Category Archives: Joy

Acceptance, Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Blessings, Emotions, Expectations, Faith, Focus, Gratitude, Habit Formation, Happiness, Joy, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Positive Thinking, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk

How To Get Through Rough, Tough Times

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“What helps get us through difficult times? What are we to do when things don’t go the way we hope? What do we do when it downright sucks and circumstnaces turn for the worse? Is there anything at all that can make it better or easier?

I think the answer to my last question is yes and no. I think there is something that can help us through any difficulty at any time but whether or not we rely on it or are capable of accessing it makes the difference. I think my answer will unfold here as one element or maybe more.

Attitude Makes A Difference

I believe attitude makes a major difference. I believe that sets a framework for how we encounter and navigate difficult times. It is easy to say, of course, and I do not mean to be flippant about this for people who experience difficult times, loss of loved ones, or any problem or issue that is of concern.

Attitude, however, seems to be the ability to paint with a broad brush all things as potentially good or potentially not so good. So what is attitude? It seems to be a larger all encompassing result of our beliefs. It may have to do with our faith. It certainly seems to have  much to do with our focus and what we say to ourselves.

For longer than this blog has been around, for many years, I have been stating and sharing on the power of focus. I did not invent the notion but have co-opted it for my life and have worked to make it work for me. I have managed to instill in me an ability that works much better now than it has at times in the past by dedicating myself to make it a habit.

I speak from my experience and from decades of working with others. I share the experience of others who have led me too. The principle that we become and we get what we focus on has had such great impact on me that I have felt compelled to share and discuss it for a very long time.

Where We Put Our Attention, How We Do It, For How Long We Do It, Makes A Difference

Perhaps, it IS the very difference!

When things become less than glorious or when we discover ourselves off track we need to return our thoughts back to the positive. To return to ‘can do’ thinking. We need to discover a way to feel even just a little better. The turning back to center or turning back to the positive IS the ability to cultivate that makes the difference.

Please go back and read through this blog many times. I have shared prodeures and methods in every article on how to make positive changes for yourself and direct your attention. Put these to work and you will begin notice the marvelous changes you can make for yourself!

We practice returning to center in all cases, in all types of circumstances and all types of weather. We practice it when times are good and we don’t need it and when times are less than glorious. We practice it so that when it does storm we get what we have practiced.

Build A Skill. Lay A Strong Foundation For Positive Change

I have been discussing laying a foundation, a solid one, that holds everything together when the winds get rough. When the storms come the house still stands. The foundation you build is as strong as the materials you use to build it and how well you put it together. I think this is true too of our attitude and positive capabilities.

I think faith plays a part. I don’t mean religous faith or faith outside of oneself, although that can too. I mean our belief in ourself and our abilities. I mean the expectatons we hold in mind when we practice our focus. Do we expect to succeed or not? Do we expect it to take a long or short time? Do we really believe or do we doubt instead?

The story is told of the person who says,’I am told I can move mountains if I have the faith of a mustard seed.’ So she prays for the mountain to move and when she opens her eyes and sees it still there she exclaims, ‘I knew it wouldn’t work.’

Faith Means Knowing It Will Work And Trusting For As Long As Necessary Without Wavering Until It Does Work

I think hard times can knock the wind out of anyone. I think it is okay when one takes a blow that one takes time to recover from it. I don’t believe anyone is under ANY obligation to anyone or anything to be other than who and what they actually are at any moment.

We are human which includes the ability to feel a  range of emotions and react to what happens. All of the possibilities are human possibilities.

To be able to get up after having been knocked down is the goal. We should get up and not live the rest of life from the floor. How long that takes for anyone is how long it takes for anyone. I believe we should not criticize ourselves for how we respond when we get knocked down. Nor should we criticize others.

We should allow and accept and understand it may take some time for a person to regroup.

If one has been practicing returning their focus to center that person may or may not respond as one might expect. Anything  is possible. The ability to shift focus and to feel better by shifting that focus bit by bit is an incredible thing to have developed into a habit. It is worthwhile and does help get one through the toughest storms and times of life.

