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A daily rosary might not be difficult… until that family vacation. Cold showers aren’t so bad… until that cold snap. Charitable giving feels great… until finances are tight.
Today, Fr. Mike invites us to let Lent interrupt us. Lent is inconvenient because Love is inconvenient. If we give more this Lent, we’ll get more than we ever have before.
“Simplicity is good for the soul. We complain about how complicated life has become, but we continue to complicate our lives. The two main ways we complicate our lives is with things and commitments. So much of our anxiety comes from these things and yet we cling to them and multiply them as is they were prizes to be cherished.
Here are seven examples of how less is more:
1. Less television means more time to read.
2. Less comparison means more contentment.
3. Less stuff means more space.
4. Less talking means more listening.
5. Fewer commitments means more time just to be.
6. Less complaining means more gratitude.
7. Less clutter means more clarity.
Less is more means different things to different people. Find out what it means to you, try it, and take note of how it changes your life.”
“What’s draining your energy? We all have habits that drain our energy. Some of them we are aware of and some of them we participate in unconsciously.
Here are 21 things that could be draining your energy. Pick three to work on. And remember, you can see the whole list at MatthewKelly.com. We publish the transcripts to all my YouTube videos on my blog.
1. Negativity.
2. Bad posture.
3. Not drinking enough water.
4. Lack of direction and priorities.
5. Forgetting to breathe deeply.
6. Sugar, Caffeine, and Alcohol.
7. Not taking a break.
8. Checking email first thing in the morning.
9. Taking things personally that are not personal.
10. Social media.
11. The news.
12. Worrying about things you cannot influence.
13. Sleeping too much.
14. Poor diet choices.
15. Complaining.
16. Noise.
17. Light.
18. Fear or anxiety.
19. Lack of exercise or too much exercise.
20. Perfectionism.
21. Making a big deal out of little things.
22. Skipping breakfast.
23. Never taking a real vacation.
24. Alcohol before bed.
25. Checking email before bed.
26. Your attitude.
27. Clutter and disorganization.
28. Too much food or not enough food.
29. Stress.
30. Lack of self-esteem.
31. Saying yes to things you know you should say no to.
32. Half finishing tasks.
33. Gossiping.
34. Toxic people and unhealthy relationships
35. Trying to please others constantly.
36. Ruminating on the past.
37. Not moving enough.
38. Resentment.
39. Worrying about what people think about you.
40. Watching TV that drains you emotionally and beats you up psychologically.
41. Planning too far into the future.
Okay, that was 41, not 21, I got carried away. But here’s the thing. Everyday there are an unlimited number of people and activities out to steal your energy if you let them. Don’t let them.
Have a great day… and remember, don’t just be yourself, be the-best-version-of-yourself!”
Are You Happy?
Really. Think about it for a moment. Don’t just float over the question like any other words on a page. Are you happy?
Since I have started asking the question in my seminars, people have started asking me the question. At first, I would always say yes, either because that was what they wanted to hear or because I felt I had to be. But I noticed that sometimes it felt inauthentic. Sometimes I wasn’t happy. So, I started to pause when people asked me and really take my temperature, so to speak, and answer meaningfully.
For most people the answer is “Yes and no” or “Yes, but I could be happier.” There are very few people, perhaps none, who have no happiness in their lives. But there are also very few people, perhaps none, who have no unhappiness in their lives.
Some people are unhappy because they don’t like their job or their spouse. Others are unhappy because they don’t know how to relax or appreciate who they are and all they have. Some people are desperately unhappy because of a chemical imbalance in their brains. I have seen it. It is real and tragic. But most of us experience unhappiness when we wander away from ourselves.
Unhappiness is the fruit of doing and saying things that contradict who we are and what we are here for. Unhappiness is not something that happens to us as if we are poor little victims. Unhappiness is something we do to ourselves. You can choose to be happy.
People have chosen to be happy in worse circumstances than you or I will ever likely find ourselves in. No one has demonstrated that more than Viktor Frankl did in Man’s Search for Meaning as he recalled his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Over and over, he encountered people who even though they were starving would share their inadequate rations with others. Frankl explains that while some were killing themselves or wallowing in self-pity, others were filled with an inexplicable happiness, a real joy that was independent of substance or circumstances. Their happiness did not depend on favorable external circumstances but had its source within.
What causes your unhappiness?
“Nothing on earth can satisfy your desire for happiness. The reason is very simple: You have a God-size hole. You cannot fill it with things, money, status, power, sex, drugs, alcohol, other people, experiences, or accomplishments. Only God can fill the hole.” —Resisting Happiness
“The hardest battle to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting, and the hardest enemy to defeat is the one you don’t even know exists. Every day you are in a battle with resistance.
Make no mistake, resistance is your enemy. It will not quietly go away and leave you alone. You have to slay it like a dragon, and you have to slay it anew each day.
Here are 4 ways to slay resistance every day:
1. Expect resistance. You should be surprised. It’s going to be there breathing fire every day.
2. Know what you want more than the mindless comfort of procrastination.
3. Focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a mega-resistance trap.
4. Just do it.
And remember, don’t just be yourself, become the best version of yourself!”
“Let me tell you the secret to having a great day, every day. When you wake up each morning, ask yourself, “Whose Day can I make today?” Once you have settled on the person, unleash your creativity to explore how you can make a difference in that person’s day today.
We live in a culture that constantly tells us to put ourselves first. Others are an afterthought. But the truth is, we all have a need and desire to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, influential and famous, or not, you can make a powerful difference is someone else’s life today.
So, don’t let what you can’t do, interfere with what you can do. Identify that person each morning, do something to make their day, and make every day a great day.”