GRACE

Here is something you might not know about me-I love Psychology Today magazine.

There are many magazines I enjoy; like Oprah, Architectural Digest, Cleveland Magazine and more, but Psychology Today is one I love.

I have been reading it for years. It is a thin magazine, but that’s because it seems the ads are kept to a minimum.

I am completely enthralled with every subject and topic that I literally sit down and read it cover to cover every time.

Since signed up with a Twitter account I’ve been so excited to keep up with my favorite magazine by following Psych Today’s Tweets!!

About a week ago, the magazine tweeted about choosing a one-word-theme for the year.  

It peaked my interest…

The tweet led to a great article where the author describes a type of New Year’s Resolution that her sister usually does which is choose one word to use as the theme for her entire year.

That sounded fun!

So, I have chosen my one-word for the year; and I’ve already been using it, though it can be hard!!

     My one-word-theme for 2011 is Grace.

No matter what I do, how I act, how I react, or what I try to accomplish, I will attempt to do it with GRACE.

I have been trying to clean up my ‘potty’ mouth. I have been trying to keep my positive thoughts at the forefront of my mind. I am trying to be graceful  in the way that I thinking

There are things we all need to work on every day and many of them are the hardest habits to break.

I am excited about using Grace. I think that a one word theme will be easier than trying to talk my self down from a yuck moment. I just say ‘Grace’ and that speaks volumes to me!

Grace is a gift from God and it’s a gift that may be passed from one to another.

Use my word if you like, or choose your own!

Check it out!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-happiness-project/201012/choose-one-word-set-the-tone-next-year

(The writer is the author Gretchen Rubin and while I am not following the Happiness Project, someone out there might like to learn more about it and possibly join in. So here is her link to the Happiness Project.)

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/the-year-of-happiness-challenge.html

And as always, I would love to hear your comments on this post. Please share what one-word-theme you chose J

Truly,

Amber

Mourning with Arizona – Part III

What’s the Solution?
This posting is in three parts and was originally written and posted on Family Matters with Amber-If you would like to read Parts 1/2 please go to:
www.FamilyMattersWithAmber.blogspot.com

Right about now, I think every American is asking that question.

Standing up for what you believe in, in this country, is supposed to be a right, and a freedom. So why does it always seem like we are paying for it?

Fact: there will always be someone who has an opinion that differs from our own.

Unfortunately some people take it to extremes. They deem you, and your life, not worthy, because your beliefs do not match theirs.

What’s wrong with this picture?  

Sadly, everything… So, what’s the plan?

I’m not sure that we can devise one without first understanding the problem.

Following the Arizona shootings, some have speculated the following reasons for this occurrence:

1.       It was a result of Gabrielle Giffords’ views and her support of health care laws…

Interesting, but probably not likely to be Jared’s only motive. Plus, other representatives have the same views as Gabby and they weren’t gunned down.

2.       It’s Sarah Palin’s fault because she used a scope-icon to identify certain people and parties, and that is where Jared first created this disgusting plan…

Though I agree that her poor choice of bad clip-art was indeed pretty distasteful and not well thought out, and by now probably regrets it, but, I’m also pretty sure she isn’t the only one to express her thoughts on Giffords, so I highly doubt that Palin was the reason Loughner went on his spree.

3.       It’s because of violent video games.

While I believe that condoning our children using games where the objective is to run around with weapons and go on killing sprees, (hence why I don’t allow my children to play them) ,I still think that there is more to it. I just cannot believe that kids say, ‘hey let’s try that for fun in real life’. They must be angry enough already to feel the desire to do something so heinous. If the video games are to blame, you may as well blame movies and their imagination because those things offer them plenty.

4.       Its Jared Loughner’s deranged mind…

Okay, fair judgment, considering only a very, mentally, unstable person would be able to carry out the terrifying act he did, but he had no previous record, and was not at all suspicious to a cop who stopped him the morning of the shootings. And apparently, he was okay before this. Per his old girlfriend, he was kind and sweet and non-abusive.

5.       It is a result of Jared Loughner exhausted and on drugs…

Could be, but sounds like his plan started way before his all-nighter did.

6.       It’s because Jared owned a gun.

A lot of people own guns. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Besides, not every gun owner goes out and murders people with theirs. So I don’t think it’s the gun. There are a lot of other weapons in the world…people don’t always use guns to kill others. (Should everyone have a gun? I don’t believe so, but with a clean record and some money, anyone can get one, and some don’t even need that.)

