Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life
Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life

Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life

Routine. It’s both a blessing and a curse. Routine can assure us we will be in the same place at the right time and not realize we are living the same day for 75 years and call it a life. Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life.

Most of us know what routine is. Dictionary.com lists routine this way:

routine

noun

  1. A customary or regular course of procedure.
  2. Commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as done regularly or at specified intervals, typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.
  3. Regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.
  4. An unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response: Don’t give me that brotherly love routine!

Pay particular attention to number 3 regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

Mind numbing behavior that lulls us into a mindless stage that allows life to pass us by without us even knowing it.

I wrote an article titled Avoiding the Hole. You can access it here: AVOIDING THE HOLE

It tells of the dangers of routine. Routine in our daily lives is not bad. We just can’t live the same day, then call it good and check out.

Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life
The story is about a person who walks the same path every day (routine) and does not even know they are

The story is about a person who walks the same path every day (routine) and does not even know they are. They notice the birds singing and the sun shining and are blind to the dangers associated with it.

It’s a beautiful day and they are happy, or so they think (routine=comfort zone). One day a hole appears in front of them (a challenge) and they fall into the hole (struggle). What ensues next is what frightening. When we are forced out of our routines we can feel alone, scared, confused, and even fearful.

The next day when they are walking to work, things seem different. Things seem just a little off. Walking down the same street (routine) and what appears? You guessed it, the hole. In they fall and the emotions of being trapped and out of a comfort zone (routine) create anxiety, stress, and fear, again.

The next day, while walking to work, everything is different. The sun isn’t shining, and the birds are not singing. Low and behold, what do they see? The hole. This time they walk around it (change to the routine).

The next day they walk down a different street (eliminate the routine).

“You don’t drown by falling in a river but by staying submerged in it”

-Paulo Coelho

Like I said, routine can be useful. We just need to pay attention that we don’t get stuck in a pattern of living a planned and bland life. Not paying attention can cause us to struggle (falling into a hole) which leads to anxiety, which leads to stress.

Living a routine life can lead to unhappiness in one’s life because we all need excitement sometimes. We need to see unfamiliar landscapes, hear different music, dance to the beat of a different drummer. It keeps us fresh. It keeps us feeling alive inside.

So here are some helpful tips for changing the routines in your life:

  1. Wake up at different times each day.
  2. Change your exercise routines regularly.
  3. Watch different television shows or don’t watch any some nights.
  4. Read a different type of book.
  5. Change your look, clothes can sometimes make the person a new person.
  6. Get your coffee at a different place every day.
  7. Drive or walk a different route to work each day.
  8. Listen to a different radio station or choose a different play list.
  9. Eat new foods, preferably healthy foods.
  10. Choose a new restaurant for date night. If you don’t have a regularly scheduled date night, make one.
  11. Trade turns picking out the restaurant and agree to go to different ones each time.
  12. Turn off the television and play a board game.
  13. Put off the chores and go outside to a park or the mountains or better yet, the beach.

Walk down a different street to avoid the hole. And while you are at it, wear something new when you do.

Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life
Walk down a different street to avoid the hole.

That’s why I say Don’t Live the Same Day For 75 Years and Call It A Life.

 

You might also like this: CHANGE✵WHY IT’S NECESSARY ~ AND HOW TO DO IT WELL

And this one: MEDIOCRITY✵NOT THE LIFE YOU’RE HERE TO LIVE

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so by Joseph Binning
You Matter, even if you don’t think so by Joseph Binning

 

 

Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living
Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living

 

Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living

Everything in life is temporary. Nothing lasts forever, especially life itself. Life is short and YOU are to create your WOW moments. Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living.

Death is an ugly subject to some, and to others it’s a welcomed event. When it takes someone away from us too soon, it breaks our heart. To the old and tired soul, it is a familiar enemy that has been chasing them for a while. They fight it, elude it, sometimes cheat it, until one day they finally can’t.

