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Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips

02/01/2017
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“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

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 incoming year, many of us make a list of things we will do, hope to do, pretend to do, claim to do, and we call our list our New Year’s Resolution. The problem with that list is not the list itself but our thoughts and actions that prevent us from starting or completing our goals. Instead of making a list of things to do and letting them sit there on our desk looking forlorn, why don’t we start anew in 2017 by actually making friends with our mind first. Our first survival tip is to MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR MIND. How do we do that? Instead of allowing ourselves to fixate on what isn’t working, let’s focus on what works and repeat those actions with positive encouragement and an understanding 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 make friends with it and feed it empowering and encouraging thoughts. So for a change this year, when one of those negative, doubting thoughts surface, acknowledge the thought first, and then replace it with a solution as a positive feedback to the mind. There isn’t any magic to this but, it works because the more we make peace with our minds and the more effort we make to start afresh this year, the more likely we will accomplish our goals. What we believe we become and we are all made beautifully with gifts and talents that 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. Are you going to start your year afresh by making friends with your mind?

 

A STORY: A WISHING TREE
There is a parable about a poor man walking through the woods reflecting upon his many troubles. He stopped to rest against a tree, a magical tree that would instantly grant the wishes of anyone who came in contact with 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, he 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 had somehow been blessed with an 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 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 – Enjoy your life

 

Motivation Mondays: A NEW START #2017SurvivalTips - trust yourself collage

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 to 2017 did you have? 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 in wishful thinking about what was/ what can be/ what should be… While day dreaming can be a helpful, creative resource to us, unless we move our feet by being grounded in the present, our day dreams will remain a dream. 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 make a commitment to be present in our lives and view all circumstances as opportunities for growth, we allow that inner wisdom to surface and guide us faithfully on our path.

To kick start our goals for 2017, we need to be fully present in our own lives. Often enough, many of us waste our 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 the efforts of others, 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 had the courage 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?” asked the sad boy.
“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,” said the teacher. “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 constantly striving to live as wise and loving of a
life as you can, you can teach the path of love to everyone you meet simply by being yourself; a few of these people 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?” asked the boy. 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
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for December ’16 and January 2017 are:

DECEMBER
12/05   –    01 World AIDS day,  02 Intnt’nl Abolition of Slavery Day, o7 Pearl Harbor/Remembrance, 08 Immaculate Conception,
12/12   –    10 Human Rights Day, 12 Green Day,  16 Day of Reconciliation,
12/19   –    18 Intnt’nl 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 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?

post-a-week-2017-md
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.

BHWritingLab_052016_post_PROMPT1A

— 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

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 the words of encouragement and empowerment offered. But, what always stood out as the fundamental message of this poem wasn’t the list of ifs but the resounding advice in the first stanza to 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 or dream or great thought and quickly dismissed it as nonsense? How many times have you allowed others to tell you that your ideas and goals are a waste of time? With self trust comes a certain level of knowing and fearlessness that helps you build confidence in your dream. Self trust allows us the room to fail and get 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 are not trusting of our own inklings, we suspect others are up to no good too. Self trust shines a light on our self worth and the worth that resides in others. Will you focus on your  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 breath 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

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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 be helpful to others.
Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way 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’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to 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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from → Global Events, Motivation Mondays, Positive Advice, Posts & Photos 2017
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