Contentment

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Contentment, goals, gratitude, Inspirational, letting go, relax into life

“A harvest of peace grows from seeds of contentment.”  -Indian proverb

Contentment can be such a tricky word especially for a society like America where values are placed on achieving more and more, and rising to the top. Contentment can seem like someone has just thrown in the towel and given up.

During one of my seminars a women made a comment that she was very content with the work she did cutting and styling hair and had no need for future goals. This caused a stirring with a few people as they could not grasp that she could be happy without wanting something more, they felt she was settling for less.

This made me realize why so many people are unhappy, once a goal is reached, many people want more, what they see as an “upgrade.” This type of life can never reach peace while continuously striving.

As a society we may not realize we even do this, it’s such habit. “Now that you graduated high school what college are you attending?” “Congrats on you first degree, are you going for you masters now?” “Oh you did that, are you going to get your PhD?” Can’t wait for your wedding, when do you think you’ll have children?” “You have a beautiful flower shop, are you going to expand soon?”

Contentment is an amazing feeling, you can relax, enjoying what you have without your mind consistently focused on the future. And the funny thing about it is, it often becomes the time when more ideas and inspiration come to you, also content energy brings you more to be content about.  Take the women from my seminar for example, she is now married and has her first child. It all unfolded naturally without goals, to do lists, affirmations, and vision boards.

So ask yourself; how much is enough, and when will I finally be content?

 

Have a wonderful week everyone and remember;
As you better yourself, you better the world.

Blog-cation

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blog-cation, small changes

Going on a blog-cation

See y’all in June! 🙂

Peaks and Valleys

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Don Baird, facing challenges, Holley Gerth, Peaks and valleys, Perfectionism, small changes

A wonderful thought to ponder by Don Baird (visit Baird at http://www.kungfukarate.com )

“So, what’s the difference between growth and our typical idea of perfection? ~

Perfectionism is all or nothing. Growth is little by little.

Perfectionism is all about goal. Growth is more about the journey.

Perfectionism is about outward appearances. Growth is about what happens on the inside.

Perfectionism is about what we do. Growth is about who we’re becoming.

” Gerth, Holley: “You’re Already Amazing,” Revel, 2012, p.46
***

My Ramble

When we are in the valleys between peaks, we feel like something has gone wrong. But, the valleys are caused because something is going right — you’re involved, you’re putting yourself out there, you’re experiencing life, you have dreams, you’re following your dreams: all of these are causative of peaks and valleys — the feeling of highs and lows. It’s not that these exist,but how we choose to handle them that counts; this is self-defining.

Who we are is important; who we are becoming is more important: the reward is within and not from a trophy. When we get frustrated, we should “get going.” When we’re in a peak, we should be humble and appreciative; and, when we are in a low we should also be appreciative — our lows are most often our true teachers. They are a time when we need to be the best we can be, try the hardest we can try — for ourselves, paying no attention to others — we have our lives, they have theirs.

In the end, we keep going — remaining on the spiritual journeys that we have been given — facing challenges and joys with equal gratefulness. Everyone and everything is our teacher and we will remain eternal students (whether we like it or not). We do not and cannot control the Universe; we can only retain a blurred, delusional control of our lives. We cannot add an hour to the day; we cannot command a single grey hair to appear on our heads. We are servants to the Universe; we command nothing. When we finally let go, maybe then we can live fully.

late sun;
between holly-hocks
more Universe

******************************************************

Peace and Blessings,

Don

Mind Clutter

Tags

better yourself, clear that clutter, Inspirational, mental clutter, self improvement, small changes

Mental Clutter can be one of the most distracting types of clutter that keep us from achieving our goals. We fill our days with to do lists and tons of time wasters.

This week go through your planner, calendar, to do lists, and take a good hard look. Are you filling it with things that make you feel you are achieving but then at the end of the day you are still not one step closer to your dream?

Be careful not to get to caught up in the little things and forget about what matters most. I’m not talking about taking time to sniff a flower and enjoy life itself, I’m talking about filling your days with lots of running around, errands, and small tasks. Time does not stop for any of us, so set your values and priorities first.No matter what you want to become and do in life begin now by making room for it in your daily schedule. After all if you don’t do it now, when will you?

 

As you better yourself, you better the world

Letting go of Emotional Clutter

Tags

better yourself, emotional clutter, Inspirational, letting go, small changes

Emotional clutter can be just as negative as actually physical clutter. It’s when you hold on to feelings like anger, jealousy, envy, and blame. All of these emotions can keep you from experiencing a life of enjoyment and fulfillment.

Let’s say you are constantly looking at Instagram and all the wonderful lives of those perfect pictures. You see friends on vacation, the perfect organized homes, the families with happy smiling children and you compare it to your life. Perhaps your children fight, the items in your home seem to have a mind of their own sprawled out the moment you pick them up, and the last time you went on a “real” vacation was, well you’re not sure.

What this does is keep you longing for what you don’t have rather than gratitude for what you do. It keeps your mind focused on a life you wish you had rather than loving and caring for the one you do. It makes a wonderful person become envious and often angry at mistakes they may have made in the past that could have given them something better or what they think is better. Either way it’s detrimental to a happy life.

