It works!!!!

It happened again - and I could not be more delighted!!

We have spoken often on techniques to pull ourselves out of negativity, sadness, anxiety and fear!! We all go through it - some daily, some hourly, some weekly or monthly!!

Regardless of our circumstances, we all face these emotions constantly and seem to be in a never-ending battle against them!!

Well - I have good news!! The battle is Winnable and it is not difficult to do!!

It happened this morning on the way to work!! Negative thoughts crept into my mind, stealth-like but quite powerfully! Worries about my children, wife, health, finances, the future, family, work, the present, terrorism, health care reform, college costs, bonuses, air quality, Big Papi's steroid "allegations", American League East pennant race, radon, etc, seem to wait at the door to our thoughts fighting to barge in and flood our positive emotions!!

We cannot allow this to occur and WE CAN combat it!!

How??

Identify the negative thoughts as they appear --and focus ON what you WANT - not on what is currently going on with your life!

Focus on the good things you have - no matter how small they may seem - and take immediate steps to CHANGE your current situation!

EVERYONE has some good to point to and bolster their strength and courage!

Be it Family, friends, children, spouse, work, charity, health, etc...

Rely on these blessings to surpass any bad thoughts or ideas that surface!

They can be small baby steps - it does not matter - as long as you are embracing the change with enthusiasm, positive emotion, and Faith!!!

Focusing on your current situation and spinning your wheels will only keep you planted like a tree to your current situation!!

Stop that focus and rumination and FOCUS on what it is you WANT to be, have, do, etc!!!!

Practice this and in no time you will be able to immediately thwart those paralyzing fears and anxieties - and move beyond what it is that is currently keeping you from the Peace, Joy and Happiness you rightly deserve!!

You CAN DO IT! This is YOUR life - and YOU dictate how it is going to be!!

Stay Strong!!

Forgive Someone NOW!

Interesting Link of the Day!

This is a site for catharsis - and forgiveness!

Forgiveness is a TREMENDOUS step toward Joy and Peace!

Check it out - and let it out!

It is amazing how POWERFUL simply writing out your feelings and frustrations, and angers can be! And not only empowering - but uplifting!

http://giveforgiveness.com/forgiveness/?gclid=CLjcksWZ-5sCFQtN5QodqHub-A

Faith AND Trust - both are necessary!

When you give a problem to God, you exercise Faith.

When you leave that problem with God, you exercise Trust!

Your Faith can grow stronger and you can experience God's victorious results when, after giving God the problem, you TRUST him enough to not take it back and bear the full burden of it alone!

Even in times where God is silent or when his answer to your prayer is "no", you can still have faith, hope, trust, and the ASSURANCE that God is in charge, no matter how things may look!

God WANTS to be in charge in your life! Ask Him to be!

See with the eyes of Faith, face the impossible with TRUST and COURAGE, and have the confidence that God will work on your behalf even if the answer to your prayer does not come exactly as you want it to come!

- Deacon Ralph Torrelli

Stay Strong - God Bless!

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Get back in the game - overcome the FEAR!

A good friend of mine contacted me yesterday to catch up and in the process, perhaps unwittingly, enlightened me!!

Turns out that when she started a new job about a year ago, she was in a large business meeting with her Superiors, her coleagues and her reports. She happened to be blindsided by being asked by her boss to speak -extemoraneously -on a topic she knew little about and had not been prepared to speak upon.

She did her best but it was a disaster and she left that meeting devastated, embarrassed, and disheartened. She was convinced that she had ruined her reputation, lost the respect of not only her superiors, but her colleagues and direct reports.

It ate at her day and night and she began to fear speaking at those monthly meetings! She avoided them like the plague, made excuses as to why she could not present or speak to the group.

It really wore down on her soul, her self esteem, and kept her living in a prison of fear!

That all changed last week! Finally, tired of this nagging dread and fear hanging over her head, she miraculously stepped up and volunteered to deliver a critical presentation to the same type of group!

She was beyond nervous - beyond apprehensive about the prospect of embarrassing herself even further the week before her event!

