Category Archives: Healthy Choices

Beliefs, Focus, Friendship, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Living In The Moment, Personal Development, Responsibility, Self Improvement

A Simple, Easy Way To Treat Your Loved Ones Right

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no excuses - when you really matter

“With technology comes advances. There is no doubt we are better off the more we have invented.  As we advance the same technology can create problems. Nothing is inherently good or evil. A hammer can be used to build or tear down.

Social Media Is Separating Us and Dividing Us

We don’t ‘connect’ as we used to. Instead of calling and speaking we text each other. Often, we group text or we tweet followers and post to friends on social media. It is devoid of human speaking and listening and give and take.  Frequently, we are just posting or reading announcements on walls or watching video without any give and take.

Enter a room anywhere today and you will see people staring at their devices instead of talking together.  Most all of them gazing at their phone are gaming, or texting or reading or watching some media. Human interaction is limited and if there is any at all in that room it is through electronics with someone somewhere else.

This prevalent form of ‘staying connected’ is not meaningful contact. We are not actually talking and listening to or trying to understand anyone anymore. These are not conversations where meaning and understanding are important.

These are written notes littered with abbreviations and emoticons. We don’t hear their voice and their expression we read texts in our voice with our expression. Because we don’t listen or look we assume and misinterpret. Since we don’t actually talk we don’t actually connect.

We think we are more connected through electronics and social media but we may actually be more isolated and less exposed to diverse thinking, cultures and people. A room full of people all on their devices instead of interacting together is not a coming together.

Living Through Your Phone Or Lens Is Not Living

Watching a documentary on an African town is not the same as visiting the town and getting to know and experience the people. We are missing out on actual experiences. We opt to live vicariously rather than to really live. We have become passive observers, shielded behind our mobil devices, rather than participants in life.

Instead of it making us better it lessens our experiences and feelings. It allows us to escape. It preoccupies us. Instead of meeting the new person sitting next to you you retreat into the reliable escape of entertainment.

You game, watch youtube, text someone, read FB to avoid an actual real life encounter with the people right there with you. You are shut off not involved. You are limited and not expanding.

Give It A Rest And Take A Break

Make time for family and friends. Shut off your phones and put them away. Have some real face time with the people you love and care about. PUT THE MOBIL DEVICE AWAY. Your children OR your parents deserve YOU and your uninterrupted time and attention. Don’t deprive them.

Don’t be tempted to answer the call or the text. The person in front of you is more important, most likely, than the person texting in. Most texts and phone calls can wait. Make time for people in your life. Make time for your loved ones! Respect each other!

Respect the other person by giving your undivided attention. Give your complete attention without checking your FB wall. It is rude to be constantly picking up your phone instead of listening and looking at the human with you. It is annoying to others to be conversing with you only to be interrupted by text tones and phone calls. Stop it!

Learn To Live Without Your Phone 

You will survive! Many people, if they forget their phone, panic. STOP IT! It is only a phone. Yes, it is shiny, has bangs and whistles and costs a fortune but it is no where near worth the value of your real friends and family who want to connect with you.

Put it aside. Learn to live without it so you can enjoy it without being addicted to it. If you forget it at home, so what, you will survive. Those feelings of ‘gotta have it’ are the feelings and the stressors you want to eliminate. Relax, it is only a phone. You will survive!

In olden, by gone days, (a few years back) no one had personal devices to stay in touch and for the most part the world went on and on anyway. It is a fallacy to think we need the phone just in case. That is a sense of immediacy and foreboding that is artificial and only causes worry and stress. You don’t need it.

Hug Not Hold

True, once and a while you had to make an important call or you might have missed an important call BUT life went on. There is no reason to be a slave to your electronic device. It is the people that are important not the devices. It is the human you can hug not the gadget you can hold that matters.

Relax. Schedule time to connect. Have a date night with your loved one or friends and turn off your phones. Leave the electronics behind. Make it a point to shut the phone off for half a day or more. You can do it even if it seems as though you can’t.

At the end of your life you won’t say, ‘If I had only spent more time texting and posting to Facebook. If I’d only answered the phone more often.’ I bet you are going to wish for more time with the people you love.

Do not cheat yourself of them of your time and attention. Realize right this instant what is important and who is important in your life right NOW!, Spend the quality time together you and they deserve.” Rex Sikes

Have a wonderful day. Connect with someone in a special way!

