Glass Half Full

YES MY GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF FULL AND YOURS CAN BE TOO!

Clients, friends and colleagues often comment on the fact that I am a walking and talking field of positive energy. They wonder, often in amazement, how I keep a balance of calm and joy on a day to day basis. I ingest is intention, the intention of appreciation, gratitude and joy every moment, every day and in every way that I can. When I get out of sync, as we all do, I put an elastic on my wrist; give it a little tweak to remind me to live every moment as mindfully, as joyfully as possible.

Life has taken me on a personal journey fraught with tremendous challenges and also incredible success and satisfaction. I have achieved what was trailblazing success and material wealth in my career; I have been stripped of all material and social security in fleeing an abusive situation with my children, $100 and the clothes on my back. While my personal journey has been one of extreme success as well as extreme peril, I recognize that we all go through bouts of success and despair, perceived material security and loss. We all have different journeys, different challenges and lessons to learn. However we are all sisters and brothers in the journey of life. A journey that gives each one of us crisis and calm, happiness and hardship. Our strength and our hope lie not in our ability to move forward after crisis or defeat, but rather to move forward with our mind, heart and soul in tact, in a positive place.

What is my secret to living life with my glass of personal energy half full? My secret starts with recognizing that everything in life is a choice, a personal decision. We cannot control what happens to us, but we have the ultimate control over what we do with our experiences. No one can control our thoughts, our emotions, the seedbed of our strength. We are the masters of what is most important and most powerful in our life: our consciousness, our intention.

On our path to discovering a life of joy, a life of happiness we always come head to head with the opponent. The opponent is not the not the boss or the job we do not like, it is not a person who did us wrong. The opponent we face is not outside our self. Our greatest opponent lies within us. It is the voice that speaks of fear and desperation. It is the voice that talks about all we cannot do or achieve. It is easy to be seduced by the opponent, by choices that we do not really want to make, by negativity that drains our energy and impedes our true passion, purpose and talent.

How can we beat our internal opponent and reach in and out with more joy, more energy, more enthusiasm for life? How can we get on the JOY TRACK? We must realize that wishing for, yearning for, hoping for or being desperate for happiness or joy does not represent positive intention, but rather speaks loudly to what we lack. When our thoughts come from a place of need, they also come from a place of fear. The energy we transmit attracts more of the same.

No matter what has transpired in your life, you have the power now at this very moment to fight the opponent, to move past a place of need a place of yearning for, wanting, asking, and hoping to a place of personal strength and positive certainty.

Decide to hold your glass half full today. Experience 24 hours without fear, uncertainty, worry, negativity. Take the garbage out for a day, put negativity and thoughts that sap your energy on pause. What would your day be like if you decided to stop yearning for, wishing for, hoping for happiness and just got up in the morning with the conviction to make this a joyful day? Try joyful conviction on for size today, and let me know if you attract more joy in your life and your work.

About The Author

Empowerment?. Irene Segal is a business and life coach who works with issues of change, business growth, leadership and self-empowerment. She was recently appointed as the Personal Development Expert for Enterprise Toronto, a branch of the Economic Development Office of the City of Toronto and is also an Ambassador for the Toronto Board of Trade. Irene's professional journey includes running a multi million dollar steel business, mentoring entrepreneurs, financial consulting and co-authoring a book about coaching, Exploring Coaching. She received her coaching certification from Coach Training Alliance, who described her as one of the stars in their program. Irene was one of 10 Canadian women chosen by the Federal Development Bank to set up the first mentorship program for women in the country- Step Up. She was also the first woman Rotarian in Canada.

irene@justcoachit.com

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

12 Reflections on Personal Responsibility
Responsibility means being accountable for what we think, say, and do. Personal responsibility involves working on our own character and skill development rather than blaming others for situations and circumstances.

