Change Your Life Friday

2021 Restart, Reset, & Relaunch

Day 19 – Thursday Nov. 7, 2013

Posted on November 7, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

Ordinary Gratitude.

Today I reflect on the things in my life that are very “ordinary” and “regular” that I am grateful for. Clean water, a warm place to sleep, and food are just a few that bring gratitude into my heart.

Where can you be more grateful for the things in your life? Who is someone that is an example of ordinary gratitude? What ordinary things bring gratitude to your heart today?

Daily Gratitude list
1. I am grateful for _______________
2. I am grateful for _______________
3. I am grateful for _______________
4. I am grateful for _______________
5. I am grateful for _______________

Day 18 – Wednesday Nov. 6, 2013

Posted on November 6, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

Reach Out in Gratitude.

Today I got an unexpected call from a person I have not seen in many months. The call was simply to say thank you, and to tell me they appreciated that I had been available to their son when he was in a time of need.

I challenge you to reach out to someone and tell them how grateful you are that they are in your life. Perhaps there is someone you have not talked to in over a year, let them know how glad you are to know them and have them in your life. Reach out and give someone a smile.

Day 17 – Tuesday Nov. 5, 2013

Posted on November 5, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

Stay Awake.

In my short time on earth, I have come to realize when I am “awake” I have the opportunity to experience life. Please stay awake. I am not talking about avoiding sleep; sleep deprivation over a long period of time can be dangerous. I am talking about in your day-to-day life, please stay aware to all that is coming into your experience.

When I am awake, aware, and conscious to Life, I get to truly experience life. The good, bad, and indifferent. The deep experiences I have today allow me to feel and know true gratitude. Where is this true in your life? Where are you grateful for being engaged in life? Today please stay awake, and help us stay awake here at CYLF.

Day 16 – Monday Nov. 4, 2013

Posted on November 4, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

Whisper of Gratitude.

I heard a story that in some cultures it is believed that if you catch a butterfly, whisper your deepest desires to it, and let it go; that wish will come true. The butterfly will be so grateful that it is free, it will express those dreams to the Universe regardless of its inability to speak.

Today I have a two fold challenge for you. First, the longings that you have in your heart right now, whisper, or better yet yell them out to the Universe with a grateful heart. Second, when you encounter someone who whispers their dreams to you, hold those thoughts in your heart with so much gratitude that they have no choice but to be realized.

40 days of Gratitude

Posted on October 17, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

I was working a freelance job for the past two days. The kind of job that pays well but is not consistent. I stayed busy the whole day, busy enough that a 12-hour shift did not really seem that long. At the end of the day some of the bosses and my boss’s bosses thanked me for the work I did. I thanked them for the opportunity and I felt gratitude in my heart. Its funny how this simple act of them thanking me at the end of the day made me feel good about my work. I wonder what the workforce would be like if at every 9-5 job, the bosses thanked their employees before they went home each day.

I am reflecting on gratitude today to start getting in the spirit of the next forty days. We start on Sunday with a topic, question, or some sort of prompt to help you think of what your grateful for and we will have a new post everyday for the next forty days. The fortieth day lands on Thanksgiving, a perfect way to start the holiday season.

Affirmation: I am the catalyst for positive change amongst my friends and my community.

Call To Action: Will you take the forty days of gratitude with us? Be brave, be bold, post it on our page or share on Facebook with us what you are grateful for. Inspire gratitude amongst your friends. In forty days you will have a new life!

33. Willingness

Posted on August 16, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

“The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act.” – Barbara Sher

Over the last week I have been in constant thought about the idea of willingness. I had heard a story about how Socrates tested Plato’s willingness to seek knowledge by drowning him. To only explain that it would not be until he was as willing to fight for knowledge in the way that he was fighting for breath could he continue to learn. This example at first glance seems a harsh way to get a message across but it carries so much weight for me right now.

I believe today that I can effectively create just about anything I want out of life. This belief comes from all of the changes that I have seen manifest over the last several years of putting change at the forefront of my life experience. Without a doubt every avenue which I have taken the time to identify, the willingness to change it and the effort required I have gotten results and my life has gotten better, As I write this now I can see several other areas where I feel change could be good.

If I honestly ask myself why I am in the same place I was when I recognized that a change would be desirable in certain areas the answer becomes very clear. I simply have not become willing enough to work on them. I may talk about them and start to believe the lie that I am doing all that is necessary to change them, but I am not. If I really want a change in any area of my life I need to consider the lesson that Plato learned that day. If I truely want my current situation to change I should focus on it with the willingness of a drowning man. Only at that point can I say that I gave it everything I had.

Affirmation: In this moment I am willing to do the next right action. (immediately followed by action)

Call To Action: Years ago I would talk about wanting to get back in shape and I never did yet I would complain about my physical status and make excuses. At some point the excuses got old and something needed to be changed. I worked on one thing, being willing. Willingness brought on a commitment that has not left me since. What are you still waivering on? Are you being honest about your effort? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get the result you want? Please share your experiences with us.

Take Interest

Posted on August 9, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

“Show interest in all people, not just those from whom you want something. Making people feel important and good about themselves is just the right thing to do.”

Bo Bennett

I am in a relationship and my significant other has an 11 year-old child. I have been around him for a whole year now and just recently found out he plays the trumpet. He never brought his trumpet home from school. Never practiced his trumpet. Never spoke of playing the trumpet and I thought maybe 11 year olds just don’t care about trumpets. Over the past week I have been asking questions about the trumpet. Various things like; what songs did you play last year? What time your band class is? How many trumpet players are there? Etc…

Last night, after he finished his homework, he pulled out the trumpet went outside and started to play. After a year of becoming a part of this family, this is the first time I heard a note. He warmed up with some scales, played a couple recognizable tunes, and as he played I recognized he really knows how to play that thing. He sounded pretty good. Not to mention he is an 11 year old who never practices or even talks about it, for that matter he is pretty amazing.

