The thoughts in this post were adapted from a wonderful conversation with a good friend, and seem to be universally applicable. Thus, they shall be immortalized here. Also, if I write these ideas down here I can come back here if I forget them.
Three things that will lead to empowerment in your life:
Stop asking WHY. Instead, change it to WHAT NOW. Instead of unanswerable questions that pound your brain you have hope, and at least some inkling of what to do to improve your situation.
Don’t expect anything from yourself. Just ACCEPT and EMBRACE yourself for who you are. You don’t need to become a Superman to be lovable, and besides, you will be capable of accomplishing so much more if you love yourself UNCONDITIONALLY first.
Don’t you EVER put yourself down! You live with yourself 24/7. You wouldn’t want to live with an enemy, would you? It’s okay to make mistakes and course-corrections. You are a child of God, and thus have limitless potential.
To combat sadness, do the following:
Count your many blessings!! But you must abide by the following rules:
You must start with “I have been blessed with …”
You must not use any negative phrases.
If you follow the rules, you get a sense that a.) you really have a lot going for you, and b.) it comes from a higher source than yourself – make sure to give credit where credit’s due! This brings your life into balance, stops you from getting a big head and brings things into perspective. Nothing fosters love for Deity by seeing first-hand and noticing the things that God has given you, no strings attached, “just because.”
I was in a recital with my illustrious voice teacher, Anjanette Mickelsen! Here are some pictures from that momentous occasion. P.S. Anjie is an AWEsome voice teacher – if you are in the Salt Lake or Provo area and thinking about improving your voice, I HIGHLY recommend her. Her website is http://www.afmvocalstudio.com.
There is only one person who is responsible for your happiness. It is not God, it is not your parents, it is not your friends, it is not your significant other – it is you. I am a firm believer that others can help, and that good friends are vital to our well-being as we go through life, but ultimately, when it comes down to brass tacks, every single one of us are responsible for our own actions and our own happiness. Read more…
For your Sunday edification, I wanted to post a quote that is often mis-attributed to Mother Teresa. This was mentioned in our church meetings last Sunday and it really struck a chord with me:
Well, here we are in the 21st century – the second decade of the 21st century, even, and Internet security, specifically the problem of weak passwords, still plagues our society. A new study, based on analysis of 32 million passwords, shows that the most popular password is – can you guess? – “123456″. One in five users leaves a key under the virtual doormat with obvious passwords like “qwerty”, “password”, “iloveyou”, or “princess”! (original story here).
Why is it that we can’t pick secure passwords? It seems it’s just human nature. A password that is secure is, by definition, hard to remember for a human. Here are five tips that will help your passwords remain secure. Read more…
