Inspirational Monday… Believe in Your Belief.

Can you believe we’re already headed into the fourth month of 2015? Am I the only one who feels like time has accelerated? So much has already happened during these first three months that I’ve found it hard to keep up. Yet, I went into 2015 with absolutely no expectations (aka resolutions) and I’ve experienced one of the most productive three months that I’ve had in a long time.

This article follows up to the one I wrote earlier this year about my rejection of the New Year resolution. You can read it here. So how’s it going, so far? Do I feel lost and useless without a set of resolutions to guide me along? Nah. I’m getting more done because I’ve learned to believe in my abilities. My strengths. And even my weaknesses. I’ve learned to believe in my belief. And that begins by following this concept:

Let me tell you what happens when one chooses to focus on letting in positive energy over the life sucking embrace of negative energy. Energy levels miraculously increase. There’s something healing about managing to conjure at least a few smiles on a bad day. Computer gremlins and hackers be gone. Exercise becomes a good friend and you find time for a workout or a run even though there are a million things on your to-do list. And while we’re talking about that list, let’s just go ahead and mention how much easier life has become since we started writing one each morning.

Here are a few tips to help you organize your thoughts and embrace the positive energy:

1. Make a to-do list. Seriously. If you choose only one tip to use then make it this one. I never understood how much the lack of focus each day was affecting me until I started getting up each morning and writing out what I needed to do that day.

2. Focus on the positive little things. Believe it or not, something good happens every day. Allowing ourselves to experience these little happy tidbits can be difficult when we’re sitting in the midst of a heated moment. For me, it can be something as simple as a child playing peekaboo with me while I’m standing in a checkout line. Yeah, sure the day started off in a hellacious kind of way, but that little boy managed to make me smile (and I felt good about doing so).

3. Turn to the children for guidance on this one. Hold on to the childish enthusiasm inside you. Laugh when you don’t feel like Understand that sometimes we can’t change things. Yes, it happens. Focus on moving beyond that moment. Approach a new class or hobby with excited eyes and tune everything else out. This does work. Learning how to condition your mind to focus on the positive takes time. However, you can do this.

4. Take immediate steps to fix problems when they arise. Large or small, it doesn’t matter. Avoidance paves the way for stress. And stress breeds negativity. I’m still working on this one myself, but since I’ve identified this area as a weakness for me then my ability to work toward ridding myself of the procrastination demon has improved.

5. Understand that you are human and no matter what you do there will be times when nothing gets done because… you are not infallible. The world will forgive this flaw. Trust me.
The important thing to remember is that you believe in what you can do. And that enthusiasm will keep you on track when it feels as though the world is doing everything to lead you astray.

Hold strong to that belief and guard it with all you have inside. And remember this last tidbit…

Go forward and believe in your Belief!