Positive Focus Is A Skill That Can Be Developed

I recommend that people practice it daily as often as possible to acquire the skill. Anyone can learn it. How quickly depends on the amount of time one spends practicing. Just as any other skill is developed this skill is developed.

If you have gotten good at anything; a sport, music, acting, a hobby or craft, art, oration, cooking, sewing, working a computer program, ANYTHING, you can get good at running your brain purposefully.

You can excel at developing a positive attitude and making for yourself an incredible life. You can find an inner strngth and ability you didn’t realize was possible prior to developing powerful habits. You can discover life is awesome no matter what comes your way by chosing what to give your attention to.

Do Not Deny Anything.

You don’t try to fool yourself. If there are problems there are problems. Your choice to focus on solutions and what works, or what is good in your life that you can celebrate, in spite of the problems is not denial. You recognize what is there and you chose where to put your attention.

You don’t want to deny or deceive yourself ever but you can celebrate in the midst of sadness and even devastation.

There are countless examples of happy people who have nothing. There are countless examples of people who have lost everything and everyone and yet they remain positive and hopeful. Of course, these people are not the ones you see on the news. These are people the news doesn’t air. They go about their lives when times are easy or times are hard.

I am not ever attempting to tell people how they must be. I am simply pointing out possibilities that exist that we may not think exist for us. There are possibilites that we don’t even know about yet. There is a way to live that makes life wonderful even during the tough times.

It isn’t about pulling ourselves up by one’s own bootstraps although I don’t have a problem with this when it is appropriate. Sometimes we need to be tougher on ourselves to get things going.

Life is not one static thing. Life is change and upheveals. In order to be alive you have to take the good and the bad. Calamity happens, evolutions happen. Coal is converted to diamonds under great pressure, heat and stress. Anything and everything is possible. We need to discover how we can appreciate it, celebrate it or naviagate it. I think these are some opportunities life offers us.

You Can Feel Blessed Beyond Belief

What you chose to focus on will determine how you feel. It will determine how deeply you feel it and for how long. This is the great lesson: whatever it is, whatever it will be is determined by each of us. It is determined by our attention and our thoughts about what is going on. Our thoughts determine our current feeling state and our reality.

Our thoughts are either positive, nuturing, supportive, uplifting, OR they are not. We are either celebrating and are grateful or we are not. We are either moving forward or we are not. We either have a large positive energy ball or we have a large negative energy ball.

Without judging anyone that is just the way it is. The question each of us face is: what do we want to be able to do more of? What do we want to include in our life?

If we don’t like what we are getting then we must make some changes to get something else. That is just how it is. I don’t mean to preach I mean to share. Life can be incredible no matter what is going on. It is up to each of us to discover that for ourselves.

Sometimes we have to find the thinnest of positive threads and hang on to it in order for us to make it better. Whatever you and I chose is what we do. Again, we shouldn’t judge ourselves or others. We allow, accept and understand. We support and nuture. We encourage positively.

Focus On What You Can Celebrate And Are Grateful For

The goal of course in life is to feel the best we can, to  enjoy life the absolute most, and to be, do and have anything we want. We are creators and we make our lives whatever we want them to be regardless of the outer influences. The one thing we can control is out thoughts and our attitude. If it is important to you, you will.

Live a blessed, wonderful, marvelous life. You deserve it! We all do. I think it is up to each of us to live the best we are able and to help others live the best they are able to as well. We are all in it together and we can make our life and world a beautiful garden to enjoy. It can be whatever we decide it will be. Celebrate and enjoy!” Rex Sikes

Focus your day on fun!

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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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Experience The Incredible Presence And Power Of NOW!

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Present-Moment-GaryZukav-quote

“There is plenty more to discuss about energy, visualization, affirmations and living powerfully. There is much more to talk about making your dreams come true. Life is a process and we are always somewhere in the middle of it. We are in a flux, a flow and if you think about it you are always right where you are.

That seems like a weird thing to say but you are always in the perfect place EVEN when you don’t think so. If you were to take a trip in a canoe you would always be right where you are on the river. What causes us pain or joy is wanting to be elsewhere than where we are at any given instant.

