Tag Archive: positive thinking


Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so -

Filed Under: law of attraction
Feb.17, 2010

Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”


Consider the following statements:

  • Mary has a tumor.
  • I got a new job.
  • John’s son died.
  • Steward went on vacation to Paris.
  • Bill crashed his new Corvette and did not have insurance.
  • Peggy won $100,000 in the lottery.
  • My wife got a speeding ticket today.

Did you assign value to any of those statements? Did you decide who was lucky and who was unlucky? After reading the statement did you decide, “Oh, that’s bad!” or “Oh, that’s good!”?


Whether or not something is good or bad is determined by our perception. Perception is formed by the things we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel as well as our life philosophy, our beliefs, our way of thinking, and even our personality. That’s why you can take one single event and interview 100 people and come up with several different perceptions of the event.


All of the events above can be looked at from different viewpoints which will conclude that it is good or bad. For example, Mary has a tumor. That sounds really bad! But what if the doctors thought she had a fatal form of cancer but then discovered it was a benign tumor instead. Oh, that would be good!


I got a new job. Well, obviously that could go either way depending on a lot of different facts surround it. Perhaps I was fired from my old job and I got a new one that pays only half the salary. Is it good or bad? It’s good that I have a job, but it’s bad that I don’t make as much.


I think you get the point, but let’s look at the next statement because many of you will undoubtedly say, there’s nothing good about John’s son dying. But again, it’s all based on your perception. What if he had been suffering a terribly painful disease? What if all 4 of John’s children were in a car crash, but only one son died rather than all of them. Again, it’s your perception that places the value of good and bad on a situation.

So here’s the good news – YOU control your perspective! You are in the driver’s seat regarding how good or how bad your life is, simply by deciding to choose the proper perception. It all happens upstairs – in your mind. Your emotions are under the command of your thoughts. You can choose to feel good, positive emotions any time and under any circumstance. No matter what befalls you, no matter what anyone says or does to you, no matter what physical ailments or life events that you go through – you decide if it’s good or bad. The next time something “bad” happens – change your perspective.

Control your thinking – control your emotions. Control you emotions – control your life.

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Life Sucks. Then you Die.

Filed Under: Finances, Life, Parenting
Feb.01, 2010

Have you ever thought that about your life? Most of us probably go through streaks of bad luck which makes us think that life sucks, but it’s usually a short lived experience then we get on to the business of living a good life. But what if you have felt that way for as long as you can remember? What if you often ask yourself, “What’s the point?” Or what if you just feel bored with your life?

If you have to ask yourself what’s the point of living, then you really are missing the point. The point to living is ENJOY it!

I can already hear the protests: you don’t understand!

  • I have a terrible job!

  • I’m fat and can’t lose weight!

  • My husband and I don’t get along!

  • I’m broke or I just lost my job!

  • My kids are driving me crazy – they are out of control!

It seems the excuses for not enjoying life are endless for some people. So, what can you do about it if you find yourself not enjoying life?

First, you must come to some sort of resolution that you are the creator of your life. If you continue to think you are a victim and therefore powerless over your circumstances, you will remain in your miserable mental prison. Every aspect about your life right NOW is a result of past decisions, habits, thinking, and behavior. Therefore, if you want TOMORROW to be different, you must change things TODAY! Let’s take a look at what you can do now to change your whatever is making you not enjoy life.

Let’s say you are feeling financially pressured. This is a category where you have a ton of choices which all can lead to a better picture tomorrow. First of all, you can take control of your finances by creating a budget and sticking with it. Mark has some great posts and resources available for this. Next, you could take a look at how much you earn, decide how much more would make your life comfortable, then figure out how to get it. Let’s say you earn $50,000 per year but you decide it would be much better if you could earn $65,000. You need an additional $15K, so how can you get it? The first stop should be your employer – ask them what it would take for you to make that much more money. If they say it’s impossible – perhaps looking for another job should be something you look into. Or maybe you can look outside your job to find another source of income – such as freelancing or a part time job somewhere.

