Quotes to live by

"Blame keeps wounds open, only forgiveness heals." ~ President Thomas S. Monson

Pursuing the Resolutions

Now that we have thought about what we want and why. And now that we have shared our goals with others, le'ts talk about some of the obstacles we may face in pursuing them. However an obstacle may show itself, they all have one thing in common; fear. The obstacle appears because somewhere within us is a fear about obtaining the thing we desire. The fear can be anything like a fear of failing while pursuing the goal or losing it once we have it. It can be fear of being ridiculed for wanting it in the first place. This may be because we feel they don't think we should have it, they are jealous, or think there's no way we could obtain it so we are foolish to even try. Maybe we're afraid of what others will think of us for wanting it or what we will have to do, change or give up in order to have it. There are also fears about doing any number of things like speaking up for yourself or speaking in public. There are all kinds of fears like this that we may have to face in pursuing the goals we have made. The list of what we fear goes on and on and in reality it has no end because our imaginations have no limit. I say this because there is a secret to fear that most people are unaware of and the secret is that it is not real.

Now don't get me wrong, the feelings, thoughts and emotions we are having are very real but the fear itself is not. I saw a movie trailer a few days ago that has a quote I want to share with you that I think clearly describes the point I am trying to make. The movie is about a father and son that crash land on a planet with creatures that desire to kill them. The father is injured and he is trying to prepare his son for the things that they will have to face in order to survive. The father is speaking to his son when he says this, "Fear is not real. It is a product of your thoughts and feelings. Don't misunderstand me, danger is very real. Fear is a choice."

What I hope you are able to see from the things that I am sharing with you is that more than likely it is not the thing we fear that we must let go of but rather the fear we have about it. The fear we are experiencing is really our own thoughts and feelings. The great thing about knowing this is it gives us the power and control on letting go of our fears because we are the ones that decide what we think and feel. And here I used the phrase 'letting go of our fears' because it is as simple as that. We just have to let go of the thoughts and feelings that help to create the fear in the first place. It isn't something that needs to be conquered, defeated or overcome. It is as simple as letting them drift away if we choose.

Choice is what this is all about. Fear is a choice; we choose to create it and we choose whether or not to believe in it. Every day with every thought and feeling we have we are making a choice to create fear and whether or not to believe in it. We are always making these choices every moment of every day even if we are not consciously aware of it.

It may feel overwhelming or daunting to think of fear and our ability to be free of it in this way, but it is true. It may also feel hard to see a way to change the thoughts and feelings that help to create fear in our lives if we are not consciously aware that we are even doing it in the first place. But the solution is much simpler than we realize. The answer to letting go of our fears is simply to become aware of what we are thinking and why. When we do this we become conscious of what we think which helps us to understand our feelings about things. Once we become aware of the what and why's of our thoughts and feelings we can then begin to change what we decide to think in regards to the thing that we are afraid of. We use our ability to reason to help with this process.

Doing these simple things can feel hard at first. Even though it may feel this way, if you stick with it you will begin to notice the positive changes occur that you are working towards. The more you do it the easier it will become until this is the way that your thinking process functions. It will become more natural and like second nature. Overtime you will begin to react less fearful towards the unknown events that occur in life and be more eager to pursue the desires and dreams that you have put off in the past because you were afraid.

I promise that if you truly put forth honest effort when doing this and pray earnestly for the strength and guidance to do this, you will be be happy with the outcome. God bless you in your efforts to find the success you desire.

Quotes to live by

"Your pain and misery does not help the world. But your joy and your life lived fully uplifts the world." ~ Rhonda Byrne

My Resolutions

Now that we are thinking about the "why" behind what we want and if we really want it, let's make out lists. Once you have made your list share it, put it out in the world. Do not be afraid to do this or feel like you need to hide it from others. If you feel too embarrassed or any other negative emotion about sharing your dreams and hearts desires then it is more than likely you will not accomplish them or receive what you are after.

The first step to getting what you want is deciding what you want in the first place. Next comes understanding what you want and why you want it. Finding what you want because you truly want it and not because someone says you should have it helps to make sure that you are pursuing the right thing. Pursuing what you really want will help keep you motivated when the initial excitement of moving forward wears off.

Now sharing your goals, dreams, and resolutions with the world aka friends and family is the point of no return. This is because when we keep it to ourselves we can give up, quit, or fail without the embarrassment of anyone knowing and we can tell ourselves that we didn't really want it in the first place. What we don't understand is that giving up or failing isn't embarrassing, it just means we won't get what we are working for. If we feel embarrassed it's because we are worrying too much about what other people are thinking about us and what we are doing. Repeat after me, "It is not my business what other people think about me!", and it isn't any more than it's their business what we think of them. This is because what we think about someone has more to do with us and less to do with them. That is all I am going to say on this matter because it is an article all on its own.

So here are my resolutions, dreams, and goals that I am pursuing this year 2013:

1. I want better health.
I want better health rather than losing weight because you can lose weight and still be unhealthy. Every time I talk about losing weight it's about trying to fit into the cookie cutter image the world is telling me to be like. Being healthy is about living the kind of life I want for myself.

