How to Make Your Marriage Healthy

How to Make Your Marriage Healthy

COMMITMENT

True commitment means much more than simply committing to staying married. Genuine commitment involves being committed to the growth and best interest of your partner.

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality and unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”

COMMUNICATION

Without exclusion, every couple struggles with effective communication. Part of the reason is that two people with the exact same communication style hardly ever marry each other.

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

TEAMWORK

Use the five most important words in marriage: “Let’s try it your way.”

“No problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork and determination a person can overcome anything.”

MEETING EMOTIONAL NEEDS

Discover and then meet the emotional needs of your partner, How? Simple. Just ask!, be observant and be sensitive.

“What is important to a relationship is a harmony of emotional roles and not too great a disparity in the general level of intelligence”

RESOLVING CONFLICT

Conflict in marriage is predictable, fighting is optional.

 “Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.”

APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS

On a regular basis, practice the three A’s of successful relationships: Apologize for something from the past, Appreciate something in the present, Anticipate something in the future.

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future and never ruin an apology with an excuse. Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.

CREATING A RELATIONSHIP VISION

Ask yourself and each other this question: “If we knew we couldn’t fail, and we could design our relationship any way that we wanted it, how would we like to be?”

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.”

How To Strengthen Our Perseverance

We find that people's beliefs about their effectiveness affect the sorts of choices they make in very significant ways. In particular, it affects their levels of motivation and perseverance in the face of obstacles. Most success requires persistent effort, so low self- efficiency becomes a self-limiting process. In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, strung together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life.

“Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears.” Gillian Anderson

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” Marie Curie

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” Newt Gingrich

The movie “Facing The Giant” will inspire you to achieve your dreams and conquering the giants in you.

Action: Focus on Your Goal

“Never…Never… Never quit”

“Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions, these can be changed as your priorities change, new one added, and others dropped.”

Create a constant reminder of your goal. By now, I’m hoping you’ve identified your purpose, written your statement of calling, and created a dream that evokes your passion. The next step is to keep that dream and the goals that support it at the forefront of your mind. 

Accept Failures as Learning Experiences

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” Confucius

“Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.” Denis Waitley

I see mistakes as opportunities to learn and develop new skills and strategies, not as failure. Failure implies waste, that nothing has been gained. On the contrary, people can gain much from every mistake and setback along the road to success. Mistakes and failures are inevitable and even essential; they are evidence of action – that you are doing something. The more mistakes you make, the greater your chance of succeeding. Failures indicate a willingness to experiment and take risks. 

“Many people dream of success. To me, success can be achieved only through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work that results from 99 percent that is called failure.” Soichiro Honda

 

Honda has said that hundreds of other achievers have said before him. You may remember that Edison said he would have invented the light bulb without first failing at 4,000 experiments. People who can’t bear a moment of failure have doomed themselves to mediocrity, for they will never be able to push themselves past a point that is uncomfortable. Yet it is beyond that point where success dwells.

“If you’re not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” Jim Rohn

Be Patient 

“Don’t let me ever hear you use the word ‘impossible.’ If I’ve learned anything over the course of my career, there’s no such thing as impossible. Overnight, the impossible may not be possible. But over time, the impossible certainly becomes possible.” Earl Graves

 

We live in a society that demands and has grown accustomed/familiar to instant gratification/fulfillment. Most people today lack the persistence necessary to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, there are no fast-food outlets serving up our dreams. Achieving your dream takes time. Every moment you are working, you can take comfort in realizing you are moving closer and closer to your dream. That work, the journey itself, is the adventure and half of the reward. Don’t shortchange it.

Never Quit

“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by then I was too famous.” Robert Benchley

Pursue your dream with confidence and never, never, never quit. If you don’t give up, you simply cannot fail. Not only will you achieve your dream, but the combination of your commitment, courage, and faith will rise as the greatest triumph of all.

Be Good To You

BE YOURSELF ..... truthfully.

“People who are soft spoken and truthful are loved by all. ” Rig Veda

“Every noble work is bound to face problems and obstacles. It is important to check your goal and motivation thoroughly. One should be very truthful, honest, and reasonable. One's actions should be good for others, and for oneself as well. Once a positive goal is chosen, you should decide to pursue it all the way to the end. Even if it is not realized, at least there will be no regret.” Dalai Lama

“People will feel safer around you and speak truthfully to you when they feel you are listening intently to them.” Brian Koslow

Good is decided when u speak frankly and act truthfully...You can't truthfully explain your smallest action without fully revealing your character.

ACCEPT YOURSELF ..... gratefully.

“Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” John Wooden

“It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought.” Aristotle

Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present / love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure / the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.

VALUE YOURSELF ..... joyfully.

“Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.” James Allen

“Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” Joseph Campbell

FORGIVE YOURSELF ..... completely.

“Live life so completely that when death comes to you like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal.”

“It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses.” Dag Hammarskjold

All men seek one goal : success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal-a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve.

 TREAT YOURSELF ..... generously.

“We should become prosperous by working hard and then donate generously. ” Atharva Veda

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

BALANCE YOURSELF ..... harmoniously.

