Thought For Today - March
 

Feeling Washed Out?

Often when we feel washed out; it's as if the color from our life is washed away. Next time you’re feeling washed out, take care of yourself and get some rest, and then start adding color to your life. Add color to your attitude and your environment, to what you wear and eat. And treat yourself to a bunch of bright flowers, some tulips or daffodils.

Bring color to your life and slowly the feeling of tiredness will get washed away. You'll soon start to feel brighter and appreciate the different shades of life.

Other People's Mistakes

Do you find yourself being critical of other people’s mistakes? Sometimes even making a big deal it all? The fact is we all make mistakes, so let's find better ways to handle other people’s mistakes.

Next time you notice other people’s mistakes:
1. Instead of being critical, be more empathetic and understanding.
2. If appropriate, give feedback constructively and compassionately.
3. Learn from other people’s mistakes, and then let go of it.

Divest to Invest

Is your time and energy allocated to things that matter most? If it’s not, divert your time and energy away from things that don't matter, and invest it in things that do matter.

Identify and list what you want to divest to invest. As things change over time, you may want to quarterly review and renew your 'divest to invest' list.

March 4

Listening to your Instincts

Do you listen to your instincts? Your gut instinct, your intuition is like a personal GPS that tells you how to get to your destination. It also helps you to understand yourself and others more accurately. So, tune in, listen and follow your instincts with confidence.

But when you're not too sure, validate and verify your instincts with reasoning and rational thinking.

March 5

What You Do, Matters

Everything you do matters. You may not think it, but it does. Everything you do sets an example for others to do the same.

Now don't get stressed about watching your back, but people do watch everything you do. So be mindful about what you do, even when you think that there’s no one around.

Head and Feet

Do you walk around with your head in the clouds? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Having our head in the clouds allows us to dream big. But if you stay up in the clouds then you don't achieve anything.

To turn your dreams into reality, try to keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. Then you'll stay grounded in reality and make things happen. Be a dreamer and a doer!

Flip the Switch

Darkness in a room can easily be dispelled when a light is switched on. In the same way, when there’s negativity in your mind, flip the switch in your mind. Switch on your positive thoughts and dispel the darkness in your mind.

Relieve and Resolve

If we don’t release the tension that builds up in our mind and body, we can become like a pressure cooker on the verge of exploding.

The next time tension takes over, try the 2 R's:
1. Relieve. Find simple and healthy ways to release the tension, now.
2. Resolve. Find your tension triggers and deal with them. Then the tension is less likely to build up in the future.

You Are Not Your Past

We all have a past but we are not our past. It doesn't define us but it does shape who we are today.

So, value your past and take the valuable lessons from the past to make positive changes so that you live positively in the present.

Boundaries in Relationships

Boundaries in relationships can be tricky because they’re unique to each individual and don’t often make sense to others. So it’s our responsibility to clearly draw the line, and communicate our limits and where we stand.

And as relationships are not all about us, boundaries need flexibility. So, at times we need to make compromises and bend our boundaries or even drop them.

March 11

Finding Meaning

There is a meaning in everything. Sometimes it’s visible, sometimes we have to search deeply & sometimes it takes a while before we find the meaning.

Finding meaning may help you make sense of things & may also help you experience life differently. But should we constantly search & find meaning in everything? What do you think?

March 12

Deliver or Over-deliver Promises?

We all know the importance of delivering on our promises. When we deliver what’s promised, not only are we seen as someone who’s reliable but also someone who’s good at estimating timelines.

But sometimes in our enthusiasm, we over-deliver. When we over-deliver, it’s going to impact everything else, and not always in a good way.

To deliver or over-deliver on our promises, what do you think?

Can't Focus

If you can’t focus your attention, how can you accomplish anything? And thinking that you can't focus only makes it more difficult.

The next time you find yourself thinking, 'I can't focus,' try one of the following:
- Take a break to relax your attention. Do this & you'll boost your focus.
- Think, "I can focus, I can do a bit more." Do 5 more, read 5 more pages, write 5 more sentences, work 5 more minutes... Do this & you'll build your focus endurance.

Like A Lighthouse

Be like a lighthouse. Let your mind and heart be filled with light. Let your inner light spread in all directions, radiating out into the world.

Like a lighthouse, maintain your inner light, and then your stability will provide light, hope and direction to others.

What, How and Where

What you see and how you see things matters. But where you see things from, also matters.

Step back to see things from a distance. Take a bird's eye view to see things from above. Change where you see things from and you may get a better overview, a better perspective.

Changing Limiting Beliefs

What you believe matters. So, what beliefs do you have about yourself that are limiting? What beliefs stop you from living life fully?

Here are 5 steps to changing limiting beliefs:
1. Choose one limiting belief you can start working on.
2. Realize the cost of your belief to your work, life, self...
3. Understand why you have this belief and where it comes from.
4. Emphasize any current evidence you have that undermines the belief.
5. Replace your limiting belief with a positive belief.

