Common Sense Living

Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

I hope you had a great 4th of July holiday!

We had great weather, great food including the Shish-Kabobs my daughter had a taste for, and Spanish Omlets, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  You just can’t beat the lighter, fresher fare of summer, can you?

We played in the lake and saw great fireworks at the Naval Base. It was great celebrating with the soldiers and their families. It felt so much more patriotic. And they played classic old patriotic songs that I had long forgotten about -

but then, the week continued…

I’ve been working on a project that hasn’t been going well. Its just very difficult for me. I keep putting it on the backburner when I get frustrated.

I was feeling a little sorry for myself this morning. OK, a lot sorry for myself. And then I opened my email from Whole Life Overhaul.

Yes, I get the emails myself to make sure the system is running OK. Anyway- here’s what it said -

Whole Life Overhaul
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Good Morning!

“And the rockets red glare-
the bombs bursting in air”

Life feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it?

How many times throughout history have people beat
seemingly impossible circumstances and come out victorious?

Of course, many times it was do or die – literally.

Ok, so you might not die if you don’t see your goal through.
Or if your goal is health or weight loss related- maybe you’ll
die sooner. But when you give up and quit, there’s a different
sort of death – deep inside.

Think back to a time when you gave up and quit. How did
that make you feel? Does it still affect you today?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now think back to a time when you really stuck it out and
accomplished something. How did that make you feel?
Exhilarating, isn’t it?

And now for the next line of the song…..

“gave proof through the night,
that our flag was still there.”

Are you ready to Prove It?

Carole

P.S. You can get all my best recipes here -

Image by * 5 ō Ō ō 5 α ω ō я ℓ ∂ via Flickr

What stops people from getting things done?

It’s looking at the work involved in the process, don’t you think?

Looking out my windows is depressing, but washing the windows is hard work.

I want to eat healthy, but I hate cutting up vegetables.

I need to use this piece of software to move ahead, but I don’t know how to use it and I’m afraid of it.

I want my business to be more successful, I have to market, but I don’t want to talk to people.

Isn’t our life full of “I want to, but…”

How about if you looked at the reward instead of the imagined problem?

I will have beautiful clean windows so that I can totally enjoy the view.

I will eat healthy because I love feeling young, sexy, and full of energy.

I will conquer this piece of software because my life will be easier in the long run.

Can you feel the power in this change of thought?

Stop victimizing yourself and break free. Make the decision to take action to make your life better today.

If you need help –

Healthy eating that you’ll love

How to clean house fast

Whole Life Overhaul

Image by ocean.flynn via Flickr

OK, no one willing to be the first to step up and brag about themselves, ey? OK, 2nd. I went first. Well here’s just some the horns that deserve some tooting – just a few of your fellow blog subscribers:

We have Linda who has been fighting lung cancer for over 3 years now. She is never is a bitter or foul mood – at least not when I talk to her.

Then there’s Jan. She’s a great mom, and has handled moving more times than I would ever want to! And from one climate to another. She is a healthy eater and feeds her family healthy meals. She has also been working hard on her writing.

Then there’s Donna, who is another writer. Donna has come really, really far since I first met her. She was wallowing in self pity and procrastination. Now she’s got it together, has control, and is working toward reaching her goals.

Then there’s the other Jan. Always upbeat. She is another of my top affiliates. She’s a WAHM and I wish I could find her blog link. I lost a lot of info with that last computer crash. Jan – if you read this – plug yourself!

Then there’s Beth. Beth has had a lot of health problems over the years. She and her husband are finally moving into their new house that they have been working on so hard. She is always so sweet. I appreciate you keeping in touch Beth!

Then there’s Fiona. Fiona lives in Cairo. It’s a little more difficult to get the things you want on the Net there with no paypal, but Fiona reaches out and really goes out of her way. She is a great wife and mother who goes out of er way to provide the best for her family.

Then there’s Carol. Carol has it together, even though she thinks she doesn’t. But we all feel like that when we have a lot going on, don’t we? You need to give yourslef more credit girl. You’ve been dealing with a lot, and handling it marvelously.

Then there’s Cecelia. Cecelia managed to drop a lot of weight, and has kept it off for a few years now – despite the fact that she is a teacher, and works a second job. It can be really hard to keep up healthy eating when you’re never home – but she’s done it, and she looks great.

Speaking of healthy eating, there’s Debbie. She’s been a tough nut to crack – but she’s really made an effort to eat healthier and keep her house cleaner. You’re on the right track – keep up the good work!

Now you might not think that losing weight, or being a great mom, or working at home while being a great mom, or just getting yourself organized, or staying upbeat and optomistic even when life is unfair, is all that noteworthy. But I do. I think every accomplishment should be celebrated.  All those seemingly ‘little’ accomplishements add up and before you know it, you’re in a whole different place.

Don’t take your accomplishments lightly. Even if they seem small right now.

I invite you to toot your own horn. Tell us your accomplishments in the comments.

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, here’s a poem that’s on a plaque on my desk that I like to share once in a while –

Don’t Quit

When things to wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As everyone of use sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you can never tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worst

That you must not quit.

I’m passing on a message from a fellow reader -

———————————————-
Hi Carole,

Just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your “Contemplations” this week. As a student of “Whole Life Overhaul” and the power of positive thinking in general, I want to add a wish that my fellow readers take what you have to say to heart. The most powerful tool ever created is the mind. And, as you say, we can accomplish amazing things just by using that power.

Right now, as you know, I’m involved in the battle of my life against an opponent called cancer. The lessons I learned in “Whole Life Overhaul” are serving me well. Years ago, given this diagnosis, I would have rolled over and let it have its way. Today, it’s going to have to fight hard to defeat me. The difference is that today I know I have a choice. I can look upon this disease as the sure victor or I can acknowledge the power I’ve been given ~ to control how I live my life. I choose not to live it in the shadow of cancer but, instead, in the rays of sunshine called hope. I don’t sit around crying about my diagnosis, I try to learn something positive from the experiences this disease has brought to me. Then, I use that to make myself stronger.  We can all do that, no matter what our personal opponent is.

What you say is important . . . Positive thinking CAN change your life.

Blessings . . .
Linda

Linda Offenheiser

http://fightingforyourlife.blogspot.com

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For those of you who don’t know Linda, she is an incredible
lady – as I’m sure you can tell by her message.

There is also power in collective positive thinking -
so let’s all keep Linda in our thoughts and prayers.

Linda is also an affiliate. The links above are Linda’s affiliate links.

Thanks!

Have a great day.

Carole

a.k.a. ‘Mother’