Yet, she prepared her presentation as if her life depended upon it. She practiced it over and over - visualized it constantly, anticipated questions, and despite her queasiness that morning - she DELIVERED!!

Not only delivered - but knocked it out of the park!!!

Her words: " People who have not barely uttered words to me since I began came by my office to chat - commenting on my presentation. My bosses both sent me emails telling me what a great job they thought I had done. It was crazy really."

She continued:

"You know what I took from this most? I am the same person I was BEFORE that presentation. Yet, once I overcame MY fear, and delivered what I was capable of delivering - I was PERCEIVED as a different person."

" I am not sure what I feel about that - except I do now realize that FEAR HAS TO BE removed to succeed, to live, to be at PEACE!"

She nailed it!!! FEAR - perceived or real - MUST be ERADICATED in order to live a life of peace!

It is that simple!! And that hard!!

The only way we BEAT FEAR is to SURFACE it - CONFRONT IT - let it make our knees weak, make us shake and quake ... THEN Step up and CONQUER it!!

Fear is in our minds - and CAN be overcome by surfacing the fears (whatever they may be) and then FACING them head on!

That is COURAGE and all of us are much more courageous than we know!

ALL of Us - to a person - HAS the power to overcome any FEAR - any doubt, any perceived weakness!! TODAY!! Inherent in all of us - IF we choose to believe it!!!

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you - to walk with you - EVERY DAY! Literally ASK Him - in the morning - at night... During the day!

It only takes one request - and it will be delivered to you!

Enjoy the weekend - And be at Peace - because YOU CAN be if you simply ask!

Stay Strong!

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"All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific."

- Jane Wagner





Everybody wants to feel important, that their life means something, that their time spent on earth is more than just passing days.



I believe that God has a unique plan for every man and every woman. Not only has He planted in us the seeds of greatness, but more importantly, a purpose for our lives and the ability to fulfill that purpose.



There is a powerful sense inside each of us that we are meant to do something important, to make something of our lives.



And yet, with the hustle and bustle of executing of our daily lives, we often end up feeling as if we have merely spent energy spinning our wheels and have come no closer to fulfilling our purpose in life.





There is no more desperate feeling than to watch the weeks, months, and years tick off the calendar while we grind away at life not knowing where we are going or what we are even grinding for.





Ask yourself these questions:



Who am I?



What is my purpose in life?



What is the legacy I want my life to leave behind when I die?



Imagine you are at your own funeral, invisible, hovering about.





What are people saying about you? What is the epitaph on your tombstone? Are you happy about what you hear and see? Are you satisfied with the person you became and what you did with your life?



While you still have time, pray about it, meditate on it.



Seek with an open mind what it is that God would have you to do.



It might be too late to accomplish certain objectives; I doubt it, but it's possible.



It is never too late to become the person you were meant to be.





Jeff Young

http://www.friendsofjeff.com/



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Person of the Week

In everyone's life - if you are blessed - there is at least one person who enhances the quality of your life simply by existing!

This person is a constant inspiration, uplifter, source of strength, consistency, and joy!

Our family is blessed to have SEVERAL of these people in our lives and we thank God every day that they are part of our family!

Today we are highlighting just such an individual!

This person is ALWAYS there for anyone in need, always smiling and positive, always a sheer pleasure to be around! People seek him out whenever they need a voice of reason, a source of STRENGTH, a show of support! He is there for all of us when we need him - for ANY reason, unquestioning, relentless in his dedication to his family, friends, and even strangers!!!

He is a model of the type of human being we all should aspire to be - and he is a whole lot of FUN to boot (which is a rare combo!)

I could go on and on about the character and kindness of this individual, but it would take volumes and millions of megabytes!

We are blessed to call him family and friend - and our children are extremely blessed to have him there as a role model in being a quality, outstanding person!

This week's Person of the Week goes to.............

Robert O'Toole!!

Thanks, Robert - for all you do! We cannot thank you enough!

Stay Strong!

Perspective is the KEY

We all know how easy it is to become inundated with life's daily minutiae and how quickly one negative thought can become a cavalcade of misery -at least in our minds!



