At the risk of sounding arrogant or phony, I must say, life is fun.  It really is.  I am enjoying my life each day and I wouldn’t trade it for any other..

The reason I share this is because this has not always been the case.  Although I have had fun times throughout my life I have never really enjoyed life like I am enjoying it now.  I feel like I have finally “arrived.”  No, I have not reached my final career goal nor have I fit into the size 6 jeans I once coveted.  I am not driving a new car or living in a large house.  I am not famous nor am I earning the amount of money I’d eventually like to earn.  But, I am having fun living the life I have been given.

Interestingly, as I began to change my thought patterns a few years ago and I began Choose a Better Life, a funny thing happened … my life got better.  And it continues to get better.  When people ask how I am doing I find myself genuinely answering, “I am doing great.  Life is fun.”

This is not to say that life is without its challenges.  Trust me, I have plenty – a 21-year old daughter who refuses to speak to me for reasons I do not understand; a biological family that is far from healthy; a dear friend on the other side of the country who is hurting deeply and whom I cannot help; and physical pain from injuries that never seems to fully disappear.  These are just a few of my current challenges.

But, when I think of my life, I don’t think of those challenges first.  What I think of is the joy I have for living and the abundance of blessings I get to experience every day.  I love my life.  I really do.

It is no small coincidence that as I began to retrain my mind to focus on the positive and as I began to bless others and myself the negative things in my life seemed to take up less and less space in my consciousness.  Now I have to stop and really think if I want to list my challenges – this is not something I do very often.  In fact, I spend so much time listing my blessings and the things that are going well that I often don’t have time to think of the challenges.  Nor do I want to.

No, I am not living in denial.  I am well aware of the areas of life that are less than perfect and I work to do what I can to change them.  But, I no longer allow them to consume me, overwhelm me, or dictate my moods and feelings.  I wasted too many years doing just that.  Now I celebrate life and enjoy the fun.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to let go of the negative, focus on the positive, bless yourself and others, and have fun!

Welcome back!  Oh, wait I was the one who was gone. J

I had a great time on my personal retreat.  I took several days and went to an ocean town just to slow down, be alone, reflect, listen, and plan.  As I’ve shared, I do this at least once a year and I so enjoy the time away.  Life is so busy that we seldom get to be still for an extended period unless we make it a priority and put it into our schedules.

I always leave my retreats with a renewed focus and an excitement for next steps.  But, I also leave a bit more relaxed and, hopefully, a bit wiser for having taken the time to listen to God and assess my current position and emotional health.

One of the things that struck me this past week was just how much I enjoy the simple things.  Several times I found myself walking along the docks gazing into the water with a smile on my face.  I was content just being near the ocean.

On one occasion I took a ferry out to an island.  I wouldn’t characterize the island as deserted, but no one lives on it and it is mostly inhabited by wild horses.  I walked for several miles to the far side of the island and found myself completely alone … I literally could not see another person in either direction.  Occasionally, a Coast Guard helicopter would fly by, I assumed to ensure all was well, but other than that I saw no one.  It was wonderful.  I opened my cooler, had lunch and enjoyed looking at the shells the Atlantic Ocean had washed on shore.

Other times I sat on the front porch with my book, journal, pen and a tall glass of cold water.  I would smile and say hello to people as they walked by.  It was heavenly.

I was staying at a bed and breakfast so I enjoyed the company of others over breakfast and would occasionally run into them in the halls.  What I noticed is that most of these couples woke up, ate breakfast, rushed off and filled their day with activities.  In fact, one couple was frustrated that there was not more “to do” in this small town.  But none of these couples seemed especially happy or seemed to be enjoying their vacations.  There was always something to complain about … the heat, the humidity, the other people … always something.

Instead of choosing to see and enjoy the little blessings, the simple things … the always cold pitcher of ice water waiting just inside the door of the inn, the freshly baked cookies the innkeeper made each day, the fact that we were 1 block away from the ocean, the appreciative smiles from locals as we shopped in their stores … many of the couples from the inn went grumpily through each day and, I suspect, ended their vacations with less than wonderful memories.  What a waste.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to see and enjoy the simple things … the little blessings we are given each day.  Stop and notice the flowers that are blooming.  Listen to the birds as they sing outside your office.  Enjoy the dinner that was prepared for you.  Smile as your pet greets you at the door after a long day.  Sing along with your favorite tune when it comes on the radio.  Our lives are full of simple blessings if only we choose to enjoy them.

