Friday, January 3, 2014

Want a Happy & Prosperous New Year? Adjust Your Attitude!!

Happy New Year!  I am sure that many of you are armed with your list of New Year’s resolutions. Although you say that you want change to take place in many areas of your life, and you declare it, the truth is, do you believe it? You start the New Year with high hopes, but you are still saddled with your old attitudes and old beliefs.

The truth of he matter is, in order for you to move forward in 2014, achieving any of your stated or written resolutions, and in order for you to behold the new and exciting opportunities that lie before you, you must resolve to change your attitude. Think about it! Most of your lost or missed opportunities, as well as your lost or missed blessings, probably occurred because you had the wrong attitude about your ideas, your opportunities, your experiences, and your blessings. As a matter of fact, you probably approached many of your opportunities with an attitude of fear and failure. What you plant is what you get!

If you have walked around with negative attitudes of lack, loneliness, limited thinking, and limited beliefs, it is no wonder that your ides, accomplishments, and blessings have been limited. This New Year is the time for you to adjust your attitude for better results…as a matter of fact, for the BEST results!

You cannot successfully move into and successfully navigate through 2014 until you move past and out of 2013. As long as your attitude is one of regret, lack of forgiveness, and bitterness, you cannot become totally immersed in your present. When you are partially stuck in your past, you will not achieve happiness or prosperity! And in order for you to have a better…your best year, you must move beyond the bitterness. Change your attitude and you can change your Life!

Your attitude has a profound impact on how you experience life; if you experience it at all. When you remove your negative attitude, you close doors of negativity, allowing doors of positivity to open. As long as you keep doors and rooms filled with negative attitudes open, the doors of happiness and success will remain closed. But, when you are no longer afraid to take the risks associated with living a year of happiness and prosperity by brazenly throwing open the doors of positive attitudes, you will commit to living a life of happiness and prosperity!

Here are seven attitude adjustments that you might want to consider in 2014, in order for you to have a ‘Happy & Prosperous New Year.’ You will find that these seven areas have common themes that include your values, your thoughts, your beliefs, as well as what you speak into the world about each of these areas.

It is imperative to note that these seven attitude adjustments won’t occur over night. As a matter of fact, it will do you well to take on one attitude adjustment at a time. Take an opportunity to assess the adjustments you can benefit from and are willing to make in the seven areas. Develop a written plan of action to not only work on these seven areas, one at a time, but also, develop a written and realistic plan of action for you to assess your levels of accomplishment in each of the seven areas. For the first month of the year, work on the first attitude adjustment, and then take on an additional one each month. Remember, practice and implementation will ensure long-lasting and positive behavioral changes.

That new style or makeover you have been considering; that terminal degree or additional training you have been considering; that new job you would like to have; that new home you have been dreaming about; that international trip you have yeaned to take; that new relationship you have wanted to engage in…with a new and positive attitude, you can have them ALL!!!  It’s yours; now go and get it!!!



Seven Ares for Attitude Adjustments

1.     Your Attitude about yourself: YOUR SELF-WORTH; How you view yourself; how you feel about yourself; loving yourself; your self-esteem; your beliefs about you; believing you deserve the best; believing you really can; recognizing that everything begins with you & ends with you; you are responsible for you; It is okay to be with you; Deciding to follow your passion…no matter how old or how young you are; taking care of yourself. Instead of fighting daily to be understood, learn to seek understanding. Stop comparing yourself to others and measure yourself by your own yardstick. Accept yourself, love yourself, affirm yourself, respect yourself, and just be yourself! Believe you can ask for help, and have a willingness to get help for yourself!

2.     Your attitude about life: You are so blessed to still be here; it is not your goodness that you are alive; it’s God’s grace & mercy that you are still here; life is worth living; you are an integral and necessary part of life; you determine how your life will be; you must learn to live; there is only one time around; don’t waste your time on people, situations, and circumstances going nowhere. Don’t be fooled or hung up on your age; age is only a number! Revel in the fact that you are alive on a daily bass. Learn to greet the sunshine everyday, even when it is not shining!

