Why Resolutions Don't Work --The Power of Setting Goals

In the dictionary, “Resolution” is defined as: “a firm decision to do or not to do something.” While a “Goal”  is “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” While both

are similar in the sense that they both are a plan or intent; sustainable change in your life). The reason for this resolution failure rate is because when you make a resolution, you tend to look at the “What” (What it is that you are doing or giving up) and not the “Why,” (The reason behind why you are doing what you are doing) and with goals you focus on the “What” and the “Why.” It makes all the difference when we have a reason for our behavior and decisions.
resolutions tend to be forgotten and forsaken much faster than goals do. In fact, according to a survey of 3,000 people by Richard Wiseman in 2007, of all resolutions, 88% end in failure. (This may be a discouraging figure, but if you read to the end of this post, you’ll find out why resolutions don’t work and what you can do to actually deliver some

Let me explain:

When you make a resolution it’s typically along the lines of something like, “I’m going to go to the gym 3-5 times a week this year” or, “I’m no longer going to eat junk food.” It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the desire to do these things, the problem is that resolutions typically tend to leave out the “why” –or the reason behind why we actually made the resolution in the first place! The problem then occurs when we face a moment of temptation to eat that chocolate-glazed donut or skip working out at the gym “just this once,” because we don’t have enough reason as to why we should or should not be doing those certain things in the first place.

Goals are different. With goal setting, you “begin with the end in mind.” Your focus is less on the immediate and more on the long-term. With goals, you’re reaching towards an end result and can see a bigger picture. You set the end goal, or the desired result, have a reason for wanting to achieve that result, and then take continuous action steps to work towards accomplishing that goal and seeing it become a reality. Rather than having a resolution of “I’m going to go to the gym every day,” goals give us the reason as to why we are putting in the time and the effort to do something like going to the gym—to achieve an end result, in this case, “Have our healthiest year ever.” Can you see the difference?

Another problem with resolutions is that once we fail to follow through with our resolution once, we tend to lose hope and drop the resolution completely and are left feeling like a resolution-making failure. With goals on the other hand, they are something we are consistently working towards making a reality, so if we mess up, there is less of a finality to it, and more of an “I’ll try again tomorrow” attitude. We are more determined to see our goals through because we can see the end destination.

It's also incredibly important to write out our goals on a daily basis. When we do so, we keep our goals fresh, and in the forefront of our minds, making it easy to plan the day according to engaging in activities that will help us accomplish those goals. When we write out our goals, we increase our chances of accomplishing them DRASTICALLY. We may make a resolution up in our mind, but when we write out a goal we are far more likely to take the action in seeing that goal through. It's important to have and set goals that are personally meaningful to us on a regular basis, because they

bring our lives passion, purpose, fulfillment, and a sense of productivity and accomplishment. A wise man once said, "Without goals, people perish." And it's true. We need goals, and we need vision in order to not just survive, but to thrive. The wisest and most successful people will tell you the utmost importance of setting goals and taking action towards them! Hellen Keller once said, "The only thing worse than being blind, is to have sight, but no vision." 

Unlike resolutions which often cause us to forget the end result we are working towards (and therefore are easier to give up on), goals allow us to “begin with the end in mind,” and we are much more likely to see things through. Goals inspire us to take action not because we have to, but because we want to. We have an inward sense of accomplishment when we achieve a goal, unlike trying to stick with a resolution that seems to have no end. Goals inspire a lifestyle transformation that provokes us to make the continual effort and investment to reach and accomplish them. Having that “why,” or reason for doing what you do, makes all the difference between successful and visible life-transformation, and another failed New-Years resolution.

I hope this post has inspired you to set some new goals this year,

and throughout the New Year of 2014, and I hope you feel motivated to dream big when setting your goals! Know that the sky is the limit when it comes to what you are capable of achieving! Set your goals high and you may just end up surprising yourself! ;-) 

I wish you all LOTS of love, peace, joy, and prosperity this upcoming year—and I wish you all the very best!

XO

Love,

Brigitte

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” 

"Without vision, people perish." 