Accept Right Where You Are

If we’d rather be elsewhere we experience discomfort. If we are in a hurry we may be in pain. If we are completely happy and content to be right where we are on the river all is good. We can relax and notice the beauty surrounding us.

We can be alert to anything wonderful or not so wonderful that requires our attention. We can be totally present and that means we can be fully alive right. We can enjoy being where we are fully. The same thing is true about right now!

We Can DelightIn Right Now 

In this instant you and I  are in the right place. If we don’t think we are it is only because we are making a judgement. Actually, it is fairly egotistical to think we might not be, as if we knew better what the right place to be in the moment is.

When we think we know better and criticize ourselves for not being enough, or for the moment not being the right moment we cause our own suffering.

Surrender Is About Giving In To Whatever IS Right Now

Drop into the moment fully. Appreciate NOW for whatever is or isn’t going on. No judgement, just acceptance, allowing, awareness, appreciation, alertness to this moment. Right now! You are alive! Can you feel it?

Don’t think about it just experience it. Let this moment be everything there is and nothing else.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing NOW is the only time you actually have. Live in the present moment! One can be filled with gratitude right this second. One can feel positive and more alive and feel blissful this very second. This IS good, high, positive energy to be filled with.

Today, Appreciate NOW Whenever You Can.

Bring your awareness to the moment and just experience the pleasantness of now. In that instant it can seem eternal. Take a deep breath and relax into it. Savor the now. Whenever you remember to remember this moment, drop fully into it. It is all awareness.

Celebrate today. Live in gratitude. Be more silent, listen to the world around you. Notice the sounds and the sound of silence. Allow the energy inside you to bubble up and overflow. Accept.

Whenever you notice yourself pushing it or resisting relax and allow. Notice how it feels  when you stop effort-ing or striving and allow, accept, and receive instead. Create a gap, a space, between you and ‘trying’ and just BE for a while.  Find the joy of nothingness.

Let Today Be Filled With Joyous Moments.

Moments pass. If you encounter less than glorious moments let them pass too. Don’t hang on to them. Notice how it feels to let them go when you stop re-living the old, or the painful. Notice what it is like when you stop clutching onto them. Live and let go!

Celebrate and enjoy! Find bliss wherever you are. You are now and this is the only moment you actually have. Dive into this moment. Live in the now, not in the past or the future,.

Live NOW Because NOW Is When You Live!

Today, live, love, laugh and celebrate!” Rex Sikes

May today be incredible for you!

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Why RAVE Is Important To All People! Use It!

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beautiful thoughts positive emotions miracles

“What is it most people crave? They may not admit to it but they sure do respond well to it. Yes, they may downplay it when it happens, and attempt to act like it is no big deal, but it is a big deal and it is important. We all would like it much more often. Can you guess what it is?

In the olden days, not actually that long ago but it does seem a practice forgotten, companies used to send off their retirees with it. The military uses it, schools, churches and temples, charities, clubs and associations, frankly there is probably no organization of any size that doesn’t utilize it in some fashion. Can you name it now?

Okay, here it is. I call it RAVE.  Recognize Appreciate Validate Excellence! We all like to be recognized and appreciated. We need to feel validated. We respond well to others noticing our efforts and calling them out in positive ways. So when people have performed well through time or done something special they should be acknowledged. So RAVE about them!

Retirees used to get sent off with a gold watch and special thanks. The armed services, police, firefighters give medals for valor, service and sacrifice. Schools give awards for merit and diplomas, even scholarships. Businesses provide certificates, perks and dollar incentives.

Churches and temples, charities, hospitals have donor walls or plaques. The entertainment business has the Academy Awards among others. Nearly ever group of some kind has some ceremony or award they confer. There is a reason for this. Think about that for a moment.

These are long standing practices that exist for a solid reason. In some cases some of these ceremonies may have lost their special meaning but the practice has endured since early times!

People like and need to be recognized for who they are and for what they do OR for what they have accomplished. There are recognition ceremonies and banquets. People are brought up, told to stand up or in some manner spot lighted and honored or thanked. Though the recipient may down play this moment it is a very special moment.