The quota of death is one per person and everyone gets one. There is no shortage of it. From the moment we are born, we begin to die. They do not assure us of any given amount of days that we will be here; it promises nothing.

For many of you the joy, the wonderment, and the WOW of life will pass you by for many reasons.  The perfect time, The perfect person, the perfect moment, the perfect feeling. Although these reasons you make are valid in your minds, they are just an excuse. An excuse to be “safe”. To protect yourselves from something only imagined. With no proof that they could actually happen.

Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living
For many of you the joy, the wonderment, and the wow of life will pass you by

In his book The Essence of Success, one of my favorite authors and speakers, Earl Nightingale enlightens and gives us an authoritative estimate of what most people worry about.

  1. Things that never happen: 40 percent. 40 percent of the things you worry about will never occur, anyway.
  2. Things over and past that can’t be changed by all the worry in the world: 30 percent.
  3. Needless worries about our health: 12 percent.
  4. Petty, miscellaneous worries: 10 percent.
  5. Real, legitimate worries: 8 percent. Only 8 percent of your worries are worth concerning yourself about.
    Ninety-two percent are pure fog with no substance at all.

This means that 92% of all worries are worthless.
Of the legitimate worries, there are two types of problems:

Those we cannot control and those we can. Most of our worries are in the first group.[1]

 

A palliative nurse recorded the most common regrets of the dying and put her findings into a book called “The Top Five Regrets of The Dying.” It’s not surprising to see what made the list as they are all things that touch each of our lives as we struggle to pay attention to and make time for things we love.

  1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
  2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
  3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
  4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
  5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.[2]

Far too many people will miss out on life searching or chasing the wrong things in life and will miss out on the WOW moments life gives you. WOW moments come individually, once, and disappear, never to appear again. Life assures we all have them, but only issues so many to each of us.

Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living
WOW moments come individually, once, and disappear, never to appear again

 

Don’t waste them. So, I say Don’t Wait to Find Out You Are Dying Before You Start Living.

 

I wrote another article that you might like. You can access it here:

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FINISHING AND FINISHING WELL, IS IN THE TIMING

 

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so by Joseph Binning
You Matter, even if you don’t think so by Joseph Binning

[1] The Fog of Worry (Only 8% of Worries are Worth It)/ Article by: Earl Nightingale/Nightingale Conant/accessed 12/03/2020/ http://wordpress.nightingale.com/articles/the-fog-of-worry-only-8-of-worries-are-worth-it/

[2] The Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying/ Collective Evolution Collective Evolution/Huffpost.com/accessed 12/05/202/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying_n_3640593#:~:text=%20The%20Top%205%20Regrets%20Of%20The%20Dying,feelings.%0A%E2%80%9CMany%20people%20suppressed%20their%20feelings%20in…%20More%20

woman-1738669_1920
The Type Of Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Type Of Love You Give Yourself

The Type Of Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Type Of Love You Give Yourself

 

We were all born to  Love. It’s our destiny to give ourselves to another. To be so connected with each other, that where we begin and the other stops is hard to determine. But The Type Of Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Type Of Love You Give Yourself.

 

You cannot give that which you do not have to another. So, in order to fully Love another, you must fully Love yourself first.

 

Growing up for me was hard. I didn’t feel Loved. I didn’t feel needed. I didn’t feel wanted. Fact is, I was abandoned at a very vulnerable age. So, as I grew older, I needed to be Loved. I needed someone to Love me. This differs from needing someone because you Love them.

 

When you need to be Loved you will allow yourself to endure things which you shouldn’t. Abusive relationships, conditional or one-way relationships, Loveless relationships, the list goes on and on.

 

You identify yourself with the relationship because you have no self-identity. You just don’t know who you are as a person or as an individual. There is only We because you don’t see any value in Me.

 

So, you base your self-esteem on the We of the relationship. You lean on the other person just a little more than you should, and they eventually see you as weak, which you are.

