Why am I doing this?

I believe that God laid on my heart to create a blog.  I have now started one and find myself avoiding it.  I knew that it was going to be an awesome responsibility.  And I hoped that I would be inspired every day to write something that would help someone. 

As I journal, I often wonder if someone else may be going through the same things that I am going through.  When I think those thoughts; that is when the blog comes to mind.  Lately I have been contriving to inspire and motivate someone, when I should be journaling my life experiences. Out of that may or may not come something to share on my blog that day.  That is what I strive for from now on.  Live life to the fullest. Gather good information, good experiences, and inspiring moments every day.  Suck them in.  Savor them. Enjoy them.  Use them.  Share them.  That is my motivation.

Today I’ve got a beautiful  7-year-old’s birthday party to attend.  Let’s see what inspiring moments I can gather there.

Expect Great things and decide to have and Awesome day.

Debbie

You must work every day to stay inspired and motivated. Do it. Believe in yourself. Fill your mind with with truth. Fill it with happy, good inspirational thoughts. Read something inspirational every morning. Set up pop up reminders on your smart phone or computer with motivating quotes or bible verses. You'll find these little nuggets will be just what you need from time to time. I also like to check out you tube for a quick pickmeup. Never count on someone else to make you happy. Create your own happiness! Expect something GREAT to happen and it will. And decide to have a great day and you will....just sayin' Debbie

Five years from now.

I just watched an excellent u tube video. It is one of the best pieces of advice ever. "Do something for the person that you will be five years from now". It's just a couple of minutes long, but the wisdom found there is life long. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk4t0E0ZkZk&feature=youtube_gdata_player If it doesn't work to click on it, copy and paste it into your browser. Then let me know what you think. Expect great things and decide to have a great day. Debbie

Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.

Mark Twain

Habits are breakable!!!! But dont expect to change them over night!  We just have to do it little by little.  We must start in our own mind.  Start thinking differently about ourselves  Then we must begin taking very small steps.  When we do this, we begin to form new habits that will take us to the next small step. 

There is a process called Kaizen method. The word Kaizen  is Japanese for "improvement".  It is the process of making small incremental changes which focus on  and bring about continuing improvement. 

It's a great way to begin changing your habits.

There are books, classes, audio and videos on the subject to help you do this.  Many manufacturing facilities in Japan and now all over the world have adopted the process because it works. 

Habits are breakable.... If coaxed gingerly... 

Let's start breaking one today!

Expect GREAT things and decide to have and AWESOME day.

Debbie

Please share your thoughts or suggestions on the subject.

Negative thoughts lead to negative behaviors, which lead to negative results.  Science has proven that you are or become what dominates your thoughts.  If you have a problem in a certain area, it just might be because you have allowed your mind to go there in a negative way.  For example;  If you allow yourself to think about an ice cream cone, most likely you are going to have an ice cream cone before the end of the day.  Not that eating an ice cream cone is a negative behavior, but if you allow yourself to do this every day, you will end up with a negative result.

 The good news is that the same is true for positive thoughts. They lead to positive behaviors, which lead to positive results.  And the better news is that we all have control over our own thoughts.  A person can change a negative thought into a positive one.  It might not be easy at first, but it can become a habit if we want it to.  We have to decide for ourselves if it is worth the effort.  Here are some practical steps to making that happen.

1.       Realize that you have just had a negative thought.

2.       Say out loud “I reject that thought” (ok, think it if you are in public)  

3.       Reverse it:  if the thought was “I’m fat”, say “I’m thin”

4.       Repeat the new thought several times in as many different ways as possible: I’m lean, I’m healthy, I work out, I enjoy healthy eating, I have a healthy lifestyle.  (Do this out loud if possible.  This way you are hearing it as well as thinking it.  This reinforces the new thought.)

5.       Imagine yourself in the exact situation that you would like to be in.  Visualize it in vivid detail. 

When a person takes control of their own thoughts, instead of allowing them to wonder here and there, that person takes control of their life.  The potential is endless.

Expect GREAT things and decide to have an AWESOME day.

Debbie

PS.  The Gladiator Run was really fun.  I got muddy, sore, and bruised.  But it was worth it.  I finished 7th out of 23 in my age group.  (I'm now patting myself on my shoulder).  I recomend you do something outside of your comfort zone.  You'll be glad you did.