All of Your Effort-- Letting Go of the Past

“I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us...” -Philippians 3:13b-14 (NLT)

When it comes to letting go of the past, we may tend to think that it

involves some sort of one-time ritualistic amount of effort--and POOF-- all of our past regrets, mistakes, losses, etc. will be no more. But more often than not, letting go of the past requires more than a one-time choice. In fact, letting go of the past usually requires a daily and conscious decision, dedication, and effort on our part. We must be conscious that we are choosing to let go, and we must put in a certain amount of effort to actually do so. Notice in the above verse I shared from Philippians 3:13 that the Apostle Paul said, "I am putting ALL my energy into this one thing: Forgetting the Past and looking forward to what lies ahead." He didn't say "some" effort, he didn't say "a little effort, but only when I feel like it" he said "ALL" of his effort. And I've come to realize that the same is required of any of us who desire to let go of the past. It takes all of our effort to make the choice to let go and put in the work to controlling our thoughts in doing so.

Now for those of you who already know the Apostle Paul's story, you can only imagine just how difficult letting go of the past must have been for him. And for those of you who don't know, I'll give you a quick re-cap: Paul (formerly known as “Saul”) went around most of his life searching to have Christians (anyone spreading the message and gospel of Christ) killed. One day Paul was given a major and miraculous revelation from God that transformed his life and his viewpoint of Jesus and His disciples (see Acts 9 & 10 to read the whole story). Saul, now transformed by God’s love and mercy became known as Paul. From this point forward Paul dedicated his life to spreading the gospel of Christ so much so that he was often times imprisoned and faced death for his new beliefs; much of the New Testament he wrote is historically believed to have been written from prison cells. Can you imagine the struggle he must have faced knowing he had been responsible for hundreds of God’s people being killed? He had to put ALL of his effort into letting go of the past—and it was likely a daily effort to remind Himself to let go, to know that He has been forgiven, that God had new plans and a new future in store for Him, and that despite his past, God was still going to use him in a big way. In fact, Paul’s past made his story all the more powerful testament of God’s love, goodness, grace, and transformative, Almighty power.

Now while you may or may not be able to relate to Paul's story, chances are if you've lived here on this earth long enough, you have your own share of regrets, losses, or pains that are dragging you down by bringing your past into the present. For those of you struggle with the past, my word of encouragement to you is this: Put all of your effort into letting go. How do you do that? Here are a few tips I’ve found to be helpful in letting go of the pain of the past:

1. Make The Decision that you are no longer going to allow your past to pull you down. You can’t let go until you’ve made the conscious decision that you are actually going to let go. Life is too short to live in regret, remorse, or constant and unnecessary pain—make the choice to let it go.

2. Once you’ve chosen to make a deliberate and conscious EFFORT in letting go of the past, also know that you’re probably going to struggle every now-and-again with pesky thoughts of the past trying to pull you down. Whenever you get those pesky, pestering thoughts of the past, it’s important to:

First, recognize them for what they are (thoughts of the past that are going to make you feel badly and which often do not accurately represent the truth of reality) and

Secondly, immediately change your focus by doing one of the following:

A) Change your focus from the past pains to all of the brightness and joy that your future has in store. Write out goals, cut out pictures of things you'd like to do or places you'd like to go. Keep the vision alive of all the exciting possibilities the future could hold. The possibilities are endless!

B) Remind yourself of all of God's promises of who he has made you to be. Remember that you are forgiven (Acts 13:38, Colossians 3:13), loved more than you could possibly know (John 3:16, Romans 8:37-38), and that God's plans for you are for good and not evil, to prosper you not to harm you, to give you a hope and a wonderful, bright future (Jeremiah 29:11).

C) Ask God to help you let go. His word tells us that "he is more than happy to help you when you struggle and are tempted" (1 Corinthians 10:13) and that when we ask, we shall receive anything in line with His will. I don't believe God wants you living in past pain, I believe He wants the very best for you and part of that includes living a life free of the past. Ask God to help you let go and He surely will.

D) Thank God in advance for His healing and help. This might be a tough one because when you're experiencing pain, thanking God is one of the last things you want to do. But the Bible is repeatedly clear of the power of praise, especially when things look bleak and hopeless. Praise God in the midst of your pain and thank Him for the help that's already on its way. I promise you will be setting the stage for miracles to occur in your life when you do this. 

I hope you'll remind yourself of these things when needing to let go of the past, and I hope this post has helped shift your focus. Know you are not alone in your struggles, and that every temporary trial or setback you face is really just a stepping stone on the road to greatness if you learn to have the right attitude; whatever the circumstance.

