Real

Approval

You are not in this world to live up to the expectations of others, nor should you feel that others are here to live up to yours.

  In fact, the more you approve of your own decisions in life, the less approval you need from everyone else.

Sweet Sweat

Noticing

Setbacks and Responsibility

Realize that in order for you to grow emotionally, you must be willing to take full responsibility for all your actions and outcomes – successes and failures alike.  
Because if you are too afraid of failure, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful.  Setbacks, failures, obstacles, and hardships are the contractors of life; they build character, strength and knowledge.

Being Ourselves

Presence and Power

The past is not broken.
  It can’t possibly be. 
 It no longer exists. 
 There is nothing to fix. 
 There is, however, a present moment that can be lived with presence and power.

Trans-Fats

To lower your trans fat intake, avoid packaged food with “hydrogenated” in the ingredients label. And skip deep-fried food.

Did you know that just one package or serving of a “trans-fat-free” food may contain nearly half the daily limit of the artery-clogging fat? Americans are advised to eat no more than 1.11 grams of trans fat each day (though no amount of trans fat is safe). Because of labeling guidelines, packaged foods can claim “zero trans fat” if they contain less than 0.5 grams per serving. This means that if the microwave popcorn you bought contains 0.49 grams of trans fat per serving, you can and will exceed the recommended limit just by eating slightly more than two servings.  To banish trans fat from your diet, follow these guidelines instead: Read the ingredients label. If you see “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated,” do not buy it. Foods most likely to contain trans fat include non-dairy creamers; cake, muffin and pancake mixes; microwave popcorn; ramen noodles; baked goods; snack foods; margarine; instant cocoa mix; and frozen fast-food meals like waffles and chicken pot pie.  When dining out, avoid deep-fried food. For cooking at home, always choose heart-healthy oils like olive oil and canola oil over margarine, shortening and non-dairy creamers.

Truth

Alternative

Now

You can’t go back to how things were, or how you thought they were supposed to be. 
 All you really have is now.  
The wisest and most mindful thing you can control in life is your reaction to what’s beyond your control.
  Dwelling on negativity from the past simply contributes to its power. 
 So stop focusing on what happened and start focusing on what’s going to move you forward.

Do

Too Short

Life is too short to spend all your time trying to make everyone else happy. 
 Besides, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time anyway.
  At some point, you have got to stop

caring about what everyone else wants for you, and start actually living for yourself.

Apple Picking

There’s nothing quite like the crisp autumn air to make you want to get outdoors and be active. Support your local orchard by going apple picking this season. Not only will you get a great deal on the freshest possible fruit, you’ll also enjoy a favorite fall pastime – and get in a day’s worth of exercise to boot. Plus, it’s so much more fun than going to the grocery store. 
Round up the little people in your life and take them with you! It will help them to see, firsthand, where the fruit comes from, and this will markedly increase their appreciation for fresh produce in comparison to picking it up at the supermarket.

Measurement

Forgiveness

Forgiveness means choosing to release resentment, anger, bitterness, hatred, and the desire to punish or avenge past offenses or wrongdoings.  We can choose to forgive even when the offender does not deserve it.
This is not the same as JUSTICE.
The offender is some cases needs to realize the true consequences of his choices.
We free ourselves from the past, realizing that punishing, getting even, and judging do not heal.  We stop insisting that the past be changed before we can again be

happy, and we instead take responsibility for our present happiness. 
 Paradoxically, in releasing the burden, we gain greater control of our lives.
Forgiving ourselves is just as important.  If we can't come to terms with our own past wrongdoings, then our present experience becomes colored by shame. 
 Such a self-concept saps the joy in our life's journey:  there is not pleasure in unremitting guilt, self-loathing, or self-condemnation.  Shame drains the energy we need to respond fully to others' needs.  It is difficult to be sensitive to others' needs when we are focused on, and weakened by, our own unhealed wounds.  We might think that constantly reliving the offense will prevent its recurrence, but in reality such replaying tends to diminish the capacity to live well.

A Fact

Clinging

Patterns From Memories

Even after you let go, the past is still part of who you are.  Every one of us lives in the present and makes choices based on some part of the past.  This fact is simply unavoidable.  You are only able to read these words right now because of your past.  Your brain relates past experiences (or learned knowledge) to these words.All forms of learning rely on your ability to continually reference the past.If you think about it, many wise decisions you have made leading to this very moment were created through recalling what did or did not work in the past.  You are only able to do what you can now because of what you learned.  For instance, you only recognize a friend when she walks into the room because you reference a past connection with her.  In this way, you are using the past effectively.

But when you start behaving ineffectively because you think, “this is the way it has always been,” problems arise.  Old traditions may be useful, or they may stifle your progress and growth.  It all depends on how relevant they are to the present.  It’s your responsibility to make this determination.

Basics