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Attitude, Blessings, Emotions, Focus, Gratitude, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Joy, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Responsibility, Self Talk, Success

Want To Feel Great No Matter What?

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phil koch purple flower horizon

“Inside every adversity is a seed of equal opportunity!  In every moment, good and not so good, there is much to celebrate and enjoy. The key is to look for, and find, whatever it is, no matter how tiny, that you can validate and celebrate.

If you want to feel great, feel grateful! When you practice feeling more grateful the results can be profound!

What Is Gratitude?

Celebration and gratitude unlock the door for greater opportunity and benefit. We all have the ability to feel more grateful. It simply means that instead of complaining, whining or blaming we focus on, express and feel good about all we have.

Gratitude means we appreciate the people, the circumstances, the situations or events in our lives and the things we have rather than thinking about what we don’t have or should have. We focus on the good, even in the bad moments. We manage our thoughts and feelings.

Psychological Health Improves

A leading researcher in gratitude study, Robert Emmons, confirms, after multiple studies, that the practice of gratitude increases happiness and reduces depression. Other research conclude it improves resilience in people and raises self-esteem.  It reduces aggression and helps increase empathy.

People who practice gratitude tend to be more relaxed, have more enjoyable feelings and happier memories. They are less envious and less materialistic. They are more optimistic and less self centered.

The practice of feeling grateful reduces toxic chemicals in the body and increases the experience overall more well being. People feel less stressed and overcome trauma more easily.

Physical Health Improves

Grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and are sick less often. They have increased energy and are apt to exercise more. They take better care of themselves and they sleep better. All of which contributes to longevity.

It was determined that sleep comes more easily to those who spend time counting their blessings prior to bed. People who wrote down things they are grateful for had longer and improved your sleep.

Relationships Improves

People who feel and express gratitude tend to be more social and develop nurturing friendships. The practice of thanking others, even strangers, led to more opportunities.  People who were grateful and appreciative recognized and accepted their own, and others, accomplishments more readily. They are kinder.

Career Results Improves

Grateful people tend to experience better career success. They are more likely to make better decision and accomplish their goals. They network more, use their time more wisely are more productive. People who were more grateful tend to generate more income.

More Happiness

The important areas in one’s life all showed improvement. These benefits were tied to keeping a gratitude journal. The simple act of writing down what you are thankful for and what makes you feel good  has profound effects.

The results, the benefits comes to those who take five minutes to concentrate on their blessings. Take some time each day to feel grateful. Stop everything else and focus on what you feel thankful for. It is worth it when you do!

The more people express true gratitude the more people experience greater happiness. If you want to feel more satisfied with life develop an attitude of gratitude. It’s easy! Just count your blessings!” Rex Sikes

Have a beautiful day!

Horizons photo used with permission of Phil Koch

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How To Feel Better Almost Instantly!

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how can i help others olve their problems and acheive their dreams

“Would you like to feel better? Would you like to feel proud? How would you like to enjoy the feelings that what you do matters? Wouldn’t this be nice? It doesn’t take much to feel significant and productive. Here is how:

Help someone else who is down and out. Whether the person or persons are emotionally or financially troubled do something to help ease their burden. Help put a smile on their lips or a song in their heart. Any genuine act of kindness, no matter how large or small can mean more than you can imagine to a person in need.

Pay it forward. Little acts or kindness randomly spread throughout the day can help you to feel inspired and delighted. Sometimes, it is as easy as lighting up, smiling genuinely and listening intently when greeting another person. If you want to feel better help someone else feel better.

It might surprise you how good you feel when thinking and feeling and moving with care and compassion. Even the mental activity of showering the other person with peace and love can be meaningful. Bath them in positivity and enjoy their presence. Take a moment and truly listen. Help a child or play with one. Smile at everyone!

It’s easy to feel good when your goal is to help others feel good. As they light up you will too. Whenever you are down and need a lift give someone else a lift and you will benefit! Aim to understand, accept, allow, inspire, motivate, and assist others. Delight in doing good!” Rex Sikes

Have a great day!

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Beliefs, Creating The Future, Expectations, Faith, Goals, Habit Formation, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Mind/Body, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Relaxation, Responsibility, Self Improvement

Be Happier And Healthier In Just Minutes!

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brain lifitng weights

“People often complain that they don’t have time to do good things for themselves. They won’t take a few minutes each day and devote it to their well-being. They don’t eat, sleep, exercise or think right for their own over-all good. What if it didn’t take all that long to make and get some profound benefits? Would you do it?

