Tag Archive for: Positive Thinking

Hardwood Heroes

Picture this.  You are sitting on the bench during the NBA Finals.  Your team is down 25 points with 5 minutes left in game 7.  The coach, deciding to give up, calls your name.  He wants to clear the bench so everyone gets a chance to play.  As a 46 year old rookie, this could be your final game.  You step on the court and drain a 3 pointer from the corner.  Next time down the court, you drain another one.  You have now made 7 in a row, and your team is charging back.  The coach is in complete shock but doesn’t change up the line up because it is working.  You now have made 10 of 13 three pointers for 30 points, and your team is within 3 points with 8 seconds left.  The ball comes to you, and you drill it from deep in the corner as time runs out.  Tied score!

In overtime, you drill your first 2 – 3 pointers, and the game is back and forth.  Now there are 3 seconds left, your team has the ball, and you are down 2 points.  You get open in the corner again.  The ball comes to you, and the buzzer goes off just as the ball slips off your fingertips.  The entire area is in complete silence.  Everything seems to be in slow motion.  The whole world is watching and holding their breath. 

The ball approaches the rim and SWOOSH!  Nothing but net!  You throw your arms in the air, make a fist, and scream YES!  You just won the NBA championship, scored 39 points, and were awarded the MVP.  SA-WEET!

Well, this was just how my day started.  I worked out at the gym, and after I was done stretching, I shot some hoops for at least an hour.  This was just one of the games I won this morning.  In doing so, it reminded me of the times when I would shoot basketball nearly every night as a kid and play imaginary games in my head.  I would practice for hours and hours.  After my game-winning shot, I felt great.  I had lots of energy and was able to get a lot accomplished today.

Sometimes having fun is just the ticket to improve your emotional state.  Through visualization, I was transported to a victorious state where anything was possible.  It’s kind of like life, you know.  First you think it.  Then you say it.  First you think it.  Then you do it.  First you think it.  Then you achieve it.

With peace and loads of gratitude,

Bill

Daily Positive Points – Compassion

I thought today’s message was a good day to post my Daily Positive Points email.  Below is the message and you can sign up for FREE at idontstink.com.  These messages are delivered Monday thru Friday in the morning as a way to get your day started off on a positive note. 

Today’s Message
Compassion is a powerful tool that transforms lives.  Rather than get disgusted, frustrated or angry at a fellow person, choose compassion instead. Say this right now: “Today, I will focus on seeing from the other person’s point of view.”  The moment something happens that creates an instant reaction from you, stop yourself and repeat the statement again.  When you do this, you are certain to be less likely to act in an unloving fashion.
 
Note: Today’s exercise comes from 7 Days to Inner Peace, Building Block 6: Compassion 

Today’s Quote
“Three quarters of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world would finish if people were to put on the shoes of their adversaries and understood their points of view.” Mahatma Gandhi (Indian Philosopher, internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest, 1869-1948)

Believe it. See it. Love it!
 
With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Positive Quotes – Sunday

I thought you might like a few positive quotes for your Sunday. 

“Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.” Samuel Smiles (Scottish author, 1812-1904)

“To need nothing is divine, and the less a man needs the nearer does he approach to divinity.” Socrates (Ancient Greek Philosopher, 470 BC-399 BC)

“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” Brian Tracy (American television host)

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” Henry Ford (American industrialist and pioneer of the assembly-line production method, 1863-1947)

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman (American Theologian, Clergyman and Activist. 1900-1981)

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

STINKISM #1

What is a STINKISM you ask?  A STINKISM is a term that is used to describe a situation, event, quote, or even a person that contains some sort of STINKIN’ THINKIN’ in it.  A typical STINKISM applies to a translation of an otherwise inspirational or motivational quote from a slightly different viewpoint.  Below is an example to help illustrate what one is.

Positive Quote: “Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.” Brian Tracy 
STINKISM #1: Don’t be a STINKIN’ LOSER by expecting negative STINKIN’ things to happen.

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

Get Out of Bed

One thing I have learned is that when my head tells me to stay in bed and not go to the gym in the morning, that is a sure sign for me to do just that. This morning I wasn’t feeling very well and had just about talked myself in to sleeping a little longer. I quickly realized that it was my que to get up and get going. I went to the gym and after only a few reps, I felt 100% better. By the time I got back home, I was ready to rock and roll! Had I stayed in bed, I would have more than likely been sluggish all day.  Instead, I got a lot accomplished and actually still going at it tonight.  So, the next time you don’t want to get out of bed, ignore it and go get some exercise.  Or, at minimum, take 10 minutes and give gratitude to everything in your life.  You can do that, right?

