on what everyone else is doing! I will still be there to cheer my friends on but I won’t say no to some cheering on of my own.
I have started the New Year with a positive attitude and by laying down some firm house rules for the kids especially the teenagers who are not pulling their weight its not going down too well but I am sticking at it as I can’t seem to complete any tasks as I am doing far too much stuff myself with no help at all at home
Starting my year with good reads and prayer. It’s funny cause I was just doing some brush lettering this morning and it was all about the newness of Monday. Then I came upon this blog. 🙂
I love Rudyard Kipling. Been his huge fan since my childhood. Thanks for sharing this poem and reminding my childhood to me. Btw, the Wishing Tree story is actually funny!
Oh dang, you got me with the magic tree story! That’s actually the law of attraction in some sense, right? Also, the story about the monk… it actually meant that the monk isn’t exactly enlightened, otherwise, he won’t have to worry about not being able to explain to his parents~
I do believe in goals whereas I don’t believe in resolutions. I wouldn’t dismiss a goal as nonsense because a goal must be stated to even know if it’s possible and can be attained.
I liked the story of ‘A wishing tree’ and an inspiring poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling! No matter how 2016 was, we need to be more motivated and focussed in 2017!
Wish you too a very happy & healthy 2017!
What a motivating and encouraging post! I especially love the reminder of how important it is to trust and believe in oneself in order to create success in this new year.
Pic Monkey is a great application to play around with photos and create new things. Thanks for sharing the survival tips.
I have been learning to replace that negative self-talk with positive thoughts. When I begin to have negative thoughts instead of dwelling on them or pushing them down only to surface again later, I acknowledge the thought and then replace it with something positive. I like your idea of making friends with your mind. That is a great way to look at it.
I love the story of the wishing tree. I do this to myself sometimes and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. I need to believe in myself in order to start accomplishing my goals.
I enjoyed seeing how the focus for the new year was not on goals/resolutions. I think people often fail to achieve their goals and/or stick with their resolutions because they are not ready—they are not present and they are not trusting themselves. One thing I am focusing on this year is self-care. I have put myself at the bottom of the list for too many years. So far, so good. 🙂
Yes, it is very essential to be at peace with our mind in order to start this year on the right foot. I have my share of episodes with my mind, it can be stubborn sometimes, but I am in continuous process of befriending it and taming it, silencing those lonely thoughts that I feed into it myself. It is a slow agonizing process but I sure am getting there, one positive thought at a time!
This reminds me of one of my favorite books. It’s call Monday morning choices. Monday sets the tone of the week.