The New York Times,  May 9, 2013, reported  on the ‘Scientific Seven Minute Workout.’ That’s right 7 minutes! You use your own body weight, a chair and a wall! Most people could find 7 minutes. Can’t you? Give it a shot, take seven minutes in your day to feel better.

If you can’t do the exercises recommended in the article there are other things you can do.  Health experts have suggested taking the stairs instead of elevators. Stand up for a few moments every hour. Park further away and walk into the store or restaurant. While a period of dedicated exercise has benefit finding more time to move during the day has benefit too.

More people take better care of their cars than their bodies. They put better fuel in their tank than fuel in their body. It is time to start taking care of ourselves. Don’t skimp on the only body you have. AND it is not just your body it is your mental and emotional health too. Exercise has great effect on the entire person. Do it!

Research has demonstrated that exercise is a proven effective strategy in overcoming depression.  One study from Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 633-638 found that 3 groups of patients used medication,  a combination of medication and exercise and exercise alone to treat depression.

All three groups experienced similar improvements in the beginning of the research. However, the follow up months later proved to have some different dramatic results. These are important to note. You do not have to be depressed to experience the benefits noted.

Of those who had been prescribed medication alone 38% had slipped back into depression 6 months later. Those who were prescribed medication and exercise fared slightly better at 31%.

The group who only utilized exercise as treatment relapse rate was just 9%. The biggest and long lasting change came when patients used only exercise to manage their emotions. There may be another reasons for this positive change.

Exercise proved beneficial for the 2 research groups. The reason the ‘exercise only’ group may have the better results IS due to getting exercise and the experience of being in control of their changes. Being in charge is a significant predictor of positive outcomes. Because they are in control they are able to initiate and maintain the results.

This means this group had to be self initiators. They could not and did not rely on an outside element or ingredient to assist them. They did it by themselves. They just had to make themselves do the exercise and this alone has positive implications and benefits. Thus, they were able to continue whereas the others did not.

The efficacy of medication has been called into question in a number of studies. It is reported to be less effective than placebo in some research. This indicates that it is not the medication that may be effective but the Placebo Effect or the belief that it has some benefit. Still, it is frequently recommended in conjunction with therapy or other practices even though by itself it may have no merit.

I am not a doctor and am making no medical recommendations. I do find all the research in this arena worth looking into. I think finding those practices that provide the individual the most benefit make the most sense. Ultimately, each of us must come to our own well-informed conclusions.

The important news for everyone IS you don’t need to be diagnosed as depressed to improve your mood and feel happier. Exercise helps your brain grow healthier, it releases important hormones for well being, it helps you feel better, think better, relax more and sleep better.

If you can take more time to exercise then take it. Do something positive for yourself because you will be glad you did. Walk for  at least 20 minutes. Do this two times a day if you are able. An uninterrupted hour daily walk outside is even better. Make a schedule to include your own mental, emotional and physical fitness.

Thinking and feeling better is easy when you will devote some time to it! Find a way to manage your time to engage in healthy practices. If nothing else go out on your lunch break and take a stroll. Walk, jump, skip, run, stretch, skateboard, anything that gets your body moving. Dedicate yourself to your own well being. ” Rex Sikes

What positive daily practice will you commit to today?

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Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Curiosity, Focus, Giving Unconditionally, Goals, Habit Formation, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Learning, Novelty, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success

Challenge Is Good. Embrace Challenge!

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1507012_279604968861341_1224726822_n

“Challenge yourself! Do Something new. Learn a new ability or skill. It will keep you sharp and benefit you in many ways. Dedicate yourself to learning and growing all life long. Have fun discovering things you never considered before. Open up new doorways and move through them exploring. Find new adventures!

Take up singing, or music lessons. Playing keyboards and stringed instruments are great for keeping your brain agile and help increase intelligence. This is because you move your fingers which is a proven brain benefit. Dance, do yoga, exercise, walk, enjoy nature, get outdoors it is great for the body and the spirit.

Learn another language. Travel, go new places in your locale or around the world. Visit the theater, museums, festivals. Read and study areas of new interest. Play new games. Golf, volleyball, Monopoly or chess. Take up hobbies that make you think.

Act in your local theater or student films. Take up photography or painting or sculpting. Challenge your own mind set. Challenge your own beliefs, discover and uproot limitations. Go help out at a shelter or volunteer somewhere that can utilize your talents. Helping others is a great way to help yourself. Add novelty to your daily routines.