Wishing you all lots of love, peace, and joy at thoughts of the bright future that awaits you.

Wishing You Peace & Endless Love

-Brigitte

Ask and You Shall Receive: 8 Things to Consider When Seeking Answers to Your Prayers

If you haven’t been getting answers to your prayers, here are 8 things to consider before assuming that God is not listening to you…

"Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." -John 16:24

All throughout the Bible, we are repeatedly told that if we simply "ask" of God, that we will "receive" anything in line with His will (Matthew 7:7, 21:22, James 4:2, John 16:24). However, when we ask God for anything, there are a few things we should keep in mind when asking:

1. We must be living in obedience and in alignment with God's word and will.

In order to receive what we ask for, we must be obeying God and living in alignment with His word. The Bible tells us that "If our consciences are clear, we can receive from Him anything that we ask, because we are obeying Him and doing the things that please Him" 1 John 3:21-22. We must be obeying God, and following His commands in order for our lives to be blessed.

I love what it says in Psalm 84:11. We are told that, "the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." That verse tells us that when you honor Him, there's not a single good thing that He will withhold from you! How great it that!?

"If our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with perfect assurance and trust, and get whatever we ask for because we are obeying Him and doing the things that please Him." 1 John 3:22

Deuteronomy 28 tells us all the blessings that will occur in our lives if we simply choose to surrender our ways, and instead follow God's perfect way. It says: "If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks. You will be blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and with kneading bowls filled with bread. You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going. The LORD will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! The LORD will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. If you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways, the LORD will establish you as his holy people as he solemnly promised to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you. The LORD will give you an abundance of good things in the land he swore to give your ancestors -- many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens to bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God and carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today to follow after other gods and worship them." In other words, when we obey God, Good things Happen!! God has given us the choice. He's given us the choice to be blessed or not. His word tells us, "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses...Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

When we obey God, good things happen! When we obey God, our lives our blessed.

You may think that obeying God is difficult, but Jesus said that through Him, "ALL Things are POSSIBLE" (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27). He can give you the strength and ability to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Not only that, but when you ask yourself, "Is it worth it to suffer the consequences for my own stupid actions?" versus, "Is it worth it to suffer through the difficulty of making the right choice even when it isn't easy, but reap the benefits later?" I think you'll find the latter is much more rewarding. Either way we're going to experience a little discomfort and pain in this life--because we live in an imperfect world--but would you rather suffer the consequences of sin and doing the wrong thing, or suffer the temporary discomfort that sometimes comes along with doing the right thing, and then reap all the benefits of that wise decision later? I think you'll agree that making the wise decision, even if difficult, is by far more worth it in the end!

With God, All things Are Possible.

2. We must be free from sin in our life.

In 1 Timothy 2:8 (TLB) Timothy tells us, "I want men everywhere to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from sin and anger and resentment." The Bible tells us that if we want to see answers to our prayers, that we must be free from sin in our lives. Please note: This does not mean we have to be perfect! It simply means that God wants us to confess our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness if we want to see an answer. Psalm 66:8 says, "If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." Seeking answers to our prayers is not about being perfect, but simply asking God for the forgiveness when we do fall into sin. Remember that "if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely" (1 John 2:1-2).

3. We must be Seeking God's Love more than anything.

The Bible tells us to "seek first the Kingdom of God, and all else will be given to you besides" (Matthew 6:33). A similar verse tells us to, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need" (Luke 12:31). We are to seek Him first, and above all else if we expect for our needs to be met. When we seek God's love above anything else, He answers us in amazing ways and blesses our lives like never before. Psalm 37:4-5 tells us to, "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4

4. We must be Persistent 

I love the story Jesus tells His disciples when He was teaching them the importance of being persistent in prayer: "Teaching them more about prayer, Jesus used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (Luke 11:5-9).

God wants us to keep on praying until we see an answer! His word tells us to, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). If we want to see answers, we MUST be persistent in prayer!

Many people give up on praying and don't see an answer to their prayer without realizing that they have given up on praying too quickly! A good acronym to live by when it comes to prayer is "P.U.S.H" or "Pray Until Something Happens!" Be persistent in prayer and keep praying until you see an answer!

Keep on praying until you see an answer!

