Gratitude

“ Your life is a result of the thoughts in your mind” The Secret. Worry about nothing, pray about everything” – The Bible. How often do you find yourself, worrying or complaining? Well I got news for you, when you do this; you are creating more negative experiences and are probably only going to see more negative things.

Perception is a powerful thing; we often only see what we are looking for. If you feel you are being wronged, you are going to see more people wronging you.  If you feel you are broke, you are going to get more bills to pay, if you are always talking about how much pain you are in, you are going to feel more pain.

The amazing thing about being a human being is we are one of the only species that has a brain that allows us the opportunity to choose to see things differently. Our mind is in control of our feeling, not the other way around.  When times are tough, take a break, say a prayer, and think about one small thing that is going right or one thing you are grateful for. It could be something and simple as you have a loving caring pet waiting for you at home. Instead of thinking about how broke you are, think about how easy it is to earn money, instead of thinking about the one thing your child did wrong this morning, think about all the things they did right, instead of thinking about how annoying your spouse can be, think about the loyalty they have to you.

 When we pay attention to what is right or going good for us, and have faith, we tend to see a lot more things in a positive matter and can clearly see hope for the future. By practicing this you will start to live a happier life, have better relationships and help make this world a better place.

Cheers to positive thinking,

Tricia McKenna

Arizona Local Living

" Keep it stupid simple"

Have you ever found yourself just going in circles? I have been there far more often than I would like to admit.  A few months ago I consciously made a decision to make effort to move forward in many areas of my life instead of just going in circles. As a society we are always looking for instant gratification, but in reality there is nothing you can really do today that will allow you to see massive results right away. It is small, consistent actions over time that make a big difference.

I decided to start with my faith first because I am a strong believer in Philippians 4:13. Going from there I developed a one liner that I could revert to when I found my self going in circles, or taking the actions necessary to complete activities I was struggling with. " Keep it stupid simple". Having a quick phrase that you can say to yourself as a reminder allows you to reset your brain and get back on track with keeping the end in mind at all times.

For my faith journey, my " Stupid Simple"  daily action is to spend 5 minutes first thing in the morning reading a study bible app on my I phone. I decided to do this for 30 days. Were there mornings that I forgot, absolutely, but when I thought about it I would stop what I was doing and take 5 minutes to read it or decide to just pick it up the next morning. 5 Minutes may not seem like a lot but  5 minutes a day for 365 days a year is almost 30 hours of devotional time.  " Stupid Simple"

This technique can be applied in all areas of your life, Faith, Family, Self Improvement, Business, you name it you can benefit from this. Think about it! How would your spouse feel if you decided to take one " Stupid Simple" action each day such at giving them a kiss as soon as they get home and asking them how their day was? What would happen if you kissed your kids good night every night and told them that you loved them? What would happen if you did just 15 minutes of cardio every morning? What would happen if your read just 10 pages of a self improvement book every day? Can you see it?

Over time you can really can stop going in circles and make a big difference just by " Keeping it Stupid Simple"