Thought For Today - May
 

May 1

Accumulating Inner Peace

Accumulate lots and lots of inner peace. As a result of accumulating, inner peace is readily accessible and available when and where you need it.

If, for whatever reason, you lose a little bit of your inner peace, it's OK – you already have a stock of inner peace accumulated within you. So just make sure you top up what you've lost.

May 2

Strong or Hard Hearted?

We need to be strong-hearted to face the many difficult situations in our life, but not hard-hearted where we do not feel compassion or care.

Toughen up without becoming hard-hearted. Be compassionate and caring without draining your emotional strength. Then you'll be warm and
strong-hearted in the face of any situation.

It's Not All About Numbers

How do you measure success? In numbers? Numbers are important and they can be a good indicator of success. But is success only about numbers or is it something else altogether?

If success is not all about the numbers, then what is it about? Is it about the quality of what you create, or the quality of your life? Happy relationships, a healthy mind?

What does success mean to you and how do you measure it?

Time with your Virtues

Virtues are the good qualities within each one of us, they’re our personal resources: contentment, determination, generosity, humility, serenity, tolerance...

Spend time with your virtues and get reacquainted. How? Meditate on a virtue.
1. Choose a virtue to meditate on - one that interests you or would help you best today.
2. Hold the virtue in your mind. Now, feel it and experience it. And then be it. Be the embodiment of this virtue.

Are you Bored?

Are you bored? Is it because you’re doing something that’s not interesting? Just because something doesn't interest you, it doesn't mean it's boring. Even if it is boring, you can always do things differently and make things fun. When that’s not possible, think about something interesting or listen to something interesting.

Make things interesting and you’ll find your fun. Go on, banish boredom forever.

Listen to Life

Life speaks to you, did you know that? Sometimes it's loud & clear, & sometimes you just can't hear it over the noise in your head.

Shhh, quiet your mind, pay attention & listen. Listen to the message & it may help you make wise choices, or help you connect the dots to understand why things happen.

Life is speaking to you, right now. Listen. Take note. More importantly, will you act on it?

May 7

Think About You

We all care about what other people think about us.

But really, do people think about us, that much? Why not care more about what you think of you.

Actually, what you think of you is more important than what others think of you.

May 8

Taking It Seriously

Do you have a tendency to take life and yourself a little too seriously? Now, life is no laughing matter but life does have a sense of humor.

Find the humor and have a good laugh - at life and at yourself. Not as a way to avoid the serious issues, but only when appropriate, of course!

Expectations or Explorations?

We all have expectations. But when those expectations are not met, how do you feel? Disappointed, stressed, frustrated?

For less disappointment, less stress, less frustration, try this: shift from expectations to explorations. Approach life, people and yourself from a place of exploration and you'll open the door to possibilities. Explore, and you'll embrace and enjoy what is.

Keeping Good Company

No one wants to go to a party without good company. The best and the constant company you have, is your thoughts. So, are your thoughts keeping you good company, or bad?

To keep good company, pay attention to your thoughts, change what's not good and make it positive. Surround yourself with lots of goodness, read and listen to motivational and inspirational words. Keep the good company of positive thoughts and you'll make everyday a party!

Make Mornings Easier

Would you like to make your mornings a little easier? Try this: prepare whatever you can the night before.

Maybe you can lay out your clothes the night before. Maybe you can prepare the next day's breakfast or even your lunch. Maybe clean up and get as organised as you can.

The less you have to think about and do the next morning, the better. What are some of the things you can do the night before to make your mornings easier?

Stability in Shifting Sands

When everything around you is changing, often the best thing to do is to stop struggling. Just as you would search for stability on shifting sands, relax and find your inner stability. Gain your equilibrium and balance and then you can respond to change with confidence and grace.

If Your Life Was A Movie...

You've heard the question, "If your life was a movie, who would play you?" And at some point you've probably wished your life was just like a movie, full of adventure and magic.

Here's another question: if your life was a movie, would it be a light-hearted feel good movie, an action packed thriller, or something offbeat and quirky?

Well, you’re already the star of your own movie, so why not, 1) make the next scene, the best scene, and 2) stop worrying about the reviews or the critics!

May 14

Play Your Roles

Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage...". So, if we're all "merely players", that is, actors, then understand the difference between who you are and the roles you play.

Understand the difference and you'll make it easier for yourself to:
- switch between different roles in your day
- adapt, when your roles change
- clarify what your roles require and play them well

May 15

If It Doesn't Feel Right

In the process of decision making, if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn't.

Honor your feelings and listen to them, instead of pushing through them and rushing into a decision. Verify your feelings with logic and data. If it still doesn’t feel right, you can always postpone the decision or decide not to decide.

Alternatives for Worrying

Worrying is a draining exercise, not only does it waste time and energy but it doesn't accomplish anything either. So let’s find alternatives for worry.

Instead of worrying, ask yourself, “What can I do about this right now?” and turn worry into action. Or come up with a backup plan or even alternative positive possibilities. Or clean, listen to music, write, make a hot drink, sing, go for a run…

What are your alternatives for worry?

Your Conscience

We've all had those moments, when our conscience 'bites'. There's a sense that we've gone against our 'truth' and done something wrong.