Your Life Just OK? It Doesnt Have To Be That Way! Live the Life You Really Want To Live!
I have some questions for you. Are you ready? How would your rate your life on a scale from one to ten; 10 being fantastic and 1 being the worst it could possibly be? Are you happy with the most important aspects of your life? And note that I didn't say are you content or are you satisfied.

Staying the Course
Are you willing to stay the course? Once you have decided on a course and set sail toward your destination, you will undoubtedly face moments along your journey, perhaps even long stretches, where it seems that you are not making progress toward your goal even though you are doing the things necessary to reach it. We've all heard the saying "it's darkest before the dawn" and it's often true that we are on the verge of great success when it is most difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

A Reality Practice
Suggested practice to gain freedom from self-limitation.It is suggested that what is actual and real in the world can only be experienced in the ongoing moment (by moment) and that to be fully in the moment can only happen if all ideas and beliefs about it are gone from the psyche - including the sense of "I", of self identity.

Desire + Action = Outcome - Anxiety & Panic
This is my mathematical strategy I use to achieve everything I want in life. Allow me to explain?Now when I was suffering with anxiety and panic disorder I did spend some time just wishing and hoping it would disappear.

How To Get Motivated When You Have An Off Day
What can you do on days like these? Is there a way to get motivated and stay motivated?There are three simple yet powerful ways to pull yourself out of a slump. And best of all you can start using these strategies today.

ACTION is More Important than Knowledge!
It was Albert Einstein who stated that 'imagination is more important than knowledge'. Now if he had been addressing a room full of entrepreneurs, I hazard a guess that he might also have extended this quotation by saying that 'action is more important than knowledge too!'Make no mistake, if you want to make your mark on this world as an entrepreneur you have to consistently take ACTION! Not only that, you will also need to have the ability to inspire other people into ACTION as well.

Making A Lot Out Of A Little - Use It Or Lose It
"Making a lot out of a little"Ever noticed how some individuals can make a little problem go a long way? Similarly, some folk can make a huge challenge seem somewhat insignificant. This is a life principle that actually determines whether we are a "little" or a "lot" person.

Map to a Gold Mine - Could You, Would You?
If a total stranger came up to you and said: "I've got a map", what would you think?Would you be intrigued or would you think he was nuts? What if he added: "It's a map to a gold mine." Would that get you interested?What if he said: "I'll sell you the map.

Activity Versus Accomplishment
Each and every day, all of us continually search for the extra edge to win at the sport of sales and marketing. One of the most important things that you need to know is that there is a thin line that exists between activity versus accomplishment.

7 Tips For Unstoppable Motivation And Enduring Success
Procrastination is of no use to you in your quest to fulfill your dreams. Lose those old habits and replace them with habits that lead to self-motivation and control over your life.

Breaking Even: When is Enough, Enough?
I had the most interesting discussion today with a friend of mine. He and I were chatting about the economy, his job, families, and life in general.

Know your Mission
One passage states "If you want to defeat them, distract them." Another reads "divide and conquer.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone - Before Its Too Late
Think about what you're doing each day and ask yourself - "Is what I'm doing now getting me to where I want to get to?" If the answer is "No" then do something different. Get out of your comfort zone and change your habits.

Motivation: The Cure for Complacency
Q. I've always tried to work hard enough to provide for my family and be content.

Achieving Your Dreams
While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune.

Motivtion: The Power of Responsibility
One of the things I've noticed about successful people is that they have a clear understanding of the relationship between cause and effect in their lives. Successful people understand that if they want something, they have to do all the necessary things to get it.

Happy New Year
H appiness depends upon your outlook on life.A ttitude is just as important as ability.

Motivation; 5 Steps to Get the Changes You Want
Q: I just read your column in today's' Greensboro News and Record. For the last few years I've been struggling with change, and found your suggestions about "change tools" to be useful.

How To Overcome Procrastination Quickly And Easily
Maybe it is time to discover a new way to overcome procrastination and get motivated.When a deadline looms you need a quick and easy way to start making some progress and beat procrastination.