3.    Your attitude about other people & your relationships with them: No one owes you anything; allow others to be themselves; stop trying to change people, especially into images and likenesses of you; learn when to let go of people and move on; learn to forgive others in order to free yourself and set others free; it’s okay to not be in an unhealthy situation, but that you engage in healthy relationships. It is imperative that you seek healthy, realistic, & positive relationships. You should be growing within your relationships, along with your relationships, and as a result of your relationships. Don’t be afraid to admit that you made a mistake in inviting some people into your life or by allowing yourself to be invited in the lives of others that were liabilities and not assets. Recognize that people are in your life to be used positively and not misused. People are in your life for a reason and a season; people will leave you one way or another…on their own or through death; and you many times can’t control either of them! Love people for who they are and don’t be afraid to rid yourself of people who no longer fit.  Above all, stop allowing people to take up space in your head and heart, rent free!!!

4.    Your attitude about success & failure: Define success and recognize that it is not an external attribute, but an internal state of mind; external and material things or people are not the determiners of your level of success; Recognize that you can have a fear of success, as well as a fear of failure, therefore sabotaging your success. Stop blaming others for your seeming lack of success. Recognize that you are the measure and the determiner of your success and/or your failure. Stop looking at others and what you THINK they have in order to determine your success in life. The problem isn’t faltering, falling, or failing; it’s not getting back up ad trying again! Learn to forgive yourself for the failures and praise yourself for your successes. Reward yourself either way and always at the lessons learned and how you can utilize the lessons to catapult you to even higher levels. 

5.    Your attitude about money: Money is not the root of evil; it is your thoughts, actions, and beliefs about money that brings in the evil. Excessive debit is the root of evil, when it comes to money…excessive debt is enslavement! There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money; if you don’t have a lot of money, it doesn’t mean you are a failure. Having money means having a plan, taking action, and working at whatever your passion is. You must believe that you deserve to have money,, as well as how to be able to manage it. Learn to speak differently about your financial state. Instead of using terms like, ‘I am broke,’ ‘I have nothing,’ begin to speak prosperity into your life!  ‘I will,’ ‘I can,’ ‘I am.’ Look beyond your lack and behold your fullness. Learn to appreciate what you have by seeing the glass as half full, instead of half empty.

6.    Your attitude about your spirituality: Recognize that you are not in charge! There IS a higher power!  You are not in control!  When you recognize this, you will be able to fully recognize your happiness and your prosperity. You are a spiritual being. It is important to not confuse your spirituality with your religion. Religion is a set of manmade doctrines,; whereas, spirituality is the VERY essence of your being…WHO YOU ARE!!!You do have a destiny…seek it and walk in it! You were created with a purpose in mind; seek your purpose in life and begin to walk in it. Learn to trust a higher power. I call this higher power GOD! When you adjust your attitude about your spirituality, you will come to see that your life is full of outlets with electrical charges to rejuvenate you, anytime you need them. All you have to do is plug in, whenever you need to do so, through prayer and meditation. Be aware of each breath you take; they place you closer to your spirituality. You don’t have to make your life journey alone; there is hope when you are spiritually connected.  Because you are a spiritual being, there is no need for you to have to search for your spirituality; it is right inside of you!


7.    Your attitude about Change & taking risks: Work on recognizing, understanding, and ridding yourself of the FEARS that prohibit & inhibit your ability to grow through and with change. Everything must change! You grow through changes within you and around you. The seasons change, the leaves on the trees change, so must your life. Stop trying to keep people, situations, and circumstances the way they have always been. Step out of your comfort zone to take risks, to do something new and different. Learn something new; meet someone new; buy something new (that you can afford); visit a new place; try a new food; change your hairstyle; change the way you dress; take up a hobby; go to work a different way, even if it might be a little longer. Follow your passion and enjoy what you do for once in your life!!!