I realized in that moment how much my interest in someone else can change their experience. I am constantly presented with a world that is dieing to express itself in all sorts of ways. All to often I am stuck in my head only concerned about myself. If I show interest in the stuff that matters to others, it seems that attention opens a whole new world of excitement and enthusiasm for life. I know when people take interest in me it feels amazing, so it seems only right to give that feeling back

Affirmation: As I take notice and interest in the world around me, the world around me seems to get more interesting.

Call to Action: There are so many things around us that go unnoticed. When I am in a place where I am not taking notice of the world around me the world around me seems to get very boring and all that I am left with are stories of how dull the world is. Today i am going to look a little closer and find where my interest can be the interest that the world around me needs. So share something of yourself and celebrate the gifts of those around you! They have been waiting for you to notice!!!

Creativity

Posted on July 26, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

“…by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

-Sylvia Plath

Over the past few years one of my friends and I have talked about creating a movie script. Every once in a while we would bring it up and make comments about different ideas for scenes, characters, topics or themes. This talk and banter has always been fun, but until this week it had not gone much further than that. In truth, I never really took it much further than the idea, since I had no experience in the script writing or movie- making realm.

On Wednesday, my friend called me and asked if I was ready to sit down and start writing that script. Out of the habit to saying yes to life I said, “absolutely, meet me in an hour!” Before that self-doubting part of my brain could kick in, tell me I didn’t have the skills, or the experience to try something new involving creativity, he showed up. I am so grateful for my cultivated reaction to say yes today.

When my friend arrived to my house I was committed and all in. We sat down and began talking and writing, making notes, dreaming and brainstorming. The result to the effort was the birth of creativity. Two open minds came together and worked towards one common goal and inspiration happened. The experience was so positive and exciting that we sat down again, with an even bigger group of people, the next day and made more progress and created even more. What I see today is just another reminder that all of the creative thoughts that I have are always just a little effort away and they are so exciting to tap into.

Affirmation: I am a creative and intelligent being, and in this moment I am inspired to cultivate new thoughts and experiences!

Call to action: Please take some time today to flex your creative muscle. Write a poem, a story, or an experience on paper. Or reach out to a friend that you have been talking about a project with sit down together and figure out what it will take. Share your experience with us so that we can all grow together. Lets change our lives again this Friday!!!

29. Experience

Posted on July 19, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

“What one has not experienced, one will never understand in print.” – Isadora Duncan

Last weekend at a resort in Phoenix Arizona several thousand people gathered together to celebrate their lives and inspire the lives of others. I was blessed to be a part of the planning and culmination of this event and could not be more proud of the results that were apparent throughout and after the weekend had passed. Part of my job in putting this event together was to get the word out to people so they would not miss out on the experience of being a part of something so big and beautiful. I recognized I can share a concept and an idea, I can do it with love and enthusiasm, but a concept will never have as much weight as an experience.

My life today is so much different than when I was younger, thanks to some very vivid experiences I have been graced with. These experiences gave me the ability to see how my choices were giving me a life I no longer wanted. When I look at my life in reverse, all of the great changes have taken place came as a result of some experience that opened a window of willingness to take action for a change. I often see people who are begging and pleading for a change and I do my best to tell them how the changes in my life have taken place. Sometimes, I feel so strongly about these things that I want to scream at the top of my lungs to help inspire someone but then, like this weekend, I am reminded if the words could help someone change then no one would have issues or problems.

I know today, life is what I make of it and the best I can do is help others get out in the world to have their own experiences. My life happens out in the world and the only way I can capitalize on that is by becoming a part of it as much as I can. The world is waiting for all of us when we step away from this page. With a little bit of action maybe this will be the Friday that you truly change your life.

Affirmation: A good life is not just a concept; today I will take the action to make it my actual experience.

Call to Action: This is the juice as my friend would say. Every week we share an idea that can inspire change. What this week calls for is going out and being that change and sharing with us the results. I know what my next step is and today I am going to choose to take it, the result will be an experience that I can build on to. The world is waiting for you.

Serenity

Posted on July 12, 2013 by changeyourlifefriday

“Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.” – Thomas Szasz

Six years ago, I was moving out west to go to school after spending time in the military. As I was walking on campus a great sense of peace and calm came over me, and for the first time I felt I was exactly where I needed to be and doing exactly what I needed to be doing. It was an odd experience because it was not until after my life started changing that I could recognize what that feeling was, serenity. Since that day nearly six years ago, I continue to have these serine experiences. They become deeper and more frequent.

This week I was able to make a pilgrimage back to where I first felt those unknown feelings of serenity, and the feeling of being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time came right back. I was able to reconnect with old friends. I was able to bring new friends to the places where I learned about serenity, with hope that they may have a similar experience.

During these great feelings of serenity and peace, I have been able to have some of my most profound life experiences and thoughts. What in your life brings you serenity? How can you harness this feeling in order to enrich your life? Who else in my life could benefit from this feeling and how can I share it with them? When I get away from this feeling, I try to shake up something about my life in order to see what is perhaps not working and helping me achieve similar things I have in the past.

Affirmation: Serenity is my truth. I know peace and serenity every step of my day.

Call to Action: Look for a time during your day when that sense of peace enters your heart. If that feeling of being in the right place at the right time shows up, harness that and use it to enrich your life. Please share with the CYLFriday community an example of this in your life today or in the past.