“Authentic empowerment is the knowing that you are on purpose, doing God's work, peacefully and harmoniously.” Wayne Dyer 

BLESS YOURSELF ..... abundantly.

“Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly rewarding day!” William Arthur Ward

“The leader must know, most know that he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those about him that he knows.” Clarence B. Randall 

True happiness is to understand our duties toward God and man; to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence on the future; not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is abundantly sufficient.

TRUST YOURSELF ..... confidently.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty, nor weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

LOVE YOURSELF ..... wholeheartedly.

“You may not accomplish every goal you set / no one does / but what really matters is having goals and going after them wholeheartedly.” Les Brown

“If you give your life as a wholehearted response to love, then love will wholeheartedly respond to you.” Marianne Whilliamson

Difficulty is what you look at. Work is what you do. Success is what you taste if you stop looking difficulties and do the work wholeheartedly.

EMPOWER YOURSELF ..... prayerfully.

“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” Saint Augustine

GIVE YOURSELF ..... enthusiastically.

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.” Paul J. Meyer

“Those who donate enthusiastically make constant efforts to increase their income so that they never find problems in making charity.” Rig Veda

EXPRESS YOURSELF ..... radiantly.

“A radiant personality invariably proves that there is an intense spiritual fire burning within. ” Yajur Veda

“Vow to be valiant; Resolve to be radiant; Determine to be dynamic;  Strive to be sincere;  Aspire to be attuned.” William Arthur Ward 

People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works.

Questions We Must Ask First Before Saying YES

“Learn to say 'no' to the good so you can say 'yes' to the best.” John C. Maxwell

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Yes and No are very short words to say, but we should think for some length of time before saying them.

Do I really understand this commitment?

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.” James Womack

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar 

I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.

How does this fit into my current goals and priorities?

“The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.” Mack R. Douglas

To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached. The key is action.

“Action expresses priorities.” Mahatma Gandhi 

“Success is only another form of failure if we forget what our priorities should be.” Harry Lloyd

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.

Do I have time, energy, and resources?

“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” Anthony J. D'Angelo

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Henry Van Dyke

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. Oprah Winfrey 

Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” Anthony Robbins

One of the greatest resources people cannot mobilize themselves is that they try to accomplish great things. Most worthwhile achievements are the result of many little things done in a single direction.

What impact will this have on me in a year? In five years? In ten years?

“Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long they have departed.” Jim Rohn

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

How will this impact those I love? Who will it help? Who will it hurt?

“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.” Jim Rohn

Other people may be there to help us, teach us, guide us along our path, but the lesson to be learned is always ours.

Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.

What do my friends and family think?

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” Buddha quotes

When we think of failure; Failure will be ours. If we remain undecided; Nothing will ever change. All we need to do is want to achieve something great and then simply to do it. Never think of failure For what we think, will come about.

Can someone else do it better?

“Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.” Winston Churchill

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Do I really want to say yes?

“The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” Tony Blair

Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your choices taking your life? What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?

The Most Common Response To Life Crisis Are Denial, Resistance and Acceptance

The Most Common Response To Life Crisis Are Denial, Resistance and Acceptance

Each one of us faces troubles and crises in life that take different forms and different shapes. For an adult, crises could be facing bankruptcy,  loss of a friend, a death in the family or thinking about death, wondering about the nature of death. For a man, upset at where society is going, experience a desire to change the world for the better or looking into the mirror and you no longer recognize yourself, a crisis could be the loss of a job or desiring to quit a good job, unexplained depression or sadness when doing tasks that used to make you happy. To a teenager, a crisis might be a pimple on a first date, exploring new musical tastes or sudden desire to learn how to play an instrument. In these examples, time often reveals a latent humor in the crisis that we never realized when struggling to overcome it.

Three common responses to crises:

The first is denial. We tend to bury our heads in the sand and hope the problem will somehow mysteriously and painlessly disappear in a short period of time.

“Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.” J. Donald Walters

The second common response is resistance. This is when we fight what’s happening or fight ourselves in a ineffective effort to somehow regain something that is lost.

“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance. Resistance is thought transformed into feeling. Change the thought that creates the resistance, and there is no more resistance.”

The third response is acceptance. We may not necessarily like our situation, but we acknowledge it is real and we are willing to deal with the truth of what is going on around us no matter how harsh or how hard that problem might be.

“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” Joanne Kathleen Rowling

“Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.” J. Donald Walters

“Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” William James

Denial and resistance generally prolong the pain and delay the resolution of a crisis. In contrast, acceptance of these crises opens the door for us to hope. According to Harrison Salisbury, ‘There is no short cut to life. To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned.’ That means, we have to move out of denial and resistance and learn to accept and move on. For me, life is a continual process of change. I’ve learned to be honest, to accept not just my failures and shortcomings, but also my strengths.

It has been said that the pace at which we learn is in direct proportion to our determination to rise above uncertainty and go beyond the limitations. Part of learning is to become responsible for our own lives and actions. Whether you like it or not, you are ultimately accountable for your action and decisions, regardless of circumstances.