5. We must be Patient.

So often when we ask God for something, we ask and then expect--"POOF"--an immediate change to occur. Sometimes we do see amazing changes happen almost instantaneously, or overnight, but most often we see answers to our prayers after our faith has had a chance to grow in patience. Sometimes God doesn't allow our prayers to be answered right away because there is some work He wants to do in us to prepare us first. Sometimes He doesn't answer right away because He wants to test our faith. He wants to make sure we don't just give up on Him when we don't see immediate change or when answers don't go our way, or as we would have hoped or expected for. 1 Peter 1:7 tells us, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. "

James 1:2-4 (TLB) says that we are to "be happy when the way is rough, because it gives [your] patience a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of [your] problems. For when [your] patience is finally in full bloom, then [you] will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." We need to be patient when it comes to receiving an answer for our prayers, because it's in this time that God is working in us, and preparing us for all that He has in store for us.

Be patient in prayer.

6. We must have Faith.

"When you ask for something, don't have any doubts… A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord." –James 1:6-7

God’s word is clear that in order to receive an answer to our prayers, that we must have FAITH and be free of doubt. James 1:6-7 (God's Word) tells us that, "When you ask for something, don't have any doubts." A person who doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord." 

In order to see answers to our prayers, we MUST believe and trust in God and His ability to do ANYTHING.

 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”

 Any time there is a story in the Bible of Jesus curing the sick, healing the blind, the lepers, the paralyzed, or the lame, Jesus always makes the remark that it was their faith that healed them. Time and time again, any time Jesus healed someone, He remarked that it was their faith that healed them (Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50, Mark 5:43). And what exactly is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV). Faith is believing without seeing. It is believing that God is working on your behalf “behind the scenes” in the spiritual realm, without necessarily having to see any result in the physical realm. Here are some biblical examples of the importance of faith when it comes to receiving healing or answers to our prayers:

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:22).

"By your faith it shall be done" (Matthew 9:29, 15:28, 8:13).

"Your faith has healed you" (Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50).

"And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive" (Matthew 21: 22).

Notice that the faith always precedes the miracle, the healing, or the answer to our prayers. Faith, it seems, is the key to unlocking miracles, seeing God’s power at work in our lives, and receiving answers to our prayers.

Faith always precedes the miracle, the healing, or the answer to our prayers. Faith is the key to unlocking miracles and receiving answers to our prayers.

And here’s the cool thing about faith: If we are lacking in faith (If we are having trouble believing God's word and His promises are true), the cool thing is that we can get more of it. “How?” you might ask. Well, the Bible tells us first of all that faith comes by hearing, listening to, and spending time in God’s word (Romans 10:12), as well as God’s Holy Spirit working in us (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). So if we need more faith, we can spend time focusing on God’s promises to us which can inspire and revive our faith in God’s ability to do anything, or we can simply ask God and pray for more of His faith-giving, live-giving Spirit. His word tells us He will give His Holy Spirit to anyone who asks (Luke 11:13).

I want to share a Biblical story with you to display just how important faith is; especially when it comes to seeing answers to our prayers or miracles in our lives. The story can be found in Mark 9:21-25 where it tells of Jesus healing a man’s son who is possessed:

“Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’

‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’

‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’

 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again’” (Mark 9:21-25).

Notice that the man was lacking in faith. He doubted God’s ability to even heal his son, and yet he asked, “Help me to overcome my belief” and God performed the miracle for Him. We must have faith in order to see answers, and we can ask God for more if we are lacking it.

After Jesus drove out the demon, His disciples came to him asking: “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” And Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:19-20). This verse tells us that even a little faith, even if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, that we can “move mountains.”

Something I encourage you to do, as an act and display of your faith, is to start praising God in advance for the answer you are about to receive. Instead of moping around and asking “Why haven’t you answered me yet God?!?” Start praising Him in advance as an act of faith, start saying “Thank you Lord for pulling through in an amazing way! Thank you Lord for _____ (fill in the blank).” Start praising him in advance and I can guarantee you’re going to see results, and even if you don’t see an immediate answer, you’re going to feel a lot happier because praising God gets you in a mindset of gratitude. You may even come to realize that you no longer desire what you were asking for, because the praise elevated your mindset to being completely content without whatever it is that you were asking for. Remember what it says in Philippians 4:6: It tells us to not worry about anything, but instead pray about everything, and with both petition and thanksgiving we are to present our requests to God. We are to be thankful even before we see an answer to our prayers. 