I didn't want to do it, I still don't want to do it.  My friends talked me into it and now I'm on my way to my first Gladiator Rockin run.  3 miles of 17 obstacles, mud, ice water, walls, tires and I don't know what else.  I don't like to be cold or wet. I especially don't like to be muddy.  But sometime you've gotta go out on a limb and try something new.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Expect Great Things and Decide to have and Awesome day.

Debbie

Pre-Determination

I listened to an audio CD yesterday by Andy Andrews called the Lost Choice.  He told a story of a little boy who rescued a little girl that was stuck in a drainage pipe. Her head was bobbing under.  She was gasping for breaths and drowning.  He jumped into the pipe and dove under to where her foot was lodged. He worked it free and got her out.  When asked later what made him risk his own life to save her, he replied.  “I didn’t think about it.  I just did what I had decided a long time ago, which was that If I was ever in an emergency situation where I could help someone, I would do everything that I could to help”.   And because he had made up his mind a long time ago, he did what he had predetermined, no thoughts, no worries, or no arguments.  He saved a life. 

Is there something in your life that you have predetermined and because of it, seen a positive outcome? I’d be interested to hear your story.  Please comment.

Expect Great things and decide to have an Awesome day.

Debbie

“A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month's study of books."
Chinese Proverb

I thank God for the wise people in my life, (and the cracked-pots).  I’ve been blessed with awesomely wise parents, sisters, mentors and friends. (as well as a few nuts) All of whom have added so much to my life.

You know who you are.

With you and through you I am learning to grab hold of life’s lessons from the tiniest moments to the grandest accomplishments.

I’m learning how to appreciate the hard knocks, (the sharp rocks, the monstrous mountains, the cavernous canyons, blisters, headaches, door slams, hang-ups….) for through them my character is growing  (Though it could use a band-aid from time to time.)

 I've learned how to appreciate and analyze each failure (oh joy!!).  For if it weren’t for the failures there would be no successes. 

I’m learning not to give up (or run screaming to the hills of Montana), but to press on with determination (like the little engine), when everything in me wants to throw in the towel.

I’ve learned that….

Laughter, Tears, (or laughter to tears), Encouragement, Wise words, and Good conversations; spent with a wise person, a good friend, a trusted confidant…

…..are worth far more than a whole library of encyclopedias. 

Thanks you guys.

Expect GREAT thinks and decide to have and AWESOME day.

Debbie

Hitting a wall?

I'm a runner.  I started doing longer distances about 6 years ago.  I had heard about "the wall", but had never experienced it until about my 3rd half marathon.  I literally found myself at a full stand-still at about mile 10.  I was totally ready to throw in the towel and call my husband to come and pick me up. 

What I realized from that experience, as well as several "walls" since then, is that the run, the game, the fight, the sale, etc., is part physical (the doing) and a larger part mental.  Yeah, I know it sounds a little cliche', but I am so serious. 

I know because I'm smack up against a wall right now! 

I'm in sales and I haven't made a sale in 3 weeks.  I can feel my resolve to be strong and work through the wall diminishing.  I have literally thought about getting a part time job at McDonald's to help pay the bills!  But then I know what the competition for those position is like right now, and that sort of stopped me.  (LOL). 

Anyway, I'd like to know if you have any suggestions for me, or if you have had a similar experience, what it was and how did you get out of it?  Please comment

Expect the best and make it an AWESOME day.

Debbie

Practice

Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.

- Martha Graham

 I find it interesting yet apropos that physicians and attorneys have practices, not "perfects".  They can go on for 30,  40 or more years and still have a practice.  I think this is right.  There is no perfection. It is the striving for excellence that drives a person toward their goal.  Yet when the word perfection replaces excellence, the connotation turns negative.  A person can actually be driven into a state of lethargy, for the fear of failing to live up to their own desire for perfection. 

 Therefore, seek not perfection, seek only excellence.

Expect GREAT things and decide to have an AWESOME day.

Debbie

The High Street

One day my 6 year old grand-daughter was telling me about her little friend that was not treating her very nicely.  She said, "Grama, she was being really bossy and I just wanted to go home and not play with her any more, but...  I chose to take the high street."  I think she meant the "high road".  I asked her how it made her feel when she took the high street, she said it made her feel "really, really good". 

