It is up to me....

Over the past few days I have been thinking about my choices. I know what to do. Yet sometimes I don't. I know I should exercise. Recently I haven't. I should do this and or that. It is so easy to blame others. I was thinking these thoughts and then I cam across this article.

Anthony Robbins: It Is Your Choice

Take control of your decisions and your life with these strategies.

What is the single force that shapes the quality of our lives? What power do we have that can change everything? As you and I both know, the answer is the power of choice.

During the past 30 years I’ve had the privilege of working with an incredibly diverse group of people, from presidents of countries to professional athletes, from managers to moms, from gang members to high-powered business executives. I’ve had the unique opportunity to see people in the midst of real challenges, whether it’s the professional athlete who wants to regain his competitive edge, the business leader who wants to expand her influence or the political leader who struggles with a difficult decision. I may not have all the answers (who does?), but after working with so many people and observing the patterns that make them succeed or fail, one thing I am sure of is this: It is our decisions, not our conditions, that determine the quality of our lives.

Take a look at your own life. Are you where you want to be? Are you as healthy or financially secure or as happy in your relationships as you would like to be? Or, even if things are going well, are you looking for that extra edge to retain the competitive advantage? Perhaps you feel that in spite of your success, there’s more out there for you, but for some reason, you haven’t grasped it yet. Your first instinct may be to blame the economy, or the housing market, or someone who has treated you unfairly.

Before we go any further, we need to understand that we are where we are today because of the decisions we’ve made—decisions about what to focus on, decisions about where to place our priorities, decisions about what things mean and decisions about what to do. For example, if your business or career has been affected by the recession, do you feel that you are being punished or challenged to find a new path? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to give up or give more? No matter what we have experienced in the past, our history is not our destiny—we all have the power to make new decisions today.

Here’s another way to look at it: Success is a result of good judgment; good judgment is a result of experience, in most cases. And what about experience? Yes, experience is most often a result of bad judgment.

So here’s the good news: The experience gained from bad judgment and bad decisions is unbelievably valuable—it’s priceless! So don’t waste time beating yourself up over poor decisions you’ve made; learn from the experiences. Really, failure is actually one of the best ways we learn. When people succeed, they celebrate. When they fail, they ponder. They stop and think, What happened here? What could I have done differently? It’s only through self-evaluation that we learn how to make better decisions. So, when you make mistakes, learn from them; use your experience to improve your judgment and make better decisions.

The Path to Freedom—Financial or Otherwise

We’re living in extraordinarily difficult times. Every day we read about and experience more challenges, often related to things we can’t control, whether it’s the economy, the environment or unemployment. We can allow the stress and uncertainty caused by these events to overwhelm us or we can transform our lives by making different decisions.

One of the decisions we can make is to live with a mindset of abundance. What I mean by this is if we live as though wealth has more to do with what’s in our minds than what’s in our wallets, if we understand that how we feel is more important than what we have, we can discover an immense sense of freedom and happiness.

Think about it: Do you know anyone who has a lot of money but doesn’t feel free, doesn’t feel loved, doesn’t feel like he has a choice? Sure you do. You may even feel that way yourself. That feeling happens when you’re not in control of your emotions because you’re looking for someone or something external to fill internal needs.

I don’t care what you’ve achieved or how much money you’ve earned, if you live with an attitude of scarcity and limitation, if you wait for someone or something else to fulfill you, you’re not going to be happy. You must make the decision to live with a mentality of abundance, and you will experience true freedom.

It’s Your Time

Everything that happens in your life—what you’re thrilled with and what you’re challenged by—began with a decision. Your life is the outcome of the decisions you’ve made and the actions you’ve taken as a result of those decisions. Different decisions produce different results.

If you want to control the direction of your life, you must consistently make good decisions. It’s not what you do once in a while that has an impact on the direction of your life—it’s what you do consistently. Make decisions today about how you are going to live in the years to come. For your decisions to really make a difference in your life it’s imperative to decide what results you’re committed to—and know specifically how these results will transform your life. It’s equally critical to decide what kind of person you’re committed to becoming. Get clear about what you want to be, do and have, and what your life will be like after you accomplish this. With that clarity, you’ll find it becomes easier to make the kinds of decisions that will move you in the direction you desire.

