ARE YOU A COPYCAT? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 181

As children we often try to emulate our parents, teachers, friends, siblings, athletes or stars.  That is a natural part of growing up, and it is how we experiment to learn who we truly are so that as we grow older we will become our own persons.  As adults some of us become leaders and some become followers.  Are you copying a celebrity's style, a star's choice of clothing, some one's choice of automobile, a colleague's choice of a good neighborhood, a friend's decorating style, or the lifestyle of your parents? Be aware of how much you may be copying the choices of others, and ask yourself if you are doing it because you truly like the choices or if it is just easier to be a copycat.

It is okay to copy some things in life, but I encourage you to try very hard to march to your own music and to make your own choices.  In other words,

BE ORIGINAL!

HOW HIGH ARE YOUR WALLS? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 178

There are walls in and around homes, apartment buildings, businesses parks.  Those walls do not present many problems.  However, the walls we build around ourselves can be very daunting.  Almost everyone at sometime in life puts up walls to protect themselves mentally, emotionally, or even physically. The walls that we build do not shut others out but rather they shut us in which is really not very smart.

If you have internal walls to prevent you from being hurt (possibly again) or from allowing people to really get close to you and to know you, then ask yourself if you are truly benefiting from them?  I know someone who has managed to build strong and big walls to protect her emotionally and mentally from anyone coming into her life.  On the surface she is charming, attractive, very smart and vivacious and fun.  That is the side she presents to the world.  She gets along well with her business colleagues and others, but she is now 50 years old and totally alone.  She has kept everyone at arms' length for so many years that she has only a couple of friends from earlier years who live in other states so she may or may not have a telephone conversation with them a couple of times a year.  She has avoided personal relationships because of the damage done to her by two relationships when she was young and had her heart broken.

As we get older we rely more and more on our friends and family.  When our parents are gone, and if we are not close to siblings or have none, we are going to need our spouses, significant others, and friends.

Have you done anything to wall yourself off from others?  If so, think carefully about it and realize that before it is too late it is time to tell yourself daily to

SCALE MY WALLS!

DO YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 131

When we are young we take our lives for granted, and we think we will live forever. If we are unfortunate and lose a parent, sibling or good friend we start to think more about the value of life.  We hear tragic news daily about young gang members being killed in drive-by shootings or another person who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time being killed.  Yesterday a 17-year old high school football player died of a stroke, and the number of people losing their lives due to hit-and-run car accidents is unbelievable.

Why am I starting the week off on a somewhat "down" subject?  I suppose for two reasons.  The first is that last week I lost a very dear, old friend to cancer.  He loved his life, his family, and he fought valiantly to keep living.  The second reason is this morning I had an early-morning appointment at the hospital lab to have some blood work done.  As I looked around at all the people waiting for various tests it was evident that many of them are very ill.  I was reminded to be thankful for not only my life but the lives of the people I love.  I am a cancer survivor, and I am very thankful for every single day I have.

I hope you will make the most of each day and never waste one because

LIFE IS PRECIOUS!

IS THERE LOVE IN YOUR LIFE? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 130

These things are casting a pall over our everyday lives:

• The political childishness and incompetence in our government, 
• the racial and financial divisiveness being fueled by politicians,
• the rage of many citizens resulting in harm to others and even murder,
• the abdication of responsibility by many parents,
• their children seeking to belong to a family joining gangs,
• the horrific gang violence, the youth mobs attacking people,
• the outrageous lies being told by politicians and the main stream media,
• the lack of resolution to any of the huge problems we have faced for 5+ years,
• the ill-informed or uninformed people having no clue about what is really happening,
• the sweeping under the rug of scandal after scandal,
• the financial problems and unemployment millions are facing,
• the dreadful dumbing down of our schools,
• the poor academic performance of our children,
• and the fear of what our children and grandchildren will face in their lifetimes.

We receive daily doses of bad news relating to all of these things, and sometimes we must wonder if there is still anything good left in our country or the world.  The answer is there are millions of good people and many wonderful things still happening despite the ugliness of the daily news.