Happy Saturday!

I know, this is not my normal post day, but I will be out of town this Tuesday so I wanted to let you know I will not be posting this week.  As I’ve shared before, at least once a year (I try for once a quarter) I get away by myself for a personal retreat.  This is a time for me to pray, journal, read, plan and rejuvenate.  I will be taking one of these retreats this coming week so I will not be posting.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and week and I look forward to sharing with you when I return.  In the meantime, Choose a Better Life, by choosing to take some time for yourself.

It is interesting how life often throws us curve balls … those unexpected annoyances that change our plans.  One minute we are heading to lunch with a full afternoon of meetings and the next minute our plans are derailed by something completely out of our control … curve ball.

This is what happened to me last Thursday.  I had just finished a client meeting (which, by the way, had not gone at all as I envisioned, not bad, just different) and my husband and I were headed for a sushi lunch. - When we are both in town we have lunch together once a week.  This gives us the opportunity to reconnect, go over our schedules, discuss our careers, and simply have a few minutes of alone time. – It was a sunny day and the traffic was not particularly heavy.  I was at the end of an intersection when I realized a car was running a red light and heading into my lane.

You guessed it, despite my slamming on the breaks and swerving, we collided.  Thankfully no one was seriously injured and the other driver pulled off the road and admitted the accident was his fault.  We spent the next hour waiting for a police officer to arrive and take a police report.  As we waited, the other driver and his passenger paced back and forth, argued, and complained that their day had been truly awful and that their vacation (they were headed out of town for the weekend) was now ruined.

As I watched and listened to the other driver and his passenger, I kept thinking, “How sad, you are choosing to have a bad day.”  I tried convincing them that it was still early in the day, they were not hurt, the officer would be done with his report shortly and they could still enjoy a long weekend away.  But, they were having no part of what I was saying.  So instead of wasting time trying to reason with them, I decided I’d reschedule my afternoon appointments and just sit and wait for the whole thing to be over.

Unfortunately, even after we wrapped up at the scene of the accident, the accident was still not “over.”  I am spending a lot of time dealing with insurance companies and adjusters trying to get my car repaired … curve ball  And I’m still having pain in my neck for which I’m seeing a doctor and which limits the amount of time I can spend working … curve ball.

As with everything in life, these curve balls bring the opportunity to practice choosing my attitude and my response.  I admit that the situation has been frustrating.  The other driver has disconnected his phone and not followed through on his commitments.  His insurance company cannot locate him and as a result they cannot process my claim.  In addition, my claim has been transferred three different times to three different adjusters and I am forced to cover my own medical expenses at the moment.

However, as I have been conditioning myself to Choose a Better Life it is becoming easier and easier to see the good side of things, even with curve balls.

I am thankful that there was not more traffic on the road when the accident occurred and therefore more cars were not involved.  I’m thankful the other driver had insurance and that he pulled over.  I am thankful that no one was seriously injured.  I’m thankful for the police officer who responded and took a report.  I’m thankful for cell phones with cameras so we could take pictures.  I’m thankful for my Blackberry that allowed me to contact my afternoon appointments.  I’m thankful the weather was good and we were not caught in the rain (we’ve had lots of rain lately.)  I’m thankful that, eventually, my car will be repaired.  And I’m thankful for doctors who will help with the pain.

Life is full of curve balls, but I’m thankful those curve balls don’t determine the quality of our lives.  Our response to the curve balls does; and our response is something we control.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to be thankful for the good, looking for the positive and taking control of your actions despite the curve balls that come your way.

So often we don’t pursue our dreams because we feel like they are too lofty, out of our reach, simply impossible.  We see the road blocks and give up before we even begin.

I know we can achieve great things if only we take the first step and trust our ability to take the next.

I recently read a quote in a little book titled New Beginnings by Sian Keogh.

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Choose a Better Life by choosing to take the firs step.  Do what is necessary.

To those readers in/from the US …

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you enjoy today and that you find a way of celebrating our freedom and the men/women who sacrifice so much to make it possible.

To the servicemen/women, past and present, who serve and protect our country I give you my deepest appreciation and say THANK YOU for all you do.

To my readers outside the US, I hope you have a fantastically blessed weekend.

