by Kathy Gates
While most of us have heard the urban phrase, "Life’s a drag and
then you die", (yeah, I cleaned that up a bit!), I find that most people don’t
really want to believe that.
And it’s true. While off course we all have difficult times in
our lives, overall life was not designed to be struggled through.
Feeling good about your life involves just two parts. One is to
learn to think about yourself in healthy ways. This is a learned skill, ladies
and gentlemen, not something that a lucky few were born with. If you weren’t
given the gift of self confidence and self esteem as a child, it’s up to you to
manufacture it as an adult. This is a skill, not a talent.
The second part of feeling good about your life involves making
things happen. That the opposite of giving your life over to circumstance. If
you want something, set things into motion to make it happen - from losing
weight to getting the perfect job - it’s all in your hands.
Are you feeling like life’s a struggle? Try these seven tips to
help you feel good about life again.
1. Never stop questioning - how can I do this better, faster,
easier, simpler? Get interested and curious about yourself and about others.
2. Accept your weakness. Everybody has weaknesses. Instead of
spending your time and energy trying to "overcome", accept it, don’t make
excuses for it, and find ways to make it work for you.
3. Always keep learning. The brain is a muscle just like any
other, and it will stagnate if you let it. Learn something new every day.
4. Expect nothing; expect the best. Paradox? No. It just means
that you don’t want to miss out on what’s wonderful in your life right now,
while you spending all your time peeking around the next corner.
5. Plant the "seeds" that you want to grow. Many people are
(figuratively) wondering where the roses are in their life, yet they spend all
their time sowing corn. You reap what you sow. That’s just the way it is.
6. Swim with the current. Accept life. There are lots of things
you can’t control. Don’t waste your time complaining about what you can’t
control - the weather, the economy, other people. Do accept those things and
work within the circle that is within your control.
7. Don’t wimp out. When the going gets tough -- and it will --
keep your head up and keep moving. Nobody ever won a race by quitting.
Here’s my challenge to you: Take any one of these seven ideas
and put it to work in your life over the next seven days. Just seven days -- you
can do anything that long, right? Read it over in the morning and choose a
particular way to practice it, review it at noon, recite it at dinner. Make it a
part of your every minute the next seven days. Then write me, tell me how it
helped.
Life Coach Kathy Gates specializes in helping people who are ready to create a
simpler, less stressful, more meaningful lifestyle. Want to know how? Visit
www.reallifecoach.com to learn more and sign up for her newsletter.