People enjoy being recognized and typically perform better when they are. It is a special moment in their life. It can be used when people accomplish something, graduate from school or move up the ladder. Never underestimate the power of recognition and validation. People enjoy having others notice and it is important that we do.

Think about the important people in your life. Could be your parents or your children. It might be your friends and associates. It could be your employees or co-workers. Think about the people who mean a lot to you and consider how you might recognize them.

How might you provide a moment for them to shine? In what ways can you validate who they are and what they do and what they mean to you? Heck, we celebrate just another year of living with a ceremony. How much more important and meaningful is it to be recognized and validated for something other than simply growing older.

Let them know you value them! If you love them tell them and tell them some of the reasons why. Express your appreciation for them and let know how you feel. Come clean with your positive feelings of regard and gratitude and shower them with it. Help them feel truly special. Make their day with thoughts of lovingkindness.

Be specific too! Don’t just be general of vague with your praise but point out some specific behaviors you want to acknowledge. Have a ceremony if you can or a dinner. Make the occasion special, take some time and enjoy it. Make them comfortable and help them to truly feel how important they are to you and why they are.

People respond well to being awarded for merit so give them plenty of reasons to feel great about getting the special attention. Be genuine and they will get that you mean it. Imagine how good you might help someone else feel when you do this. Then remember there is someone else you absolutely must recognize, appreciate and validate. Yourself.

Pat yourself on the back! Recognize the progress you have made. When you have done something you intended to, when you have followed through and kept your commitments to yourself honor and respect that. Acknowledge and recognize it. Appreciate it and reward yourself. Love and thank yourself for being you. Feel the love! Genuinely gift yourself for your performance! RAVE about you to you!” Rex Sikes

Delight in this day!

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Are Your Habits Creating Success Or Failure?

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the choice to have a great attitude

“Success and happiness is a matter of habit. So is failure and defeat. Either your habits support you and uplift you or they don’t. You get whatever you think about most. You get back whatever you do most.

You need to ensure that you have the right habits to get what you want.  You can’t succeed easily if you have the habit of defeated thinking and feeling. If your habits don’t support you YOU MUST develop new habits to replace the ones that work to keep you down.

You rarely get what you want if you are not the person in charge of your own thinking. You might be lucky once in a while but most often you are like a cork bobbing in the water. You are drifting. Sometimes things work out sometimes they don’t.

The only way to insure more consistent results is to put yourself in charge and take 100% responsibility for everything that happens good or bad. You may not like this idea but once you completely accept this notion you come into your true power.

You stop blaming. You stop putting the causes for your success or failure outside of yourself. It is accurate that there are outside influences on you but you are the one who decides how you will respond. Circumstances are neutral until you decide whether they are positive or negative.

A true person of power can celebrate during the greatest disasters and in the face of calamity. When you can be delighted and celebrate regardless of what is going on around you or to you YOU are not a fool. You are a victor because you do not let things bring you down

You determine how you will feel. You are in charge. You are powerful and positive. You created successful thought habits.

From this seat of power you are a creator. Because you feel good in spite of circumstances you are able to more readily recognize opportunity and take advantage in ANY situation. Consider this example, successful people know how to make money in any economic climate. Making money for them is habit.

Many make their most money when times are bad. It isn’t the situation that should dictate you, rather you should dictate how you take advantage of any situation. When things don’t work out they way you may have hoped learn what you can from the experience.

When you have the mental attitude that you are in charge no matter what you make things happen. When you have the attitude that no matter what you are blessed and lucky all the time then you open yourself to have a most incredible life. When you can be happy and celebrate regardless of circumstances life is delicious.

To be the victor you must tell your mind what you want over and over again. There is no end to it. Repetition creates habit. Correct repetition creates the correct habit. Persistence is necessary in order to get what you want. It is simple YOU become what you think about day and night.

The subconscious mind will accept any statement that you keep repeating to it through words and by any other means. You affirm what you want in an emotional state of highly charged positive feelings. Intense feeling accompanying your thoughts, (internal images) and your self-talk (affirmations) IS what makes it work.

