Today is Thanksgiving Day. A time we will gather with friends and love ones and enjoy a great meal and each others company. Thanksgiving Day in the United States, is a day we have set aside to show our gratitude for all our blessings in life. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the good things that we have been privileged to enjoy.
Unfortunately, many people don’t feel they have anything to be faithful for. When you ask then what they are thankful for they have trouble putting it in words. Sadly, all they can see is the negative circumstances they find themselves in and the things they wish they had but don’t. By focusing on your circumstances and what you don’t have you lose perspective of what you do have.
The past couple of years have been tough for our family. They have had to put up with me getting hurt on the job resulting in seven surgeries on my right arm, contracting a staph infection that almost took my life, and a loss of ability to provide a steady income due to the injury and illness. However, we have all hung tough and have so much to be thankful for.
I know on this day, many that read this, make a list of things they are thankful for. If you don’t you should. Something energizing takes place when you take the time to list all the blessings in your life to be thankful for.
As I am writing this blog, I was reminded of a song we used to sing at church when I was a young child. While I may not remember all the words, I remember the gist of it. It simply said, “Count your blessings, Name them one by one, Count your blessings, See what God has done.” That’s a good idea not just one day a year but something we should practice on a daily basis!
Here’s a shortened version of my list:
• I am thankful to be alive and well.
• I am thankful to have the use of my surgically repaired arm.
• I am thankful for my wonderful wife and best friend, Holly.
• I am thankful for our wonderful children.
• I am thankful for all my friends that have stood by me and believed in me.
• I am thankful to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
• I am thankful for the dreams, desires, and abilities God has endowed me with.
• Last but not least, I am thankful for God’s love, grace, and faithfulness to me.
Perhaps you are going through a tough time, but remember while your circumstances may not be what you like someone is going through something worse. Make the decision today to make everyday a day of Thanksgiving. Being thankful is a choice you make. A common denominator of highly successful people is their attitude of gratitude. An attitude of gratitude is like a muscle, to develop it you have to work it, or you will lose it.
I received an email from Dr. Keith Johnson, the confidence coach, (http://www.theconfidencecoach.com) that gave the following list of seven questions to ask yourself daily to build your attitude of gratitude and confidence which I thought I should share with you in today’s blog post.
1. What am I most happy about in my life now?
2. What am I most excited about in my life now?
3. What am I most proud about in my life now?
4. What am I most grateful about in my life now?
5. What am I enjoying most in my life right now?
6. What am I committed to in my life right now?
7. Who do I love? Who loves me?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Showing posts with label personal inventory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal inventory. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
What Is Important to Me?
All of us have different priorities in life. Some value a foreign sports car, others a big home, others an important title or position. What are your priorities? When was the last time you even thought about what is really important to you?
Making a list of your personal priorities can be an interesting and rewarding thing to do. It can help you get your life in order, increase personal success and make you feel better about yourself.
A sample list of priorities could be, 1) Serving God, 2) Spending time with your family, 3.) Your career, 4.) Having a hobby, 5.) Reading, 6.) Going back to school, 7.) Exercise, 8.) Eating right and so on. You get the picture!
By compiling a list of your personal priorities you are able to determine what is truly important to you. You are also able to gauge how much time you spend in each area and make adjustments as necessary.
Making a list forces you to be all you can be. It also protects you from the demands and expectations of others.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33)
Making a list of your personal priorities can be an interesting and rewarding thing to do. It can help you get your life in order, increase personal success and make you feel better about yourself.
A sample list of priorities could be, 1) Serving God, 2) Spending time with your family, 3.) Your career, 4.) Having a hobby, 5.) Reading, 6.) Going back to school, 7.) Exercise, 8.) Eating right and so on. You get the picture!
By compiling a list of your personal priorities you are able to determine what is truly important to you. You are also able to gauge how much time you spend in each area and make adjustments as necessary.
Making a list forces you to be all you can be. It also protects you from the demands and expectations of others.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.”(Matthew 6:33)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Do You Need Some Change?