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

Positive Thinking

Earlier this week I had a Daily Positive Points email that stirred up a lot of positive feedback.  See below for the full Daily Positive Points.  Thank you to everyone who sent me comments, feedback and posted on Facebook. Here was the email:

Daily Positive Points – From 4/15/10

Today’s Message

There are two basic ways we can live our lives. We can be positive or we can be negative. There is really no middle ground here. Sure, some days we will struggle and have a lousy day. However, if we have more positive thoughts than negative ones, we are living some kind of SWEET life. We also get to experience life as a miracle and will experience happiness more often.

 Today’s Quote

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)

I wanted to take a moment and expand upon it just a bit. The idea came to me as I was thinking about positive and negative thinking. My believe is that people are either more positive or more negative. That is where the idea for Daily Positive Pointscame from. I believe that if we consciously try to be more positive than negative about life, chances are that we will. Certainly things happen during that day that brings up negative thinking and there really isn’t anything we can do about it. However, the key is to not stay in that negative state for very long.

The goal of my websites is to help kids, young adults and adults become more aware of negative thinking. As we travel through life we are presented choices. We can choose to be positive most of the time or we can choose to be negative most of the time. Sometimes we are not aware of how bad our negative thinking has gotten. This is where awareness comes in. When we become aware of negative thinking we can then do something about it. Hopefully we will choose to eliminate the negative thoughts or change it to something positive.

With loads of gratitude,

Bill

The Weight of Negative Thoughts

I was thinking about the topic, do negative thoughts have any weight to them?  My first response was, no, they couldn’t.  However, the more I thought about them, the more I started to change my mind.  We all know that negative thoughts will certainly hold us back and keep us from making choices that inspire us.  But does negative thinking actually equate into something you can see on the scales?  I am not sure that we could ever know for sure but it did get me thinking. 

Since I believe that what you focus on expands, then it could be true for your weight (or any other thing you don’t like about yourself).  If you are constantly telling yourself you are overweight, chances are that you will tend to draw that to you.   I believe that the opposite is also true as long as you follow your intuition.  If you use a positive affirmation, you will need to follow it up by a positive action.  You can’t just affirm, “I am so thin” when you know you are 30lbs overweight and immediately afterward eat something really unhealthy for you.  That approach doesn’t work because deep down you know that it is unhealthy for you.   I will say I am all for positive affirmations.  Just be sure to compliment them with positive actions.

Peace and gratitude,

Bill

Daily Positive Points

From Daily Positive Points 02/25/10

Today’s Message: When we create goals we increase the beauty of our lives because we know the direction we want to go.  The more we plan, the more we succeed by charting our course in advance.
 
Today’s Quote: “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” Fitzhugh Dodson (Author, 1924-1993)

Sign up for the daily messages for free at idontstink.com and select “Join Our List” at the top of the page.

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

Happy Valentine’s Day Gift

From today’s Daily Positive Points:

Today’s Message:  You can change.  I can change.  And you know what?  The world is certainly going to change.  One more thing to note here is that we all have something we would like to change.   So, the real question is, “Are we ready today?”  I am!  How about you?  Click here to checkout Friday’s video.
 
Valentine’s Day eCard Gift from us: Click here to view a Valentine’s Day eCard from idontstink.com.  It requires NO login or registration to view.  Be sure to turn up the sound.  Also, feel free to share the link to the annimated eCard with anyone you know.  Happy Valentine’s Day and Thank You for following us!
 
Today’s Quote: “I’ve continued to recognize the power individuals have to change virtually anything and everything in their lives in an instant. I’ve learned that the resources we need to turn our dreams into reality are within us, merely waiting for the day when we decide to wake up and claim our birthright.”  Anthony Robbins (Author, Actor & Professional Speaker, b.1960)

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  You deserve it!

With peace and gratitude,

Bill

Positive Quotes

I thought it would be a good time to add some positive quotes for you to think about.  What do you think?

“Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay. Love isn’t love until you give it away.” Michael W. Smith (American Singer, b.1957)

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell (American prolific Author, Editor, Philosopher and Teacher, 1904-1987)

“”Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses” Marilyn vos Savant (American Journalist and columnist of Ask Marilyn. Billed as the person with the highest IQ (228) ever recorded. b.1946)

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” E. E. Cummings (American poet 1894-1962)

“I don’t believe in pessimism. If something doesn’t come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it’s going to rain, it will.”  Clint Eastwood (Academy Award-Winning Actor, director, producer, & composer, b.1930)

Peace begins with a smile.”  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Missionary & Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1979, 1910-1997)

“Let fear be a counselor and not a jailer” Tony Robbins (Writer, Professional Motivational Speaker, B.1960)

With peace, joy and gratitude,

Bill