You could have known them for years yet not know them.

   You may think you know what is best for someone but you don't know everything about them, so you have no idea what is best for them.

  You should learn more about someone not base your opinion solely on what you heard about them.

  You could have gone through the same challenge as someone else yet it affects each of you differently.

  You could be very close to someone for your entire lives yet not know how they feel about everything. 

  You base what you think would be best for them based on WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE or what you heard about them. But who they REALLY ARE is why you have no idea what is best for them.

  Don't let anyone decide what you will do because you and you alone will have to live with the consequences for everything you do.

   

   

Be yourself so you don't lose yourself.

   If you keep changing to please others before you know it you won't know who you really are.

   Just because other people are doing it doesn't make it right.

  If you wouldn't want it to happen to you then don't let it happen to anyone else.

   Your decisions should be made by only you because you alone will have to pay the consequences for what you do.

  If it doesn't feel like the right thing to do, then heed the warning and don't do it.

  You won't be comfortable in the skin you are in unless you are comfortable with what you do in the skin you are in.

  Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. 

  

We don't all learn things the same way

 As I am scrolling through the endless internet to gather information I can get even more confused by all the different angles that I see.

  I can start off thinking I only need a certain fact to form an opinion.

  But then I end up more confused as I start going down all the different rabbit holes reading to gather information.

  The answer you get depends on which answer you believe. 

  It may seem like there is only one obvious answer but obviously it depends on who you ask.

  Ten people could see the same thing and see ten different things.

  Ten people could hear the same thing yet interpret what they heard differently.

  And each one of them can be right.

  What you see is what you see. It is your point of view.

  What they see is what they see. It is their point of view.

  It is a true fact that their point of view is based on what they see. If you don't see it that way then your point of view will in fact be different.

  The answer could be right in front of your face but you don't see it because you aren't looking for it. 

  If you don't like what you see then look at it from a different point of view.

  

How you look at it determines how you feel about it.

   Only if you look for a way for you to have a positive outcome, will you find a way to have a positive outcome.

   Only if you see that your glass is half full will you appreciate that your glass is half full.

   Only if you admit that you made a mistake can you learn from your mistakes.

   Only if you get up and get started will you accomplish anything.

   What you see is determined by how you look at it.

   How you feel about it is determined by what you see.

   You can't have a positive outcome if you don't have a positive outlook. And you can only have a positive outlook if you look for the positive until you see it.

  Look at it differently so you can see it differently. 

   Your point of view is based on HOW you choose to look at it.

  

Why would you Carry it on your journey?

   When you start your day each morning there will be a stream of thoughts that come flooding in.

   Write a list on paper. Because if you keep them on a MENTAL LIST you won't have ROOM in your MIND for new ideas to flourish.

  As you read your list keep in mind that if it is something that you have NO control over, then JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind.

  If it doesn't really matter, then JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind.

   If it is something you can quickly resolve then JUST DO IT, so you can cross it off your list and JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind. 

  When you feel overwhelmed then TAKE A BREAK before you have a BREAKDOWN.

  If it is weighing HEAVY ON YOUR MIND then it is weighing you down. 

  Remember if you want to have PEACE OF MIND you have to JUST FLUSH IT OUT OF YOUR MIND SO PEACE OF MIND HAS ROOM TO GET IN.

  Our minds have an ENDLESS stream of thoughts which requires you to JUST FLUSH IT as it comes.

 You can't stop it from popping up again but you can JUST FLUSH IT when it pops up again.

  PEACE OF MIND is just a FLUSH away but you have to JUST FLUSH IT so PEACE OF MIND has ROOM to get in.

  

A fact is not a fact if it is just a thought.

   Just because you think it is true doesn't mean it's a FACT, it's just a random thought.

  Just because someone tells you it is true doesn't mean that it is true, the FACT is it's just their opinion.

  Just because you did everything that you thought was necessary doesn't mean that you are guaranteed anything.

  The FACT is that no matter what you think it doesn't make it a FACT.

  A thought is merely an UNEDUCATED GUESS, PERIOD.

  Someone else's opinion is merely their opinion NOT A FACT.

  If it is IMPORTANT to you then it is IMPORTANT that you get all the FACTS.

  It is what it is not whatever you think it is. To make the best decision for yourself you have to get all the FACTS.

  

You can't focus on "THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME"

   Dreaming about "THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME" is different than Only FOCUSING on the "BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME."

  If you don't FOCUS on practicing what you need to do to have a GOOD OUTCOME, you won't get good ENOUGH at it to be able to even do it GOOD AT ALL.

  It may sound easy to do but until you try it, you won't know just how much work it will take to do it.

  Just FOCUS on how to do it so that you can practice doing it until you get good at doing it. 

  The only way to be "THE BEST" is to FOCUS on what you do so you can do YOUR BEST.