Love abounds if we give it and if we accept it.  So many kinds of love are available to us......parental love; love between siblings, friends, colleagues; puppy love, first love, love of your life, marital love, physical love; spiritual love, love of family, love of country, and love of pets.  

Be sure you are open to love, and it will make life so enjoyable despite all the trouble in the world.  If you give love, you will get love.  It's out there.  Go get it!

LOVE ABOUNDS!

HOW OFTEN DO YOU DO THIS? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 123

Living a thankful life can make each day joyful, each burden lighter, each relationship better, and relieve the stress that plagues so many of us these days. With all the trouble in the world today it is too easy to think only of what is wrong in our lives.  I know it is easy to be bogged down with unhappy thoughts, angry reactions, bitter feelings, and despair over things that are not as we want them to be.  In spite of these things, however, there is one thing each of us can do to help ourselves.

Being thankful is not just for religious people, but it is for all people.  I truly believe that every person can find things each day for which to be thankful.  Beauty, music, art, nature, and kindness are available to all of us at no cost so even the poorest of the poor can enjoy them.  Family, friends, work, health, opportunities, and so many other things to be thankful for are truly blessings.

Today's message is:

COUNT BLESSINGS!

IF NOT YOU, WHO? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 93

We all like to receive compliments and praise from others.  Parents, older siblings, grandparents, teachers, and friends can all build us up so that we feel much more capable and confident in our abilities.  When we enter the work force our superiors and colleagues can make us feel good about our contributions and the quality of our work.

What happens though if we don't have a supportive family or a large family?  What if we are shy and find it not so easy to make lots of friends.  What if our job is with people who are not generous with encouragement and praise?

Then we just have to do it ourselves.  In truth we know when we have done something well.  We are totally aware when we do the right thing.  We recognize when we meet challenges.  So if no one else is paying tribute to us, then we must do it ourselves.  I can do it if need be, and so can you.

Today's message is:

BUILD MYSELF UP!

ARE YOU A PEOPLE PLEASER? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 40

As children we figure out early on how to please our parents, our siblings, our teachers, our friends, our neighbors.  Although it is not wrong to want to please others, the need to please can sometimes cause us to deny our own wants and needs.  It can cause us to do things we do not want to do or to not do things that we truly want to do.

To have your own life and follow your own path it is important to really know yourself.  Once you know yourself inside and out today's words can become your touchstone.

BE TRUE TO MYSELF

DO YOU FOLLOW YOUR "GUT" FEELINGS? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 39

From childhood on through life most people have instincts that will serve them well if attention is paid to them.  Little children soon know the difference between right and wrong if their parents will take the time not  only to teach them but also to model good behavior for them.  Sooner rather than later children develop a conscience or quiet voices in their heads to tell them when they are about to do something they should or should not do.  Not all children learn to listen to their consciences.  Some learn to disregard it until it can become totally silent which usually leads them down a troubled path in life.

If children are taught to pay attention to their consciences and trust them, they will learn to make better choices and decisions as they mature.  They will develop instincts that will guide them in making right choices for friends, colleges, careers, marriage, travels, residences, health care, politics, and all areas of life.

Whether referred to as a conscience, a small voice, a gut feeling, or intuition it is important to learn to rely on it at all times.

Today's message is :  Have faith and

TRUST INTUITION

DO YOU WANT EVERYTHING TO BE VANILLA? - CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 17

Are you set in your ways?  Do you dislike change?  Are you fearful of things you do not understand or with which you are unfamiliar?  Do you willingly try new foods?  Are you a fan of only one type of music? Are your friends just like you?  Do you try new ideas?  Do you make new friends wherever you go?  Do you always visit the same section of a bookstore or library?  Do you tend to wear the same colors all the time? Do you always vacation in the same place?  Can you discuss politics or religion with someone who has opposing views?

We live in a world which offers abundant choices and opportunities.  You don't have to be wealthy or even solvent to try many things which cost little to nothing.  Open yourself up to new experiences, people, sounds, vistas, foods, cultures, and changes in general.

Today's message is:

Love diversity!