1. The Foundation of Acceptance
Life is a series of continuous natural events and changes. Don’t resist
them; doing so only creates unnecessary stress. Let the reality of these events
and changes take place.
Let them flow. Or as Henry Wadsworth once said, “For
after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.”
Acceptance is
letting
go and
allowing things to be the way they truly are. It doesn’t mean you
don’t care about improving the realities of life; it’s just realizing that
the
only thing you really have control over is yourself. This simple understanding
is the foundation of acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be peace and
growth.
2. The Land of Appreciation
If you believe you would finally be happy if you had twice the amount of the
things you already have – time, money, friends, cars, snazzy dress shoes, etc. –
you would be sadly mistaken. Because if you aren’t happy with what you have,
you won’t be any happier when what you have is doubled.
As Socrates once said, “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial
poverty.”
Do not waste all your happiness by overlooking everything you have
for everything you wish you had. If you do, you will never have enough.
Instead, appreciate the goodness that is already yours, and you will instantly
find a lot more to smile about. Read The Happiness Project:.
3. The Muscle of Positive Action
In life, you get what you put in. Every moment of your life is dynamic,
responding exclusively to your inputs. When you put a positive, productive
effort into it you will receive a useful outcome from it. This is the greatest
power you possess – the power you have over your own choices and actions.
Instead of attempting to gain power over others and external situations,
exercise the unlimited power you already have over yourself.
Forget about the past, the future, and where others are in their journey.
Put your mind at ease. Put the worrying and complaining to rest. Focus on your
living, breathing, present self. What can you do right now to make a
difference? Get
positive, get productive, and get busy putting the possibilities of this
moment to the test.
4. Intuition
“At times you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the
wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What
you’ll discover is yourself.” -Alan Alda
Your intuition is a gift. It is your third eye – a way of seeing with your
soul. Pay attention to what it shows you. More often than you realize, you
have the answers you seek already inside you. Your unconscious mind is the
greatest source of your genius; you just have to pay attention.
Trusting your intuition is trusting your true self, and the more you trust
your true self, the more control you have of making your goals and dreams come
true.
Read 1,000 Little
Things.
5. Expectation
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
-Alexander Pope
As you get older you will find that life isn’t necessarily any easier or
harder than you thought it was going to be; it’s just that the easy and the hard
aren’t exactly the way you had anticipated, and don’t always occur when you
expect them to. This isn’t a bad thing; it makes life interesting. With a
positive attitude you will always be pleasantly surprised.
When you stop expecting things to be a certain way, you can appreciate them
for what they are. Ultimately you will realize that life’s greatest gifts are
rarely wrapped the way you expected.
Read The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
6. Life Experience
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad
judgment.” -Rita Mae Brown
Experience is what you get when your plans don’t go as planned, and
experience is the most valuable commodity you own – it builds your strength.
You have the power to turn your wounds and worries into wisdom; you just have
to do
something about them. You have to accept what has happened and use what
you’ve learned to step forward. Everything you’ve experienced has given you the
upper hand for dealing with everything you have yet to experience. Realize this
and set yourself free.