Smile.

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight." -- Anonymous

Challenge: Smile throughout the day toward others and toward yourself and expect good things. Your results may surprise you.

Attitude of Gratitude. It IS a Wonderful Life!

If you were to write down 3 things that you were grateful for during this day...today...at any moment of the day...would you know which three things to write down? Starting today, gather your positive energy by starting a gratitude journal. By including an attitude of gratitude in your daily routine, you will automatically attract more of what you want to you. Here is a note on gratitude...

"A popular refrain from the 1940s captured the thought:

Accentuate the positive;
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative;
Don’t mess with Mr. In-between. 1

Good advice then. Good advice now.

This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues." -- President Thomas S. Monson, LDS Church, 1992 Ensign

Remember today that you need to smile to bring the positive to you. Smile and know that the positive energy is surrounding you and is moving toward you in all areas of your life.

Secret Service Code Names To Enjoy Inner Calm?

Today, other than the PGA championship purse, the best thing you can give yourself is some good ole positive energy. Where do you get it and how do you get it without the disturbing behavior of sitting in a yoga mudra in a public place? Well, you can get it by joking using the PDQ acronym, or choose to reserve a spot at the inner calm.

What is the inner calm? It's a vacation spot that you create for yourself. Essentially, you don't need a hurricane tracker to know if the weather is going to be good on your vacation to the inner calm. You don't have to read the South Korean news to know that you live in a place of greatness. Any place that has any sort of freedom (even if it is only in the mind) is a fantastic place. It's all up to you to create your reality so that you feel like you are in a fantastic place.

You don't have to be in perfect physical shape and able to participate in the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon. You don't have to be famous like the Kardashians. You don't have to be smart like Connie Chung. You don't have to hide in a corner and choose Secret Service Code Names so that no one knows you are living in an inner calm. Choose to live with a smile on your face and realize that "your stuff" is better than "someone else's stuff" anytime. Realize that it could always be worse and you always have the choice to make it better.

Take a deep breath and begin to enjoy an inner calm. More on the inner calm in upcoming posts.