September 27th, 2010
You are going in a certain direction right now. Good, bad or neutral it is a direction that you have been going in for quite a while. The speed might have varied over time but generally it is the same direction. Now this is all well and good IF where you want to be going and the direction you are going is the same. The problem is that most of us don’t know where we want to go. We generalize about happiness and security but we just haven’t gotten around to the details. Our perfect future has something to do with a lot of money, living well and/or being in a position to help others. The problem is we don’t know how to get from here to there. We can solve this problem if we will do just one thing. That one thing is ……..focus on where you are right now. Be honest. Stop kidding yourself for a moment. Is what you are doing right now conducive to your happiness and is it something that you really want to do? If it is, how can you make it even better? If it isn’t, how can you change your course? In the next moment and every moment after that, you are going to take another step. Is it going to be in the same old direction or is it going to be in a direction that feels better, that you know is better? Where you are right now is where you are right now. Where you are going to be is up to the next step you take. Take a step that feels better and then another and another. You deserve to feel better. Don’t you?
September 21st, 2010
You’ve made a few mistakes. You’ve learned many of life’s important lessons and you have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t. So far so good. The missing point here is that this is all about you! When are you going to realize that other people feel just as right and fixed in their beliefs as you do? When are you going to realize that YOU CAN’T CHANGE ANYONE? What could someone possibly say that would make you change your ways? Oh, I know, your ways don’t need to be changed. That’s the way most people feel!
Everyone is going to grow in a way that they feel is right for them. That means that your children, friends, lovers and spouses are not determining what they do by how you feel but by how they feel and how they feel is a product of their thoughts and not yours. You can advise them, pray for them, give them books to read but the best way to influence them is by being someone that they wish to emulate. When you are the happiest, most loving, most compassionate person that you can be they MAY want to copy you. There is no guarantee that they will. Whether they choose to copy you or not, know that by being the best that you can be, you will have made a success of the life you have been given and that is all about you.
September 13th, 2010
We know how to celebrate the holidays. We know what presents or decorations are appropriate. But how about all of the other days? How do we celebrate them? Shouldn’t every day that we wake up be a celebration? Oh, but how can I celebrate a job I don’t like? You don’t. You celebrate the ability to have a job, the ability to consider a better job, the good that you can do there, the difference that you can make in even one person’s life by being there. Oh, but how do I celebrate my aches and pains? You don’t.You celebrate the mental clarity to know your pain and what makes it better or worse. You celebrate the parts that work well and that are not adding to your pain. Oh, but how do I celebrate a relationship that is the pits? You don’t. You celebrate the ability to have the greatest relationship ever and that’s the one with you and your Creator. Oh, but how do I celebrate my debts. You don’t. You celebrate all of the money that has flowed through your hands in the past and the very real possibility of more in the future. Oh, but how do I celebrate my loss? You don’t. You celebrate what you had and you celebrate what you learned. Oh, but how do I celebrate just a regular day. You don’t. Because there is no such thing.
©2010 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride www.PatrickInspires.com
September 7th, 2010
What makes a holiday different from other days? It has the same 24 hours, the same sunrise and sunset. It is different because you and I treat it differently.There is nothing that you did yesterday that couldn’t be done on any Saturday or Sunday if those are your days off. On a day like yesterday we step out of routine. We ALLOW ourselves to do different things or maybe nothing at all. We make it feel freer than a “regular” day. The specialness has little to do with the calendar and much to do with our state of mind. Why can’t we feel that way all the time? We can! Oh, every day we can’t run off to the beach or barbecue in the afternoon or stroll in the park but we can feel freer. We can decide that this day and every day is going to be less routine and more inventive. We can decide that each and every day of our lives is going to contain a bit more happiness. We can decide that every day of our life deserves some down time, some reflecting time and some ease. We can decide to be lighter even on a “regular” day.
We may not be able to give ourselves a holiday every week but we can give ourselves some holiday time every day.
Copywrite 2010 Patrick McBride