Repeat your affirmations and visualizations (as suggested in previous posts) in a state of enthusiasm backed up by faith and the subconscious mind acts more quickly. Faith is a state of mind wherein whatever it is you are going to do, whatever it is you want, you can see it already in a finished act even before you begin.

You can do whatever you make up your mind to do unless you give away your power along the way. Feel blessed, celebrate, be enthusiastic and joyful no matter what. Have faith that you will make happen what you want to happen regardless of whatever life throws at you. Make these a habit and nothing can hold you back!

Know you will find a way even if you don’t know what that way is at this moment. It will become obvious to you as you move forward. Have faith! Believe in yourself. Then what you want is taken over by the subconscious an acted upon immediately.  Stay with it, never give up and you will get what you want. Act from your power.

Define your chief purpose. Write it out so that you clarify it, understand it an memorize it. Start repeating it day in and day out. See it in your mind’s eye as already accomplished. Celebrate and enjoy! Say thank you all through out your day! Delight in all moments and you will discover so much more!

The more you think positive and the more you feel good the quicker and easier the process becomes. The faster you make it a reliable habit. The faster and easier you make things happen because you create momentum. Keep repeating this process until your subconscious mind picks it up and automatically works on it. This is how you make success a habit!” Rex Sikes

Have a fantastic  day!

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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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How To Make The Permanent Positive Changes You Want!

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whatever we plant in our subconscious

“The principles for change in a nutshell are; do the right things long enough, consistently, and you will see positive and powerful results. Do this and you will form habits for success and happiness.You’ll rewire your brain and create new neural pathways that serve you. You disengage from the old habits and live with new ones.

Your subconscious (servo-mechanism) carries out the messages you provide it all the time. It does this with or without your conscious input. The purpose of this blog and of positive change work is to get you to deliver to it the positive messages you want it to have so it works on your behalf. You have to consciously communicate with it what you want. You steer it. It does the work. Just like your car.

Because it will carry out positive or negative messages without regard your task is to provide it the messages YOU WANT to make your life what you want it to be. You do this through powerful, positive mental imagery and affirmations combined with intense positive feelings. Do this consistently for long enough and the subconscious mind will take over and begin to do it for you.

Because your subconscious mind is a reservoir of all your experiences and abilities it makes the new pathways and forms new connections with all the rest so that you become alert to new opportunity and advantages you otherwise couldn’t recognize before.

You will see things you have missed that have always been there and you discover new things too. Your attitude, your confidence improve. You begin to know what to do to get the results you want. Because your outlook changes everything changes. You now begin to see what you couldn’t before and you begin to live as you have wanted.

Your life improves because you take charge 100% for everything. Do that which is necessary to think strong powerful thoughts repeatedly and to feel the very best intense feelings. Celebrate and be filled with gratitude and excitement. We become what we think about all day long. Live at cause. Live as a victor!

Fill your mind and being with the best and you will become it! You will also remain merely okay or negative if that is what you are filling your mind with. In order to excel you must fill yourself with that which is excellent. Focus your mind on being a positive, powerful, ‘I can do anything I put my mind to do’ person and you will be!

Have fun and enjoy. Help others as well as yourself. Focus on what you want and on solutions. Think the best in everything. Feel the best you can. Do not get distracted by circumstances and you will find your life changing for the better. It’s a process that takes time but works when you move yourself through it.

Because you took the time and dedicated yourself to positive change you get it. Because you consistently and persistently follow through you will get back more than you put in. You will reap what you have sown. The harvest returns far more than the number of seeds planted. Your job is plant the  right seeds in the right way. Your subconscious’ job is to grow the seeds you plant.” Rex Sikes

Share something wonderful with someone else today!

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The 2 Most Powerful Ingredients For Happiness And Success! PT 2

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live w passion and purpose

“The amount of time one spends devoted to their personal happiness and their personal and professional goals makes a difference in how easily attainable these are. How you spend your time IS a critical factor.

A plant is either growing or dying. It is either feeding or starving. Are you feeding and growing or starving and dying? You can evaluate this each moment of each day. How you spend your time is important!

