***** Positive Thinking, Happy Living

Life is usually what we make it. Wait a minute -- did I say "make it"? I know, I know, the conventional theory is that "life happens" -- um, yeah, I cleaned that up a bit.

And while there are things that none of us can control -- weather, economy, construction crews, other people -- there are many things that you are in charge of. These are the things that help you lead a happier life. Put one into place in the SPECIFICS of your life, and
at the end of 7 weeks you'll have a happier, easier, better life than ever before.

Do you take the "ignorance is bliss" strategy in your life?

Many people Sleep-Walk through life, worrying about what might happen, then "letting things happen", instead of actively choosing what they want in their life lives

The first step to change - any change- must begin with becoming aware of what you are doing.

How? Stop worrying, start choosing.

How long did it take you to realize the benefits of removing a splinter right away from your finger? As a child, removing that splinter seemed like an awful thing to do, but experience FINALLY taught us that if we leave it alone, it will only get infected, get worse, and be a whole lot harder to deal with.

But have you really learned this lesson yet?

Allowing - even courting - delay in your life is a huge road block between you and a great life. When you respond to a problem, situation, request, task, etc. without delay, you minimize the action - and the pain -- involved. .

How do you define happiness? Is it a beach cabin in Hawaii? Is it having freedom to do what you want to do? Is it having a good relationship with a special someone?

Happiness is indeed an individual definition. For our purposes, let's agree that it would mean a life that's working and comfortable in several different areas: Time, Environment, Work, Thoughts, and Relationships.

You're frustrated. You dutifully follow Goal Setting 101 advice, but it still seems that you lose sight of what you want and how you'll get it. See if any of these common goal setting mistakes - and how to correct them - are behind your frustrations. Make the adjustment, and try again.

1. Unfinished business: Free yourself from the past by identifying and cleaning up your unfinished business. Call an end to whatever you started - a project, a diet, a feud, a commitment - by dumping it, delegating it, or doing it.

2. Ignoring the Present: Today is a result of all the Today's that came before it. A well lived present will naturally produce wonderful future. Save a dollar today, and you'll have a dollar tomorrow. Eat 500 calories less today, and you'll lose weight tomorrow. Only what you do TODAY can affect tomorrow.

If you were going to drive to somewhere unfamiliar - whether cross country or just across the city - what would be the first thing you would do? Map it out? And then after you mapped it out, would you never look at the map again? Not likely.

More likely, you would refer to the map often, to make sure that you were on the right track. You would be able to tell quickly if you needed to make adjustments, correct a mistake, or consider a change of plans.

Posting your goals, standards, boundaries, mission statement, etc. is very much like having a map to refer to - "A Life Map".

Ever notice how when you start out the day late, you tend to be late (and cranky) all day? And on the opposite, how a nice calm morning tends to lend itself to a nice calm day? So it makes sense that you'd want to put some thought and preparation into making
your mornings as calm as possible. If you're ready for a calmer start, try these 7 tips next week.

Getting it all done - is it really possible? We’ve all had the experience of getting back to the office (or home) after a productive errand-run only to realize that you forgot to pick up brown sugar for the special dessert tonight, and you didn’t stop by Office Max which was right next door to where you were. Two things that could have taken less than 10 minutes will now cost you over an hour. Frustrating, isn’t it?

While each person is different, and each goal is different, still one principle is applicable to any goal you are trying to accomplish, from losing weight, to starting your own business, to cleaning out the clutter, to writing a best seller.

*This principle is GOAL - STRATEGY - ACTION.* (Those of you in management will recognize this as a version of Strategic Goals, Tactical Goals, and Operational Goals).

For our purposes, Goal is a broadly defined target such as 'buy a house'. No particular house or market value, etc. is established at this point.