Do you ever find yourself questioning why you are doing what you are doing? Has life lost its luster? Do you ever feel like for some reason you have gotten off track and don’t know how it happened? Does it feel like your life is stuck on a treadmill? That you’re always busy but never getting anywhere?
If you’re like me, and you probably are, you’ve asked yourself these and other questions similar to these hundreds of times, and your answer is a big fat “YES!” Now the question is, “So what are you going to do about it?” You can either give in and settle for less than what is possible, or you can make the decision to do whatever it takes to break out of the mundane existence you find yourself in.
From time to time we all find ourselves in some sort of rut. It’s easy to get in a rut without even realizing it. You know you are in a rut when what used to be fun and was a challenge has become ritualistic and boring. Someone has rightly said, “A rut is nothing more than a grave with both ends kicked out of it.” It is existing instead of excelling at what you were created for.
It is important to examine our lives from time to time, in order to discover the rituals, habits, or ruts that we have developed. Especially the ones that are making us miserable. Plato is quoted as saying, “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.”
Notice what the Bible says about examining your life. “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” (Galatians 6:4) Taking personal inventory of your life, and examining yourself, is not always a fun process. But, it is vitally important so you can make adjustments that lead to greater success and productivity.
Right now, in our world, with the economic crisis that is getting so much press, individuals, businesses, and organizations are having to examine their practices as to what is working or not working. They are having to take a long hard look at what is necessary and what is unnecessary as to their projects, their spending, and their work force. Then they have to make the changes necessary to succeed in the face of failure.
One of the keys to success is the ability to adapt. To make the necessary on course adjustments that will get you to where you want to go. When NASA launches a spacecraft or satellite into orbit, there are countless numbers of adjustments that have to be made along the way in order to get them in the proper orbital pattern. So it is with all of life. If you don’t make the necessary adjustments along the way you’ll miss your destination (goals) by miles.
My challenge to you today is to set aside some time and ask yourself the hard questions. Make the time to examine all areas of your life; Your attitude, your life purpose, your gifts and talents, your passion, your dreams, your spending habits, your work habits etc. Then make the decision to make the necessary adjustments and changes that will lead to personal success and productivity. “If what you are doing isn’t working, then you need to change what you are doing!”
To your success!
If you’re like me, and you probably are, you’ve asked yourself these and other questions similar to these hundreds of times, and your answer is a big fat “YES!” Now the question is, “So what are you going to do about it?” You can either give in and settle for less than what is possible, or you can make the decision to do whatever it takes to break out of the mundane existence you find yourself in.
From time to time we all find ourselves in some sort of rut. It’s easy to get in a rut without even realizing it. You know you are in a rut when what used to be fun and was a challenge has become ritualistic and boring. Someone has rightly said, “A rut is nothing more than a grave with both ends kicked out of it.” It is existing instead of excelling at what you were created for.
It is important to examine our lives from time to time, in order to discover the rituals, habits, or ruts that we have developed. Especially the ones that are making us miserable. Plato is quoted as saying, “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.”
Notice what the Bible says about examining your life. “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” (Galatians 6:4) Taking personal inventory of your life, and examining yourself, is not always a fun process. But, it is vitally important so you can make adjustments that lead to greater success and productivity.
Right now, in our world, with the economic crisis that is getting so much press, individuals, businesses, and organizations are having to examine their practices as to what is working or not working. They are having to take a long hard look at what is necessary and what is unnecessary as to their projects, their spending, and their work force. Then they have to make the changes necessary to succeed in the face of failure.
One of the keys to success is the ability to adapt. To make the necessary on course adjustments that will get you to where you want to go. When NASA launches a spacecraft or satellite into orbit, there are countless numbers of adjustments that have to be made along the way in order to get them in the proper orbital pattern. So it is with all of life. If you don’t make the necessary adjustments along the way you’ll miss your destination (goals) by miles.
My challenge to you today is to set aside some time and ask yourself the hard questions. Make the time to examine all areas of your life; Your attitude, your life purpose, your gifts and talents, your passion, your dreams, your spending habits, your work habits etc. Then make the decision to make the necessary adjustments and changes that will lead to personal success and productivity. “If what you are doing isn’t working, then you need to change what you are doing!”
To your success!
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