My personal belief is that this, and many other acts of violence involving guns, is not the guns themselves, and not always the issue surrounding the event, but the anger inside the person who did it and what started it.

I am not a doctor, I am not a psychologist, I am just a mother in America, trying to sort through the mess that I call home. I am looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and my thoughts on this might not be worth much, but I wonder, of these theories, how many considered the child within the murderer?

I think many who are speculating about the problem are missing the big picture.

Honestly, how many people have considered deep seeded unaddressed anger, lack of self-esteem, disappointment, stress, lack of self-control or lack of faith? Maybe even lack of love?

People hurt people because they are hurting…

If someone feels loved, can they truly feel hate?

I’ve noticed it doesn’t matter anymore what you do, there is always that risk that some angry person could harm you.

So many people want someone to blame…so many want somewhere to direct their pain…too many want others to hurt with them.

We are always going to have politics and differing opinions. There will always be jobs lost, divorces and things that don’t go our way. There will always be people in pain. But America has to stop killing each other over it.

It seems more and more common; committing Random Acts of Violence rather than Random Acts of Kindness.

It happens in homes among family members, it happens in parking lots, in shopping centers, office buildings and in traffic. (Remember in the early 90’s, all of the cases of road rage? People were pulling out guns on the highway and shooting each other for getting cut off in traffic.)

My speculation?

America is angry.

Just look at our schools. Bullying is becoming an epidemic. It’s going as far as causing murders and suicides amongst children. (Remember the mother/daughter bullying via face book, fellow student commits suicide?)

Events like this are happening inside of our schools, homes, shopping centers, office buildings, etc., and there is no law, improved screening process, metal detector or lock down drills that will prevent an unstable, hurting individual from pulling the trigger on his weapon of choice…

And, it is highly possible that the individuals committing these crimes don’t even understand where their pain begins; they just know that they want to hate others and they feel that ending someone else’s life, or paining someone else as much as they’ve been pained, will bring a complete end to their suffering.

It’s so disheartening when someone’s life is taken by a person who is in pain. Maybe they have been bullied or alienated.  Recent events like a job loss, divorce, demotion or passed over promotion has left them alone and hurt, so they seek revenge; randomly.

Now for the million dollar question…

How can we help?  

More guns or less?

More people carrying guns…or less?

More jails and security?

More anger, revenge and hatred? (We see that’s not working.)

Loughner was just 22 years old, so young. So immature and he chose to do something so senseless and hurtful. And there are children everywhere, younger than him doing this to their schoolmates…It needs to stop.

The one common thread amongst individuals committing crimes of this type? They became distant and were considered somewhat of a loner.

My Solution?

We have to work from the inside out…

We need to teach the world to hurt healthy so that we don’t harm others when we are in pain.

Like my mission in life…

We need to improve the emotional wellbeing of everyone around us so there is less pain and less people who feel alone. So that less and less of these things happen.

We must teach children from the time they are infants that it’s okay to hurt and it’s okay to be sad, and teach them how to handle it.

Teach men it’s okay to cry.  Teach people to be kind, even when they don’t feel like it.

We must help children understand the importance of self-esteem and help them achieve it by building them up; holding their hand through tough times, showing them that we can help, and most importantly, that they’re not alone.

Love for others comes by feeling accepted and loved ourselves.

We need more love, compassion and acceptance; more understanding, patience and tolerance; stronger self identities and self-esteem.  All of this is learned by being nurtured and loved unconditionally as children and by being offered opportunities to accomplish things themselves.

We must do our best to help our children grow up loving themselves; and not the narcissistic way; by bullying others. But by being giving and compassionate. We must work on improving our children emotionally so that they can care for, and not hurt, others.

Luckily, there are many people who know that no matter what has happened to them, no amount of expressed, ill- directed anger, will replace the person, or thing, they once had.  Those are most likely the ones who deal with the pain, are secure in themselves, feel loved and have faith.

Those types of people understand that anger is a feeling. It’s a feeling that with proper understanding, support and time, will eventually pass, at the very least, will become bearable. They know that it’s normal and natural, and they really do believe, and are convinced, that hurting others or themselves is never going to make the pain go away. They need to be the ones to be the model; the ones who teach; the ones who reach out.