 

You surrender your power over yourself to them and if they are not the right person for you, which they usually are not, they can use you at their will. Their opinion of you is what you believe to be true since you have such a low opinion of yourself.

 

You give them the power to destroy your entire day by merely saying mean, nasty, or negative things about you to you and you choose to believe it. Even though the words might not be true.

 

I have a saying that I use often. In order to be Loved, you must be Lovable. And in order to be Loveable, you must Love yourself first.

 

Self-Love is more important than just Love, because if you have no reference of what is good for you, how can you provide that which is good for someone else.

 

The Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Love You Give Yourself
Self-Love is more important than just Love

 

So, what is Self-Love?

 

  • Self-Love is being your own best friend and not needing any other.

 

  • Self-Love is taking care of your own needs first, then another’s.

 

  • Self-Love is not settling for less than you deserve, ever.

 

  • Self-Love is setting healthy boundaries for yourself and others.

 

  • Self-Love is allowing yourself to not be perfect, simply perfect for you.

 

  • Self-Love is only allowing healthy relationships to enter and stay in your life.

 

  • Self-Love is never settling for a life of mediocrity, only the excellence you deserve.

 

  • Self-Love is forgiving yourself for your mistakes and knowing the mistakes only make you wiser.

 

  • Self-Love is always being thankful for everything, knowing you deserve the best.

 

 

“The heart that gives thanks is happy, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.”

— Douglas Wood

 

The Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Love You Give Yourself
 Know that You Matter

So how do we live a life of Self-Love?

  • Know that You Matter. You have a voice and it deserves to be listened to, both by you and others.
  • Know that sometimes doors close on purpose. Life will sometimes close a door and yet open a window. Look for the window, then see what it’s showing you.
  • Don’t pretend to be okay when you are not. Be honest with yourself and others, always.
  • Live in a state of appreciation for yourself. Realize there is only one of you. You are unique on purpose.
  • Know that life was designed not to be a spectator sport. Life requires participation, so jump in.
  • Realize that nothing grows in your comfort zone, it only stays stagnant. Step outside of it and see what the world has in store for you.
  • Live intentionally. Stop reacting to life and be proactive. With purpose and on purpose.

Living a life of Self-Love will allow you to give yourself permission to receive what you want out of life. Getting what you want may take longer with Self-Love, but it will be worth the wait.

 

Life is a journey and you are the captain, you are in charge. You have the power to take it wherever you want and the ability to make it avoid wherever you don’t want to go. Set your course wisely and always remember The Type Of Love You Can Give Is Determined by The Type Of Love You Give Yourself.

 

You might also like this: A THANKFUL HEART CREATES A GRATEFUL HEART

And this one: THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE, IS TO LOVE YOURSELF

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so by Joseph Binning
You Matter, even if you don’t think so by Joseph Binning
Don't Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful
Don’t Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful

Don’t Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful

Don’t believe what others see in you, choose to believe only what you see in yourself.

It’s no wonder that people, women especially, have self-image issues. I read an article today on Psycholigy.com[1] while doing my research for this article. The authors’ message just makes the water cloudier concerning the subject.

In her opinion, telling someone that “You Are Beautiful” prompts a “No, I’m not” response more often than not. She says that people with body image issues who are told they are beautiful create a counter message and draws their attention to how they look.

Personally, I believe that this is the wrong message to be sending anyone, especially someone with body image issue. Because we are ALL beautiful. Learning to look past the exterior and seeing yourself for who you are instead of what you are is the key.

Most of our media images we associate with “beauty” are from the east or west coasts. Areas where the substance of a person isn’t a priority. Growing up in Los Angeles with what we lovingly called the “plastic” crowd, we saw perfectly beautiful men and women change their bodies and appearances in order to fit someone else’s idea of how they should look.

This did not make them happy inside.