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”       -Matthew 21:22

7. We must ask in Jesus' Name.

God tells us that, "You can ask for anything in my (Jesus') name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father" (John 14:13)

"Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." John 16:24- Another translation reads, "Your joy will be full" or, "your joy will be made complete."

"You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it…” -John 14:13

8. Just ask.
James 4:2 tells us that "the reason you don't have is because you don't ask." God is just waiting to show you His kindness and favor; all you have to do is ask for it! If you haven't already done so, get to it! Don't miss out on all the favor and blessings of God's amazing love. Just ask, and you will receive ;-)

"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!" -Isaiah 65:24

Last but not least, it’s important to know that God’s grace surpasses our mistakes and our actions. This post was not written to act as a get-your-prayers-answered checklist. We can’t earn answers to our prayers, or bribe God to answer them the way we would like! (See Deuteronomy 10:17) His love and grace (His undeserved kindness) towards us are not something that we can earn! Sometimes all you need to do is rely upon God’s grace, and find peace knowing that although it’s important to obey God, there’s nothing you can do to “earn” His love, kindness, or answers to your prayers. Just ask, believe, and receive, be patient, and have peace in knowing that the answer is on it’s way.

I hope you know and feel for yourself how much God loves you, I hope you found this post helpful, and I hope you all have a wonderful week! God bless! :)

Letting Go of the "Unchangeable"

I was contemplating this morning how in the past I've tried so hard to change things in my life that couldn't be changed, and how much I've resisted those unchangeable things without simply "letting things be." This led me to realize that in life there are things you can control, and things you can't control, and what will determine your altitude is your ability to let go of the things you can't control, and focus your energy on what you DO have the power to change. 

I asked myself the question, "What are you going to do with what you've been given?"

We've all been dealt certain "cards" but in life, and it's not a matter of what cards you've been dealt but how well you learn how to play them. 

I've learned that in life, there are things we can change, and there are things we can't change. Don't waste all of your time trying to change things that can't be changed! Instead focus and invest your energy on the things you CAN change--and work on that. You may not always be able to control what happens to you, but you most certainly can control how you react to what happens to you. Or as one of my favorite quotes says, "You may not be able to change the winds of adversity, you can however, change the direction of your sails." 

If you're struggling in life with letting go of all the "unchangeable" and are spending too much time investing all of your energy and emotions on things you can't change, then I strongly encourage you to do this exercise: 

• Take a piece of paper, and draw a line down the middle. 
• On one side, write: "Things I can't Change" and make a list of all of the things in your life that you can't change and that you have no control over. 
• On the other side of the paper, write: "Things I CAN Change" and make a list of all the things that you CAN change. I think you'll find you have control and the power to change a lot more than you thought you could! Your attitude and your mindset (whether it is one of gratitude or complaint), have A LOT to do with the way your life is right now. So if you don't like your EXTERNAL conditions, it's time to grab a hold of what's going on inside your mind (Your INTERNAL conditions)  in order to accomplish any change and see the results in your physical world! (P.S. Don't forget to write down on your list of things you can change your amazing ability to self-improve! Change yourself and you change [your/the] world!

Making this kind of list is SO important because it puts us in a state of accountability. Once we realize how great our power to evoke change in our lives truly is, it becomes apparent that the undesirable circumstances in our life that we once blamed on "the Universe," or a higher power, or even other people is really within our power to change--instead of being able to blame someone or something for the way things are, we become accountable for our thoughts, words, and actions that created the results we're complaining about! 

I'd like to share one thing that was on my list of "Things I Can Change." It was my

attitude. I think this is the biggest issue I've struggled with in the past, and looking back on my life now I think of all the time I spent suffering, complaining, crying, and whining about things I thought could have been better or different in my life, only to come to realize that all that time I spent unhappy about my circumstances was time and energy WASTED on the "unchangeable," when I could have CHOSEN to change my focus, and spend that time being happy instead! I finally made a shift in my thoughts when I realized that time spent in remorse, anger, regret, or dwelling on loss is time WASTED! And life is far too short to waste any time on those kinds of negative emotions. Life is short, so choose to change your focus, let go of the unchangeable, and as a result: BE HAPPY! 

Now that you've made your list of what is within your power to change for the better, I'd like to ask you again, "What are you going to do with what you've been given?" ;-)

I wish you all a lovely and abundant week! Love you all! xx