Take Off What You Are Wearing !

I love what I do.  I love having the opportunity to work with individuals; finding out who and what they were created to be.  The downside of what I do is the first hand witnessing of the emotional wounds people allow others to inflict on them.  Much like many of the remarkable people I work with, for too long I allowed people to label me.  Nothing is worse than when we allow another to put a label on us - saying what we can or can not do or who we are or are not.  There are times when the label may be positive, such as words of encouragement.  However, the negative labels do the damage.  The worst part about it is you can not stop them and you can not prevent them.  

A newspaper editor once told a man named Walt Disney he wasn’t creative enough, that he lacked in imagination.  An acting teacher once told a young girl by the name of Lucille Ball that she didn’t have any acting skills; it was best she try a different profession.  Winston Churchill was held back in the sixth grade because he wasn’t smart enough.  Well, we know all know how Disney, Lucille Ball, and Churchill turned out! The common denominator in the triumphs and victories of these individuals was the ability to remove the negative label.

Before heading out on the Professional Bowlers Tour in 1997, more people than I choose to remember told me I would fail.  I was told I wasn’t good enough and there wasn’t any chance I could “compete”.  Those were the labels people attempted to put on me.  I was already insecure, but at the time I did not realize it’s just how the enemy works - keeping you from reaching your highest potential.  Discouragement, intimidation - the words become like seeds and if you dwell on them they will take root.  Winning on the professional level helped hush those critics!  Then came the labels of addict and junkie.  Once again I had to work hard at removing the negative labels and it has never been easy.  The thoughts play over and over again in your mind like a skipping record.  “You don’t have what it takes.”  Getting the label off is much like taking a Clinton/Gore bumper sticker off a car today.  You peel it, you need water, soap, and it still never wants to come off.  Finally I removed the label and was able to put new ones on.  My favorite is “I can do all things”.

Wrong labels will keep you from living the life you are meant to live.  You are not who others say you are, you are who YOU say you are.  People will always say you aren’t good enough, too old, too many faults.  Do not live another day allowing someone else to define who you are.  I have worked with so many individuals who wear the labels others have given them and love their life accordingly.  They become who someone says they are, when the truth is they are strong, talented, and valuable!

What labels are holding you back?  Maybe a teacher, coach, loved one, or even a parent spoke something to you.   Now is the time to remove the label.  Others do not control your destiny - you do!  Stop giving vindication to the comments.  It simply is not the truth and once you realize this, the label will no longer have an affect.  The only way anyone can limit you is if you wear the label.  So many people continue to wear labels such as divorced and live with the thought they will never find anyone.  Or the label of overweight and live with the thought they will never be in shape.  So many have listened to someone label them as addict and live with the thought they will never break the disease.  You will become the label you wear - it is inevitable.  It is why so many people struggle with addiction because they wear the label of addict.  If you think you are an addict, you have already lost the fight!  Change the label to you are clean, you are in recovery.  Do not live another day wearing a label someone else put on you, write your own label.  Just because someone spoke it over you does not mean it is the truth.  You have the right gifts, the right personality, the right skin color.  You are not an accident.  You were made perfect by your Creator to do what it is you were meant to do!  You were not created as just one of the six billion people on Earth or created just to be average.  Your smile, your gift…..all of it was made for your destiny.  Nobody else can offer what you offer!  If you continue to think you are just average, you will live an average life.  If you are going to be all you were meant to be, the first thing you must do is remove the label.  Nothing that has happened to you or spoken to you should keep you from your destiny.  No matter what mistakes or situations you have been in, shake off the self-pity, quit dwelling on what mom, dad, or your cynical husband, or wife has said to you.  People can call you whatever they like.  You are not what people call you, you are only what you answer to.  Remove the label and watch the bondages disappear!

Stay hungry!

The Magic Potion for Happiness - FREE and GUARANTEED TO WORK!

Toward the end of my active addiction and in the beginning of my recovery, I was so desperate to find happiness that I would have probably spent anything I could on a magic potion that could guarantee happiness.  After 10 years of personal torture, my mind was so screwed up that I actually believed the infomercials for magic potions and in thoughts of Neverland.  Just when I was about to give up, I was introduced to something that was life changing and I would like to share it with you so that it may have the same affect on your life, no matter where you are in it.

After losing everything to addiction, including my dignity and sense of pride, the ability to find gratitude in my life was something I thought was a cynical joke. When my recovery mentor suggested I started this simple exercise, I laughed in his face.  But, he promised me I would see a difference and he never steered me wrong with anything else, so I gave it a shot.  The exercise was simple: Get a notebook, put it next to my bed, and each night before I went to sleep I had to list FIVE things I was grateful for.  Some nights I wrote because my hair was still black, but others it was being grateful that I am one of the lucky ones that made it back from the dance with death.  After some time, the difference in my thought pattern was profound.  I was beginning to know the value of my heart, my close relationships, the oxygen that filled my nostrils, the water that allows me to take a hot shower, and the beautiful hummingbird outside my window.  The realization was that betwixt the occasional lack of money, stressful work weeks, and everything else life delivers, I am veritably rich beyond words.  Enough about me....let's get you started!

A few of you are going to say you simply have no time to do such a thing.  Just make it a daily priority.  Things will ALWAYS show up.  Be grateful for the energy to do all that you do!  I guarantee that when you have an appreciation for whatever life brings, you WILL see change your life.  When you spend time and energy being grateful for what you do have, there isn't any time left to think about what you do not have and the world will belong to you!  Just a few weeks ago, a client shared her "AHA moment." She realized her life wasn't really lacking a thing - despite the fact she had 32 cents in her bank account and her husband was in Iraq. She appreciated what she DID have.

This exercise is also something couples can do together.  I have clients that make the list with their husband/wife/partner, sending emails and texts to each other during the day.  It has worked wonders in their relationships. 

WHAT TO DO:

• Commit - You will always find a reason not to do this.  It seems much easier to complain about life!  Get the notebook, put it near the bed, and begin to look for what is right, not wrong.
• Begin - All you have to write is the beginning - "I am grateful for..."  It may take a sec or the words may flow.  It's about getting your mind to percolate differently.
• Jot it down - There may be times when a thought peaks into your minds during the day.  Jot it down and add it to your list and the end of the day.  It's a great way to defeat the traffic blues!
• No stops on this ride! - Once you begin to see a difference (and you will), such as catching yourself during the day being thankful for the smallest things - DO NOT STOP your routine.  It's the process of doing this that has enabled you to get to the point you are.  Ending the routine risks losing the little things.

Doing this on a regular basis has the power to improve your mood, increase your level of happiness, make your life less stressful, and give a better satisfaction to your life.  I have seen amazing results.  It is human nature to look at what is wrong, how we lack this and that, or compare ourselves to someone or something else.  But, if you give yourself a daily chance to see and feel the little blessings you do have, hope is created and that trumps anything else going on.  For those who think they have nothing to be grateful for - try this exercise: Each day, imagine losing one thing you take for granted, such as the ability to walk, see, or hear, your home, your car, a loved one.  Think of life without what you thought of. 

One last thing - BE CREATIVE!  For example, one day think of a person that is close to you and ask yourself three questions.  First, consider anything they have given you.  Then consider what you have given them.  Finally, consider what trouble you may have caused them.  You may owe others more than you think.  It's creative leaps such as this that have the ability to set off events of change in yourself.

I welcome your comments and would love to hear your future results.  Good luck!