MORE OR LESS? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 118

For years now we have lived in an ever increasing consumer society.  Constant advertising and commercials tempt us to want more, get more, buy more, and have more stuff.  Children are barraged by ads and other kids making them want ridiculously expensive athletic shoes which they will outgrow in a heartbeat, toys which will not last as long as the credit card bills, and clothes that will assure they "fit in" during their very important school years.

Adults have racked up enormous credit card debt living beyond their means to satisfy the never ending list of wants and must haves.  Somehow in this economy it is apparent that we all need to learn the difference between what is necessary and what is desirable.  We all need to learn to want what we have rather than keep wanting more and more of what we do not have and most likely do not need.

Today's message is:

WANT LESS!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS NECESSARY VERSUS WHAT IS DESIRABLE? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 68

The basics all humans need are food, water,shelter, and clothing  All else are things we want, and over time we have become a society of consumers.  Somehow we allow our wants to become needs.  We no longer base our spending decisions on what is necessary versus what is desirable, and this change has led thousands of people into major credit card debt.  If you are one of those people, then perhaps it is time for you to take a step back, survey all that you have, question all that you feel you are "missing", and determine if those things are truly essential or just things it might be nice to have.

While there are millions of people suffering from horrific poverty, lack of clean water, and insufficient nutrition there are millions of us who are much more fortunate.  Rarely do we have everything we want, but usually we have everything we need.

Today's message is:

I HAVE WHAT I NEED!

CHANGING LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 6

In order for our lives to change we have to stop doing everything the way we have always done it. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, "The true definition of insanity is doing everything the same way and expecting different results."

Being myself a devout creature of habit, I know change can be difficult to accept until you face the fact that you do not like your life the way it is.  Begin writing down how you want your life to be:

• What things do you want to do?
• What things do you want to have?
• What places do you want to go?
• What things do you NOT want to do?
• What things do you NOT want to have?
• What places do you NOT want to go?
• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

When you are writing don't worry about what is possible or not or how you will make things happen or when.  Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, prioritizing, or legibility.  Just write.  Continue to add to this list, and removing items is also an option as your wants change.   I know this process works because I started doing it years ago, and here are just a few of the things I wrote on my lists:

• I want to have a boy and a girl whose names will be Scott and Susie.
• I want to be able to put my children through college.
• I want to be as philanthropic as I am able.
• I want to be Vice President of a company.
• I want to have a Cadillac.
• I want to renovate an historic house.
• I want to convert the historic house to a bed & breakfast inn.
• I want to own my own business.

At the time I wrote them I had no way of knowing how or when these things would happen, but in time they all came to pass.  I never stopped making plans and expecting the plans to become reality so today's message is:

Make Plans