If you take a close look at yourself and really think about it, you’ll probably realize that most of the anxiety and lack of peace in our lives comes one emotion – fear. And this fear comes from our ego. We want all the outcomes in life to be the way we think they should be. When they aren’t what we wanted or expected, we aren’t happy. Our will wasn’t done.
This type of thinking comes from our feeble attempts to play God. We aren’t gods, we are creatures. We’re but a cog in the universe that is a under God’s control. When we try to control things, we end up feeling uneasy, frustrated, anxious, and… well – out of control. But what can we do to change our way of thinking? What can we do to have real inner peace?
The peace I write of comes from God, but for our part – we must cooperate with his will and do two things. One is to let go of our ego and surrender. Realize that God’s in control and it’s not only OK to turn things over to him, it’s important for our emotional well being. We can’t even control the process of surrendering. We do our part by realizing we aren’t God and making a decision to let go of the things we aren’t in control of and letting God do His thing. It’s up to God when he allows this to thoroughly sink in and become a part of our natural thinking. But, until then, we put out the effort, ask for His help, and form habits of letting go.
Next, is faith. We trust that God is there for us and wants what’s best for us. When we truly believe that God has our best interests in mind, we can move forward and put detachment into practice. We can stop trying to control all of the things, people, and outcomes in our life and have faith that God will take care of it. We need only be concerned with the things that God has given us control over, such as how we think and act, and how we choose to interact with God and his creations.
When we surrender our ego and act in faith, God does the rest. With practice and Grace, we end up living happier, healthier lives. So take time to be grateful for your blessings, work on your own shortcomings, let God do the rest, and enjoy every minute of your day.
“What hurt could it do thee if thou wouldst let it pass and make no account of it? Could it even so much as pluck one hair from thy head?”
- Thomas a Kempis
Success is a personal decision and relative to our own expectations (if we discount what other’s think – illegitimi carborundum). But our personal development toward success is based on some pretty simple concepts and how we think about ourselves. Once again our “habits” come into play in determining how truly successful we are. If you take the necessary steps on a daily basis, you’re natural outcome will be personal growth – or what I call “success”! The steps are basically choices and they are followed by actions. The two must go together or neither will work. Good choices followed by actions = success.
Recently, a journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time. 
We say we trust God, but do we? Many of us have decided to turn our will and life over to the care of God, but let’s check ourselves and see if we are living up to the call. Most of us believe in a loving God, so it makes perfect sense that we should come to him for help and guidance. We call on God when we’re in trouble and hopefully we thank Him when we are not. But do we really trust God? Do we really believe that God cares so much about us that he is consistently guiding us and wanting the best for us?
in
One day at a time is more than a song, more than a slogan, way more than a 70′s sit com. It’s a way of life and thinking that is essential to personal growth. Today I want to offer encouragement to all those who struggle with living one day at a time. I want to briefly explain what it means to live in the present, give some practical advise on practicing the habit of living in the moment, and some resources for continuing the practice of living one day at a time.
So, how do you develop a habit of happiness? Here’s some food for thought on happiness and how you can become a happier person with the right attitude and thought processes. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be perfect. Just give it a try.
Motivation is the desire to do stuff and is a critical element in making and reaching your goals. In an ideal world, you know what you want, you set your goal to achieve it, you do the work and get where you want to be. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and indeed, we are not perfect. Sometimes we may not even know what the heck we want, let alone be motivated to achieve it. But, like most things in life, motivation can be learned. It can become a habit. So, lets explore what enables people to be motivated and stay consistent enough to achieve their goals.
Here’s my personal collection of inspirational quotes that I particularly love. I keep them handy and reflect on them from time to time. It’s like poetry in that one can gain new insight nearly every time one of these little inspirational gems is read.
Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.
In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing.
Here are some “tough questions” sent to me in an email from a friend.