Plants are either growing or dying. The living plant stretches towards the sun. To feel fulfilled and stay healthy we need to do those things that not only add to our enjoyment but that stretch us and force us to use our mental and physical abilities. Just as a plant needs nutrition we need stimulation. We need to stay active!

Stimulation and challenge are greater predictors of success than IQ. Don’t avoid challenges or tough times. Embrace them! Develop the winner mindset that states ‘I can do anything!’  Recognize that you are a great learner and can extract the lesson and value from life’s harder moments. Make learning and enjoying challenge a habit.

Think and say, ‘I can learn to do anything I put my mind to!’ Then learn to do new things. Continue to develop and excel. A determined attitude and playfulness will get you farther than most anything else. Winners love a hard game. They seek people and situations that force them to do their best. They love to overcome the odds!

Be a winner! Actively seek the next biggest challenge. Don’t avoid challenges find new ones. When you develop a ‘bring it on’ attitude you discover you can more readily handle anything life throws at you. Though the journey may get rough at times you are mentally prepared to get to where you want to go. SO Keep going! ” Rex Sikes

Do something delightfully new and positive today!

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Your Brain Is Like A Muscle. Use It Or Lose It!

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brain is like a muscle - carl sagan

“You can tip the odds in your favor and keep your brain healthy. There are simple things you can do. Eat right, avoid chemicals, pesticides and processed foods. Get enough sleep. Get fresh air and sunshine.

Exercise and move your body more than you sit or rest. We were designed to move not to sit in artificial light all day and night. Move more during your day. Take breaks, get up and walk.

Add novelty! Break up your patterns and routines. Try new things. Take different routes to school or work. Do things differently, use your other hand. Play games, work out math problems, put puzzles together.

Cross crawl, do your finger exercises as previously described. Write with paper and pen more. Writing by hand is marvelous for the brain! Keep active!

Improve your concentration. Gaze at a candle or dim light and keep your attention on the light. Whenever you become aware your attention wandered return to concentrating on the light. Do this in increasing time increments.

Start with five or ten  minutes and work your way up to thirty. Pretty soon you will be able to concentrate on what you want to concentrate on with fewer self distractions.

Focus on your breathing. Place your attention either at your nostrils or at your belly. Pay attention to the incoming and outgoing breaths. Relax and keep your attention on your breathing. As with the previous exercise whenever you notice you have wandered or drifted off bring your attention back. These exercises are for training and refining your concentration and awareness.

There is great reward in recognizing when we go astray and gently bringing our attention back to where we first placed it. We  ‘break the wild horse’ and tame it. We learn that we have the ability to determine what we think about rather than living as a victim of our thoughts or feelings. We become the person in charge!

You grow in any ability faster when you encourage and validate rather than criticize what you don’t do right. So whenever you notice your mind wandered or you aren’t doing what you intend to be doing stop, notice it and keep your self talk positive. “Hey, you noticed you were off, good for you!’ and pat yourself on the back. You will make changes much more swiftly when you are positive.

You can look over and reflect on your present life experiences and find all there is to be grateful about. Discover all that you feel truly thankful for. Make a list and enlarge it daily. Celebrate and feel the gratitude fully.

Immerse yourself in the positive wonderful feelings of appreciation. Feel joy! Feel incredible! The feelings are the most important part of this practice so feel them all FULLY!

Reflect on life experiences from the past or present and extract the positive lessons and opportunities. Look these over to find lessons you may have missed. Notice how and where the potential benefit was or is.

Learn from those times instead of feeling less than glorious. Re-code them in light of life lesson’s you can now use. You can re-frame anything!

Memorize something each day. Numbers, names, faces and places. Act, get in a play and memorize your lines. Memorize songs. Keep working your memory. Take dancing lessons. Read more and watch TV less.

Use your imagination to generate images instead of having them provided to you. Utilize all your five senses in imagination. Visualize lots! Consider all the good things you can think of.

Meditate. There are different definitions of mediation. Some approaches use concentration as when you repeat a mantra. Some methods are about aligning with frequencies and vibrations by generating or listening to sounds. Some stimulate the imagination as when you stare at a mandala. Try many different ways and enjoy each.