Christina Green’s parents are dealing with the pain and they are choosing not to use hatred to express how they hurt. They are giving; they donated their daughter’s organs to save a life. They are appreciative; they thanked everyone who supports them through this. They are hopeful and strong.

This is our future.

This is our children’s future.

 “You have affected the whole country,” Christina’s father said.

…She certainly has…Arizona was our wake up call.

So that Christina-Taylor Green’s passing is not in vain, I pray that this event gives us all a strong desire to work harder to change the direction of our youth and of the angry, by healing people from the inside out.

In the end, it’s a possibility that no one will ever really know why Jared Loughner pulled the trigger so many times that day…

… I think if we had that answer, we’d be that much closer to world peace.

Truly,

Amber

Old-School Doctors vs. New-School Doctors

Welcome to my office...this won't hurt a bit;) ;)

I had to visit the doctor today.

Isn’t it unfortunate when your doctor can’t be there and you have to see a doctor you’ve never met?

Don’t you just feel uncomfortable when you know you’re sick, you know you need to see a doctor, but your own cannot be there for the appointment and… they have nothing else open on the schedule this week.

Logically, as many of us have experienced, you take the appointment with the new doctor and cross your fingers.

At the appointment, you are expecting to go through the whole spiel about yourself to a complete stranger while they poke around and suggest things for you that are completely off the wall because they don’t know you or your history.

Well today, I was met with a complete surprise.

The new doctor who saw me was wonderful! And he was not new at all! He was an older doctor and reminded me of the old school doctors I used to have.

You know the ones from a long time ago? Long before these new drive-thru doctors that pull you in and push you out quicker than you can order a value meal.

Old school doctors would sit down with you and listen patiently to what you had to say. They would actually read your chart and the symptoms the nurse collected, rather than just flip the top page up and down a few time and say, ‘uh-huh. I seeee’, without ever looking at you.

Today, I really dreaded meeting with a new doctor, but in the end I felt good about it! And when I mentioned it to the nurse on the way out she nonchalantly said how I ‘have the right to switch doctors’.

Switch doctors!?! I could do that!?

I could switch my doctor from a chatty, busy, inattentive, half-listening one to a sweet, patient one who is communicative and concerned???

How?

The nurse said that all I had to do when I called next time was to make an appointment with the new doctor.

That made my day.

Though there was a catch. (Isn’t there always?)

The catch was the passing statement she made on her way out the door.

She said, ‘..He’s nice, but, when he’s running behind, he’s running behind…’

Hmmm. ‘But, what does that mean?’, I asked.

She repeated her statement then shut the door.

Well, I guess at the doctor’s office, you get what you pay for…except you pay for it with time.

I don’t think I’d mind sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room for an extra fill-in-the-blank-amount of time for the sweet, old, patient, communicative doctor to give the person before me, the same wonderful bedside manner I am looking forward to when it’s my turn….

He was on schedule today…the circumstances were perfect.

I will let you know if he’s worth the wait when I go next time… If he diagnoses things correctly because he’s paying attention, I’m going to bet he will be.

Truly,

Amber

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page." St. Augustine

                   I WISH THIS WAS MY LIBRARY AT HOME!!!:)

Picutre courtesy of StumbleUpon.com

       "I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library."

                                                                 -Jorge Luis Borges

    Truly,

   Amber

Children Have Their Own Opinions...and It Starts Young



Kids can reach their own opinions long before adults interject.

Tonight my son was watching a football game, which is common for him when the NFL is on T.V.

The Steelers/Ravens game was on.

As the camera panned the Pittsburgh stadium, my son paused for a moment, shook his head and said, ‘Look at them with their flags; waving them’.

I was in the hall walking by the living room. I saw the clip of video and knew what he was witnessing; it was a sea of proud Pittsburgh Steelers fans, waving their Terrible Towels.

I knew by his reference of ‘flags’ that he’d probably never noticed the towels before. I was confident that we’d never discussed them before so I was aware that this conversation was about to become an educational moment.

I strongly believe that it’s not a good idea to impose my ideas and opinions on my children until first they establish their own.

If they ask me my feelings or views later, I will tell them, but until then I make it a point to avoid sharing my own views before they reach their own.

So with no emotion and from another room, I made my reply a statement; strictly informational and unbiased.

I told him ‘the ‘flags’ were Terrible Towels and that Pittsburgh fans swing above their heads to cheer the Steelers’.