It’s my opinion, and maybe I am alone in this, that what’s profoundly important is what’s on the inside that radiates outward that makes for genuine beauty. We live in a society today that tells us not to see each other as people, but see each other as things. This is where we lose our humanity. We become superficial and dishonor each other and ourselves.

Don't Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful
Having qualities that delight or appeal to the senses and often the mind.

The Free Dictionary.com defined beautiful as:[2]

beautiful

  1. Having qualities that delight or appeal to the senses and often the mind.
  2. Excellent; wonderful:

What I love about this definition is that there is no mention of the superficial exterior but the “senses and often the mind”. When we stop seeing ourselves and people as things and start seeing ourselves and people as people, we can finally see the beauty within ourselves and in others.

I have two sayings I use rather often:

When asked what I don’t like, my immediate response is “ugly people, and that has nothing to do with looks”. We all know them, the judgmental, superficial, just want to talk about me people. I do my best to avoid them.

And second, “you are Beautiful, and you look good also”. I do my best to remind people I noticed their genuine beauty and did not focus, or not focus, on their exterior beauty.

I live by two rules in life that I would like to share with you all that I think will help if you have personal body image issues.

#1. No Regrets

I live my life fully, on my own terms, not someone else’s. I think about everything I do BEFORE I do them, then own it. Fully commit to it and own it.

#2. Your opinion of me is NONE of my business.

People may believe whatever they want about me, and that is perfectly fine with me. I also have the right to not believe them.

You are Beautiful because you are you. You are Amazing because you are you. You are Unique because you are you. You were born of an Amazing Universal Power that makes no mistakes. When we listen to those who don’t matter, and even those who might, when they throw the negatives towards us, and choose to believe them is when our beauty fades.

Don't Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful
You are beautiful because you are you.

We need reminders, sometimes often, that we can be beautiful if only we adjust our understanding of what genuine beauty is.

Beauty is seeing someone hurting and helping.

Beauty is seeing something unfair and fighting to help make it right.

Beauty is sharing a sunrise or a sunset or an evening sky full of stars with another who can’t see and explaining it.

Beauty is visiting the sick just to make them happy.

Beauty is selflessness.

Beauty, real beauty, has NOTHING to do with your body and EVERYTHING to do with your heart.

So, Don’t Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful

 

You might also like this: BOUNDARIES: WHAT WE DO NOT TOLERATE CANNOT HURT US

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so by Joseph Binning
You Matter, even if you don’t think so by Joseph Binning

[1]Stop Saying “You Are Beautiful”/ Renee Engeln Ph.D./PsychologyToday.com/accessed 12/08/2020/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beauty-sick/201710/stop-saying-you-are-beautiful

[2] Beautiful/TeFreeDictonary.com/accessed 12/08/2020/https://www.thefreedictionary.com/beautiful

What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen 

This writing is in memory of my Father, who—without knowing it — helped make me the man I am today.

When I was a young boy, my father seemed bigger than life, like most fathers seem to young sons. I looked at him in the same way that I imagine my son Jeremiah looked at me at that age—the Superhero—the towering giant who can fix anything, do anything, and make anything seem better than it is.  We see what we want to see until we don’t. Little did I know that he would teach me an important life lesson. What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen.

Life took him away from me incredibly early in my life, so we never got to have the kinds of deep conversations that my son and I have had. We never shared a beer together. We never ran a half marathon together, never traveled the world together, never went camping, never attended baseball or football games together.  My memories of him are very few, but I have one that will never fade.  

I was about seven years old, and we were returning home from somewhere.  We were laughing when he pulled into the driveway. He was good at making me laugh. As we got out, and I looked at him over the roof of the car, all I could see was his head. My superhero dad seemed so small, with only a head and no body.  As I chuckled, I slammed the car door shut with my thumb still in the door. Screaming at the top of my lungs, crying for him to fix it, I stood frozen, unable to move. What he did next remains forever etched in my mind.