Have you ever had someone cut you off on the freeway, or treat you rudely for one reason or another.  Has someone in your family, neighborhood or at work wronged you?  Is there someone that just doesn't like you, and you cant figure out why? 

May I suggest that the next time you have the opportunity to get back at them, or just not acknowledge them at all,  that you take a thought for a moment and do what my grand-daughter did.  "Take the high street".  It just might make you feel "really, really good.".

Expect GREAT things, and decide to have an awesome day. 

Debbie

"Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure." Napoleon Hil

No matter what, never, never never throw in the towel.  Today might just be that break-through day!

Expect GREAT things and dicide to make it an AWESOME day!

The way to Sweet Sleep

Wisdom, Sound judgment, Understanding, Discernment?  Not something we talk about much in today’s popular conversations. 

What is wisdom?  Is it a vast amount of knowledge? No because the internet has a vast amount of information that anyone can access, yet the human virtue of wisdom is not found there.  Solomon of old asked God for one thing, wisdom, when he could have asked for anything! Power, riches, love?  He asked for wisdom.   God was so pleased in his request that he granted him all the things that he could have asked for, as well as wisdom.

 I did a quick google search and found the following definition: (from Wikipedia) Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgments and actions in keeping with this understanding....

But why?  What’s the big deal? 

How about some awesome payoffs…. I count at least 16…

Proverbs 3 says, “Blessed is the man who finds Wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she (Wisdom) is more (1) profitable than silver and (2) yields better returns than gold.  She is more (3) precious than rubies: nothing you desire can compare with her.  (4)Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are(5) riches and (6)honor.  Her ways are (7) pleasant ways, and all her paths are (8) peace.  She is a (9) tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her (10) will be blessed. By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.  My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be(11)  life for you, and an (12) ornament to grace your neck.  Then you will go on your way in (13) safety, and your (14)foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you (15)will not be afraid; when you lie down, your (16) sleep will be sweet.”

Ahhh… sweet sleep.  Sounds pretty good to me.

Expect good things and decide to have an awesome day.

Debbie

Eye on the prize part 2

Science says that the body cannot tell the difference between a vivid visualization, thought or dream and a real experience. 

For example: Take the “120” medal.   I visualize myself projected into the future on a certain day, say May 1^st. I see myself receiving that “120” medal. 

1.       Scale:   I mentally see myself standing on the scale that morning. I allow myself to feel how I felt when I saw the reading of 120. I savor the moment.

2.       Backwards Walk:   Now I begin the backwards walk in my mind.

3.        Skinny Jeans:    How it felt to put on those skinny jeans that I’d been waiting to wear.  I see myself in the mirror.  I check myself out. 

4.       How does it feel? What did I do to achieve that goal?

5.       The food I ate that day, all very healthy meals.  I imagine smell of the food, the feeling of the food in my mouth.  How it tasted. I imagine myself chewing it, swallowing it, enjoying it.

6.        Exercise:  I visualize myself exercising, allowing my body to actually feel the blood rushing through my veins, as my core temperature rises.

7.       Mental State:     What was my mental state? My positive responses to temptations to eat or drink something that was not on my plan.

8.        Everything I see in my mind is in the best possible scenario.  All Positive.  I work backwards in fast motion from that moment to the present.

9.        Hour by hour, day by day, all the way back to the present day. 

10.   With the present day being the most vivid, it’s almost as if it was a memory. 

11.   Now I slow the tape down and begin to play it forward in real time from that moment on. I begin living out what I just mentally practiced. 

I asked myself, “If I were to do this every day, for every one of those medals, what are the chances that it just might work out the way I visualized it?”  Hmmm?

Well there is another part of that scripture that I didn’t mention before.  Here Paul says: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  I beat my body and make it a slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”               

It’s not just talking about focusing the mind here.   It’s talking about DISCIPLINED FOCUS.  Yes, this type of visualization must become one of my daily disciplines.  

But it’s the ACTION, the “Strict Training”, and the actual practice of doing those things that I vividly visualized that will get me the outcome that I want. 

I came up with a simple formula to help me remember.  And I invite you to use it as well:

 A Vivid Vision + Valiant action = Victorious Results.   Or in other words,

“Run in such a way as to receive the prize.. 

