Where you ultimately end up is greatly dependent on your daily attitude and response.
This morning one of our clients, Monica — a recovering victim of a fairly recent and debilitating car accident — was smiling from ear to ear the minute our FaceTime coaching session began. “What has you in such good spirits today?” I asked her. “I’m thinking better about things… about how lucky I am to be alive,” she replied. “I thought the injuries I sustained in that accident earlier this year signified the end of life as I know it, but now I realize they signify the beginning.”
All details aside, Monica decided to begin again, in her mind first and then in her life. It’s taken her several months of healing and practice, but she has gradually let go of the “shoulda, woulda, coulda” attachments in her head about her circumstances. And she has stepped forward with grace, determination, and a healthy mindset.
Let’s follow Monica’s lead and practice thinking better as we move through the final stretch of the year, so we can begin to build momentum, together, as we head into the New Year and beyond…
Morning Reminders & Quotes on Sticky Notes
It’s all about keeping the right thoughts top of mind from the get-go every day so they’re readily available in the moments when we need them most. For Monica, that has meant deliberately reflecting on what she needs to remember. To make this practice seamless she writes important reminders on sticky notes and then puts them up where she can see them first thing in the morning (a few of her sticky notes are up on the wall in her bedroom, and she has a few more on her bathroom mirror and refrigerator).
Monica’s sticky notes keep her on track by keeping her mind inspired with positive, proactive reminders, even when she’s struggling. Through this daily practice she she has ultimately learned that inner peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, chaos, or challenges to deal with; it means being in the midst of all those things and still being capable of maintaining a healthy mindset. And I’m sure you’ve learned something similar over the years from your own life experiences. I know Angel and I surely have. But just like Monica, and you, we often forget…
Which is precisely why Angel and I have sticky notes up in our house too. So my challenge to YOU is to start practicing alongside us for the rest of the year and beyond. To get started, steal our notes and quotes below — perhaps just the ones that resonate most — and rewrite them on physical sticky notes, so you can then stick them up where you can see them. Then pause for a few moments every morning and quietly read them to yourself. See how doing so gradually changes the way you think as we transition from this year into the next…
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(Note: Most of the sticky notes and quotes above are included in our newest publication with Penguin Random House, “The Good Morning Journal: Powerful Prompts & Reflections to Start Every Day”.)
Let’s make the best of the rest of the year.
We often yearn for a very small and selective range of life experiences, especially toward the end of the year — the fun times, the happy holidays, the things that make us feel comfortable. And yet the full range of our daily reality is often quite different. Life gives us an extensive array of experiences that evoke feelings ranging from sadness to uncertainty to frustration to curiosity to nervousness… to happiness to excitement and more. These feelings are all part of being alive.
So we can revolt against the wide-ranging experiences life naturally provides, or we can make the very best of them. For the rest of the year, let’s do the latter…
This means embracing every moment with our full presence, being open and vulnerable to reality, being gentle with ourselves when times are tough, and practicing sincere gratitude whenever possible.
It means accepting life as it is, and accepting ourselves as we are.
It means not expecting the best to happen every time, but instead accepting whatever happens, and making the very best of it one step at a time.
And it won’t always be easy of course, but it’s worth working on.
YOU are worth working on, starting first thing every morning for the rest of the year, and beyond.
Now it’s your turn…
Yes, it’s your turn to get some inspiring sticky notes up on your walls. But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this post. Your feedback is important to us. 🙂
Which sticky note or idea above resonates with you the most today?
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