It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.

life truth reality happiness wise-words respect life-and-living life-lessons reality-of-life be-yourself life-quotes positive-thinking gratefulness powerful life-philosophy success fulfillment inner-peace personal-growth contentment gratitude food-for-thought perspective positive-attitude positive-living successful-people acceptance-of-oneself finding-yourself transformation mindfulness respecting-yourself truths fact life-changing heal affirmation knowing-oneself mind-body-spirit personal-development positivity thinking resilience be-yourself-inspirational be-yourself-quotes love-yourself mindset motivational-inspirational motivate enough be-you truth-of-life healthy-living mentality knowledge-wisdom success-self-improvement motivational-speaker reality-quotes thankful real-talk content healthy-habits healing-the-past trust-yourself gratitude-quotes life-choices gratefulness-quotes facts-of-life facts-wisdom life-quotes-and-sayings life-lessons-quotes germany-kent germany-kent-quote germany-kent-quotes thinking-quotes be-grateful-for-your-blessings be-grateful-for-your-life be-grateful-with-your-life be-thankful-for-what-you-have be-thankful-to-be-alive hope-guru life-and-living-insight life-and-living-life-philosophy the-hope-guru mind-body-soul power-of-positivity respect-quotes healthy-lifestyle grateful-attitude love-yourself-first love-yourself-quotes acceptance-quotes thinking-for-change thinking-process transformation-quotes transformational-speakers positive-attitude-quotes transformational-authors be-yourself-original motivational-speakers be-thankful be-thankful-for-each-day contentment-quotes grateful-quotes award-winning-authors best-selling-authors self-help-authors contentment-and-attitude finding-your-way abundant-thinking accepting-yourself affirmation-and-attitude attitude-of-gratitude be-grateful-for-being-alive be-grateful-for-what-you-have be-grateful-in-life begin-to-take-note body-mind-spirit correct-path correct-your-errors correct-your-mistakes enough-said find-yourself finding-oneself funny-thing-about-life grateful-heart grateful-outlook grateful-person grateful-soul grateful-thinking gratitude-happiness-inner-peace gratitude-is-a-choice gratitude-life-happiness-success gratitude-mind gratitude-works gratitudes having-enough keys-to-success love-your-life love-yourself-deeply love-yourself-quote love-yourself-unconditionally mind-body-spirit-authors mindset-change mindset-positive motivational-guru not-enough point-taken positive-energy power-of-positive-thinking reality-of-things respect-yourself success-tips take-note thankful-attitude transformational truth-quotes-honesty-quotes wise-sayings-inspiration wise-words-inner-strength word-to-the-wise

Positive thinking is powerful thinking. If you want happiness, fulfillment, success and inner peace, start thinking you have the power to achieve those things. Focus on the bright side of life and expect positive results.

truth inspirational happiness hope optimism joy inspirational-life empowerment self-esteem thoughts motivation optimistic positive positive-life positive-thinking self-awareness power powerful inspirational-attitude success fulfillment inner-peace motivational self-realization personal-growth future self-confidence positive-motivation discovery-of-oneself positive-attitude successful-people self-improvement transformation motivational-quotes attitude focus achievement author affirmation positive-mindset positive-outlook positive-quotes positive-thoughts power-of-thoughts power-of-words hopeful positivity motivational-quote thinking authentic-self success-quotes bright start motivational-inspirational fulfilling-your-potential self-growth attitude-toward-life things achieve successful-living self-development motivate hopeful-and-encouraging happiness-quotes encouraging truth-of-life optimist bright-side things-that-matter future-present law-of-attraction law-of-attraction-quotes motivational-quote-of-the-day success-in-life success-self-improvement success-strategies truth-quotes daily-life personal-skills-development personal-transformation power-of-the-subconscious-mind happiness-quote joyful-living empowering-women happiness-positive-outlook truth-inspirational encourage-yourself encouragement-and-attitude focusing empowering-quotes empowering-quotes-for-women focus-on-positive focus-on-success focus-on-the-prize-ahead future-prediction achievers focused self-realization-quotes fulfilling-purpose discover-yourself intentional-living inspirational-authors happiness-life motivational-quotes-for-women germany-kent germany-kent-quote germany-kent-quotes affirmations things-to-come hope-guru the-hope-guru purpose-driven-life affirmation-quotes power-of-positivity happiness-choices start-where-you-are success-in-business achievement-quotes achieving-dreams self-determination-quotes powerful-quote focus-quotes motivational-quotations motivation-quotes optimism-quotes attitude-inspiration attitude-is-everything encouraging-and-empowering-girls happiness-quotations empowered-women future-quotes thinking-positive transformational-speakers happiness-advice powerful-people transformational-authors focus-on-your-dreams powerful-women encouraging-quotes motivational-speakers empowerment-and-attitude powerful-quotes future-inspirational self-development-quotes inner-peace-quotes self-mastery optimist-quotes happiness-fulfillment-desire achievement-and-attitude best-selling-authors motivational-authors self-help-authors fulfilled-life affirmation-and-attitude keys-to-success be-intentional positive-thinking-strategies self-growth-and-improvement achieving-success affirmational attitude-in-life audacity-of-hope be-focused bright-future come-to-pass discover-potentials focus-on-your-life fulfilling-your-destiny fundamental fundamental-truth future-plans happiness-in-your-life happiness-outlook hopeful-people inner-harmony inner-peace-of-mind intentional-life law-of-attraction-success law-of-attraction-works optimistic-quotes optimize-your-talents personal-growth-quote power-of-subconscious power-of-your-words powerful-forces powerful-men powerful-thinking reinforced-behavior reinforcement-quote reverse-psychology self-motivational start-now things-that-matter-in-life things-to-think-on thinking-positively you-are-what-you-think

Unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life are common themes in the American culture today.Folks sometimes mistake my meaning when I say, “You have the freedom of choice and the ability to create your best life”, because they all too often rush to drop everything that is weighing them down. They quit the job, ditch the unhappy marriage, cut out negative friends and family, get out of Dodge, etc. I do not advocate such hastiness; in fact, I believe that rash decision-making leads to more problems further down the road. Another unsatisfying job manifests; another unhappy relationship results. These people want a new environment, yet the same negative energy always seems to occupy it. This is because transformation is all about the internal shift, not the external. Any blame placed on outside sources for our unhappiness will forever perpetuate that unhappiness. Pointing the finger is giving away your power of choice and the ability to create our best life. We choose: “That person is making me unhappy” vs. “I make myself happy.” When you are in unhappy times of lack and feelings of separation – great! Sit there and be with it. Find ways to be content with little. Find ways to be happy with your Self. As we reflect on the lives of mystics past and present, it is not the things they possess or the relationships they share that bring them enlightenment – their light is within. The same light can bring us unwavering happiness (joy). Love, Peace, Joy – these three things all come from within and have an unwavering flame – life source – that is not dependent on the conditions of the outside world. This knowing is the power and wisdom that the mystics teach us that we are all capable of achieving. When I say, “You have the freedom of choice and the ability to create your best life”, I am not referring to external conditions; I am referring to the choice you have to look inward and discover the ability to transform the lead of the soul into gold. Transformation is an inner journey of the soul. Why? Because, as we mentioned above, wherever we go, ourselves go with us. Thus, quitting the job, dumping relationships, etc. will not make us happy because we have forgotten the key factor that makes or breaks our happiness: ourselves. When we find, create, and maintain peace, joy, and love within ourselves, we then gain the ability to embrace the external world with the same emotions, perspective, and vibration. This ability is a form of enlightenment. It is the modern man’s enlightenment that transforms an unsatisfying life into one of fulfillment.

Isn’t it funny how we make rational excuses for being out of alignment? We say, “Well, this ____ and that ____ happened, so it makes perfect sense for me to be feeling like this ____ and wanting to do this ____.” Yet, to this day, I have never met a happy person who adheres to those excuses. In fact, each time I – or anyone else – decide to give in to “rational excuses” that justify feeling bad – it’s interesting that only further suffering is the result. There is never a good enough reason for us to be out of alignment with peace. Sure, we can go there and make choices that dim our lights… and that is fine; there certainly is purpose for it and the contrast gives us lessons to learn… yet if we’re aware of what we are doing and we’re ready to let go of the suffering – then why go there at all? It’s like beating a dead horse. Been there, done that… so why do we keep repeating it? Pain is going to happen; it’s inevitable in this human experience, yet it is often so brief. When we make those excuses, what happens is: we pick up that pain and begin to carry it with us into the next day… and the next day… into next week… maybe next month… and some of us even carry it for years or to our graves! Forgive, let it go! It is NOT worth it! It is NEVER worth it. There is never a good enough reason for us to pick up that pain and carry it with us. There is never a good enough reason for us to be out of alignment with peace. Unforgiveness hurts you; it hurts others, so why even go there? Why even promote pain? Why say painful things to yourself or others? Why think pain? Just let it go! Whenever I look back on painful things or feel pain today, I know it is my EGO that drives me to “go there.” The EGO likes to have the last word, it likes to feel superior, it likes to make others feel less than in hopes that it will make itself (me) feel better about my insecurities. Maybe if I hurt them enough, they will feel the pain I felt over what they did to me. It’s only fair! It’s never my fault; it’s always someone else’s. There is a twisted sense of pleasure I get from feeling this way, and my EGO eats it right up. YET! With awareness that continues to grow and expand each day, I choose to not feed my pain (EGO) or even go there. I still feel it at times, of course, so I simply acknowledge it and then release it. I HAVE power and choice over my speech and actions. I do not need to ever “go there” again. It’s my choice; it’s your choice. So it’s about damn time we start realizing this. We are not victims of our impulses or emotions; we have the power to control them, and so it’s time to stop acting like we don’t. It’s time to relinquish the excuses.