Continued from previous blog:

How much time you devote to your goal and how good you feel while spending that time are the two critical ingredients.

2. Intensity

Intensity is the kicker that makes it all work better, easier and faster.

FEEL GOOD RIGHT NOW! You want to feel as good as you can feel for as much time as possible. You want your day and night to be spent enjoying the very best feelings you have. You want to feel good right now in your present.

The more time you spend feeling good the quicker you make your goals come true. The more time you feel good the more time you WILL be able to feel good. You get back great returns on your investment when you think and feel positive most of your time.

When you feel great and you are passionate and enthused, when you are eager and are filled with energy, you think clearer and are able to keep going longer. Your intense feelings make you powerful.

Feeling intensely good in the present moment makes everything work better!

Some people may think, ‘Well, if I could feel good I would.’

You need to take charge. You will never think and feel your best if you expect the outer world to make you happy or better. It just doesn’t work that way. The way to get to feel better IS to take control, even when you don’t feel like it, and control your thoughts and feelings.

Learn to do the things that make you feel better. A few things that help in this are to eat right, sleep right, get enough exercise. Eliminate chemicals and additives. Sit, stand and move with more energy. Get a massage. Many suggestions are in previous blog posts.

This is WHY we fill our mind with positive thoughts. It is why we read and listen to inspiring materials. It is why we visualize our goals as completed and feel the feelings of that accomplishment. It is why we monitor our self-talk to insure it is positive. It is why we affirm out loud and passionately who we are and what we are capable of.

It’s not be possible to feel ecstasy or joy all the time but you can spend more time feeling these. This little step helps you feel your best more of the time: Whatever you are feeling in the present moment make it a point to make yourself feel just a little bit better. Nudge yourself in the direction of feeling good.

It is a system of self management. You put yourself in the driver’s seat 100% and take responsibility for whatever happens good or bad. Take responsibility for managing your thoughts and feelings and for steering yourself in the most positive direction.

You don’t have to go from sad to ecstasy that is too big of a jump. Just make yourself feel a little bit better. That starts you on the path to over all well-being. Step by step. You do not have to do it all at once or even in one day. In time you will learn how to feel your best at nearly any time.

Celebrate everything life hands you, even if you don’t know how things will work out. Look to all you are thankful and grateful for. The longer you feel better the better your feel. The more you move yourself  to feel better when you are not the easier it becomes.

The more intense your good feelings are the swifter you bring about change. There is great power in living optimistically and vibrantly!

Do what you can do to make yourself feel a little bit better each day. Whenever you notice you are not feeling great, do what you can to feel better. Take a break, take a walk, get some exercise or some rest. Read something inspirational or chant your affirmations firmly and enthusiastically! Hang around positive people. Smile more!

Bring positive physical energy into your body by moving your body and your mind in positive ways. The more energy you put into it the more you get from it. Life IS vibrant and alive. There is more energy in a empty inch of space than in all the world’s power sources. There is plenty to go around. Energy flows where your attention goes!

You are alive! All your trillions of cells are alive and vibrating.

Too many people feel only okay. They robotically move from day to day doing the same routines, accepting that this is how it is and don’t have much to look forward to. They put all their hope in things outside themselves to rescue them. They live as victims.

Your positive thoughts are extra powerful when combined with the most intense positive good  feelings! The more intense the easier the subconscious mind gets the message. It reproduces that which we give to it through powerful feelings. (Read what I have shared about military training and intensity in previous blogs).

People limit themselves by feeling strong negative emotions about what they want or don’t have. The feel strongly afraid, or hurt or depressed and end up getting back more of the same.

The subconscious only delivers or reproduces strong emotions regardless of whether they are positive or negative. So you want to pay attention to what messages you are sending it. Aim your thoughts and feelings like a laser beam. Don’t be haphazard.

Zest for life is what makes life worth living. Successful people are passionate, intense, people. Their emotions are powerful. You can feel their energy when you are around them. Creative energy is intense. They pursue their dreams with passion and expect to succeed.