Calmly and gently, but firmly, my father said, “JOSEPH — OPEN THE DOOR.”

What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen and Why You Need to Read This
OPEN THE DOOR

 

At that point in my seven-year life, I had fallen, bumped, smashed, crashed, and broken quite a few objects and body parts.  On those occasions when I’d hurt myself, I’d had seen the alarm in his eyes, sometimes panic.  This time it was different.  His eyes were still quiet and wise, as if he knew he was passing down an important lesson, from a father to his son.

Life guarantees things will go wrong, and we’ll get hurt. Sometimes in those moments, we freeze or panic. The lesson that my father taught me is, when those things happen, get calm, breathe—and OPEN THE DOOR.  My dad reminded me I have the knowledge, the ability, and the strength to handle the situation.

 

So, I did, I opened the door, and I was free. Afterward, he walked me in the house, put my thumb on ice, and did what a wonderful dad does, gave me a bowl of ice cream.  Then, we went to the doctor. 

 

The thumb nail eventually fell off and, to this day, a small section on my left thumbnail doesn’t grow.  That’s just fine with me. When I feel stuck, it’s my reminder to get calm, breathe, and OPEN THE DOOR.

Thanks Dad. 

I was born to two people who Loved each other enough to deliver my brother and me into the world and create a family.  Out of his sons, I was my father’s favorite.  He and my mother discovered they weren’t right for each other and chose separate paths.  It’s an awfully familiar story.

 

Some in my family have suggested my father did not have the proper tools to be a father, not in the state of mind, to be the best example for me. I’ll never know. He took the divorce extremely hard and could not see us after they separated.  My last memories of him were watching him sit in his car crying outside of our house.  Without my superhero father, I felt alone.  

 

We moved every year.  My mother struggled alone on a secretary’s salary to raise two boys in Los Angeles, California.  Most landlords wouldn’t allow us to renew the lease, since most months we were late with rent. My brother and I never knew about that—her way of protecting us.  

What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen and Why You Need to Read This
Being the new kid meant they bullied you

 

Being the new kid meant they bullied you—unless the other kids thought you were crazy—in which case, they’d leave you alone. I learned early on to pick a fight with the biggest kid on the playground on the first day of school, even if I’d get pulverized, which was the case a fair amount of the time, and the other kids would leave you alone.  

 

I ran away from home a few times. I thought If I could just find my dad then everything would be alright. I hadn’t yet been told that he was dead. 

The cause listed on his death certificate I would later find was suicide.

Alcohol and sleeping pills were apparently somewhat common during that era.  I found out three years after he died, when I was in ninth grade—again, my mother’s way of protecting us.  

 

Although I was a decent student—passing my freshman year with a B+ average—I didn’t feel good enough, ever.  When I was fifteen, my mother dropped me off at the local police station.  From there, they sent me to juvenile hall and sent to live at a boy’s home for troubled youth, called at the time The Pacific Lodge Boys Home.  

 

Woodland Hills, California, was a strange place for a boy’s home.  We attended the local public high school for some sense of normal life.  That worked in theory, but kids can be very cruel. We were referred to as “the Lodge Boys” by the other kids and reminded daily that we were not “normal” kids.

 

Friends were hard to come by, unless they were from the Lodge.  So, most of us just hung out with each other, it created a bond between us.  If someone from school messed with a Lodge Boy-and they usually did—we all came running.  We called ourselves The Band of Wayward Brothers.

 

They designed the daily schedule at the lodge around individual counseling and occasional family group counseling sessions, with the eventual goal of reuniting each boy into his family unit. I knew in the back of my mind I’d never return home, that I’d live at the Lodge until I turned eighteen, alone, with no family, no tribe, and no one to belong to—a throwaway child no one wanted. 

One minute you belonged to something—be it healthy or dysfunctional, it was your tribe, your family—and the next minute, it’s taken away.  You’re suddenly, unexpectedly, bewilderedly alone.  After losing my dad as a child, I felt alone.  Now I truly was alone and lost.