The next time your conscience 'bites':
1) stop making yourself feel guilty
2) listen to your conscience
3) let it nudge you to make amends and put things 'right'

Say Yes to Everything

There's been books, movies, talks - about people who started saying yes to everything. Would you ever challenge yourself to say yes to everything that comes your way?

Say yes to everything and you may take yourself out of your comfort zone and make unexpected discoveries. But say yes to everyone and everything, and you may end up overwhelmed and undervalued, frazzled and fried.

So maybe we need to be more selective and smart about what we say yes to.

Differences Complement

Often, we gravitate towards people who are similar to us. This makes things more comfortable and easier. But more often than not, we're around people who are very different from us, almost opposite to us. This makes things more interesting and vibrant.

Today, appreciate the differences and acknowledge how people whose nature is opposite to yours, actually complement you. Maybe you're a detail person and the other person is a big-picture thinker or maybe one is dynamic and frank, and the other, gentle and subtle… We all complement each other, don’t we?

Unwanted Advice, What to do with it?

When you receive feedback or a piece of advice that seems out of place, unwanted or really unnecessary - what's your reaction? Get annoyed? Ignore it? Think, "Why am I being told this?”

How about, accepting it and, if it feels right, say “Thank you.” Take the advice gracefully and keep it as a piece of “wisdom.” And who knows, even if it’s not useful now, it maybe useful one day.

May 21

Talk Too Fast?

In conversations or presentations, do you talk too fast? If you talk too fast, slow your pace. Try adding short pauses and at the same time keeping it natural.

Slow your pace to:
- give yourself space to breathe, smile and make eye contact
- sound more calm, less harried
- make it easier for the listener to listen and process what you’ve said

May 22

Be Your Own Search Engine

Ever thought about being your own Google? How? Type a question into your mind and see what pops up. You may have to stay with the question and wait for your subconscious to scan and respond. You may retrieve a forgotten memory, locate momentous insights, gain creative solutions….

Be your own search engine and find your answers.

Second Guessing Yourself

It's ok to second guess yourself sometimes. But if you're second guessing yourself all the time, going round in circles, doubting yourself and your decisions - it's only going to over-complicate things.

So stop second-guessing yourself, and start trusting yourself. Trust yourself to make good decisions, and if they don't work out, make another one. Trust yourself to do the best you can, and if you don't, it's ok, try to do better the next time.

Mind Your Compliments

Do you give away compliments mindlessly? Give compliments mindfully, when there's something meaningful to appreciate and you’ll make the compliment more sincere, more valuable. So give compliments thoughtfully and it may boost someone’s day.

Just as it’s important not to underestimate the power of a compliment, it's also important not to undermine a compliment when you receive one. Downplay a compliment and you may hurt the person who gave you the compliment. So take compliments gracefully, and you may also boost their day.

Churn and Learn

Just as milk is churned to make butter, in the same way, we need to keep thinking and churning to extract life’s ‘butter’, the lessons from life.

To churn, think about your day, your work, your life, your interactions, your successes, your mistakes - what can I learn here? Churn and learn as you go, and you'll keep growing and improving, becoming wiser and smarter.

When the Pressure's On

They say pressure creates diamonds. It brings out the best in us & also keeps us on our toes. Sure, a certain amount of pressure is good for us, but too much pressure isn't.

So, when life gets really busy & the pressure's on:
- Take the pressure off. Drop the high expectations you set for yourself & be kind to you.
- Take the time to switch off. Slow things down & give yourself a little extra nurturing.

Meditation in the Kitchen

Bring meditation to your kitchen. How? As you wash and chop, fry and stir, boil and bake.... meditate. Meditate for a minute, and come back to it every 15 minutes or so.

Be present and mindful of the sounds, the smells, the textures, the tastes.
Be peaceful and happy in the kitchen, and cook with love. Do this and turn cooking into a meditation experience.

May 28

Setting Realistic Deadlines

Do you set deadlines that are too tight? Add extra pressure on yourself? How about, loosening up the pressure by setting achievable deadlines.

Just be more realistic when estimating the amount of work involved and how long things take to get done. Remember to add some extra time to the deadline to deal with the unexpected - you'll need it!

May 29

It's Difficult

If you think it's difficult, it will be difficult.

So, why set yourself up for making things difficult. Frame your thoughts positively and make difficult things easy.

ABCD of Change

Here's the ABCD for making personal change happen:

A: Awareness. Identify what you would like to change in yourself.

B: Belief. Recognise & challenge the belief(s) holding you back. For example,
believing 'I can't change', 'It's too difficult.'

C: Commitment. 'I'll try' isn't good enough. Work out an effective action plan,
as well as things you will do to sustain the commitment.

D: Discipline. Establish the purpose, why this change is important. Then with
love & enthusiasm you'll sustain the discipline to make the change happen.

The Aha Moment

How many times have you experienced an aha-moment and before you know it, you've gotten distracted and forgotten it? An aha-moment, a new realization, can be really valuable, life changing even, but only if you remember it long enough to do something with it.

So the next you have an aha-moment, don't let it go to waste:
1) Write down your new realization.
2) Ponder and plan on what to do with your realization.
3) Act on it and turn your realization into real change.