The same is true for the other emotional baggage we may carry, it keeps us in a state of past mistakes or a longing for a different future. It’s time now to let go, forgive, and enjoy the life one beautiful life you were given.

Have a wonderful week.

 

As you better yourself, you better the world

It’s Time to Clear Out!

Tags

better yourself, clear that clutter, Law of Subtraction, letting go of the old, small changes

I love this time of year, not too hot, not too cold, birds are everywhere and I get to sit out on the patio for breakfast enjoying our flowers. This time of year also causes a stirring in my being to clean and clear out and I love it!

Winter tuck in, spring get a move on it! Since I’m giving a seminar in a few week about clearing clutter, I’ve been deep in thought and studies on the effects of letting go, and let me say, its crucial when you’d like to develop new dreams and ideas to first let go of the baggage.

Letting go of all our old worn out stuff doesn’t just mean the physical, although that is a huge chunk of it, but it also means it’s time to take a good look at your life. What in your life can you let go of? Is there a bad habit that you are consistently talking about but never let go of? What about your schedule? When was the last time you updated your routines to match your life now and the goals you’d like to attain? What about the old emotional baggage of un-forgiveness, anger, envy?

If you’ve been wanting change but just haven’t stepped out forget about waiting and wishing, now is the time. Join me for a month long blog of letting go and clearing out.

If you live in the L.A. area and would like to join me at the “T-Room” in Montrose CA for inspirational jump start into change, please visit; Law of Subtraction Seminar

 

Remember; As you better yourself, you better the world

Hate your job?

Tags

Do what you like, Life is good, self improvement, small changes, your dreams, your work

I love “Life is good” shirts, socks and mugs, and I’ve always liked the tags on their shirts that read; “Do what you like. Like what you do.” In fact, I believe we should all be doing what we love on a daily basis, (see last weeks post Your Work)…but…what if we are not?

What if we’re in a job we hate? Do we up and quit? What if we have a family to feed? Do we say so-long to our kids? Of course not. We don’t need to be so dramatic but we also don’t need to sit on the sidelines complaining how unfair life is.

We can slowly work towards our goals and dreams right where we are. First off it’s imperative to make peace with the job you have. Stop the complaints, bring in some lattes for your co-workers, and add some fresh flowers to your desk. Have gratitude for where you are and in your free time work towards what you love do.

I can hear you now…”but there is no free time.” I gave a seminar with a group of amazing people who have jammed packed schedules, but when we took a closer look we always found time in the day even if it was only for an hour. If it’s something you are passionate about you will definitely find the time, but if you are only moving your lips maybe it’s time to re-evaluate.

Perhaps just making peace right where you are could end up being exactly what you were looking for.

 

“As you better yourself, you better the world”

Your Work

Tags

better yourself, follow your passion, Inspirational, Kahlil Gibran, love your work, small changes

When you work you are a flute through whose heart
the whispering of the hours turns to music. To love
life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
All work is empty save when there is love, for work is
love made visible.
Kahlil Gibran

Love what you do? How blessed you are. To love the work you do you are a light that ripples out to the world, the energy you hold can be felt by your passion.I was having dinner at a friend’s house and he and I were chating about his work, it lights him up, the only problem in his mind is that the money isn’t great.

Unfortunately our society attaches success to money, never really asking are you happy and excited to get our of bed in the morning? Are you affecting people in positive ways because of your calling?

Following your passion affects more than just you. Have you ever been around someone who consistently complains about their work, or is so stressed out they can’t even enjoy their time with friends or family? This is not living. Living is doing what you love.

We are given this one life time, don’t get caught up in the illusion of what looks right in society. Time is precious, and if we are still breathing then it is never to late.

That’s pretty amazing…

Tags

better yourself, gift of change, Inspirational, self improvement, small changes

You know what’s amazing? We were all created with the ability to change. It’s the one true constant we can all see in nature with our eyes, but what’s really fantastic is we can also change on purpose.

Have you ever run into a person you know after not seeing them for a year or two and they look completely different? In fact you hardly notice them, they’re in shape, lost weight, confident, they used their gift of change.

The same is true with us; If we’re tired of procrastinating, feeling unhealthy, wasting our talents, being angry with the world, amazingly we can change this. Sure it takes some focused attention but isn’t this awesome to think about? I had a man at one of my seminars decide right then and their he was going to be a more friendly employer and his world did a complete turn around, (you’ll have to read the book to hear about his story, it’ll floor you).

So no more pouting and complaining, do something about it… because you can!

Letting go

Tags

Inspirational, Let go to God, small changes, surrender, your dreams

When we get caught up with our goals, creating our dreams, and manifesting, it can be easy to overlook the most important aspect; surrender.

Letting go to God, (however you interpret God) is most important, after all we didn’t create ourselves, and honestly the things we think we want aren’t always the things that are best for us. We force and struggle against a closed door, but when we completely surrender it seems like the door swings open with ease or a new door shows its self, and of course the new door is much, much, better than we could ever hope for.

So if you’re pushing up against something that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, or you find yourself struggling when it should be enjoyable, let go and let go completely.

After all a God that created this entire Universe that works in complete harmony would surely be able to handle our complex (sarcasm) lives. 🙂

 

Remember, as you better yourself, you better the world.