Some are physical as when you dance with such abandon you stop thinking. Some involve just being the activity you are doing. For example, just wash the dish and do nothing more in mind or body. Sit and gaze at the wall and do no more or no less. There is a wide variety of beneficial meditation approaches you can discover.

Another way is to be the watcher, the witness, the impartial observer. Sit or lie back relaxed and watch your thoughts. Whatever they are just notice. Don’t judge. Look as they come and go. Positive or not. Avoid getting hooked. As leaves float down a stream or river so do our thoughts. Let them float by on the screen of your mind.

Merely watch them flow by. Don’t engage with them. If you get caught up in judging or entertaining any thought when you notice what you are doing simply return to witnessing without criticizing yourself for having gone astray.

Everything is okay. Free yourself from the need to criticize or comment on how you are doing. Let it go and just do the process. Validate instead of negate!

We have the ability to manage our thoughts. We can chose what we want to think about.  This is positive thinking. Keep focused on positive thoughts and affirmations. Keep your self talk and mental images positive.

Whenever you notice yourself thinking less than positive thoughts stop and return to thinking positive. Train your brain to do what you want it to do. Your brain should be your servant! Validate yourself as you succeed in these exercises.

When you notice new things own your observations and awarenesses. Validate yourself for your positive insights and awareness. Learn from these. Keep at it, keep playing with new ways of being and doing.

The mind is like a muscle it grows with exercise. Our muscles grow from repeated regular exercise and so does our brain. AND so does your ability to change easily and do new things.

Many of our abilities fall into the ‘use it or lose it’ categories. So keep at it. Don’t let yourself get rusty. Keep healthy and facile in mind and body by daily devoting time to healthy practices.

The return on your investment of time is well worth it. If you want to enjoy greater health and over all well being then do the things that bring it about. Stay young and energetic!” Rex Sikes

Have a beautiful day!

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How To Keep Your Brain Healthy And Make Changes Easily

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Super brain

“The reason some people find it difficult to change is because most people don’t change much. We live routined, patterned lives. Moments differ and things come up but essentially our days are defined by sameness. We stopped growing and learning long ago.

We aren’t handling difficult jungle survival challenges we are going to work or school, doing the same things, our routines, then coming home, dining, relaxing in the same manner and repeating the next day. We are known by our habits and our routines. People can find us and count on us because we do the same stuff over and over.

Researchers estimate that we think an excess of 60,000 thoughts a day and most of those are the same thoughts we thought the day before. AND the day before that and… This suggests that we aren’t stimulating our brains to think new thoughts and do new things. We aren’t giving it unique problems to solve.

We are patterned and routined by design so life is easier. Just as the creases in a folded piece of paper make it easier to refold in the same way our patterns are habits serve us.  These are well worn neural pathways that we repeat because it is the path of least resistance.

Whatever the reason for their development we will engage in reliable healthy behaviors or reliable unhealthy negative behaviors. We do whatever we have learned to do. The brain is designed this way so we don’t have to relearn to do mundane things over again. We don’t need to learn how to open a door each time we encounter one.

Since most of us haven’t been encouraged to learn to have many new habits as we grow up we get comfortable and familiar in our routine and stay there. That can become a rut. We don’t venture out, we limit our options, we make fewer choices, we may even get so comfortable we fear doing things we wouldn’t have at one time.

We might want to change but as a result of living in the comfort zone for so long we aren’t sure how. We have been one way for so long doing something different seems hard. It is and it isn’t that hard. We have to get used to doing something new and that might be tough because we can’t sit back and coast as we have been doing.

It becomes easier to change when we add in novelty and engage in different healthy behaviors than those we are used to. If we make doing new things a reliable useful positive habit we will fear change less and find it gets easier as we go along. It is only difficult because we become rusted. It doesn’t have to be.

As we become used to mixing things up adding in positive new behaviors it gets easier overall.  It won’t be so difficult because you will have made positive changing a reliable habit. You become more flexible. Novelty is anything new and different to us. Add spice to life and become accustomed to adding positive changes and you will change more readily as necessary.

We want to develop new, positive, healthy habits. I have described some things you can do in previous blogs. More great practices for your brain health include taking up piano or keyboards, violin, and guitar playing, sleight of hand or needle point. Any practice that utilizes refined finger movements is a great exercise for the brain.

Finger exercises such as touching each finger tip to the thumb quickly and repeatedly, back and forth is useful. These are important. Writing with pen and paper and not on a computer stimulates the brain. As we learn anything new it helps keep the brain young and resilient. We age faster because we stop learning.

