Being a Friend

Lessons in Friendship by Mark Palmer

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” - Walter Winchell

Each of us have so much that we can give to others but tend to forget we have the ability to do so. It is an ability to brighten and make a difference in someones life. It is a small thing such as simply being a friend when others have left the room.

Being a friend can mean listening and offering encouragement.

Being a friend can mean lifting up that person when they are discouraged.

Being a friend can also mean being real in your answers to them. Which means being able to say "stop the self pity, get up and get moving."

Pure friendship is solid and supportive. You know that you could lose the person you are helping, but knowing that if it makes a positive change in their life, you're okay with that. This type of friendship works because it comes from your heart.

Why? Because it is about them and not about you.

Try to be a friend to someone and help them make a change in their life. Remember though, you don't change people, they change themselves. But being a friend will give them the ability to make the change in their own lives.

Stay inspired my friends.

Thankful Once in a While

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” - Brian Tracy

Coming home from a trip to Boston, I read a Readers Digest article titled, "How The New Science of Thank You Can Change Your Life." The article pretty much falls in the same space as most everything I talk about in this blog. One must be realistic that life does get in the way and not everything will be perfect and wonderful. Yet to think and move in life with a more positive attitude will serve you better.

The article referenced a study conducted by Robert Emmons (University of California-Davis) and Michael E. McCullough (University of Miami). Published in 2003, the study found that people who were consciously grateful;

- felt better about their lives.
- were more optimistic.
- were more energetic.
- were more enthusiastic.
- were more determined.
- were more interested.
- were more joyful.
- exercised more.
- dad fewer illnesses.
- got more sleep.
- were more likely to have helped someone else.

Very interesting and results that can change your life. Both small things along with the big things make a difference.

Life is not nearly as bad as we tend to make it out to be. So stay inspired my friends.

A Big Glass

Pane 3: "What'cha doin?"; "Deciding whether my glass is half empty or half full." - NINJA BILLY

“Some people think of the glass as half full. Some people think of the glass as half empty. I think of the glass as too big.” - George Carlin

A glass being so big that we can not begin to imagine filling it.

An attitude that says much more is possible in your life.

That is a great way to think of and live our life.

Start believing in the half-full glass for your life, but also believe in a glass too large. When you do, you will begin to see there is much more of life opened up. And when you reach a point of saying there is nothing more for you, look and you will find there is more room in the glass; more possibility.

Do not sit still and wonder whether your life is "half empty or half full".

Step out and begin to fill your life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Does Circumstance Decide?

"I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all." - James A. Baldwin

At different points in your life time, how you respond to a situation will determine much about the direction of your life. The circumstances that occur around you can have an impact upon your attitude and beliefs. It may even seem that life in general is 'out' to get you.

I have seen people let those circumstances get the better of them.

These people fall deeper into depression, some have turned angry and one or two took their own life. All of these options are difficult and can have a devastating outcome. But you have to find a way to push through and know inside you are important.

Only you can make the decision to change your life.

Do not think that I am saying that depression and suicidal tendencies are fixed by smiling and 'being positive'. Both of these are serious and you should seek professional help. What I am saying is that you can slip towards these conditions by allowing events in your life to take over. And you have to battle against those circumstances.

A lost job promotion, injury from an accident, divorce or whatever it might be. Each of these events can mark a turn in your life. How you decide to emerge from these events will determine your life in the short term and many time the long term.

A radio story on National Public Radio gave a good example of turning your circumstance into something positive. It is the story of Ricardo Pitts, a man that had his life changed in the late sixties. As Ricardo puts it, "And what could have been a crushing moment in my life really was just something different. I said 'No, I’m not going to give in."

He was not going to let circumstance hold him back.

As for all of us, circumstances which occur around and through your life will always be there. It is how to you respond to them that matters. Turn your life around, use life experience in a positive way to make that life of yours better.

And stay inspired my friends.