Chapter 10, Page 31, Book 19

When people are highly motivated, it’s easy to accomplish the impossible.  And when they’re not, it’s impossible to accomplish the easy.

Bob Collings

October 31st - Keeping motivated

The way to get started is to quite talking and begin doing.

Walt Disney

Feeling motivated is a great way to feel  When motivated individuals often feel like they could take on the world.  Unfortunately it is incredibly difficult to feel motivated constantly and we all go through periods where we feel unmotivated.  However it is important to be able to get motivated when things must be done.  

Over the years I’ve found a few solutions to this common proplem so I thought I’d share them with you, especially for those that are in need of some motivation.

Make a deal with yourself and tell your self when I’m done with the job I can take a walk in the park and buy some icecream.

If you don’t feel motivated then act like it.  The strange thing is that within a few minutes you actually start to feel motivated , positive or enthusiastic for real.

It’s important that you really feel how it makes you feel.  Do the toughest job first, It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up. Viewing how much you’ve done, You can be pleasantly surprised to review what you’ve done.   If you fail then try to find the valuable lessons in each of your failures.  

If you don’t know or don’t have a good enough reason to do something, then it will be hard to get it done.  Do things that you have strong reasons to do.  Focus on the positive and learn to let go of the negative before thy have a chance to take control.

Break down your task to small steps.  When you are done move on to the next step and focus on that one.  Small successes will keep your motivation us an keep your focus away from the big picture, stops you from overthinking and being overwhelmed and discouraged.

Make each day count.  While we don’t have all the time in the world, but if we focus on today and do the thing we really want to do, each day will take care of itself.

If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed.  The vision pulls you.  

Steve Jobs

Chapter 10, Page 30, Book 19

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.

Charles Spurgeon

October 30th,- Happiness is not found in things.

If you have just a little fun today, it’s a sign that maybe the future will hold even more fun for you.  Fun isn’t just fun, it’s hope

Linda Richman

  We need to let go of our thinking about what we don’t have and always wishing for more.  If we find what we’re looking for then we have to take time to enjoy it.   Enjoy what you have while you have it.  there is no guarantee that it will always be there.

We need to appreciate what we have or we’ll never be happy with what we get. It’s all in shifting our mindset, seeing things in a new way,  Be yourself, allow yourself to be the person you’re created to be and surround yourself with those who love you for who you really are.  

Don’t let sick people make you sick.  Let go of unhealthy relationships so you can enjoy your life.  Reseach shows that the quality of our relationships is the most significant factor to our over all happiness during our lifetime. 

Complain less and compliment more and be happier instantly.  Make the decision to be Happier.  Decide that your dreams and goals are with it and move forward even when it feels scary or uncomfortable,  Less is always more ..  

To be happy, do not add to your possessions but subtract from your desires.

Author Unknown

Chapter 10, Page 29, Book 19

Whether you’re an optimist or  pessimist may not affect the outcome.  It’s just that the optimist has a better time in life.

James Borg

October 29th - Halloween is a reminder that we are merely Pilgrims passing through the world. 

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to aways reach my destination.

Jimmy Dean

I’m an optimist and I think life here on earth is the way we we all travel to reaching the promise land.  Our present life is the result of all the choices we’ve made up until this moment.  We are the ones responsible for where we are right now. for how our life looks, for how we are being treated by those round us and for the level of happiness or unhappiness that is present in our lives.  You and only you are responsible for your life..

I choose to always look at the bright side of life , to be positive and smile.  It is there when we look for it.  Everyday may not be good but there is something good to be found in every day.  

I choosse to have faith, knowing that things will always turn out for the best.  An optimistic way of life does make for a better life. 

Focus on what you want.  It’s easy to let the monster of negativity take charge when we only think negative thoughts. But if instead we spend more time thinking about what we want out of life, we start to think about solutions to our obstacles and start taking action toward moving towards our goals.  Appreciate the little and big things in life you have instead of focusing on what you don’t have.

Optimistic thinking views the obstacle as something temporary that can be overcome by taking action, even if that means failing and learning a few new things along the way.

