Tag: positive mindset

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Stop Listening to others and Talk to yourself

Do you let others tell you who you are or who you can or can’t be? How can you make sure you live the life God created for you?

There are encouragers in this world but there are also those who want nothing more than to discourage us. They want to “rain on your parade” by saying what you are trying to do won’t work or can’t be done. In many cases, it is because they don’t want you to get to a better place than them. Isn’t it so easy these days to look around and wish you were someone else. Social Media allows you to see people living what look to be wonderful lives and having the kind of success for which you are striving. The discouragers or the people whose lives look so easy can make us feel second rate causing us to think, “I could never be that kind of person”

Listening to or watching others can cause us to go down a mental rabbit hole which causes us to say things like, “I can’t, I will never, There is no way, or I wish.” That is why God says to Joshua, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

The lesson here is we are to speak the right things into our minds and our hearts instead of letting others tell us what kinds of lives we can live. A coach shared this thought process with me years ago. “Do not let others plant bad seeds by saying it can’t be done or that we aren’t good enough. Instead, allow only good seeds to be planted and then pick the right people who will encourage, nourish, and fertilize those positive thoughts. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible” That faith; those good seeds planted in your heart will allow you to slowly but surely cross the T off I Can’t; turning your mindset to I CAN! Why, because you BELIEVE.

So what will you speak into your life today? How will you keep from letting the negative thoughts ( the bad seeds) from strangling the wonderful things you want to accomplish? Meditate on this, the Word of God. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32 Free for what? To live the incredible life God has for you. One that produces abundance beyond anything you can imagine. John 10:10 Then go out and show others that goodness and mercy is what the Lord intends for all of us.

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“Is your Attitude on Straight?”

I worked for Coldwell Banker back in the 1990’s. Dick Purvis was my boss but also an incredible mentor. He had all of his management team wear a lapel pin with the word Attitude. When he saw you or communicated with us, he would say, “put on a positive attitude and make sure it is on straight.” It became a daily affirmation with all of us much like “How will I make a positive difference in the world today” which I have been saying since the early 80’s. This blog is called Thankful in All Things for a reason. I started writing it to share lessons I have learned through adversity. It comes from finding life is better by having an attitude of gratitude which recently reminded me of Dick’s lapel pin.

When you look honestly at yourself, how do you feel about your attitude? If you find that you look at the glass and see it half empty vs half full, think about why what might be causing your pessimism or negativity? Are you an Adder, Subtractor, Multiplier or a Divider?   https://www.codeprocess.io/adder-subtractors-multipliers-dividers-the-types-of-people/ As I wrote about a couple weeks ago, we need to FACE our thoughts, TRACE what causes us to feel that way, ERASE it, and then find a way to REPLACE it with a positive mindset moving forward. This is what Dick meant when he would encourage us to have our attitude on straight.

Philippians 2:2-4 explains how having a Christ like mindset will keep our attitude in the right place. Paul writes, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Charles Stanley explains it this way. “My limited human perspective doesn’t allow me to grasp His greater plan. However, I can confirm the truth of this biblical promise because the Father’s good handiwork appears all through my pain, hardship, and loss. I have experienced Him turn mourning into gladness and have seen Him reap bountiful blessings and benefits from my darkest hours.”

The truth that Charles writes about can set you free. John 8:31,32 states, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Free to live a life that allows you to face the challenges this life brings, conquer your fears, not seek others approval, but instead, live for an “audience of One” Who you can trust with the outcome. The One who created you and made you who you are. Knowing there is no one else like you and your are here for a purpose will help you keep that attitude on straight.



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Thoughts on how to remain thankful

Bruce Pulver shared how he thinks of the word Hope. That led me to respond this way.

Bruce Pulver
“HOPE.
Have
Overwhelmingly
Positive
Expectations”
My response/add on
Having Hope allows us to remain
FOCUSED
Focused
On
Creating
Unbelievable
Success
Every
Day

Having this kind of mindset allows me to make the most of each day so I, by God’s grace, can be a better person tomorrow. Another way I look at it is with the two words RISE UP which comes from the verse Isaiah 60:1-3

60 “Rise up and shine, for your light has come. The shining-greatness of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For see, darkness will cover the earth. Much darkness will cover the people. But the Lord will rise upon you, and His shining-greatness will be seen upon you. 3 Nations will come to your light. And kings will see the shining-greatness of the Lord on you.

God calls us Each and every day to RISE UP/P
Resolved Intentional Striving for Eternal things. W Unbelievable Purpose/Passion. Over this past month or so, I have been trying to live out Gregory Boyd’s Exhortation to live out my life knowing “God is in the Now” and when I do it makes the [Present Perfect] (the name of his book)
When I can stay in the moment it pushes away all the distractions, discouragement, and challenges so that I can live a life of gratitude. It is not that the adversity disappears. The story of Peter walking on the water In Matthew 14:22-33 illustrates this very point. The storm was raging while he was out there. It wasn’t until he took his eyes off of Jesus that he realized the wind and the waves. When he did, he immediately sank. Isn’t that just like us. When we start trying to do things on our own power the stuff comes flooding back in leaving us discouraged and defeated. We just need to choose to remember that God loves us and that is all that matters. When We go out into the world virtually or in person with that thought process it is much easier to be thankful and as Miles McPherson encourages, strive to honor those who cross our paths.
How do we stay in the Now? Here are a couple things I have done.
1) I have set a reminder on my phone at 6am, 9am,noon, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm. It comes up at BSKIG. Be still and know that I am God. When I see the notice, I stop and recite The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23. I try to add things into both that bring up things that are going on in my life at that point in the day. An example is below.
2) I try to commit to honoring every person I encounter whether on the phone, via zoom, or in person. A quick prayer, “Lord, let me honor this person in this interaction so that they might see You in my conversation with them”

These simple things have helped me greatly in remaining thankful during these mind boggling times. I hope they will in some way help you as well. If it has, please forward it to others and ask them to subscribe so they can receive an email when Impost new content. You can reach me via email at [email protected].

My Quarantine version of Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

As I navigate the lonely paths of Covid19, The Lord will be my guide and His presence is all I need 

Whether I think it is needed or not, I will use this time for rest and quiet reflection. 

So that my soul can be refreshed 

As He guides me where He wants me to be used bring Glory and honor to His name. 

Even though I walk

 through the valley of people wearing masks

I will fear no evil,

He gives my faith confidence so that I can go or do wherever He feels the need to send me. 

 Knowing even in self-isolation you are with me and won’t forsake me. 

Like the shepherds’ rod and staff, your Word and the Holy Spirit will teach and comfort me. 

Even in the midst of my adversity, You will abundantly provide all that I need so that I will it be afraid. 

Like an anointing, You will bless and protect me from whatever evil that wants to prey on me. 

You will fill me with your spirit so that cup of love you want me to share overflows. 

I count and trust on the contentment of your love for as long as I am to live.

This assurance brings joy knowing that I will be welcomed and will forever dwell in the house that you went and prepared for me.