Thought For Today - September

[bluidkiti]

Workout Meditation

Ever thought about adding meditation to your exercise or workout routine? Try it, it might just increase your concentration, discipline and enjoyment.

- Meditate before a workout. Breathe slowly, breathe deeply and relax all the muscles in your body.
- Meditate while exercising. Be attentive to what you are doing and be aware of how the body feels.
- Meditate after a workout. Slow down, cool down, just sit for a bit and rest your mind and body.

[bluidkiti]

Bleak to Bright When things look bleak, bring back hope. How? Find a bright spot in the bleak situation. When you feel brighter, you’ll bring back hope. Hope doesn’t sit around ‘hoping for the best’. Hope is clear eyed, it allows you to recognize opportunities, as well as what's needed to overcome the bleak situation. Shift from bleak to bright. Feel hopeful and have hope for a brighter future.

[bluidkiti]

September 3

Nurture, Not Neglect

Are you neglecting yourself, your health or your personal development? Neglect yourself and over time this affects your mental, emotional and physical well-being. Now neglect doesn't happen overnight. It usually starts with small things and gradually expands into several other areas.

Come on, stop neglecting and start nurturing. Because whatever you nurture, thrives. So give yourself a high priority, nurture yourself and the benefits will spill over into all areas of your life.

[bluidkiti]

September 4

Turn Rejection into Direction

No-one likes being rejected, whether it’s in matters of the heart, work or life. But it does happen. Rather than feel frustrated because things aren't going in the direction you want it to go, accept. Then work out a) what went wrong, b) what to do better for the next time, and c) if what you want, is not what's best for you.

Take your lessons from the rejection, and turn them into stepping stones towards a direction that’s right for you.

[bluidkiti]

The Best Advice You Ever Received

What's the best advice you've ever received? Here's another question: why do we so often and so easily turn to others for advice? The best person to take advice from is yourself. You know yourself and your situation the best, and only you know what's best for you. So, take your own advice.

Of course, it's good to ask others for advice, to get a second opinion, a fresh perspective. So, take advice from others but take your own advice first. And here’s some more advice, before you give advice to others, it's best to follow your own advice.

[bluidkiti]

Get Curious, Not Furious

Do you ever get furious? Get furious and you're only adding fuel to the fire. So, calm your fury and try this alternative instead, get curious.

Get curious about a) your feelings and reactions, b) other people's opinions and behavior, and c) the positive possibilities in the situation. You'll find that curious works way better than furious.

[bluidkiti]

Like a Pendulum

Sometimes life is exciting, sometimes mundane, sometimes we feel mad, sometimes sad. Like a pendulum, we swing from one side to the other, back and forth, left to right, right to left. This can drain our energy.

Like a pendulum, return to the center of your being and bring everything to stillness. This brings neutrality and balance, renewing your energy so that you're ready to start again.

[bluidkiti]

Your Financial Priorities

Are you clear on your financial priorities? Well, just as we're wise about how and where we spend our time and energy, in the same way, it's all about making wiser choices on how and where we spend our money.

So, clarify your financial priorities and rethink your spending habits. The purpose is not to cut out the fun or reduce your happiness levels but to spend money on the things that matter most to you and make the best use of your money.

[bluidkiti]

A Low Self-Esteem Day

There are days when we wake up feeling not so good about ourselves. So if you’re having a low self-esteem day, how do you get through it?

Embrace how you feel and remind yourself, it's not permanent, it will pass. Then do something you've been putting off, or do something you're good at, and most likely you'll feel good about yourself.

Something else you can do is affirm, "I love and accept myself completely". Whether you believe it or not, affirm it again and again. Do this in your morning routine and most likely you'll boost your self-esteem.

[bluidkiti]

September 10

Uncomfortable, Unknown, Unfamiliar

Have you outgrown the known? Are you feeling stagnant in your comfort zone? No longer enjoying the familiar?

How about, venturing into the uncomfortable, unknown and unfamiliar? Even if it feels a bit bewildering and daunting, try to embrace the uncomfortable, get curious about the unknown, discover the familiar in the unfamiliar, and you'll most likely expand your capacity and potential.

[bluidkiti]

September 11

Pockets of Silence

Noise. It’s everywhere. But you can still bring pockets of silence into your noisy world. How? Well, you don't have to escape the noise or enforce silence. Silence is within us, it's in our soul. So we can feel and experience the silence within, even in the midst of noise, in the stressful work environment, in a loud coffee shop, or on the crowded streets.

Simply bring pockets of silence into your world. And as result, you'll increase your self awareness and focus, create space for solutions and aha moments, and enjoy the sounds in the noise.

[bluidkiti]

Back to School Everyday

All the kids are back in school. Now, did you realize that we too go back to school everyday? Life is a school and there's always something more to learn.

What are your essentials for the school that is life? An open mind, a balance of work and play, punctuality.... A pencil to make a positive mark, a sharpener to sharpen your attitude and skills, a highlighter to emphasize what's inspiring or interesting....

Are you ready to go back to school everyday?

[bluidkiti]

Embarrassing Moments

Ever had an embarrassing moment? Who hasn’t! Was it embarrassing because there were other people around? Have you had a similar moment when you were alone and embarrassment was nowhere to be seen?

Most often, we feel embarrassed because we feel self-conscious. We're too conscious of what people might be thinking of us. But for all we know, they didn't even notice our embarrassing moment. And even if they did, people don’t think about us as much as we think they do.

Next time you have an embarrassing moment, try and be a little less self-conscious. Find your humor, embrace embarrassment and try and laugh it off.

[bluidkiti]

"I'm So Busy"

"I’m so busy." "Busy" is our default reply for just about everything.... for not responding to a text or email, for not making time for friends or things we enjoy.... And because "busy" is easily accepted and often respected, "busy" is an easy way to avoid or get out of doing things.

The thing is, we're all busy, and so what we're really saying when we say "I'm so busy," is that we're not good at managing time and priorities. So how about avoiding saying "I'm so busy," and finding a better, more honest reply instead.

[bluidkiti]

Mind as a River

Whenever you get stuck in your mind, stuck in problems and worries, think of the mind as a river, and all your problems and worries as boulders and debris in the river.

Then put your attention onto the flow of the river, and you'll naturally get unstuck and flow around and over the problems and worries. Stay in the flow and you'll soon find the solutions.

Whenever you want, let the flow of the river become still, let the mind be still, and you'll soon be on your way, flowing forward, enjoying new landscapes.