2. I want to read and finish an educating book every month.
I want this because I want to make sure that I am feeding my desire to further my knowledge in all aspects of my life; cooking, sewing, art, gospel knowledge, landscaping/gardening, parenting, teaching, healing, energy work, spirituality, humanitarian, woman, crafting, etc. An educating book is anything that will spark creativity and expand perspective, thinking, and consciousness.

3. I want to use the power of my words in love and kindness.
I want this because everything we say and do has an effect on the people we come into contact with. I want the energy of my words to have a positive and uplifting effect on others.

4. I want to see everyone as my sister or brother.
I want this so that I see people with the air of respect, love, concern, and patience that I would extend to my own family. I believe in the golden rule; do unto others as you would have them do unto you and this is how I want to be treated.

5. I want that anyone who meets me knows that I believe in a living God.
I want this so that whatever else anyone may say about me and my shortcomings, no one can say that I do not have a testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

6. I want to teach others about the things that I have learned.
I want this because there is so much I have learned that has changed my life and helped to make it better. I want others to be able to benefit from it as much as I have. I want to share my story and knowledge with as many as are willing to listen.

7. I want to take more pictures of the people and things that matter to me.
I want this because I didn't think it would matter if I didn't take pictures of my kids all the time when they were growing up and now that they are getting older I wish I could see more pictures of them when they were little.

8. I want to build my family tree.
I want this because there are so many members of my family that I do not know and I want to build it up so that I can get acquainted with more of them.

9. I want to spend one on one time with my children once a month.
I want this because the years are speeding up and I want to have this time with them before they grow up and move out on their own.

10. I want to pursue my purpose on this earth.
I want this because I have found that I am not happy when I am not living my purpose. I tend to try and find other unfulfilling pursuits to fill the space of my purpose and it doesn't work. I end up feeling miserable and unsatisfied with life when I live like that.

These are my pursuits for this year. As the year progresses my list may morph and change as I discover more about myself and what I want becomes clearer. This is okay as long as I am staying true to me and not allowing the voices in the world or my head to override me and what is best for me or talk me out of what I want.

So come on, put your dreams out there where everyone can see them. And if anyone should laugh or mock them, so what. Let them. Care more about your dream than the comments of others. And remember, "The man who thinks he can will. The man who thinks he can't is already beaten." You can do this. So go and create your dreams. God bless and good luck.

Quotes to live by

"You should never ever doubt what no one is ever sure about." ~ Willy Wonka

New Year's Resolutions!

It is around this time of year that many of us make New Year's resolutions. This is basically a list of goals or a wish list of things that we want to have or accomplish for the year. I am sure that many of you are pretty much like me when it comes to resolutions. I make a mental to do list of the things I want, for example: lose weight and get in better shape, spend more time with my family, read my scriptures every day, talk nicer to my loved ones, be less quick to become angry, use my finances more wisely, have a new wardrobe, get a new car, go on vacation this year, etc. Looking at my list, I think everything on it is okay. These are some pretty good goals to have that would not only benefit me but other people as well. However, when the New Year came around I began thinking about my resolutions and resolutions in general. Even though these are nice things to want and I can't see anything wrong in wanting them; I asked myself, "Why do I want them?"

Every year there are millions of people in the world making lists of the things that they want in life. Maybe they do not call them resolutions like we do hear, maybe they are called something else but we are all doing the same thing. We are deciding what we want and thinking of ways to get it. But I think many of us are missing an integral and very vital component when we are going through this process and that would be asking ourselves, "Why do we want it?" For instance take losing weight; do you want to lose weight because you want to have better health or do you want it because you think you should look a certain way because other people have told you that. In this case other people may be family, friends, and the media. Do you feel like you are supposed to look like the model on the cover of the magazine so you decide to lose weight? What is your motivation for losing weight?

I ask these questions because I think in order for any of us to be truly successful in achieving the goals we are so busy making, we have to first know why we want it. We not only need to know why we want it, it also needs to be personal to us. I think that when we are so busy chasing something we decide we need to have without knowing why we want it or the reason not being personal to us we either are unsuccessful at obtaining it or we are not happy when we do get it.

I want to invite you to take a moment in the midst of your resolution or goal making and really evaluate why you want what you are about to spend so much time and energy pursuing. Once you have done this I encourage you to take any goal that you are making solely because someone else makes you feel like you should have it or any other reason that is not personal and chuck it out the window without a second thought. I say this because if you don't have a real reason person to you for wanting it in the first place it will not make you happy in the end if you manage to get it. This will also leave more room for the things that you really do want and will more than likely give you true happiness not only when you receive it but while you are pursuing it as well.

I think the most likely reason we have so many failed resolution or goals is because we never really wanted it in the first place and so pursuing it only served to make us miserable. So take the time to not only think about what you want but why you want it. Once you have done this you will have placed yourself on more firm footing as you start the journey to obtaining the desires of your heart.

Good luck and God bless you on the journey.

Quotes to live by

"Love is durable. It's like teflon....trust is like fine china. Secrets destroy trust." ~ Iyanla Vanzant

Happy New Year!

Welcome to our new year 2013!