Thought For Today - September

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Feeling Sorry

When people are going through challenging times, do you feel sorry for them? Feeling sorry may be well intentioned but, is it positive, helpful, empowering?

Could you come up with a more constructive alternative than ‘feeling sorry’? You could keep your feelings positive and compassionate. Then, if and when you do reach out, your help will empower the other person, the situation and yourself.

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September 17

Thought About Contentment

Have you recently thought about contentment? Here's a thought: Contentment doesn't mean no drive, no goals. It's not a bland acceptance of life.

Contentment means having your eye on the goal, having the drive to go for what you want, but at the same time, there's a happy acceptance of everything.

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September 18

Check In, Not Check Up

Are you good at regularly checking in with people? With family, friends and people at work?

Check in with people and find out what's happening and how things are going. Check in, not check-up. Checking up doesn't instil trust or create a good feeling. Whereas checking in, is less intrusive and pushy, more positive and friendly. It allows you to stay in the loop and on top of things, as well as make people feel valued and sustain relationships.

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Your Biggest Opponent Is....

Did you realize that your biggest opponent is always with you? Who? Your ego! Ego desires recognition and control, interferes with performance and learning, likes to impress and boast, gets upset and defensive. Ego gets in the way of your success, relationships and personal growth.

Did you realize that your biggest ally is also always with you? Who? Your humility! Humility puts others first without putting the self down. Humility values the self, as well as others, and understands that no one's better than another.

So embrace humility as best you can, and keep your ego in check.

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Small, Simple Daily Habits

Are there any small, simple habits you really want to incorporate into your daily routine? Try this:
- Choose 3 small, simple habits, stack them together, and hook them onto something that is already part of your routine.
- You can do them in 15 minutes (5 minutes each) or in 30 minutes (10 minutes each), depending on your time and energy.

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Expanding Your Gratitude

Gratitude not only stops you from taking things for granted, but it also just feels good. We can express gratitude for anything to everything. But often we overlook all those modern conveniences that make life easier and more convenient, and maybe even better.

Today, how about expanding your gratitude to include all your favorite modern conveniences - from escalators and lifts, cars and trains, to internet shopping and food delivery…. What are you grateful for?

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Just Not Creative

Do you believe that you're not creative? Well, we may not all be creative geniuses, and some of us may be more creative than others, but we all have the capacity and the potential to be creative.

Even if you really believe, "I am not creative," try and be creative in what you do. Give "I am creative" a chance and you may end up becoming more creative.

So come on, believe you are creative and take your creativity with you, from the workplace to the kitchen.

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Building Bridges

We probably all have a relationship in our lives that needs some bridge building. It’s good to remember that bridges are not built in a day, they require time and effort.

Put effort into the way you connect and communicate, and step-by-step build a strong and stable structure for your relationships. Build bridges and open up new opportunities and possibilities.

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September 24

Try Kindness

When you're feeling under pressure, you may find that kindness helps. How? When you're being kind, you'll find that the act of kindness takes a moment, whether it's picking up something someone dropped, lending a pen to someone or smiling at someone. In that moment, you're slowing down for a positive interaction and this reduces the feeling of pressure.

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September 25

Life's Tall Orders

Every so often, life presents us with a tall order - a situation that seems so difficult & one that occupies our mind so completely that we just can't see over or around it.

Next time you come across one of life's tall orders, try to either: a) rise above it & take a bird's eye view, or, b) stand back & view it from a distance.

From either of these viewpoints you can look at the bigger picture, get a better perspective & see how to overcome the tall order & move forward in life.

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As Autumn Begins

As autumn begins and the leaves start to change into radiant colors, radiate your colors, your qualities into the world. And as the leaves fall off the trees, let go of all that is no longer essential. And as the trees become bare, return to what is essential, what really matters.

Radiate your colors, let go and return to what really matters.

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Your Most Productive Times

Do you know the times in the day when you're at your most productive - the times when your focus is at its best?

Know your most productive times of the day, and if possible, schedule tasks accordingly. For example, schedule the challenging or the most important tasks when your focus is at its best, and routine tasks when it’s at a low. Do this and you'll most likely be even more productive.

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The Sting of Rejection

When rejection happens, whether it’s in matters of the heart, work or in life, it usually stings our self-esteem.

To soothe the sting of rejection:
- Accept the rejection and understand that it's rarely personal.
- Appreciate that you were brave enough to put yourself out there.
- Acknowledge and process all the emotions rejection brings up.
- Affirm your value and boost your self-worth.

Finally, learn from what went wrong and even when you don't understand why you were rejected, find something positive to takeaway from the rejection.

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The Traffic in Your Mind

How often do you find your thoughts racing and speeding through the mind, creating chaos and traffic jams? How about creating a traffic control system for the mind?

Stop for a minute. Observe the traffic in your mind. Slow the racing thoughts. Calm any chaotic thoughts. Redirect negative thoughts to a positive direction. Steer unnecessary thoughts off the road, out of the mind. Park aside important thoughts and come back to them later. Clear the traffic in your mind and get everything moving and flowing.

You can set up a reminder on your phone to signal you to stop, and integrate these stops into your day, as many times as you like.

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A Little Extra Effort

Life's so busy, and it's all too easy to focus on only getting things done. But no matter how busy we are, it's good to make a little extra effort to connect with the people in our lives.

It can be something as easy as sharing a joke, a laugh, a smile, or getting together for a meal, a walk, a coffee.... Being fully present and making the effort to connect with the people in our lives, enhances our relationships.