 

The multiple dorm residential facility had several counselors who worked and slept there during their shifts.  One of my counselors, Cane, was a social worker. He was a warm, laid-back surfer guy, and was always nice, Cane genuinely cared and never judged us.  I was horrible to him. We all were. We were a group of angry, hurt boys, deposited in a home for troubled youth, who felt alone in the world.  

 

Out of the hundred, or so, kids at the Lodge that Christmas, only two of us were not going home to be with our family for the holiday. My friend Patrick and I wouldn’t be going home, which meant that our counselor Cane, whose shift was that night, had to stay at the dorm with just the two of us, instead being of home for Christmas with his family.

What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen and Why You Need to Read This
Out of the hundred, or so, kids at the Lodge that Christmas, only two of us were not going home to be with our family for the holiday.

 

Little did we know, Cane had asked, and received permission, to take Patrick and I off campus for Christmas.  We didn’t know what we were getting into, but it was better than being at the Lodge for Christmas. 

 

Cane picked us up on Christmas Eve and off we went on what he called

“Cane’s Christmas Present Run”, visiting friends of his to exchange presents and Christmas wishes.  Not once did any of them make us feel awkward for being there, even though they knew where we were from.  The day ended at his mother’s house with homemade Christmas dinner and all the fixings.  It was a real family dinner with lots of food and lots of people, none of whom made either of us feel left out or unwelcome.

 

Cane and his mother gave presents to Patrick and me—no ugly sweaters or generic or cheap items—genuine gifts they put thought into selecting just for us. I had never known that kind of generosity.  I didn’t understand it.  I’ll never forget that day for as long as I live.  

 

When he brought us back the next day, I asked him why he was being so nice to me.  He said,

 

“My job, Joe, is to Love you enough, until the day comes when you can Love yourself that much.”

 

I have never forgotten his words, though I didn’t know what that meant. 

My life changed that day. I have had my ups and my downs.

I’ve been homeless to a homeowner. Not a simple task in California.

Unemployable to a nationally recognized business owner.

Poor and broke, to not having to worry about being evicted.

A 15-year-old throw away child to a sitting Board Member of the San Diego Center for Children I affectionately call The Pacific Lodge Boys Home South.

A lost boy, to world traveler, knowing now that not all those who wander are lost.

Multiple Ironman triathlon series finisher.

And now new author of a book titled “You Matter, even if you don’t think so”.

What I Learned from Being Stuck and Frozen and Why You Need to Read This
Prove Them Wrong

 

To the next generation of Wayward Brothers and Sisters, or anybody who thinks they are stuck and frozen, here is what I have learned along the way. I hope it helps you.

  1. Good people make bad decisions sometimes, that doesn’t make them bad people, it just makes it a bad decision.
  2. Forgive easily and often. Others and especially yourself. Remember, there is only one perfect, and we aren’t it.
  3. You are not broken, and therefore do not need “fixing”. You are perfect, just the way you are.
  4. Life rewards the brave, so be brave. Take a chance on yourself and others.
  5. Knowledge is only potential, but action is power. Knowing what to do is only half the equation. Take that leap of faith.
  6. Be the best for you, just for you. You deserve it.
  7. Love yourself first with all your heart. Those around you will benefit more.
  8. Be your own best friend first. And don’t let him or her down or cut them any slack.
  9. Just because someone says it doesn’t mean it’s true. They have the right to an opinion, but you also may choose to not believe it.
     10.  Happiness is a choice, not a place, thing, moment, or a person. Only you can make you happy.
    11.  Everything in life is a precious gift. Treat it as such and don’t disregard it or you will lose it.
    12.  Everything happens for a reason, figure out why. There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.

Last, and most importantly,

 

OPEN THE DOOR!

