This weekend I had the opportunity to make a new friend.  She is a very beautiful woman and very giving with her time.  As I was getting to know her, I was struck by a comment that she made to me.  We were talking about dating, camping, fishing, and a variety of other topics all at once and she said, “Yeah, I’m not much of a catch.” 

At first I thought she meant that she was not very good at catching fish. Then I realized that she was talking about herself.  Hearing this made me sad for her.  Here is this amazing woman and she doesn’t think she is much of a catch.  How can she not see how amazing she is?  It made me realize that there are a great number of women that feel this way about themselves.  Too often we let the harsh words of people around us touch us much too deeply and allow these words to create negative feelings about ourselves. 

That is why I am going to ask you to do an exercise this week.  I want you to look at the questions below and write down in a journal that only you will see the answers to these questions. Then we are going to take a journey together to help us change for the better how we feel about ourselves.  So go get a pad of paper and let’s get started.  Ready?

1. What do you think about yourself?

2. What do you think about your relationships?

3. Now consider what you just wrote.  Why do you think about yourself and your  relationships that way?

4. Are you surprised with what you wrote? Pleased? Saddened?

5. Is there anything that you want to change?

Action is the key to making positive changes in your life.  But before you can take action, you have to make a decision on what you want out of life.  Do you want success or do you want failure?  If you want success, then I highly suggest that you watch this short excerpt from my favorite book of all times… “The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale.

Remember, your mind is like a garden, what you plant in it is up to you.  Why not plant beautiful  things in it to enjoy throughout the day? Do yourself a favor and write three positive things about yourself and your relationships.  Then read them multiple times throughout the day, especially first thing when you wake up and right before laying down to sleep.  If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts pull out your paper immediately and read the positive ones.  After doing this for two weeks, go back to your journal and answer the questions above again.  You may not see immediate results but hopefully you will begin to feel differently about yourself over time.  Because you are AMAZING!  Just ask someone who loves you.

http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/the-strangest-secret/

I know that it has been forever since I have  wrote in here.  As mentioned back  in January, this is the busiest time of year for me at work and I am very near  to completing my MBA so between the two of those things, I have not had enough  time to write in here (something had to give in order for me to breath).  Luckily I have less than a week left of  school after which I should have plenty of time to get back into this.  However,  this morning I woke up  with a burning need to write in here so I hope I am able to get everything out  in a comprehensive post even though it is a bit rushed so that I can get to  work.

 Last night I was in a bit of a funk because I was  letting life get me down.  But I  was fortunate enough to have a conversation with a friend who gently let me know that I need to let go of some of my baggage from past relationships.  More specifically my marriage but I know that I harbor baggage from other relationships as well.  We all have baggage and that baggage can be very damaging to our relationships.  I am not just talking about romantic relationships. Too much baggage can also damage friendships, relationships with parents or siblings, and even your relationship with your children.  It really is not fair to the people around you when you allow the actions
of one person to create the reaction you chose with everyone else.

 I remember a conversation that I had with my step dad the day before he died.  I was expressing my frustration to him about the way my mother had been treating him during his last few weeks.  And rather than jump on the band wagon or allow me to vent he stopped me and explained something to me about my mother that I had never realized before. He explained to me the baggage that she was carrying around caused her to fear a lot of things and when she lashed out on people it was her fear shining through.  You see, he knew my mother better than
I ever hoped to know her and he loved her in spite of the baggage she carried that caused her to treat my step dad poorly.  We are not all lucky enough to find someone as patient and understanding as my step dad so it is up to us to let go of our baggage in order to preserve all our other relationships in our lives.

 I will be the first to admit that letting go of past hurts is not easy.  But we have to do it anyway.  Smiling through the pain is not easy, do it anyway.  Learning to laugh again is not easy, do it anyway.  Your children deserve the best you that you can be.  This short excerpt from the Simple Truths book "One Choice" says it all.
One...
One tree can start a forest,
One smile can begin a friendship,
One hand can lift a soul,
One word can frame the goal,
One candle can wipe out darkness,
One laugh can conquer gloom,
One hope can raise our spirits,
And...one choice can change your life.

Only you can chose to let go of your baggage and start living the life you deserve.

 I want to hear from you. How have you learned to let go of your baggage in order to preserve all your other relationships?