Peaks and Valleys

“All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”

– John Wooden

        Life is hard, but it shouldn’t be impossible. You have to be careful to not let your expectations and circumstances create mountains too high to climb or rivers to wide to cross. You determine the quality of your life…circumstances only account for a small percentage of your happiness and the rest stems from how you deal with those circumstances.

Don’t Rush

“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

– Walter Hagen

          Stop rushing through life trying to reach your destination. Rather, slow down to enjoy the scenery…take detours and get lost. For life is too precious and short to waste one minute being unhappy, angry, or resentful.

Walk Away

“The greatest win is walking away and choosing not to engage in drama and toxic energy at all.”

― Lalah Delia

           Throughout life you will continually come across toxic people, whether it be your family or coworkers. There will never be a short supply of people waiting to try to take your happiness away by spewing their negativity around you. But, you must always remember that although you can’t control other people’s actions, you can control how you react to them. Choose to take the high road of integrity and don’t stoop down to their level. Be the bigger person, be the mature adult in the situation. Do not compromise your values and standards. For you stand to gain nothing by engaging in their petty behavior.

Take Risks

“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.”

– Denis Waitley

        Life is about taking chances. It’s about getting up and taking action. It isn’t about sitting still and doing nothing. So, dare yourself to take a leap of faith without knowing what awaits you at the bottom. For you stand to gain only what you are willing to risk.

Patience

“When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”

– Harvey Mackay

         Rome wasn’t built overnight. So, it goes without saying that your dreams won’t be achieved overnight. No, it takes time, patience, and perseverance to achieve your goals and dreams. Whether it be personal or professional. You must, therefore, work even harder to not get frustrated, disappointed, or discouraged along the way. Have faith that things will work out in the end.

Take Ownership

“At the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your success and your failure. And the sooner you realize that, you accept that, and integrate that into your work ethic, you will start being successful. As long as you blame others for the reason you aren’t where you want to be, you will always be a failure.”

– Erin Cummings

        Take ownership and responsibility for where you’re at in life. Don’t blame others and external factors for your circumstances. For in order to move forward, you must accept the choices you made that led you down your path so you can grow and make different, hopefully better, decisions in the future.

Enjoy the Moment

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”

– Earl Nightingale

         Life is too short to waste time sweating the meaningless bullshit that lurks around every corner. You will be absolutely miserable if you get upset about every disagreement, problem, and circumstance you encounter. So, instead, you must focus on letting go of things that won’t matter 6 months from now. And focus on the important aspects of life such as spending time with the people you love and spreading joy to others.

Work Hard

“Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.”

– Leah LaBelle

           Nothing worth anything in this life comes easy. You will have to fight for what you believe in and have the unrelenting determination to go after your dreams. There will always be people around you who try to bring you down with their criticisms and negativity. But it is in these moments that you must believe in yourself when no one else does and keep singing your song. Don’t let others silence you or take your smile away.

Change Your Attitude

“Change your attitude and you change your life. You cannot control what happens to you in your life, but you can always control how you respond to it. The way you choose to respond is a reflection of your attitude. By changing your attitude, you also change your perspective and change your life.”

― Roy Bennett

         Perspective, perspective, perspective. Life is all about your perspective. Whether your life is good or bad is determined from the lens you choose to view it from. At all times, you are in control of how you deal with what life throws at you. You can choose to let your circumstances control the quality of your life or you can choose to find peace and happiness in spite of your circumstances. For all it takes to change your life is to first change your attitude.

Real Change

“Strive to make small changes and learn something new daily, because there is always these experiences you have had to tap into for the future.”

― Roy T. Bennett

         Change doesn’t happen over night. Rather, real, lasting change happens from taking small steps to change things in your daily life. It comes from learning new things and shifting your daily outlook. And before you realize it, all these small changes lead to real, long lasting transformations in your life.