Perhaps your finances are ok, but your children are driving you crazy! You feel overwhelmed by the chaos in your home. Here is a suggestion which you may have never considered – take a parenting course! What? You want me to let someone else tell me how to raise my kids? No way! That is generally the attitude parents take when offered parenting tips, advice or education. They seem to think that their ability to procreate and spit out a baby automatically gives them credentials to properly parent the child. Or they think that love alone is going to save the day. I’m always amazed at how offended people get when it is suggested they are going about parenting and disciplining the wrong way. I suppose they think they have faulty children instead of their approach to them being less than ideal.

Then there are other excuses people use to feel miserable which really can’t be changed. Some have been hurt, abused, taken advantage of, or maybe born into a bad family situation. You know what, you still have a choice. Do you want to wallow in the past or enjoy life in the present? As cold as it sounds, the answer to some of your problems may be simply – “Get over it.” “Move on.” “Forget it.” Or better yet, “forgive.”

The point is, whether or not you enjoy life is solely up to you. You have the power to change most aspects of your life and the things you can’t change can never stand in your way of happiness. Happiness is a decision, much like love is. No one or nothing can MAKE you choose unhappiness. The choice is yours – choose wisely.

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More about stuff

Filed Under: Life
Jan.13, 2010

A few days ago I wrote about “stuff.”  You know what stuff I’m referring to, right? The stuff that just happens.  I want to talk a bit more about stuff and the verse from Romans 8:28 which tells us that all things work together for our good. What that verse says to me is that difficulty is designed to lead to blessing. The only reason it sometimes does not is because we fight it or we fail to acknowledge it.   

Many times we fight the difficulty (stuff) that is happening to us rather than accepting it in faith that God knows what He’s doing. When we can’t get rid of it, we sit around crying or whining about it so that we don’t see the good that does come from it…or worse, we sabotage the good along with the stuff!  So what are we to do? 

First of all, look for the good, watch for it, expect it. Every time you face difficulty the first thing you should do is change your mindset toward expectation of good. Just that one act alone will greatly lessen the difficulty you are experiencing!  It is amazing what can happen when you simply change your mindset. If you develop this skill you will soon realize that it’s no big deal.  Actually, most everything that happens to you – both good and bad – is really no big deal. Sure, our egos want us to think it is a big deal, but it’s usually not. In fact, if you’ll take the time to recall all the events of 2009 that at the time they were happening you really thought were a big deal – you will notice that it really wasn’t. Our egos tend to enjoy drama. You can get that under control by stepping back and asking yourself, will this matter one year from today? Or, will I even remember it in five years?  

I’m not suggesting that the difficulty you may be experiencing doesn’t bring some sort of pain with it – sure it does. And that pain is very real! But if you fail to realize that the opportunity which accompanies the pain is also very real – you will not only be in pain, you’ll miss out on the blessing that the pain was designed to create. Most of us avoid all forms of death, right? We see death as the enemy. I’m not just referring to death of the body, but all kinds of death. If you are fired from your job – it’s the death of that position. If your spouse leaves you for another lover – it’s the death of that relationship. Throughout nature it is demonstrated that death brings forth new life.  Death is a necessary step in getting something better – it’s not the enemy!  A seed must fall into the ground and die before it can bring forth a new plant. The seedling must die to give way to the sprout.  The sprout dies to give way to the stems which will bare flowers. The flowers must die to bring forth the fruit. The fruit must die to bring forth the seed. The pattern we see demonstrated is that the new life is greater than that which died. 

Anytime you are experiencing a death, whether it be in a relationship, employment, your possessions, or anything that is no longer useful to you – you are then provided an opportunity for a new life, or new job, new opportunity, new relationship, etc. Looking toward the new is similar to how a mother giving birth deals with the pain of childbirth. She is in anticipation of that new life that is coming forth. The pain is still very real! But the expectation of new life is greater than the pain. 

We can approach all of the stuff that happens with this same attitude. Look for the new birth.  Look for the new opportunity.  Look for new growth. In doing so, you will get your mind off the pain and the experience will be worth it all in the end.