How you view yourself and treat yourself has a huge impact on how you view the world around you.  If you like yourself and are good to yourself then it becomes a lot easier to be opetistic about your future and the world around you

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity and optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Winston Churchill

Cha;ter 10, Page 28, Book 19

Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl

October 28th - life is magical.  Words are magic.

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Bertrand Russell

The magic is that the world is full of possibilities and anything can happen when you have  an open mind and a positive spirit.  When we fully engage in life with a sense of awe and wonder for all that it offers we are assured of a life beyond what we might imagine.

The magic within us is a gift that allows us to create anything and everything we desire.  There is magic of the imagined experiences becoming lived experiences. the magic in life is the miracles occurring around us daily that we too often miss or take for granted.  

When we live with a reverence for life, we experience the magical, mystical and majesty of life.

Jim Phillips

Magic is the awe inspiring, wonder creating, experiencing of the unbelievable and unimagined of life.  It is the experience of life that causes us to rub our eyes in disbelief of what we are seeing or have just experienced.

We are the magicians of our own life.  we create the illusions and deceptions that we accept as life.  We hold the magic wand that can transmute out life experience out of the world of illusion and deception to the truth of who we are.  Look for the miracles, both large and small happening around you every day.  If you want more magic in your life, look for it.  Recognize the magic, miracles and blessings that surround you and and you can be sure that by doing so, they will multiply tenfold.

Last but not least...Never underestimate the power of a simple thank you to another person , it makes all the difference in the world. Words are magical. 

Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Chapter 10, Page 27, Book 19

Ah Sunday, the day of rest..

now that’s something to be thankful for!

Aaron P. Taylor

October 27th - Sunday is Fun Day

On Sunday, I think the most important thing for me is to just turn off my brain.

Barbara Stead

When my family was young and growing up, we always made Sundays family days and after church, we’d have dinner or go on a picnic at the park and spend the afternoon playing games and relaxing.

These are some of my best memories.  Sunday, fun days when everyone got together to enjoy each others company.  I tried for years to keep up the tradition with Sunday dinner at my house with a game or two afterward.  But as everyone is so busy with their own things these days, it got harder and harder.  Time and distance keep us apart more than not.

Thankfully, I have two children that don’t live very far away and they at least join me at church every Sunday, so I make the best of that and am thankful .

It is still  my day to relax and when I get home, I keep any kind of work at bay and just rest and relax, A good book replaces those family times, but nothing can take away the memories of days gone by.

Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week.

Henry Wadswoth Longfellow

Chapter 10, Page 26,Book 19

October had the tremendous possibility.  The summer’s oppressive heat was a distant memory, and the golden leaves promised the world full of beautiful adventure.  They made me believe in miracles.

Sarah Guillory

October 26th - color makes the difference

The clear light that belongs to October was making the landscape radiant.

Florence Bone

I’ve got to say that this is a beautiful time of year.  The color of the blue sky and the golden leaves on the trees delight me over and over again.  Although Fall began over a month ago we really don’t see the color much until mid to late October.

And let me tell you it makes a lot of difference.  Its seems we can’t be anything but happy when nature decides to put on this beautiful show. We have shorter days and longer nights, but brilliant color makes up for fewer hours of daylight.  I’d say its more the quality than the quantity this time of year.  

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

Elizabeth Lawrence 

It’s been chilly but not cold and we’ve had many days to get out to enjoy it all. Not too hot and not too cold, but just right. 

Hurrah for October!

October. a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp.  Even on cloudy days, Its presence helps to dispel the gloom. 

John Borroughs

Chapter 10, Page 25, Book 19

Broken crayons can still color.

Nicola Haken

October 25th - broken but useful

The heart was made to be broken.

Oscar Wilde

This quote reminds me that even as old as I am I still have purpose and my broken pieces can be used for more than regret and shame, but instead to inspire and uplift another .  Brokenness brings us closer to God.  It’s in the valleys, the lower point, that the Lord restores us when we hand this brokenness to Him.  After all we are his masterpiece.

I’m broken but I’m still here and I figure if I’m still here I still have a purpose for being.  I’m not what I used to be but that is fine, I can still do what needs be done.  There is a saying that we are all broken, that’s how the light gets in.

Let your light shine for all to see!

