Sometimes You Have to Accept…

…that the people you thought were your really good friends really aren’t.

…that the people you thought would always be in you corner don’t really care about being there.

…that although they think they care, many times they’re just too busy to be that person you need.

…that true friends don’t always have to agree with everything we believe in; but that those disagreements should be put aside for true friendship.

…that when you really need a shoulder to cry on or a hand to help you up, it may not be there from the people you expected.

…that true friendship sometimes comes from those we least expected.

…that true friendship doesn’t expect anything in return for that friendship.

…that we’re not always the friends we need to be to others.

…that sometimes apologies are needed by both sides.

…that acquaintances are not the same as friends. Acquaintances can become friends, and friends can become only acquaintances.

…and that some day it may be too late to try to rekindle a friendship that has long since gone by the wayside.

Treasure your true friends; if they leave, then they were only friends for a season. If they stick by you through good times and bad times, and don’t desert you if they make new friends, then they are friends forever.

Whatever You Want to Do

Do it.

Because there are only so many tomorrows. Like that saying don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

What if tomorrow doesn’t come!

One day it won’t, you know.

Then you’ll be in the land of regents and not know how you got there. And it’ll be too late.

Is there someone you want to tell something but you don’t think you’re ready? Don’t put it off because you might not be able to tomorrow.

Is there some place you want to visit but keep putting it off? Tomorrow may be too late.

Whatever you want to do, do it. Make plans and just do it.

If you don’t do it now, you might not get another chance.

If They Wanted to…They Would

I read this the other day as someone’s Facebook post, and did it ever hit home.  

Six little words with such a powerful message.   

Read it again. I’ll wait.  

If they wanted to, they would.   

So why do you wonder why someone tells you they’re going to call in a few days or weeks, and then wonder why they didn’t.   

It’s real simple. If they wanted to, they would. But they didn’t want to, so they just said what sounded good at the time, with no meaning behind it. No intention of doing anything. And they never bothered.  

It wasn’t important to them. If they’d planned on calling, they would have. They didn’t want to.  

So they didn’t.  

Someone keeps saying, yes, we really do need to all get together soon. Let’s make plans. I’ll call you soon.  

If they really wanted to, they would. You think you should call? Why bother when they said they would. And they obviously don’t want to.  

They really didn’t care that much, so they didn’t. Obviously other things came up that were much more important to them, or they really didn’t mean it in the first place.  

Don’t bother asking yourself why someone isn’t following through with a promise. You already know the answer.  

If they really wanted to, they would.

Life Is a Puzzle

You can put it together or take it apart many different ways. 

In fact, you never know what pieces are going to fit where. You may try to make them fit in a certain place, but try as you may, they just don’t seem to work.

But the all of a sudden, you find a different piece, one similar to the others, but with just a slight variation. And suddenly it fits perfectly in place.

And then all the other pieces you’ve been struggling to put together seem to just naturally fall into place.

It may not look like what you’d originally intended, but the more you look at it, the better it seems to fit.

That’s how life is. We think we know where all the pieces are going to go but,  somehow they just don’t always seem to fit just right. No matter what we do. No matter where we try to place them.

Until that one day, suddenly it all comes together, and although it doesn’t look like what you’d expected, it’s actually perfect.

And doesn’t that make you feel good?!

There’s One Thing You’ll Always Be Perfect At

Being yourself.

Because you’re one of a kind.

No one else is like you. Nor could there ever be another you.

You were especially made to be you. Not a likeness of anyone else. Well, maybe you have some traits from both of your parents, but you’re not exactly like either of them. 

You’re your own person.

Even if you happen to be an identical twin, there are still a few things that make you different from your twin sister or brother.

So why constantly try to model yourself after someone else? Why try to be what or who someone else is, when it’s never going to happen? 

You’ll always be you. That’s who you were created to be. 

You are you. So enjoy it. Be proud of yourself for who you are.

Because there will never be another you.

Sometimes What People Don’t Say

Is more powerful than what they DO say.

Read that again.

What things are you saying because of what you’re NOT saying?

Are you afraid to speak up about something because you’re afraid you’ll make someone mad? Offend someone? Be ostracized or ridiculed because some people you want to

like you don’t agree with you?

Are you hesitant to speak up because you don’t think you can stand up for yourself? You don’t think you can make a convincing argument for your beliefs?

Are you afraid to be wrong? Or afraid people won’t want to believe you’re right?

Maybe you discovered something terrible about someone who was planning to hurt others and were too afraid to tell someone. And later had to live with the guilt of knowing you may have been able to prevent a tragedy.

There are all kinds of reasons we don’t speak up when we know we should.

