A Joyous Perspective on the P through U...More ABC's...

It's Friday, and time for another Friday Night Thought Tale Hour with the Henderson's. After a nice break and visit with a few of our young ones, I'm ready to jump back into looking at continuing on with the ABC's of my life rules. This week we begin with Priorities, which no matter what we say, what we do demonstrates. We will end with Unplug, which goes kinda goes against what you are doing right now... But no matter, there's no judgment in these ABC's, because believe me, I struggle with following them all the time! Rather than hold on to self-condemnation, I choose to be forgiving to myself. At the end of the day, I've learned:

Sometimes, misery doesn't stem from what we don't have, but from what we choose to keep.

So let's dive into the next letters of life lessons organized by ABC.

Prioritize:
Priorities are often looked upon as difficult to make, but in reality, we subconsciously choose those things that are truly most important to us. I've found that if I want my privately held priorities to take precedence, I have to remain mindful of them every day. Prioritize your life so that your highest value activities take preference, not a backseat. It's all about managing your time, versus it controlling you. Enhance and refine your time management skills so that you are able to identify what tasks you need to tackle first. Say yes to your priorities and make each day count. When you live this way, there is no regret.

Quit:
Take a hard look at your life, and make a decision to quit some

things. Make a list, then work on these things stopping habits that are negative, but quit being hard on yourself when you struggle. You will never be able to completely stop doing all things that are unhealthy for you, but you can always give yourself credit for trying. If we never try to quit, we never will.

Release:
What are you carrying right now that is too heavy? Every day, practice letting go of the things that weigh you down. Try to catch yourself when you’re getting caught up in a story in your head so you can take a few deep breaths, center yourself, and free up your energy for the people and things that bring you peace and purpose. I would bet that you have many more things going for you right now than you have against you. Think about that, and see yourself body surfing toward the goals going with the flow instead of against it and getting caught up in a riptide. 

Sorry:
We all need to learn how to apologize to those we’ve hurt, intentionally or unintentionally. And though will all deserve the same in return, we also need to learn to accept an apology we were

never given. Then, we can move forward without anger. Forgiveness is a gift we can provide both to others and ourselves. This can be scary, but don't let the fear of what could happen to make nothing happen.





Thank You:
Recognizing what others do for us not only reminds us to be modest and humble, but it opens doors to more profound and meaningful relationships, enhances our empathy, and improves our psychological and physical health. Sometimes we don't allow others to help us because we don't want to feel an obligation to anyone else, or we're afraid they won't come through. Start with saying thank you, and watch how this changes. 

Unplug:
Unplug from technology. Switch off. Spend time with yourself, by yourself. One of the most significant discoveries of self-transformation and personal development is not only getting to know yourself but getting to like what you find. Look people in the eye. Listen with all of your senses. We miss out on so much when we are plugged into devices rather than to hearts. Put down the phone, or better yet, leave it out of reach. You'll be amazed at all you've been missing.

Challenge forces us to find our center, rebalance and adjust, then keep going even stronger.

I realize all of these letters are not that easy to read and follow, but

I promise they will lead you to a more balanced existence if you can find the courage to try and keep them close. Getting out of kilter can happen so fast, especially in the pressure cooker world most of us dwell within. But take a moment each waking day, or just before you retire, to commit to an adjustment. You'll feel stronger just for trying.

So tonight, Chris and I will be practicing a priority, which involves celebrating those special folks in our lives. We will be attending a gathering to say thank you to a person who has been very important to Chris, and one he will miss having in his daily life. And we will have to unplug to do this. So here's to bringing a few of the ABC's alive right away, and forming some lasting words to live by. Cheers, Friends.