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Stuff Happens

Filed Under: Life
Jan.11, 2010

Stuff happens. Right? Everyone knows that stuff happens. Even though we all know it happens, we all seem to react to stuff in our own way and it fluctuates depending on what else is going on in our lives at that particular moment. Sometimes, when stuff happens, we over-react. We lose our cool. We yell, scream, or verbally hurt those around us. Other times, we take it like a champ! We respond by saying “it ain’t nothing but a thing.” Ok, that doesn’t happen very often, but let’s pretend that sometimes we do respond in such a grown up manner. But we must admit, most of the time, when stuff happens, we respond in a way that we aren’t particularly proud of.  

Many times we let stuff get us down. Out thoughts turn negative and we take on the role of victim. Out thoughts run away with such notions as:

  • Why me?
  • This always happens!
  • Life isn’t fair.
  • I can’t win.

As Christians, we say we believe Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  But our reaction to “all things,” (aka stuff) reveals otherwise. 

I think the first issue we have to deal with is that we tend to believe stuff happens TO us rather than FOR us. This line of thinking automatically puts us in a defensive position. If we are defensive, we will be working against that which is supposed to be working for us. So, if we want to respond to stuff in a mature (and Christian) manner, it simply starts with our thinking. (Isn’t that where everything starts?) 

I think the hardest lesson we must learn in life is that we have free will over our emotions. We actually get to chose what we think, what we believe, and therefore, what we feel. I struggle with this just as much as the next person. However, since I write about it often, and I live with a husband who reads my work and respects my views, I am often held accountable for my choices! That’s no fun at all sometimes! Just yesterday, Mark asked me “Which do you choose to believe?” Yikes. Strong medicine for me! I can’t argue with him, of course he’s right! It’s my choice to believe the truth or not and therefore my choice to be a victim or a victor! 

We all have that choice.  So remember, the next time stuff happens – take a minute to remember that it’s in your power to respond in such a way that the stuff works out for your good or not.

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Just LOVE it!

Filed Under: Life
Jan.08, 2010

cheeseLast night, while dinner was being prepared, I reached into the bag of shredded cheese and ate a bite! Yummy.  It was so good! (I know, I’m on a diet, but its all part of my plan on keeping it real.) Anyway, as I walked away, I said, “I love cheese!”  My son questioned me in his usual teasing manner – “LOVE it?” I replied that yes, indeed, I LOVE it! I know you must be wondering what the point is to this boring antic about enjoying cheese.  But first, let me tell you something else I love. 

Mark and I have a beautiful painting in our bedroom. I’m not sure what style you would call it, but it is a hand painted city scene with a horse and buggy.  I LOVE that painting. Mark and I have spent a good deal of time discussing it.  At first, we both kept looking at it because something didn’t seem right with it. Then one night, he figured it out – the horse buggy is missing a wheel. Once he pointed it out it became quite obvious, but I still love it. The colors and style match our room’s décor. I also love how it invokes my imagination when I look at it. But mostly, I love it because I remember the evening we purchased it. We had so much fun shopping and playing together that night and seeing the painting brings all that to life as though it was last week, rather than 2 years ago. Again, you are probably asking – what’s your point?  I’m going to tell you, but first, have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the night sky, especially in the winter? 

Because we live in a rural area and atop the highest peak in our county – we Frederic Larsonhave a huge view of the sky! Shortly after I moved to Ginn Hill I discovered something I had never seen before – a moon set. It is every bit as beautiful as a sunset, but even more precious, because most are sleeping right through it. When the moon is full and bright, just before dawn, it sinks in the western sky and turns the most beautiful orange color! I LOVE it! 

Ok. Here’s my point. Many times we focus on our dreams and goals – and that is very important. But the thing that is the most important is enjoying your life NOW – no matter what is going on with it. If you only focus on what you want, rather than what you have – you’ll miss out on a wondrous journey! It is so easy to get consumed with your job, the kids, the bills, the economy, politics, and all the other stressors in your life that you forget to LOVE your life now.  

Love is a powerful force. We not only direct it toward our family and friends, but toward all the blessings we have, even cheese.   Once you discipline yourself to set goals and work toward them, the next step is to relax. Faith, the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction all requires you to stop stressing and believe you have already received that which you desire and have asked for. The best way for me to get into that restful place of believing is to love. Love life. Love people. Love your pets. Love nature. Love cheese!

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