Fear is the biggest one. We have an innate need to be liked, cared about, respected, by everyone we meet. But the reality is, that’s not possible.

Not everyone will like you, no matter what you say or don’t say.

Not everyone will respect you. Because they don’t want to hear what anyone says but themselves.

What you don’t say can be more important than what you do say.

So why are you holding back?

Every Day is a New Beginning

Just like opening a new book you’re going to read for the first time.

A new beginning. A new opportunity. 

A chance to make things right that went wrong yesterday.

A chance to re-write your story because you really didn’t like how it went the day before.

Instead of facing this new day with dread and wondering what else is coming at you, what else will go wrong, change your attitude and adjust your focus.

Today is a new day. A new beginning. A new start of the new book of your life.

Grab your imagination, your journal, or your laptop and start writing. 

Today is a new start toward everything you can imagine. So get started.

What are you waiting for?

You Will Never Know the Value of a Moment

Until it becomes a memory. A memory that can never be recreated. 

Unfortunately most of the time we don’t realize how important those memories will one day become.

Until the day you realize there will be no more.

One of my special moments was on my mother’s birthday some 18 years ago. She’d started having memory issues and just didn’t seem to have fun anymore when my daughter Ashley and I took her anywhere. 

But this one day, this birthday lunch, turned into one of the best memories I have with her. You see, Ashley’s birthday was two weeks before hers, so Ashley convinced her we were celebrating her birthday instead, and suddenly Mom’s face lit up, and she started smiling and laughing like a teenager. My aunt was with us, and she joined into the fun as well, and we all joked around about the memories the two of them had growing up together for several hours, just enjoying that special time together. It was really the last time Mom enjoyed herself like that; when I saw that spark of enjoyment in her eyes she always had when she was with her granddaughter.

How much I’d give to have that moment back again.

There are others as well, as I sit here remembering lots of unique special moments that will never come again. We don’t appreciate them enough at the time, because we don’t stop to think about how such moments will never come again. 

And how one day those memories would be all we have left of our loved ones.

What special memories do you have that you don’t ever want to forget? My advice: write them down somewhere in a special place, because as much as you don’t want to think about it, one day those memories will begin to fade as if they’d never happened.

And what will you do then?

Are You Confused?

Don’t ever confuse what you’ve settled for with what you really want.

What we think we’re looking for says as much about our fears as much as our desires.

Are you afraid you won’t ever get anything or anybody else?  So you settle for mediocrity when you can have special? 

Why are you willing to settle for second best when you deserve so much more?

There’s so much more out there. Why waste it on second best?

Are You Holding a Grudge?

That’s what a lot of people say if you decide not to associate with them any more.

Well, there really may be another reason. And it’s a good one.

How about “I saw who you really are when you did ______ and I’m not unseeing it.”

You see, life is too short to hold a grudge against someone. There are three things you can do in that situation.

Laugh about it when you can, and move on.

Apologize when you should, and decide if you should go on or try one more time.

Or, let go of what you can’t change, and move on. You can’t unsee what you saw, or unhear what you heard.

Don’t even try.

Move on when you get to that point. In the end, you’ll be better off, and a lot happier.

It’s not a grudge. It’s a choice for your emotional health.

To Make That Dream a Reality

First you have to wake up. No matter how comfortable you’re sleeping.

You have to wake up!

No more living in a “someday I’m going to do that” world.

Someday is now. It’s today. 

I know it’s a lot more comfortable to stay sleeping in your nice comfy bed, where you can just imagine all the great things you’re going to do in the future. But that’s not going to make it happen.

So stop dreaming about what you want to do, because if you don’t wake up and start doing it, it’ll never happen.

If dreams are a wish your heart makes when you’re asleep, what happens when you wake up? Does the dream just disappear, forgotten, until you dream it again?

Isn’t it time to make that dream come true?

Then wake up. Stay awake. Make your bed. And work on that dream!

Life Rules

If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. In fact, you’ll never even have a chance, because nothing is ever handed to you on a silver platter. No one is ever going to come up to you and say “You look like you deserve this……” and just give you something for nothing.

If you don’t ask, the answer will always be “no”. And you’ll forever wonder why you never get what you want. 

If you don’t step forward, you’ll always stay in the same place. And everyone else will end up in front of you. Because they stepped forward to accomplish what they wanted. 

If you always keep imagining yourself in another place, another job, another relationship, but you don’t do anything  to make it happen, it never will. Good things do come to those who wait, but you have to do your part to make them happen.

If you don’t follow these rules, you’re most likely going to miss out on what you’re waiting for.

So what are you waiting for?