John Keats said, ‘Failure… is , in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch s every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true’. When you live in denial and resistance, you delay finding out what is actually true.

Challenge yourself:

Do not live in denial, do not keep resisting: learn to accept and move on. Make sure you are the kind of person who moves on to acceptance and therefore on to change.

The 7-Ups of Life

The 7-Ups of Life

1. Wake Up !!

Decide to have a good day. "Today is the day the Lord hath made,

let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

 “Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Determination is the wake-up call to the human will” Anthony Robbins

What makes life worth living is knowing that one day you'll wake up and find the person that makes you happier than anything in the whole world. So don't ever lose hope and give up, everything turns out okay and the good guy always wins.

2. Dress Up !!

The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart."I Samuel 16:7

PERFORM all acts with as much love as you would offer God. In Truth, you eat for the satisfaction of the I in you and dress up to please the self-same I . The husband loves his wife for the sake of the I. And who is this I that is persistently inherent in everyone? It is God Himself.

3. Shut Up!! 

Say nice things and learn to listen.  Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." (Proverbs 19:20) 

“If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.” Emile Zola

4. Stand Up !!

For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap  a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10

“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.” Norman Vincent Peale

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill

Stand up to crises. Don't let them throw you! Fight to stay calm... even surmount the crisis completely and turn it into an opportunity. Refuse to renounce your self-image. No matter what happens, you must keep your good opinion of yourself. No matter what happens, you must hold your past successes in your imagination, ready for showing in the motion picture screen of your mind. No matter what happens, no matter what you lose, no matter what failures you must endure, you must keep faith in yourself. Then you can stand up to crises, with calm and courage, refusing to buckle; then you will not fall through the floor. You will be able to support yourself.

5. Look Up !!
To the Lord. "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13

“We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.” Mark Twain

How does life become totally painful? By total retreat. Total non inspection becomes total pain. But existence is basically composed of a very few truths onto which have hung a great many artificialities and which man has adorned with enormous numbers of lies. And man is prisoner of his own shadows. Now one of the things you can do with man is to get him to look up and find out that he can look through the shadows and look at the shadows and find out what they are.

6. Reach Up !!

For something higher. ...keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach up my destination.” Jimmy Dean

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach up for the stars to change the world.

7. Lift Up !!
Your Prayers. "Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8.”

“Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Psalms 143:8”

“Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.”

Things To Always Remember And One To Never Forget

20 Things To Always Remember And One To Never Forget 

 1. Your presence is a present to the world.

Somewhere there is someone that dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile, so when you are lonely remember it’s true, someone somewhere is thinking of you. You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy.

2. You're unique and one of a kind.

“No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.” Barbara De Angelis

 Don't let anyone tell you that you have to be a certain way. Be unique. Be what you feel.

3. Your life can be what you want it to be.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

4. Take the days just one at a time.

One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.

5. Count your blessings, not your troubles.

Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence. May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.

6. You'll make it through whatever comes along.

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” John M. Richardson, Jr.

Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find ''tomorrow'' on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday's defeats and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have. Make it the best day of your year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, ''If I had my life to live over again. ''Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day! Beginning today, treats everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

7. Within you are so many answers.

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.” Peace Pilgrim

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

8. Understand, have courage, be strong.

“To understand everything is to forgive everything” Buddha

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” John C. Maxwell

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human enough hope to make you happy.

9. Don't put limits on yourself.

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.” Robert Fritz

10. So many dreams are waiting to be realized.

Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide that you can. Never consider yourself defeated again. Let the vision in your heart be in your life's blueprint. Smile!

11. Decisions are too important to leave to chance.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.

12. Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.

“Peak performers develop powerful mental images of the behavior that will lead to the desired results. They see in their mind's eye the result they want, and the actions leading to it.” Charles Garfield

“The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.” Mack R. Douglas

Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.

13. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Epictetus quotes

Life is short, don't waste time worrying about what people think of you Hold on to the ones that care, in the end they will be the only ones there.” You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.

14. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.

“The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem”

“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” Anthony Robbins

15. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.” Mary Anne Radmacher

Prayer is not a way of making use of God; prayer is a way of offering ourselves to God in order that He should be able to make use of us. It may be that one of our great faults in prayer is that we talk too much and listen too little. When prayer is at its highest we wait in silence for God's voice to us; we linger in His presence for His peace and His power to flow over us and around us; we lean back in His everlasting arms and feel the serenity of perfect security in Him.

16. Remember that friendship is a wise investment.

“The finest kind of friendship is between people who expect a great deal of each other but never ask it” Sylvia Bremer

But what is the good of friendship if one cannot say exactly what one means? Anybody can say charming things and try to please and to flatter, but a true friend always says unpleasant things, and does not mind giving pain. Indeed, if he is a really true friend he prefers it, for he knows that then he is doing good.

17. Realize that it's never too late.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something.

18. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” Jim Rohn

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

19. Have health and hope and happiness.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddha quotes

Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” George Sand

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

20. Take the time to wish upon a star.   

“Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” James Matthew Barrie

“There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.”

AND DON’T EVER FORGET FOR EVEN ONE DAY HOW SPECIAL YOU ARE!