What are your standards? What will you demand from life? Decide today if you’ll accept life as it is or if you’ll live your life on your own terms, at the edge and at the highest level

Focus

I was sitting in with a group of children the other day. I was amazed at how well they were able to sit for 30 minutes without moving and or fidgetting. They didn't have to nudge and or chat and talk to the person beside them. It was like they were in a trance. Where were they? They were watching a Cartoon short show on a big screen in a hall. These same children can normally be very restless and fiddle and talk. They were like a different bunch of children today. They were the same people that are normally there. What caused the change? These children had been captervated and even though they werent engaged they were in trance like states. What a delight to see how this relates to us. We also have a choice. We too have to choose what we focus on. We too have achoice on what we will give our attention to. There may be times we have to endure something we arent too fond of. Thats fine as its not the end all and be all of it all. Just like they children were engaged. What are you engaged in today. Just as Moses did many years ago with the burning Bush. Whats has caught your attention? What are you focusing on? Choose be laser focused and move towards a fixed aima nd or purpose. This is our day. Lets focus on something worthwhile.

Power of our mind in health

Recently I have been the most unwell I have been in my entire life. I have been run down with no energy and this past week my shoulder has had an infection. I have been asking myself what is the cause of this? What is my body trying to tell me? Then I was reminded of the power of my mind in the healing process.
There is a story that I came across:

A little while ago we had a visitor from the great state of Texas, who brought with her the largest assortment of self-prescribed drugs I have ever known one person to possess.

She carried a suitcase filled entirely with tranquilizers, aspirin, sleeping pills, bromides, stomach settlers, and nerve pills which she took at regular periods set by an alarm clock.

She ran out of one of her drugs during the night and I had to get out of bed to go down town and get her a new supply. Here was hypochondria (imaginary ailments) at its worst.

The imagination is a powerful thing. It can make people sick and it can make them well. It has been estimated that 75 per cent of the people who think they are sick have nothing wrong with them that their own minds could not correct.

Drugs, properly prescribed by skilled doctors, can be a blessing. In the field of medical research the dreaded disease of cancer is rapidly being tracked down and eventually may be brought under complete control through drugs.

But imaginary ailments which send people to the pill bottle every time they feel the slightest discomfort is a growing evil in America.

Physical pain is wonderful - wonderful because it is nature's language which every living creature understands and heeds. But the person who cuts the line of communication, when pain is sending out a hurry-up call to the brain for help, thereby affronts the Creator who gave man this very necessary signal system.

The person who needs, or thinks he needs, a "pain killer" also needs something more. He needs to find out what is causing the pain.

I have "pains" at times, but I also have a remedy which does a remarkable job of driving them away. It is a simple remedy. I get busy in my garden until I work up a healthy perspiration, or I whip up the keys of my typewriter so enthusiastically that the "pain" becomes disgusted and goes away.

I also have another remedy which serves as a sort of overall insurance against physical ailments. I keep myself so busy doing the things I like to do that physical ailments cannot get into my consciousness.

You can build up a "sound health consciousness" by a very simple procedure: every night just before going to sleep offer a prayer of gratitude for being blessed with sound health during the day.

When you arise the next morning, express the same sort of prayer for the dynamic energy and fine health you expect to enjoy throughout the day. Do this with enthusiasm and you will be surprised at what a wonderful effect it will have on your physical body as well as your mind.

Then clean out your medicine chest and throw the contents down the drain. Place a neatly printed announcement on the mirror of your medicine chest: "When I need drugs I will have my doctor prescribe them."

There may be times when you will need drugs, but you will display practical wisdom if you don't try to determine for yourself when you need them, or which ones you need. This is the work of doctors.

Of course, you can overdo the "doctor habit" also.

If you will form the habit of thinking of yourself as sound, energetic, and full of the joy of living -- and keep so busy at your work that you feel you can't afford such "luxuries" as physical illness - you will seldom need a doctor.

At birth you came into this world blessed with many miraculous things. One of these was an invisible doctor and a chemist that assimilates your food and diverts it into the health and maintenance needs of your physical body.

You can do your part in helping these servants by keeping your mind free from thoughts of physical pain and ailments.

And when you have a sleepless night, instead of rushing to the sleeping pills, try singing the little song which says, "When you are tired and can't go to sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep."

Whether ailing or not, I know of nothing that will bring peace of mind and sound health more quickly than the habit of counting one's blessings and recognizing them in a prayer of gratitude.

Each night before i retire to bed i give thanks for the day and the things I have learnt and how I have aided others. This is a new day. I am at my peak health.

I look forward to our next meeting.

Fraser