Perspective Steers Your Joy

This is a subject that I believe strongly in, but struggle with at times. It all comes down to perception. We chose how we feel. We decide what we allow to make our day better or worse. Life is entirely too short to enable the extraneous to ruin our journey in life. Be it one minute of a day, an entire day, a week or more, I have learned that focusing on the negative steals your joy. Do not allow anyone or anything to steal your joy. There are always at least two ways to look at every situation. Chose to see the lesson in the tough times and learn from them. Bask in the glory of what lights the fire within. Kindness, forgiveness, being helpful or non-judgemental, all elicit good feelings inside. Today I was watching Joyce Meyer and she was speaking about when life does not seem to be going well, look within. Maybe the problem is you. Are you judging others? Are you gossiping? Are you harsh, critical or demanding? If you are, don't beat yourself up, just make some changes. Make an effort to stop yourself when you find the urge to carry on about some one or something. Think more globally, from their perspective even. If that is not possible, remember, the energy your are using to think negatively is literally stealing your joy and setting the tone for your day. Practice the process of stopping the negative thoughts. They never serve you. Immediately force in a positive thought. You may even have a rescue scenario in mind, like remembering the day your child was born and you first held them in your arms or a time you helped someone who was suffering to smile. Take some time to recall the good in your life. Our feelings of happiness are all triggered a little differently, and that is what makes our experiences, strengths and gifts different. Chose to be kind. It will make you a happier person. When you are kind, you smile. When you smile you can not be angry or hateful. Joy leads to peace and peace is really what we all want in our lives, isn't it? When your soul is peaceful you become fruitful. Your gifts come to the surface and eventually bubble over into everything you do and say. Let's be kinder, gentler and more giving in 2012. I think that is what is lacking in our world. We can impact this problem one person at a time. Personally, I think it is a win-win situation.