A Better Life ~ What Kind of Life are You Creating?

We create our lives moment by moment. We can ask ourselves, ‘What kind of life am I creating?’ Is it a life I will look back upon and be proud? Is it a life I will look back upon with regrets? It’s never too late to change the trajectory of one’s life. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming to create a well lived life. We can look at each sunrise and become the authors of a new life’s chapter. When we take it a chapter (day) at a time, we create the building blocks of the edifice we are creating. At the end of the day, if we reflect on our day we can see the places that need course corrections or places that we want to repeat. Create a magnificent life worthy of you. You are unique, one of a kind, and you have something special to offer to life.

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A Better Life ~ Get Excited About Life

Take time out for a personal checkup. Are you excited about who you are and the future that lies ahead of you? No matter your age, you are capable of moving far beyond of where you are at the moment. Think of it this way, when a plant stops growing it starts dying. You’ve got lots of growing to do. There are so many things to learn, so many places to see, so many potential challenges to test us. The only thing that stops us from growing is are the excuses we’ll make so we can take it easy and let someone else do it. Don’t wave the white flag. There’s an exciting journey waiting for you. All you have to do is jump aboard and enjoy the ride.

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A Better Life ~ Remembering Names

I wasn’t always good at remembering names. Sometimes I would speak with a person and never ask them their name. I was too embarrassed to ask. I decided I would learn how to remember names. I studied different memory strategies and became good at it. I learned people like being called by their name. Our names are personal. It’s who we are. They are assigned to us at birth. A record begins and our names are on it. The simple act of asking someone their name is a sign of respect. It says, I care enough about you to know who you are. When I forget a name I’m no longer embarrassed to say, “I forgot your name.”, This morning I saw someone I hadn’t seen in a while. I remembered his name. I said, “Hi, Juan, how are you?” Juan wasn’t quite sure of my name. He said, “It’s Ray, right?” I nodded. After a brief conversation, we wished each other a great day. Make an effort to remember names. You’ll make lots of new friends and make people feel good when you greet them by name.

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A Better Life ~ Our Shared Experiences

Teardrops and laughter are a shared experience of every human being. To love and be loved are a shared experience of every human being. There are many other experiences we all share. Our shared experiences are reasons to cooperate and act compassionately toward each other. When we build each up we are also building ourselves. We’re all sharing this great ride on planet Earth, why not work with each other, build each other, and celebrate together at day’s end? It will make all the difference.

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A Better Life ~ Wait and See – It’s All Going to Work Out

Yesterday, the high temperature was nearly 100 F (38C) in south Texas. A line of thunderstorms came through in the middle of night bringing much needed rain. A brisk, cooling wind stayed around for most of the morning. Today, the high temperature is 76F (24.4C). What a pleasant difference. The weather provides a good life’s lesson. If we don’t quit, things will change. Chances are, they’ll change for the better. If we let negative thinking take hold we begin catastrophizing assuming the worst possible outcome. It’s better to take a wait and see attitude and continue to grind, holding on to hope that it will all work out. It will. Hang in there.

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A Better Life ~ Want to Feel Great?

When was the last time you walked holding hands with the special person in your life? Skin is the largest organ in our body and when it is touched it sends good and bad touch messages to our brain. When our touches are tender, filled with love like a hug our brain releases a hormone called oxytocin makes us feel good and firms up emotional and social bonds while lowering anxiety and fear (see WebMd). Put holding hands, close dancing, and hugging high on the list with your special person.

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A Better Life ~ Open the Door to Unlimited Possibilities

If you don’t quit, you have a chance to win. If you don’t quit, you open the door to unlimited possibilities. If you’re tenacious and hold on and keep grinding you may change the outcome. Don’t listen to the false voices that tell you to stop and take it easy. They’re not your friends. Your friend is the inner voice that is saying, ‘you can do it, c’mon, give it another try. C’mon, one more day, tomorrow may be the day where it all comes together.’ Unleash your fighting spirit. It’s inside you. It’s the spirit that doesn’t take no for an answer. it’s the spirit that sees the finish line. It’s the spirit that will propel you forward. Never quit. Never give up.

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A Better Life ~ What Do You Value?

A friend told me that people do what they want to do. That gave me something to think about. It made me think about how I spend my time. Where we spend our time identifies what we value. The more time we spend with it, the more we value it. We can say we value something, but the test is how much time do we spend either supporting what we value or with what we value. Ask yourself what you value most in your life. What if it were taken away from you, how would you feel? This simple test will help you determine what you value most. Make a list of the three most important things you value. Determine how much time you spend on each of these three things. Is it time to reallocate time to what is really important to you? You’ll never regret going all in on what is important. For me it has always come down to family, faith, and health. What are your three?

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A Better Life ~Listening, Learning, and Adapting

I know folks who live by the motto, ‘My way or the highway.’ In other words, if they can’t get their way, they get angry. It applies to the TV shows they watch, what they eat, where they go out to dinner. Their lists are endless. They are not able to adapt to the needs of others or to changing circumstances. When we actively listen and are open to trying new experiences, we find that those we are interacting with become more open to trying new experiences with us. When we learn to flow gracefully with life’s circumstances, life becomes more enjoyable. Listening, learning, and adapting are tools to a happier life. Make listening, learning, and adapting a way of life.

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🤗 A Better Life ~ Don’t Fear Life

Sometimes life comes at us nice and easy, like slow jazz. It would be nice if it were always like that. It’s not. There are times when our only choice is to suck it up, put on a brave face and step into the bitter cold northwest wind. When we choose to suck it up and step into the wind, we cease being victims, we empower ourselves. With each step we take, our confidence grows. We grow stronger and more resilient. Here’s hoping you have lots of slow jazz days. And, when the bitter cold west northwest wind strikes, here’s hoping you suck it up, step out, take its best shot, and keep moving.

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