When Spring Comes

Whatever difficulty you are facing right now, know that it will pass. Just as spring always comes after winter, nothing stays forever. Difficulties come, but they too, will pass.

Just as when spring comes, there will be new buds of joy in your life, new growth and a feeling of vitality in the air.

March 18

Drop Your Thoughts

When your thoughts are scattered all over the place, try this: gather your scattered thoughts, gather all your worries, stress and anxieties, and bring them all together. Hold them in your mind like a ball, and then drop the ball. Watch your thoughts bounce away into the distance. Then let your mind breathe.

March 19

Bridge or a Barrier?

Are you building bridges or creating barriers? Not literally, but in terms of the relationships between people. Do you choose to build better connections between people, maybe even strengthening existing ones?

Especially look at the impressions you create about others to others. Are you building a bridge or a barrier?

Monday Morning or Monday Moaning

How often do you find yourself moaning about it being Monday? Do things a little differently, and make Monday mornings a little easier. Here are a few suggestions:
- Make Sunday evenings restful and get to bed a little earlier.
- Kick start Monday with a good breakfast and motivating words.
- Catch and stop yourself from moaning about it being Monday.
- Plan something fun for Monday evenings so you have something to look forward to.

Letting Things Fester

When something doesn’t sit right with you, in life or in your relationships, do you just sit on it, ignore it or resolve it?

Sometimes things resolve by themselves but most of the times, things fester if you don't deal with them. Let things fester and they become bigger. So, don't let things fester. If something isn't sitting right with you, don't just sit there, do something about it.

Bloom Where You Are

When a flower blossoms, its beauty and fragrance is released into the world.

Like a flower, we too can bloom where we are. And when we tap into our inner goodness, we release our inner beauty and goodness into the world.

A Head Full of Thoughts

When your head is full of thoughts, full of fear, stress, worries, doubts, here's a simple reminder: you are not your thoughts.

Remind yourself that you are not your thoughts and you can:
S - Separate yourself from the thoughts and breathe
O - Observe your thoughts and they'll lose their momentum
S - Steer your thoughts in a positive direction.

Who Do You Follow?

Who do you follow? On social media, we follow amazing individuals, like-minded people, celebrities, brands... But in real life, who do you follow and why? Who you follow impacts you. So, the question here isn't, to follow or not to follow? The question is, are they a good influence on you?

We can unfollow on social media, in the same way, in real life too, maybe we can unfollow. And if you're going to follow anyone, make sure to follow yourself, follow your own path, follow your heart....

March 25

Right to Be Right

Who doesn't enjoy being right? But if we didn’t need to be right in every discussion, we might just see things differently and learn from other perspectives. We might also understand that 'right' is a matter of perspective.

If you can’t give up your right to be right, then be right and yet at the same time be open to other people’s perspectives.

March 26

Feel Comfortable in Your Skin

We look in the mirror every day, but the question is do you like what you see? Skin’s not perfect enough, teeth not white enough, hair not glossy enough…. Now go and look in the mirror, and say to yourself, ‘I am enough.’

Let go of how you used to look, how you should look like and what you would like to change. Get more and more comfortable in your skin, and really feel that you are enough.

Screensaver for your Mind

Do you have a favorite wallpaper or a screensaver for your mind? It could be an image of a serene landscape or a happy memory, or something minimal or abstract, inspiring or funny. An image of raindrops falling over the screen of your mind to make you feel calm or your favorite artwork to make you feel creative....

Select an image to create the mood you want, and return to it whenever your mind needs a boost.

People are your Mirrors

The qualities and traits you see in others are most likely a reflection of the positive qualities and traits in you, as well as the things that need improving or changing. What you see in others, most likely also exists in you.

Other people really can be your mirrors. So look in the mirror and recognize a) what is being reflected back at you and b) what the reflections tell you about yourself.

Get Through It, Not Over It

Often, when we are going through loss and grief, it’s not about getting over it but through it. It's about finding constructive and healthy ways to process our emotions.

When it comes to the grieving process there’s no right or wrong way, each loss in unique and each one copes with it differently. The key to getting through it is acceptance, acceptance of how you feel, acceptance of what's happened and how this changes your reality.

Grow Something

We might not all have green fingers but we can certainly try to grow something. We can start small, take care of houseplants or grow vegetables, herbs, flowers in pots. If you really don't have green fingers, you can still nurture; nurture yourself, your health, your relationships...

Start nurturing your nurturing nature and enjoy watching things grow and thrive.

How We Perceive Time

Sometimes it feels like there's all the time in the world, sometimes it feels like time is running out. Sometimes time stands stills, sometimes time flies. We use many expressions about time, most of which say nothing about time itself, but more about how we perceive and experience time.

How do you perceive time? Make it positive and you'll most likely change how you experience time.