I was surprised, that even as the sweet, kind and gentle little boy he is, who uses good manners every day and never insults anyone, could display such a distaste for what he was seeing.

I never had to say a word about how I felt about the Terrible Towel. He had his own thoughts. He’d formed his own opinion, and it was quite similar to a true Browns fan.

He went as far as to make a silly laugh and give an eye roll. I didn’t teach him that, I swear!  

I simply educated him on the truth. He was the one who came to his own conclusion.

I might not have been the one who influenced him in his opinion of the Terrible Towel tradition,

but…......I am afraid I will need to have a talk with his older sisters. I have a feeling they may have had a hand in teaching him the eye roll….

Truly,

Amber

  

Ten Lies You’ll Hear Before Pursuing Your Dream

While enjoying this chilly, snowy Saturday indoors, I decided to check out some new
websites.

One was Digg.com, which I did not find to be the right fit for me at this time, and
another was StumbleUpon.com.

Check it out! It's both fun and informative.

Although I am sure, like anything else on the internet, it can have it's addictive qualities.

It's kind of like a slot machine. Press Stumble and wait to see what you get.

Smart though and worthy of your time; the more you tell it what you like

and do not like, the more it caters to you and sends you more, or less, of what you desire.

Try it out and tell me what you think.

If you use StumbleUpon.com already, tell me your favorite features.

See my favorite Stumble for the day:

Ten Lies You’ll Hear Before Pursuing Your Dream

is an article that was found for me today.

Some of the photos came a close second, and the mini video Post-it Note Love deserves and honorable mention.

Enjoy stumbling;)

Truly,

Amber

How to Stay Motivated (Part II)

My last post covered a few of the reasons we don’t stick to our goals and mentioned a few tips on how to stay motivated.

This is part two.

How bad do you want it?

When you say you want something…how bad do you really want it?

Like the saying ‘put your money where your mouth is’… Are you really prepared to do what it takes to get what it is you say you really want? Words are easy to recite but when it comes down to it, the real work is sometimes is pretty hard to do.

I have been walking around saying that I’m going to write a book for...well, years.

I do write. No doubt. Since I have file boxes, jump drives and cd’s full of work I’ve done. I’ve done jobs for friends, worked on business plans and even told everyone I know about my goals of becoming a writer of non-fiction and self-help books for… well, years….

I have also been the writer of a Sunday newspaper column and well, still no book.

But I do want to be a published writer of non-fiction and self-help. I do!

Or do I??

Because let’s face it, those who say they want something and those that actually do what it takes to get it, are two very different people.

I have been inconsistent and I have not yet put in the blood, sweat and tears that it requires to be a published writer of books. I have not worked day and night on a book and submitted my proposal to numerous editors and/or publishers, to have it ripped apart and sent back to me to be redone. I have not stayed up, all night and day, pouring my everything into my goal. I just haven’t. And I know that.

You might wonder why I would say this about myself. Um, maybe because it’s true.

I have only recently begun to blog, though blogging has been around for at least 16 years. Why have I waited until this past October?

I don’t know.

I know what the Writer’s Market is. I’ve owned a few, and in my last one I researched and mapped out where my writing would fit in and be best suitable to market. So, why haven’t I done something with it?

I don’t know.

(Wow, I’m starting to sound like my kids…lol)

The fact of the matter is, I can say I want something all I like, and unless I am really dedicated to doing the work involved I don’t really want it, do I?

There is a philosophy that explains that we give our attention and time to those things that matter to us. Is this true?

Maybe. Because at the end of the day, if we truly had put every ounce of effort into our goal, if we had exhausted every avenue of possibility, we’d be AT our goal….or at least we’d be flopping on our face trying to reach our goal.

If not, than clearly we don’t want it bad enough.

Being motivated and staying motivated is a mix of things working together.

1.       It’s the desire (the why)

2.       It’s the know-how (the plan, the experience or the resources that will get you there)

3.       It’s the persistence (and knowing how to be self motivated and holding yourself accountable when no one’s looking)

4.       It’s surrounding yourself with the right people (people who believe in you/support you  and who will push you back towards your goals if you start going the wrong way, those people are your friends and they care)

5.       It’s not being afraid (of the work OR the success)

Staying motivated is a daily, sometimes hourly routine. And most of it is not what you say, but what you do.

Our minds are so incredibly smart. Most times we don’t need anyone to tell us what to do to reach our goals, we already know.