‘Brain Gym’ or ‘cross crawling’, is wonderful too. Contra-lateral movements are ones in which you make contact with the opposite side of the body with the opposite hand. For example, touch left knee with right hand and right knee with left hand. You can read about it on the internet. Yoga is great for this.

The goal is to not be afraid of changing but to welcome change and to a dd novelty into our lives so we become accustomed to doing things differently. Our brains crave novelty while at the same time run on doing the same things we have learned to do reliably.

We have learned many incredibly useful things and live well as a result. We have also learned many useless things, or things that were important for a time in our life which now no longer have a beneficial use. It is time to update and learn new wonderful habits.

We want to be the master of our habits and not have our habits master of us. Our subconscious is reliable and we need to learn how to steer it so we can be, do and get get what we want. Make change enjoyable and fun and you will change faster and easier.” Rex Sikes

More next time.

Today, become more curious. As a child would be.

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How To Keep Your Brain Sharp. It’s Easy!

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blue brain neuroplasticity

“Flexibility is a major key in being able to make changes more easily. Unfortunately, most people are stuck living as automatons. They live day in and day out on autopilot. They spend time in the same places with the the same people. They go to the same jobs, eat the same foods in the same places, engage in the same recreational activities with little variety to spice things up.

Our brains create novelty and stimulation. Our brains like challenges and look for solutions. Give your brain new things to do and new ways to do things and it will love you.  Learn something, new, memorize something, do something different. Provide your brain with the stimulation it craves and you will feel better off.

Take a different way to school or work. Try different foods. Eat in new places with new people. Expand your horizons. Spend time around new and different people. Take a class or two somewhere. If your first instinct is to say ‘nah, not for me’, give it a shot. Who knows you might just like it.

Roll down a hill, spin  like a whirling dervish, dance with abandon, skip, walk and enjoy new territory. Sleep with your head at the foot of the bed. Try a different cleansing order when bathing. Brush your teeth and eat your food using the other hand. All of it will seem difficult or odd at first and that is the point. Challenge yourself.

Dress in a different order. Wear clothes that ‘just are you’. Put together some puzzles, try crossword, sudoku or other games. Take up some new hobbies. Read books, listen to music, watch movies or TV shows you wouldn’t ordinarily.Try some new sports or recreation. Keep learning. Keep Growing! Keep doing  new things.

Add novelty into your daily life. Mix it up and have fun. Stay sharp and live well. Enjoy discovering new things you can do that help you stay young, mentally fit and overall more healthy. Stop doing everything the old way. Break up your routines and explore some new ways to enjoy! It will help you make other positive changes more easily.”  Rex Sikes

What might you find fascinating today?

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Why ‘Yes, Thank You’ Works Wonders: How Little Things Make An Incredible Difference!

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when u r thankful for what u have more comes

“It is so easy to say NO. Many people are closed off to opportunity and living abundantly because they have lived saying ‘No’ for way for too long. We need to LEARN to say ‘YES’ much more. When we do we can thrive. Instead of living the least amount we ought to live the most! It is possible and it is easy to transform your life!

We can live incredibly well. We can make our dreams and goals come true! We can discover more opportunity, good things and receive gifts we never knew might come our way when we know how. Here is the way you can begin to get more of the wonderful things life offers each of us.

Open up to receiving all good things. Anything positive. You get a great parking space, celebrate! You find a penny on the sidewalk pick it up and pocket it. It is yours! If someone offers you something to try, perhaps in a super market, try it. You don’t have to like it. Just accept it. Stop instantly saying ‘No’! Catch yourself and say, ‘Yes!’

The habit you want to develop is to say ‘Yes’ to good things. It doesn’t matter if they are little or big things. These are opportunities to open up and receive. They are opportunities to explore, to expand your horizons and to discover new things. You may be delighted and surprised with what you discover. These are golden moments in each day!

If you pass up the penny or the free item you are saying ‘Nope!’ Learn to say ‘Yes’ to the good things. If you think, ‘well it is only a penny’ you are missing the point. It is money and if money is a concern for you then open your mind up to finding money anywhere and everywhere. Celebrate whenever money comes your way. It could be anything, health, family, job, housing, transportation related. I’m using only using money as the example, yet it applies to many.

‘Yes’ opens the door for more to come your way. ‘No’ immediately shuts that door. You want to include more into your life. So make being open and accepting these gifts a habit. Live becomes so much more fun and a richer experience when you celebrate everything.

