How do YOU have a good day?

I have something to say about holding yourself accountable. We have such complex minds. Do you realize how much we self-sabotage with our thoughts, words and actions? We make ourselves feel guilty by setting expectations for ourselves and then falling short. We make agreements with ourselves that we don't keep. We make goals and then fail to reach them. No wonder we have low self esteem and lack of motivation!

I am determined to stop the self-talk that's negative. I believe that we have power beyond the scope of what we think we have! The first thing we can do is to start creating something each day that we feel good about. for example, I, for one, recently started my frequent no-coffee-for-a-week caffeine cleanse rally.

OK, that's not the thing that's making me feel good: I'm getting to that! Now, I love a cup of coffee in the morning as much as the next person. I have a ritual of making a certain blend, a certain way, with a french press and a special cup or travel mug and the time I spend drinking my java is a regular "pre-morning" morning feel-good fix. AND if, Heaven forbid, someone should use my cup, take my travel mug (and my son has been known to do that despite the fact that I've told him I would drive toothpick's under his fingernails if he did it again) or something else should come up and I don't get to enjoy my coffee ritual (disclaimer here) I cannot be held responsible for the actions that take over my body and my mouth while I walk around the house in a grumpy state of being!

Today was my third day without my ritual morning coffee fix. I recognized that I chose to do this because I believe it's good for me. I chose this, not you, or my husband or my parents or anyone else. There simply is no one to blame.

My point is, it would be so easy to blame someone else for our shortcomings, flaws and moods even if they are self-inflicted! Even just an emotion of "not feeling good" is no one else's fault but mine.

So instead of focusing my attention on the LACK I was feeling, I chose to do something else to focus on and make it a good day! It was chilly all night since this turn of the season to Fall. I was inside working until lunchtime. I really paid no attention to the weather until I got hungry and went to the kitchen for something to eat. The sun was beckoning me! It's warmth was calling to me and I felt like I could use a boost of vitamin D! I made some broccoli cheddar soup in a favorite bowl (because it was a gift from a friend I made while living in Germany). I have had this bowl for two moves and roughly twenty years! The saucer was lost when I made some soup for a neighbor when they were sick and took it over never to have the saucer returned. So be it...won't fret.

My favorite old spoon too. Why? I don't know, because it's kinda square, I guess! I like things that don't fit the mold, you know? So I sat down on a chair on my back deck to enjoy my soup. I didn't even have to blow on it to cool it on the spoon, the wind did that for me! Just me, the dog, and the birds going to the bird feeder like it was a drive-through window at lunch hour. A fly-by every minute. Ahhhh!

In a nutshell, I held myself accountable for my mood. I took control, had the power, and recognized my ability to change my perspective about the whole thing. Not a big deal really to give up coffee, but I am trying to make a point here. Empower yourself! Change your thoughts from something not good to something great! Enjoy the simple pleasures and do something for yourself that you decide to do for you! If your in a pickle, look at your mindset about the situation. Whatever it is, it just is. Your perspective of it is what counts. Are you going to carry it all day? Take my advice and HAVE A GOOD DAY!