 

You might also like this: IN ORDER TO LOVE SOMEONE WELL, YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF, FIRST * 12 EASY STEPS TO LEARN HOW

And this one: WHY THE MESSAGE YOU MATTER, EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO IS SO IMPORTANT NOW

If this helped you, spoke to you, or made you think of someone who needs to read this, please leave your comments, and share it.

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so choose to be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so by Joseph Binning
You Matter, even if you don’t think so by Joseph Binning

A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart

A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart
A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart

Sometimes we forget to recognize the richness in our lives. We forget that a thankful heart creates a grateful heart. This is mainly from the messages we encounter every day, telling us to focus on what we don’t have instead of the abundance we do have.

This creates a conflict in our innate nature, our inner self, our sense of gratitude. Rather than focusing on what we do not have, what we have not achieved, where we did not go, or who we do not have in our lives, we should focus on the many blessing we have that we take for granted.

 

“Be thinkful in order to be thankful,”

— John Maxwell author

If we take a moment and take an inventory of our blessings, I call it thinking on them, we will gain a new appreciation for how well we live, no matter our circumstances.

If for example you walk in another man’s shoes, figuratively, you will gain a newfound appreciation and a true understanding of how blessed you are.

You will see:

  • How easily you can feed your body.
  • How easily you can feed your mind.
  • How easily you can move from place to place.
  • How easily you can attend to daily tasks.

 

A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart
a true understanding of how blessed you are

For most of us we are used to walking up to a light switch, turning it on, and having light. Yet 940 million (13% of the world) do not have access to electricity. [1]

For most of us, we are used to turning on the stove and cooking dinner. Yet 3 billion (40% of the world) do not have access to clean fuels for cooking.[2]

Focusing on what we do have, and being grateful for it, brings about a spirit of thankfulness. Gratitude is the least expressed but most important virtue in any person’s life. It’s when we realize it we grow toward thankfulness.

 

“The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.”

— Douglas Wood

 

There is a term called compassionate gratitude that we all should be aware of. It’s a combination of compassion and gratitude.

Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, they define it as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.[3]

Gratitude expresses appreciation for what one has. It is a recognition of value independent of monetary worth. Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness and warmth.[4]

A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart
The heart that gives thanks is a happy one

When we combine the two terms and understand the meaning of the combined definitions, we can come to realize our true abundance and can awaken feelings of guilt in your heart. Guilt coming from not fully appreciating how well you live verses the mixed messages you receive in your daily life.

 

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”

— Brené Brown

 

When we establish the mindset of “there will always be a place for you at our table for you and your loved ones”, we begin to fully appreciate the rich and plentiful bounty we can all have and can all share with others in our individual lives.

In this time of thanks lets all remember that A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart.

 

A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart
A Thankful Heart Creates a Grateful Heart

I’ve written another article you might like that addresses this topic. You can access it here:

JOY✵HOW TO FIND, AND KEEP IT.

And don’t forget life is a miracle. You just need to know where to look in order to see them. You can read about it here: MIRACLES ✵ HOW TO SEE THEM EVERY DAY

 

If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.

You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so

For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report

Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.

You Matter, even if you don't think so

 

[1] Access to Energy/Our World Data.org/by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser/accessed 11/26/2020/https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access#:~:text=940%20million%20%2813%25%20of%20the%20world%29%20do%20not,a%20high%20health%20cost%20for%20indoor%20air%20pollution.

[2] Access to Energy/Our World Data.org/by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser/accessed 11/26/2020/https://ourworldindata.org/energy-access#:~:text=940%20million%20%2813%25%20of%20the%20world%29%20do%20not,a%20high%20health%20cost%20for%20indoor%20air%20pollution.

[3] Compassion defined/what is compassion/ Greater Good Magazine/accessed 11/26/2020/ https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/compassion/definition

[4] Gratitude/PsycologyToday.com/accessed 11/26/2020/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gratitude