Open your mind to opportunity. Someone invites you to lunch and offers to pay for it, ACCEPT it! Be grateful and thank them and accept it. If someone invites you to a party, office or otherwise, or to an event you might not prefer to go to, say YES, Thanks’ and go anyway. Say ‘Yes’ and ‘Thanks’ to the universe!

Open up to allow new and good things into your life. You try new things, you have new experiences, you may be around new people, all of which you might enjoy and which adds value to you. All of these can add delight to you. These new experiences, these new people may be the very thing that helps you move ahead. You won’t ever know unless you say ‘Yes’ to the possibility.

Be open to everything. Don’t be gullible or stupid about this. If it is genuinely healthy and positive and good for you, allow it, accept it. As you open up to receive little things, and you are excited and grateful for each, you make room for more to come your way. AND more WILL come your way. You will be alerted to more and more!

Your subconscious becomes tuned to discovering more delights just for you. You have instructed your subconscious mind what to look for. You have told it that you are open to wonderful things, people and events in your life. You have trained it to go find more. You have brought it into your service in positive and powerful ways.

You enrich yourself and your life experience because you have developed the habit of receiving and being grateful. Your subconscious will continue to find more for you to celebrate and enjoy! You have transformed yourself. This is a great way to live! Enjoy!” Rex Sikes

Discover the magic in this day!

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9 More Easy Ways To Program Yourself For Success!

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“Today we continue to explore powerful ways you can program yourself for success in life. Here are another 9 that will help you raise your vibrations, your attitude and abilities to move forward and succeed in whatever area you want to. There is no particular order to implement any of these. Although you should first get clear on what you want to be, do and have. Knowing this before you begin is important. You want to know where you are supposed to end up prior to beginning your travels. It is the same with your dreams. Then you can visualize, affirm and take action to make them happen.

All the other steps can be done in any order. Little by little or a lot at once. Sometimes it is easier to work on tough things, get them out of the way and move on to the little things remaining. Other times, you might want to prepare, take care of the little things, have some fun and work your way into the larger issues. Whichever way you choose is up to you. Add these into your life as you wish. When you do you will discover their power and their long term far reaching effects.

1. Sing, draw, create. Sculpt, play music. Write in a journal with pen and paper. Have some positive hobbies or crafts and arts you can do, that you enjoy and that bring you and possibly others delight. Get lost in your own creativity and imagination. Let go, have fun, be as a child. Relax, meditate, do some yoga. Chill, give yourself a positive time out and take a break. Go into your creativity and imagination.

2. Smile, giggle and laugh more each day! Laughing a lot is incredibly energizing and transforming. Let go! Enjoy. A great way to begin the day is to sit in your room somewhere and laugh out loud for at least 5 minutes. More if you have the time. It changes your breathing, you get more oxygen and you use your diaphragm. It makes you feel more alive and puts a smile on your face. Laughter is fabulous medicine. Take a good dose whenever you can!

3. Obstacles,challenges and mistakes provide opportunities and life lessons. Look for both and learn from them. Your RAS will help you to notice what you might otherwise miss. Keep your attention on your dreams as previously described. Concentrate on what you want. Mistakes you make give you feedback so that you can adjust what you are doing. Be flexible. Be adaptable.Reframe them all as an opportunity to develop new skills and awareness. Life may hurl a number of things at you but opportunity favors a prepared mind. Learn from challenges and mistakes!  It will enable you to respond more resourcefully now and in the future.

Understand that troubles will always arise. Things you acquire can be taken from you. Who you are, who you evolve to be, can never be stripped from you. It is not what you have or don’t have that is so important it is the kind of person you are. Learn to take on challenges by looking for the solutions. Aim high and you will find the best. Look for the silver lining in each dark cloud. It is who you are, your attitude, your mindset, your resourcefulness that makes all the difference!

4. Enjoy being you and the life you have. De-stress. Live to the fullest. Find the best feelings! Have fun and spend time with loved ones. Make it quality time, Talk and meet loved ones heart to heart. Look into their eyes and enjoy the connection. Hug, smile and laugh together. Snuggle.  Visit some nice places, get out and about but make sure dedicate time to one another. Have fun together. Delight!