  You won't know until you try if it is even possible.

   But one thing is for sure. If you don't FOCUS and practice and do the best you can, it definitely WON'T bring you the "BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME."

  

  

  

It's not HOME SWEET HOME but it's HOME

  What advice would you give someone you know when they are getting married?

  I like to be totally HONEST with them so they don't have unrealistic expectations. 

  Because the HONEST truth is that marriage takes work if it is going to last.

  And like the plaque on my wall says...So this isn't HOME SWEET HOME, ADJUST.

  You both have to be willing to compromise and meet in the middle. 

  That is the ONLY WAY that you both can stand strong together to withstand anything that may come your way.

  Any relationship whether it is with your spouse, your boss, your coworkers, your friends, your family, your neighbors or even your pet, requires some level of give and take.

  Every healthy and happy relationship takes UNIQUE people to make the necessary ADJUSTMENTS.

  

It doesn't help by the time you figure it out.

   By the time you understand what they meant they may not be around to share with them that you finally understand.

  It's not because you didn't listen to them about what they were experiencing. It's just some things you just can't fully understand until you experience it for yourself.

  Now that I am old I can't count the number of things I have experienced and have said now I understand what they were talking about.

  If there is anything that you can pass on that would help anyone, pass it on while you can. 

  But remember that there will be some things that fall on deaf ears because they won't understand it unless they experience it.

  And some things by the time you figure them out, things have changed so much that they don't work that way anymore. 

 You have to also keep in mind that what worked for someone else may not work for you, even if it still works.

  

You can't appreciate it if you don't acknowledge it

  You can't be thankful for it until you acknowledge it.

  You won't learn from your mistakes until you admit that you made a mistake.

  You won't know what you need if you don't know what you need.

  Nothing will be different unless you do something DIFFERENTLY.

  Knowing what you need to do to get something done only helps you if you get up and do what you need to do to get 'r done.

 You alone should decide what you will do because you alone will have to live with the consequences for what you do.

  You can blame it on the MOON but you are the only one you can blame for the choices you make.

  If it is up to you then JUST DO IT. Remember choosing to do nothing is still a choice you make.

  If you want PEACE OF MIND then JUST FLUSH IT so PEACE OF MIND has ROOM to get in.

 The circumstances you face doesn't determine the OUTCOME. It is how you REACT to the circumstances you face that will determine the OUTCOME.

  Your thoughts are the reality that you live.

  If you want to FLY like Peter Pan you have to think HAPPY THOUGHTS.

  

Today is yours to enjoy

   Yesterday is already gone and tomorrow may never come but TODAY is yours to ENJOY.

  Don't put off what you can do TODAY because you never know if tomorrow will come. 

  Don't waste TODAY thinking about what happened yesterday or you will waste your TODAYS.

  Enjoying the moment you are in means you can't focus on yesterday or tomorrow because TODAY is the moment you are living in so ENJOY IT.

  To ENJOY life while you are living it you have to Enjoy the moment you are living in.

  Things will never go back to "normal" again because of the pandemic but your "New Normal" is yours to ENJOY.

  

 

There is more to life than JUST EXISTING

  To me the best part about having Chinese take out for dinner is being INSPIRED by reading the fortune cookies.

  Out of decades of reading them I have only had two that were repeats. That alone is amazing to me.

  Although they are not all life changing messages there have been many that were just what I needed to hear at that moment.

  Every single one of them have amused me as I ponder what it is saying. They always grab my attention and distract me long enough to relax me for a brief moment.

  And anything that allows you to have a moment of peace is something to treasure.

  Tonight we had Chinese take out food for dinner. And as usual my fortune cookie saying was inspiring.

  It said.....We are here to CREATE not merely EXIST.

  I wanted to share it with you so you could distract yourself so you can get a fresh breath of oxygen while you ponder it.

  We all need to ENJOY LIFE each day not just EXIST.

  

Surround yourself with people who inspires you.

   Who you associate with says a lot about who you are. 

  Who you hang out with will determine where you go in life.

  That doesn't mean you have no choice about who you are or where you are going. 

  It means you made your choice and you will have to live with the consequences of your choices you make.

  If you want to be HONEST you will naturally choose to hang out with people who are honest. Because if you can't trust a word they say you can't  honestly say they are honestly good for you.

  If you want to have a positive outlook you need to surround yourself with people who inspire you to have a positive outlook. Because if they only see things in a negative way they will have a negative affect on your way of thinking. 

  If you want to have a positive outcome you have to have a positive outlook and surround yourself with people who will have a positive impact on your outlook.

  Every choice you make matters. Choosing who to surround yourself with determines what choices you will have. 

  If something or even someone is not good for you then make sure you make a choice to get away from whatever it is because choosing to do nothing different is still a choice you make.

  It is better to swim alone then to be surrounded by sharks swimming around you.