People who make money( think, ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ ) are intense. They are not half assed, namby-pamby, wishy washy, ‘oh well, ho hum’ people. The live to their fullest. When you live with passion, when you fill yourself up with positive feelings and energy you become unstoppable. You don’t need to be licentious to enjoy life, however. You become a power house. Feel your power.

How you think determines how you feel and how you feel determines how you think.  Energy flows where attention goes. If you want to feel better think better. If you want to think better put  a spring in your step. Shake up your body, dance, skip, twirl. Stand and move with confidence, energy and liveliness.

The more you feel the good feelings right now the more changes you will readily make. Live with passion. Feel fully. Commit to feeling better than okay. Notice when you aren’t feeling good and take steps to feel better. Even if you only make yourself feel a little bit better you are doing something valuable.

The longer you devote yourself to thinking positive about yourself and your goal while feeling intensely wonderful the quicker and easier your life will change. The more time you spend smiling and feeling happy the better off you will be.

You are either growing or dying. You are either positive or negative. You are either feeling good or you are not. Notice, become aware, and make the positive changes as necessary.

Live as the driver in charge of your life and steer your thoughts and feelings to the most positive and glorious. The more time you spend thinking and feeling wonderful the more wonderful you will be. You get and become what you spend most of your time thinking about.

Take charge of your life and live it fully and completely. After all what else is there? Life is to be enjoyed. Enjoy it. Do it for yourself! You will discover that by taking even small steps in the right direction, though it may seem difficult at first, becomes easier and easier.

Intensity is what super charges your thoughts and your actions. When you feel vibrantly positive and alive you can get through any hardship faster. When you celebrate and feel thankful and aren’t distracted by any circumstances you excel. FEEL GOOD NOW makes all the difference in the world.” Rex Sikes

Grab this day with gusto!

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Attitude, Blessings, Flow, Focus, Friendship, Giving Unconditionally, Gratitude, Happiness, Joy, Love, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Relationships, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success

Realize, Recognize, Remember and Awaken!

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dream it and do it

“People have thanked me and I appreciate that. People have subscribed to and shared these posts and, again, thanks so much. That really helps! Some people asked why I do it. Why have I blogged these 250 plus daily consecutive posts. The reason is we all need a little daily inspiration and some daily gratitude to start our day. I wanted to be able to contribute to others in this fashion.

I also wanted to help people to remember that they can be, do and have anything they want. It is true we can make the seemingly miraculous happen. So daily I write to help others and myself think about it and remember that we are capable of so many positive things when we take charge. Each day I hope more of us awaken to the realization that anything is possible when we put out mind to it.

There are ways of being and living joyously that many of us have not experienced because we have not tried it yet, or perhaps we didn’t even know it was possible given our past history. I write to encourage people to give it a try, to sample the good things life has to offer, and to enjoy more of life. When we can help each other move forward and be happier and healthier and wealthier we are improving our world by enriching our people. I feel so blessed I want to share it.

When we each take 100% responsibility for our life we can make our life whatever we want it to be. That means we take responsibility for all the bad and all the good. We can debate whether or not this concept is accurate or not but that misses the point. WHEN the buck stops with you and no one else you take a position of power and of leadership. You call the shots. You no longer are at the effects of the world but you are at cause.

From this position you determine where you want to end up and how you want to travel. You decide what to do and and how to feel if there are challenges or detours. It is up to you how you will face them, overcome them and persist to your destination. The decisions are all yours. When you are the person in charge life becomes more meaningful and more exciting. It becomes thrilling because you become aware of the incredible responsibility you have to make it wonderful for yourself AND others.

With  power comes great responsibility. When you have power you need to protect those who have less. They are in your care. We are can-do people and we help others do likewise. A million candles can light off of one candle. The only requirement is that first candle be lit. Light your candle. Take charge of your life. Inspire others to do the same.

Why do I do it? I write to help each of us realize, recognize, remember or awaken to who we are and to what we can accomplish when we believe that we can.” Rex Sikes

Have fun today! Discover!

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Acceptance, Affirmations, Attitude, Flow, Focus, Habit Formation, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Joy, Learning, Novelty, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Self Improvement, Success

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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