We say we want it….

But do we REALLY WANT IT!?

Sit and think for a minute about some things you have been saying you are going to do, or that you are ‘trying’ to do? Are you trying, or do you just appear to be trying.

Make a list of the things you actually do that help you towards your goal as well as the things you spend your time on that don’t help.

Guaranteed you will see a large contrast between the two lists and you will be amazed at how little time you actually spend on the work it will take you to reach your goal….

Most times we know what needs to be done, we just aren’t doing it.

After this post, I see  I have a lot of work to do……

‘When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve’

                                                                                              -Napoleon Hill

Truly,

Amber

How to Stay Motivated (Part I)

365 days is a long time.

A life-time is even longer.

So how do we stay motivated?

Many of us understandably need a nudge to get started. Other’s need a push.

New Years gives many of us an obvious jumping off point and that’s great. So with several good intentions we are off and running! We know what to do and we are ready to do it!!

So why don’t we keep going?

Well, one reason could be we don’t enjoy what we are doing. Doing the stuff that’s good for us isn’t always fun. And likewise, if something doesn’t come naturally we feel like its drudgery. We just can’t bare another moment of it.

Another reason is, when it will inevitably take months of hard work before we start seeing results on something, it’s discouraging and can be a major challenge to stay positive and keep doing the work without the payoff.

We may start to think that the goal was a meaningless one. Or we might tell ourselves negative things like, ‘Ah, you’ll never make it. This is too hard.’ it’s a quick downward spiral from there and it’s quite hard to start the climb again when you’ve seen how far you’ve fallen.

We all know what happens next.

When we start sliding backwards….we eventually quit.

So, here are a few tips to help you start strong and hopefully stay motivated:

·         Know why you are making the goal (put up visuals to remind yourself of the big reward)

·         Reward yourself periodically

·         Don’t allow other people, or things, to distract you

·         Get a partner or support person to help you stay positive (doesn’t have to be your resolution buddy, but someone else who is supportive and knows your why)

·         Don’t make excuses why not to do the work (our minds are not on our goals side sometimes) Our mind can help or hinder us and you are in control of which it does

Have faith. The hard work will pay off!  Sticking with something is mostly a matter of habit. They say creating a new habit takes about 21 days. So keep on going!

Truly,

Amber

 

 

 

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.- Jim Rohn

Look on the Bright Side

The other day I had a nail in my tire. Unfortunately when it was removed it made the tire go flat. I drove on a donut for a day until it could get fixed. I wasn't happy but was relieved that the tire could be repaired.

When my co-worker today asked how my tire was I told her. We both agreed I was lucky the nail wasn't in the sidewall of the tire, which would make the tire unrepairable. She then shared her experience with

buying four new tires and the very next day getting out of her vehicle and hearing hissing. She had a hole in one of her brand new tires. It disappointed her that she needed to purchase a new tire since hers was unrepairable. She'd just gotten them.

My thoughts of her situation were slightly different. I thought it'd be more of a disappointment to have to change that one tire after you've used them a few thousand miles, since then one new tire and your three old tires would end up wearing differently and it create a change in how the car rides on the pavement, then all the tires would no longer be ready to be replaced at the same time.

She seemed to like that perspective.

I guess that's all our view of experiences are; perspectives.

As children, we're always told to 'look on the bright side'.

That's the foundation for positive thinking;  shifting the angle at which you look at something.

It's not always the easiest thing to do. Changing our perspective takes practice. But when used, it's actually fun. I am not always super positive, I do have my moments but I know that there is a positive spin we can put on almost everything that happens to us.

I find that the most difficult time to do this is when you don't get something you want right away.

At that moment it feels awful that things aren't working out your way. But, having a patient attitude and relaxing, not stressing on the situation, can help.

Try, tomorrow, try to put a positive twist on each thing you view as negative. When I'm really, really in the middle of multiple negative issues, I try hard to think about other ways to view the events. See how many of the uneventful or inconvenient turn out to be perfect.

'I've got a different perspective now because I'm on the outside looking in.'- Charles Davis

Truly,

Amber

Oh Boy Browns....

Hang in there....what doesn't kill us will make us stronger.
....and good luck to Eric Mangini and his family.

Truly,

Amber

Taking the Plunge Again

I’m getting married in ten months and it’s not my first time.

I was married in 1995 and stayed married for ten years.