Listen more and talk less. Find out what is important to the people you care about. Nurture them, help them over a difficulty or with something enjoyable. Give to them more of the excellent you and less of the busy you. Give whenever you can because you get back so much more when you do. They’ll appreciate it and so will you.

what are you grateful for today

5. Let go, forgive and forget grievances. Stop carrying baggage whether it is moments old or decades. Stop letting old wounds and scars dictate your present life and your future. The energy you spent protecting yourself, surviving, and resisting what was could be better spent living joyously and fully. Be free. Be totally free!

The only way is to drop your grudges and hurts. You can’t hang onto something if you dropped it. So drop it! Forgive! Forgiving does more for you than it does for the person you forgive. Letting go is FOR YOU more than for anyone else.

Letting go can be for others if your hurts and baggage are affecting your loved ones and their home life too. It can affect them. Do not to let it interfere with the people you love most. Let go for them. Resolve to make the changes you need to in order to live free for yourself so that they too can live free. Your cares are their cares! Help them over your hurts so they can live free too! Then everyone can enjoy the feeling of that release.

6. Forgive yourself. Let go of regrets about what you should have or should not have done. Learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them. Mistakes are fine they help teach us as we go along. What happened back then was the you back then ‘the old you’. This is you now. Let go and realize that you don’t have to hang onto the past.

Accept yourself. Accept who you are today. Accept the person who you want to become. Aim at being the best you and move in that direction. Celebrate your forgiveness and acceptance. Celebrate yourself and be grateful for everything you have created in your life. Take 100% responsibility and move forward. It is powerful to recognize your role as creator!

Perhaps, you created alot you didn’t want, that you didn’t intend and didn’t like. That’s okay, everyone has. NOW begin creating what you do want, create you do intend and that you will like. If you were able to bring all that about in your past even when you did not want it you can bring about great things in the future! Imagine if you used your powers for good! Just concentrate now on creating the good life for yourself and others.

7. Love yourself! Appreciate yourself. Celebrate everything. Live in joy, happiness and well being. Nurture your mind, your body, your emotions and your spirit. Choose the best feelings and savor them. Make your moments count. Treat yourself well. Gift yourself in some fashion. Take a bath, a trip, read a book, go to a movie, treat yourself special.

List all your positive qualities and abilities and reflect on these. What makes you incredible? Focus on what you are good at. List your accomplishments. Take positive care of yourself. Think the best and expect the best of yourself. Hold yourself in high esteem.

how can i help others olve their problems and acheive their dreams

8. Practice the Golden Rule. Whatever you put out you get back. Think the best and expect the best for and from others. Hold everyone else in the highest esteem. Wish them the best no matter who they are. What you concentrate on you attract. This is a great way to make sure you attract what you want to attract and not what you don’t want.

There is no reason to attract more anger, resentment, hostility, hatred or even indifference to yourself so be sure you aren’t putting this out there. Think, feel, speak and do the best and you get the best in return.Shower others with peace, love and enjoyment. Wish them success and celebrate the good things that happen for them.

9. Birds of a feather come together. Like attracts like. This is true not only about our thoughts and feelings, our wants and circumstances but other people as well. Align with positive high energy creators who are loving, kind, helpful, supportive and fun. Like attracts Like!

Energy and good feelings, ‘vibes’ rub off. The more time you spend with others nurturing each other the better off everyone is. Seek the highest and the best. Seek those who are congruently positive people who walk the talk. We get further faster when we travel with others in the same direction. You can inspire and motivate each other. Surround yourself with positive people.

Notice the reoccurring theme? It is: Choose to think, feel, speak and act the best. Choose the most positive. Spend the bulk of your time learning how to think, feel and act wonderful moment to moment. The more you fill up each day with high quality thoughts, feelings, words, actions and friends the more you will get back many times over. When people start out often they are mostly negative and only a little positive. Your overall goal is to shift that balance so that you are mostly positive.

The higher your thoughts and feelings the better you feel. The better you feel and the more often you feel wonderful the less stress and more well being you create. You activate your immune system to more easily keep you healthy. You think better and recognize opportunity quicker.

With the right attitude you are far more equipped to accomplish your career and life goals. You begin to make your dreams come true because you realize you alone are responsible. AND you know that you can! Your relationships become more wonderful. You begin attracting the right kind of people who can help you AND whom you can help. Overall everything improves! Live a wonderful, integrated, holistic life style in mind, body and spirit you and you will notice the difference it makes.” Rex Sikes

Today is a special day. What will you do that is special today?

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