About this time tomorrow my mom will be flying in from California (I’m in NC) for a two-week visit. Monday morning she, my youngest daughter and I will be embarking on a 12-day, 1200 mile road trip. Yes, gas prices are high and yes, we’ll have to make compensations for that, but I am expecting the two-weeks to be wonderful.

We will be seeing friends and family, some of which I’ve not seen since I was 8 years old, but we will also be taking things as they come. We have destinations planned and some idea of what we’d like to do at a few of the locations, but beyond that we are just ready for an adventure.

During our trip, I may not have the opportunity to post, but know that I will post the Tuesday after I return, Tuesday, July 1st. In the meantime, Choose a Better Life by choosing to enjoy what comes your way without worrying about all the details.

As Zig Ziglar says in Life Lifters, “Spend time with those you love. One of these days you will either say, “I wish I had,” or “I’m glad I did.”

In the first chapter of  Life Lifters, Zig Ziglar defines Attitudosis as, “a condition brought on by your neglect of others and their needs and by your extreme focus on and excessive attention to the most minuscule aches, pains, and inconveniences in your life.”

I think at one time or another we have all suffered from Attitudosis.  The question we must ask ourselves is whether or not we allow Attitudosis to become a chronic illness in our lives.  If the answer is yes, we must take immediate steps to rectify the situation.

Attitudosis not only isolates us, but it makes us bitter, grumpy and boring.  And this has a direct impact on our quality of life.

Take a few moments and seriously examine what consumes most of your thoughts.  Are you focused on the “minuscule aches, pains, and inconveniences in your life” or are you focusing on others’ needs and the beauty and blessings you’ve been given?

Choose a Better Life by choosing to rid yourself of Attitudosis.

One of the challenges of living in North Carolina is that my allergies can be out of control causing all sorts of havoc in my life.  Yesterday was one of those days so I apologize for not posting.

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As I was getting caught up on my magazine reading (we have several subscriptions that come to our home) I noticed an ad that I’ve seen several times before, as I’m sure have you. It is a magazine ad that features a celebrity.  The celebrity fills in the blank in the following sentence:  “I love my ________ life.”

The reason this particular ad caught my attention was because the celebrity filled in the blank with “complicated.”  “How sad,” I thought.  I didn’t find it sad that her life was complicated, almost everyone’s is, but because of all the adjectives she could have chosen to describe her life, she chose “complicated.”

This made me wonder what adjective I would choose to describe my life.  A plethora ran though my mind, but the first was the one I decided was most accurate … blessed.  I love my blessed life!

How would you fill in the blank?  Why did you pick that particular word?  If your adjective is not positive, what can you do to change it?

My life is not blessed because everything is perfect or without issues – everyone who knows me knows that is not the case.  But, my life is blessed because I choose to focus on the good.  I choose to look for the God-sightings and I choose to bless instead of curse.  As a direct result, I am blessed in return.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to fill in the blank with a positive adjective.  Only you hold the power to choose.

As you know, my husband and I live a “Pay it Forward” lifestyle. We firmly believe that we have been placed on this Earth to, among other things, bless others. So we look for ways – some small, some large – to help.

Unfortunately, many of us feel as if we are too small to make a positive impact. “I am just one person, what can I do?” Honestly, one person can change the world. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. are just two examples, albeit well-known examples, of this fact.

“But, I am not Mother Teresa, I don’t have her compassion. And I certainly don’t have Martin Luther King Jr.’s charisma.” Maybe not, but you do have your unique gifts and talents… gifts and talents that, with some creativity can be put to use to make a difference in your environment.

Along those lines, I recently read a blog post (read the entire post here http://www.blogwinder.net/?p=43#comment-10 ) that illustrates how little it would actually take for us to make an everlasting impact on this world and some of its “bigger problems.”  This post stated that if just 4% of the world’s population donated just $1 a week we would have a NET of $ 11,094,720,000.00 [Just over 11 BILLION DOLLARS] every year at our disposal.

That $11 billion could be used to provide health care for the poorest families.  It could be used to end world hunger.  It could provide quality education for the millions of children who never set foot in a school.  It could provide safe housing for the world’s homeless.  The possibilities are exciting and endless.

However, you don’t have to tackle the world’s biggest issues to make an impact.  You can begin by simply meeting the need of a neighbor. Either way, Choose a Better Life by choosing to see beyond yourself and make a difference.