Eye on the Prize part 1

I was lying in bed one morning in, and thinking about some of the major goals that I have for this year.  As often happens, negative thoughts began to creep into my mind.  Things like “you’ll never achieve your goals.  You can’t even stay focused for one day let alone a whole year…. , bla bla bla.

I’m working on rejecting negative thoughts turning them into positive ones.  And as I began to ponder,  the word FOCUS kept coming to my mind. (pause) I remembered a Bible scripture I’d memorized years ago about keeping your eye on the prize.  I couldn’t remember where it exactly, so I grabbed my IPad, which was lying next to me on the night stand and looked it up.  Its 1^st Corinthians 9:24 to 27 and it says, Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize! Run in such a way as to recieve the prize. ”  (pause)

Run in such a way as to recieve the prize!  This is called FOCUS.  Train your body, mind, and your spirit to stay single minded and focus on the prize.

So I got a picture in my mind of the prizes might help me achieve the goals I’m working toward.  The 4 main goals are:

1.       A better knowledge of and relationship with my Heavenly Father. 

2.        A better relationship with my husband, Todd. 

3.       Success at work, with a short term goal of qualifying for convention in Kauai.  And,

4.       Good health, with a short term goal of weighing 120 pounds. 

Now, I have a picture in my mind of 4 medals, like a person would win at a race. Each one has one word on it: GOD, TODD, KAUAI,  & 12O.  (show picture)  I can now visualize myself receiving each of these prizes.  Then I can begin to work backward from there.   

--- to be continued

Expect Great Things And Decide to have a GREAT day!

Goal sabatage

Why does a person sabatage their own goals?  I'm super good at setting them, but when it comes to carrying out the plans, a selfish bit of me raises up and becomes bigger than the plan at the time.  For instance,; making phone calls for my business in the late afternoon or evening.  I can have great resolve all day long to do it, and when the time comes for doing it, either something much more pressing comes along, or I get so sleepy that I just want to close my eyes for a minute, etc.  Then the calls dont get made.   One thing I shouldn't do is wait till the end of the day to do the important things.   Do them first whent the energy level is high.  Maybe my book is suppose to be about overcoming procrastination.  It seems that the published authors that Ive heard about recently have had some major crisis, problem, obstacle etc to overcome.  They've written about how they did it and then gotten published.   I've always had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that my life hasnt been interesting enough for people to want to read about it.  If I could get a grasp of,  and keep it on overcoming procrastination, it might be the way God will use me.    
Another nagging thought is that the book has already been written, I've read many and I'm still struggling with procrastination.  Is there really a need for another self help book that might get read, but probably wont get followed.   -- Dear God, show me what to do and help me to be obedient to you and your word.  Teach me how to overcome procrastination and do the things that need to be done.  Help me to have a godly attitude as I do them and give me courage, braverey and faith to do them.  Because I know that once they are complete I will look back and see that the fear was much greater than the obstacle.    Amen.      Expect the best and decide to make it a great day.

Embrace your gifts

I’ve known for several years that my ministry and gifting is that of encouragement.  I always felt sort of short-changed by God for giving me such a boring, unnoticeable ministry.  I always wanted to be in the limelight.  I never thought encouragement was unique.  It seemed to me that everyone should be doing it all the time, like keeping a servant’s attitude, or walking in the spirit. 

One thing I realized is that when something comes naturally or easily to a person, we don’t always realize the uniqueness of our gifting.  Then we can take it for granted or worse, ignore it all together and try to cultivate a different gift or ministry. (I always wanted to be a teacher. )

But Why fight it?  We need to embrace it and hone it in order to be truly used by God in it. 

I am pretty certain that my career in insurance sales is simply an outlet for my ministry.  I am invited into people’s homes every day.  I believe that every home is an opportunity to bless someone, encourage someone, make someone’s day.  Often when I walk in, I’m greeted with a stiff handshake and a feeling of uncertainty by the person.  But when I leave, often after several hours, I am very frequently given a huge embrace.  Those are the days that I’ve given my business to God and instead of worrying about the income.  God is faithful: he will provide.  Now it’s my job to be faithful and open to Him and what He’s got in store for me each day.

Expect great things and decide to have a great day! 

Debbie