Guard Your Mind

Now more than ever, I think it is imperative to fill your mind with positive stuff. The news talks about how bad the economy is, people talk about how bad the housing market is, newspapers and magazines are flooded with "How to stay afloat" articles. I know you have heard this before but don't fall into the trap of the "self-fulfilling prophecy" and create a negative situation. We need to be diligent about our self talk and consciously fill our minds with positive thoughts. For example, if someone says to me "The economy is horrible and it is only going to get worse." I say "The economy is what it is and I choose to focus on all the wonderful things in my life right now." Stop the negative comments in their tracks so you don't get sucked into them. Read positive books, write down a few positive affirmations and say them every morning and every night. Relish in your family and the little things that bring joy to your life everyday. I am currently re-reading "Think and Grow Rich". This is a fabulous book that talks directly about how you think and how that affects everything in your life. Choose to be positive, choose to focus on the good things in your life right now. The economy, the housing, the job market is what it is - how you choose to be in relation to those things is up to you!!

Sitting in the Dark

I just recently made our move from Spokane to Phoenix. It was a whirlwind the past 3 weeks! Just a couple of days after we moved in, I had had my limit of "where is the..." or "do we have any ..." or "I can't find..."! My head was about to pop off and I just wanted to be left alone and have some quiet time. As it was time for my husband to put my son to bed, I noticed they were glued to the TV and no one was moving towards the bedroom. I decided I was not going to just leave them be and go take a bath. As I started to run the water, I decided I was going to try to be invisible. I was very quiet, shut my door, turned off all the lights in my room and bathroom and climbed into the tub. There I sat, in the dark, in a nice hot bathtub! The light from the stars and the moon gave me just a glimmer of light. It was quiet! I just sat there, not moving and taking deep, relaxing breaths. I don't think I have ever taken a bath in the dark but for some reason it was exactly what I needed to shut everything out and just be. It took my husband and son about 20 minutes to realize I was gone and then I could hear them looking for me. It was actually quite funny because they didn't come into my room as it was dark and I wasn't making a sound. Finally, I decided it was time to get out as I think they were starting to worry that I had wondered off somewhere. It was the most relaxing 20 minutes I have had in a long time.

I Don't Like You Anymore!

Remember when you were 10 years old and if you got upset you could just say "I don't like you anymore" and stomp off? Sometimes I wish I was 10 again when I am having one of those moments with my son. As with most kids, he can have melt downs over the smallest issues. Well, today was one of those days and I was just not in the mood to be "mom". All I wanted to do was turn to him and yell "I don't like you anymore" and stomp off. As I am not 10 anymore, my adult mind chimed in telling me that is really not acceptable since I am the parent. Standing there in my moment of indecision, I finally decided to do nothing. I just turned and walked away without saying a word. I was in the middle of drying his hair and I simply put the brush down, put the blow dryer down and said "I am done, go get your shoes on." I was very proud of myself as he was really pushing my buttons and I was getting very frustrated. There is always that half second when you can go from on the edge to being very upset or you can go to being calm. One of my Intentional Intentions this year is to not get sucked into his meltdowns and get upset but to be calm and find a way to work through these moments. I think the fact that I just walked away confused my son and he wasn't sure what just happened. He changed his attitude and came and told me he was sorry. I took this moment to talk about what happened and how it made both of us feel. We all have patterns of how we act in certain situations and we usually get the same outcome. I have decided to be conscious about my usual pattern when it comes to his meltdowns. Today I responded differently and received a different much better outcome. I might just be on to something here!