I worked hard on my marriage and resorted to divorce only after I felt I’d exhausted every avenue of repairing my relationship. And as I was asked in the court room that day, ‘is this marriage broken down without the possibility of repair’; I answered yes, it had. I was done and clearly he’d been done for a while.

I had broken dreams and my life was upside down. But I knew that I was an amazing mother and person, and that whatever problems I had, I could fix, and whatever problems he had, I would never be able to fix.

Divorce leaves a person broken and jaded. It’s a tumultuous event and it uproots all that you are and all that you know.  But, in some severe cases, it’s necessary.

I walked away certain that I never wanted to get married again.

As I moved farther along past the divorce, I realized that getting remarried was probably something I would like to do again but I didn’t know when I’d be ready.

To actually get married a second time, I had to be absolutely, positively  sure that it was the right thing. Especially, since I have three children.

I am sure that this marriage is the right thing and I only wish I knew how to tell my if my first husband was right before I got married to him.

Looking back, the aha moment for me is when I spent the entire month prior to my first wedding, asking everyone, ‘how do you know it’s right?’, that’s a very good indication that it’s not.

Share your thoughts on how you knew your spouse was the right one. How do you know when someone is not the right one?

Truly,
Amber

Be Positive in 2011

Prior to the start of a new year, many of us feel the burden that comes with it… You know the one.

New Year’s resolutions.  

What should be a celebration, New Years tends to be another holiday with a price tag…one called guilt.

As the high of Thanksgiving and Christmas comes to an abrupt end, we suddenly feel forced to review the ugly list of things we shouldn’t do anymore. Those things we should fix, or the list of stuff we need to change. YUCK!! Who wants that to look forward to that!!!???

While 2010 did seem to be one of my most difficult years to get through because I was challenged on such a deep personal and professional level, and was not always at my best, I’m determined not to beat myself up over it. In the end, it all worked out. I acknowledged a need to make adjustments and made them. Overall, it was my positive actions that helped me make the changes.

Don’t take this the wrong way; we all need to grow and change. And, as many of you know, I am one of the biggest self-help junkies, but as humans, sometimes the brain likes to focus too much on the bad, and we actually need to focus more on the good, because isn’t that what we want more of? It’s so easy to nag ourselves about what we’ve done wrong. We can be so quick to blame ourselves and tear ourselves down, creating a list of bad things about the past year.

If you’re like me, and you make the ‘notorious’ list every January 1^st, and by February 1^st begin losing momentum because you just can’t keep up, don’t stress.  You can quit smoking, start dieting, and find more faith any day of the year. You have the power and the freedom to change yourself and your life, anytime. And if you must write a list, make it a small one and call it goals. Then tuck it away for another day.

 It’s better sometimes to celebrate the good first , then work on improving the bad. It’s like that old saying, ‘pay yourself first’.

This New Year’s, pay yourself first with compliments and positive reinforcement. You are strong and will survive. The bad will take care of itself when you just focus on the good.

This year I am starting 2011 with positive energy, and instead of focusing on what I need to change, what didn’t work and what was wrong with 2010, I want to focus on what I did right and what worked for me!

Because, after all, isn’t it the positive we want more of? Isn’t it the positive that actually helped me through the negative? I believe it is...

Here is  my list of what worked in 2010: (please feel free to share yours with me)

Believing in myself

Trusting

Listening to good advice, Facing my fears and getting an attorney, going to trial for my children (and yes, all in that order)

Having Faith

Praying often

Having an attitude of gratitude

Not over scheduling myself (and yes, that meant saying no when I wanted to say yes)

Having a sense of humor

Camping (despite the rain)

Asking for help

Standing up for what I need

Letting go of what I cannot control

Using more patience

WOW!!  What an amazing list to reflect on! Not only do I feel good about the choices I’ve made, but I can use a lot of these again in 2011!!!

What a great way to begin the new year! With positive thoughts! It can only get better if we focus on what we want more of and the things that are positive!

Make 1/1/11 a day you begin with positive thoughts and energy and let it carry you through the entire year!

Don’t focus on what you haven’t done, don’t  want or don’t have. Just focus on what you did right and what worked J and the rest will all come together.

Now take a few minutes to make your list of changes or accomplishments that you can celebrate, then pat yourself on the back while we welcome 2011!

You will feel much better, I promise.

Happy New Year!

J 

Truly,
Amber