We have to be able to identify that one negative thought that starts the entire process rolling!



Recognize it as it changes our moods to anxiety, fear, sadness, worry, or depression!



And stop it dead in it's tracks!!!



Nothing -and I mean NOTHING - is as bad as it seems!



Focus on your Mental Ace in the Hole (MAITH) when you feel your mood change - FOCUS on action, planning, implementation of what you WANT to do next - NOT on the current situation!



Hope is a powerful thing - and Hope keeps all of us alive, either barely aive or thriving! It does not matter to what degree - All that matters is that we keep Hope close to our hearts, on our lips, and NEVER doubt it's power to deliver us to peace, joy and love!!!



Have a crummy job, or no job? FOCUS on what is next - NOT on the current state! VISUALIZE yourself at your next job - feel it, taste it - and take the steps necessary to put you in that direction!!



Nothing stays the same - so why convince yourself that you will always be in the spot you are today??



Set the GOAL - VISUALIZE the outcome - and take ACTION to make it a reality!



You are not alone - you always have someone willing to help - guide, support, and see you through to your goals!



Change the attitude you have - if necessary FAKE HAPPINESS!!



That is right - FAKE it as if you were on Broadway - but behind that facade KEEP THE SPIRIT OF HOPE and CHANGE alive! It will transform into reality if you simply keep it in your heart and have FAITH!!



More people than you know care about you - want you to succeed, and are there for you in time of need!



And you WILL succeed!! It is inevitable!!



Stay Strong!

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A friend of mine is dying.

He knows it. Everyone close to him and around him knows it - and it seems to be something that no one can stop, avoid, correct or remedy.

It really stinks.

I was thinking of him this morning, as he continues his battle and good fight - surely, albeit slowly and begrudgingly knowing the end is not a question mark any longer.

Fully knowing that his time here is limited and the end result is shortly out of his hands.

You often hear the ubiquitous phrase " live each day as if it were your last" bandied about whether it be on the radio, tv, literature, etc.

It is an American cultural theme and the sheer frequency of it's usage seems to have dampened and de-sensitized it's true meaning, impact and power.

I admit that I understand the concept, and yes I do agree we all should conduct our days in such a manner.

However I do not do this as often as I should and usually brush it off as something "that happens to the other guy". I don't need to do that as I (we) have all the time in the world to treat each day as it were my last! Plus I have other things to tend to - work, bills, children and family issues, etc...

My friend probably thought the exact same way too as he heard the lyrics playing on the radio in his car.

Until now that is...

We MUST remind ourselves that tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us -- we may not actually have the time that we felt we did as youths - invincible, unstoppable, eternal!!

So, as I prayed for him this morning, I was thinking of the possible regrets he may have and thoughts he may be struggling with today - and it made me incredibly sorrowful for him - and for all of us!

If that were you - in his shoes this morning - would that fight with your family member you stopped speaking with really matter? Would the IRA account, bank accounts, home values, the job titles, resume, second homes, boats, cars matter to you if you were preparing for the final act?

Who would you want to forgive? Who would you ask to forgive you? What do you regret doing to someone that you would not want to take to your next life with you?

Imagine that feeling as you are running out of time - unable to correct things that you really should have corrected long ago. For so long being unable to tell a loved one or a friend what you really feel about them - how much they mean to you - until it is too late to enjoy it with them!

That feeling of regret and missed opportunity pains me already - and it is certainly not something I want to encounter as my days wind down and I have too little time to do the right thing!

Yet - I do not walk the walk, like many of us don't - when we have that time, that opportunity, that chance to DO IT NOW.

My friend is dying and if there is any morsel of goodness to come out of his inevitable passing, let it be that YOU will remember to use the God-given time you have to live, love, forgive, offer your mercy and kindness to those who need it most - serve others and do not wait until time is escaping to make things right!

So please, remember my friend and keep things in proper perspective! Life IS short and the things that truly matter as we look back on our lives do not come with $ or prestige!!

God Bless - Stay Strong and remind yourself daily to "Live each Moment as if it is your last"!

I am sure my friend would agree...

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