This is a choice we get to make each and every day. While most of us assume that we would pick being happy over being right, the truth is that very often we pick being right!

So much more than being happy, we want confirmation that our thinking is correct. We spend much more time needing that confirmation over happiness, because we think it validates who we are.

Unfortunately, many people believe that there are only two choices: the right one (mine) and the wrong one (all those that are not mine). This is, in fact, the basis of most prejudice in my opinion. It’s sad but true. It’s why there is so little compassion for other people’s choices.

Next time you need to make a choice, pay attention to the choice that will make you feel right and the choice that will make you feel happy (that is, in integrity or being true to yourself). Then, practice makeing the choice that makes you happy!

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It would add much to human happiness, if an art could be taught of forgetting all of which the remembrance is at once useless and afflictive, that the mind might perform its function without encumbrance, and the past might no longer encroach upon the present.” — Samuel Johnson

“Yesterday ended last night. Every day is a new beginning. Learn the skill of forgetting. And move on.” — Norman Vincent Peale

“One can never change the past, only the hold it has on you, and while nothing in your life is reversible, you can reverse it nevertheless.” — Merle Shain

I’m 100% open to the idea that I create, promote, allow or step in everything in my life. If there is something in my life I no longer choose – I take full responsibility for changing it. I am in the driver’s seat and I love it!

Make a 5×7 card that says the above. Post it where you can see it and read it several times a day. You may want to make more than one to post it in a number of locations.

Courtesy of the 12 Steps to High Self Esteem workbook by Linda Larsen and SkillPath Publications. (Modified slightly by LMK).

Courtesy of Price Chiropractic Associates, Hamburg, PA

This mission statement is hanging on the wall at my chiropractor’s. As a client and a coach, I really love the message.

• We’ll Honor your Goals. We’re here to help, whether you want relief or wellness.
• We’ll Respect your Time and make your visits fast, efficient and effective
• We’ll Protect your Privacy by keeping your personal information confidential.
• We’ll Answer your Questions and explain our examination findings
• We’ll Offer Choices and refer to other specialists as needed.
• We’ll Encourage Participation and show you ways to get well faster.
• We’ll offer Clinical Excellence with the latest safe and nautral chiropractic care
• We’ll Offer Hope because with a revived nervous system, anything is possible.

[From "Love Yourself, Heal Your Life Workbook" by Louise Hay]
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In my coaching practice, I continually see clients who are unable to manifest what they want because of a deep-rooted belief that they don’t deserve to have it. It doesn’t matter the reason for the belief, and most often the reason is for some very small action or thought that no one else is even aware of. Additionally, if some one else was in charge of ‘punishing’ us, there would have been a short, minimal punishment. We are not so easy on ourselves. We punish ourselves for years and years, often for something that didn’t deserve any punishment at all.

The following “Deservability Treatment” is from Louise L. Hay’s Love Yourself, Heal Your Life Workbook. I believe it is a powerful statement that can be used to help you transform your feelings of being undeserving into feeling worthy of all the best has to offer.

• I am deserving. I deserve all good. Not some, not a little bit, but all good. I now move past all negative, restricting thoughts. I release and let go of the limitations of my parents. I love them, and I go beyond them. I am not their negative opinions, nor their limiting beliefs. I am not bound by any of the fears or prejudices of the current society I live in. I no longer identify with limitation of any kind.

• In my mind, I have total freedom. I now move into a new space of consciousness, where I am willing to see myself differently. I am willing to create new thoughts about myself and about my life. My new thinking becomes new experiences.

• I now know and affirm that I am at one with the Prospering Power of the Universe. As such, I now prosper in a number of ways. The totality of possibilities lies before me. I deserve life, a good life. I deserve love, an abundance of love. I deserve good health. I deserve to live comfortably and to prosper. I deserve joy and happiness. I deserve freedom to be all that I can be. I deserve more than that. I deserve all good.

• The Universe is more than willing to manifest my new beliefs. And I accept this abundant life with joy, pleasure, and gratitude. For I am deserving. I accept it; I know it to be true.

When is a change a solution? And when is it just a change? That’s an easy one! It’s when the problem goes away.

Very often we make a change and think we’re done. However, if the change was to solve a problem and the problem is still there, then all we’ve really done is to create a new problem. Or rather, we’ve just changed the look of the old problem.

Sometimes the change costs money so we are reluctant to acknowledge it didn’t work. Depending on the amount of money, we might decide we can live with the problem. That’s fine, as long as it is a conscious choice and we truly stop thinking about the problem as a problem. That is the key: unless we stop spending energy fretting about the problem, we can’t stop at the first attempt to solve it.

Look around you. Where have your problem-solving changes made a positive difference and where have they just extended the problem? Remember, any energy not spent in creating your best life is energy wasted.

In his book “Everyday Enlightenment”, Dan Millman identifies 2 (and only 2) basics for success in business:

1. Be good at what you do.
   This is critical. Don’t just ‘do’ what you ‘do’. Keep learning and studying so that you do it better. Become a master of your craft and you will do well.
   
   
2. Be good at promoting what you do.
   For many of us, this is the part we’d like to forget about. However, it doesn’t matter how good you are if no one knows about it. And the
   converse is true as well. We all know people (possibly less qualified than others) who do quite well because they have highly developed this skill.

To go really far in life, and business, you need to develop both of these skills! These rules apply whether you work for yourself or in a corporate environment.

Check out the book on : Amazon

I often think one can tell the difference between a manager and a leader by looking at where a person’s eyes are. If they are to the ground, if their focus is on implementing something that someone else has put in place, if they are most concerned about the systems that are in place, they are a manager. If their eyes are off to the future, if they are focused on new horizons, and if the and in creating goals, they are a leader. While managers direct others to accomplish their end results, leaders inspire others to achieve those same results.

This quote by John Sculley really hits the mark for me: “Leadership is often confused with other things, specifically management. As I see it, leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. One can’t lead unless one can leverage more than his own capabilities . . . You have to be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist – that’s management, not leadership.”

In his book, John C. Maxwell outlines the 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Download a free one-page summary of these qualities here or check out the book on Amazon

[From "Learn to Relax: A Practical Guide to Easing Tension and Conquering Stress" by Mike George]
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ANGER: A natural response to anger is to clench our fists. In order to make this relaxing, pick up a small, hard object, such as a stone, and place it in the palm of your hand. Squeeze the object as hard as you can and let go. Rock the object gently in your hand as if making peace with it.

SADNESS: With sadness comes lethargy and unresponsiveness. So, when you feel sad, take yourself for a walk. Focus your attention on the things that you pass. It doesn’t matter where you go or how often you have done the same walk. With each step you take, you are working through your feelings of melancholy. Try to respond positively to sights, sounds and smells.

JEALOUSY: When we feel jealous, our responses are similar to those of fear (jealousy often results from fear of loss). Our instinct is to fight, but instead of flying into a rage, gently run the fingers on one hand over the top of the other as if you were stroking a child’s hand in comfort. Each stroke smooths away the emotion, and you should be able to respond more calmly.