There is sacredness in tears.  They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

Washington Irving.

With each disappointment comes another blow.  Some hit is so hard that they change us for ever creating cracks in our soul that really never heal.  We are not made of stone and have the ability to move, anticipate and react to the forces acting upon us. We may or may not be able to doge every thing life throws at us be we are are alble to choose how we receive each blow and what we take from the experience.  In the end  you alone decide the person you are.  We can’t stop the pain, the misfortune, the loss indefiniitly, but we can learn from it and do our best as we go forward. Molding ourselves into the person we wish to become and the rest will hopefully follow.  The only one thing is this world we have control of is ourselves.    We have the power to look at our dents and cracks and decide they aren’t enough to kill us.  We have the ability to use these cracks as fuel for our brilliance. We’re still standing, still breathing, still fighting .  The only thing life managed to do is create cracks that allow your inner light to shine through

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.

Hermann Hesse

Chapter 10, Page 24, Book 19

Even if you stumble, you’re still moving forward.

October 24th -  a stumble is not a fall

We all stumble in many ways.  None who is never at fault in what they say and do is perfect,  able to keep their whole body in check.

James 3:2

We are fallible human beings and will stumble.  We will never attain that kind of perfection on this side of heaven.

There are times when it seems like everything the could possibly go wrong is going wrong, And you might feel like you are stuck in this rut forever, but you won’t . When you feel like quitting remember that sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right.  Sometimes you have to go through the most to arrive at your best.

We stumble when we least suspect it will happen.  You’re making progress then without warning you do something really stupid .  Each time you stuble, weather your failure was large or small, find the confidence to to grow and move forward each day.

If you’re human you’ll make mistakes so when you stumble, make it part of the dance.  Don’t waste energy trying to hid or cover up your missteps.  Just laugh and keep moving.

A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping stone to the optimist.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to stumble upon something, perhaps the one thing, better yet, the exact thing we need in life at a particular moment.  More often than not, a something we didn’t even know we needed. A combination I learned that rarely comes around in life.  But when it does you’ve got to be thankful for it and keep moving forward.

We’re all stumbling towards the light with varying degrees of grace at any given moment.

Bo Lozoff

Chapter 10, Page 23, Book 19

Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.

Lovelle Drachman

October 23rd - life is an adventure

The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity.

Dorothy Parker

Being curious is an adventure in itself.  I often find that best things are hidden and waiting to be found.  The only way we can learn and grow is to be curious and ask questions.  

Believe me when I say I don’t remember ever had a boring day in my life.  I love learning and doing new things and take joy in life. 

A sense of curiosity is nature’s original school of education.  

Smiley Blanton

We are never to old to learn something new.  Just about the time I think I know it all I find out something new.  Opportunities to explore and experiment are everywhere.  We just need to be open to them.

Life isn’t about the extraordinary once in a while. Life is about the every day and everyday can be extraordinary.  Search for the hidden treasures in your life, and you discover wealth far greater than you can imagine.  The adventure of learning never stops, 

We are too extraordinary to live ordinarily. We just have to unleash our curiosity.  Experiment, explore and experience life. Go make every day extraordinary!

Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.

Vernon Howard

Chapter 10, Page 22, Book 19

You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do no want to feel.

Author Unknown

October 22nd -close the gate

Excerpt from my daily devotion :  

There is a story about two men walking down a country lane and across some fields.  One of then forgot to close one of the gates.  After seeing some cows, he realized his mistake and walked back to close it.  He said it reminded him about the words an old man had shared with hm many years before. 

As you travel down lifes pathways, remember to close the gates behind you.

Soch advice is one we could also keep close.  Life is never straight forward and there are many attractions, distractions, obstacles and challenges.  We sometimes make mistakes, we could have made better choices and sometime we regret not having done something completely different.  

But we shouldn’t allow those to dominate us or take over our lives.  That is why it is so important to close the gate and move on. We need to know there is no need to reopen gates and go back.

We need to move forward and cherish each day as a fresh start and a new beginning.  

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned the hard way, that some poems don’t ryhme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning. middle, and end.  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.  Delicious Ambiquity.  

Gilda Radner