Author: Pete Jones

When speaking of things we can’t do, I have learned it is important to get into the habit of saying they word, “YET.”  It is especially empowering when we teach our children and teenagers to get into this habit.

“I can’t,” directly correlates to inability, and the lack of power and strength.  “I can’t,” creates a sense of helplessness, inability, and victimhood, weakening and chipping away at our confidence, and disempowering us, rendering us incapable of skill acquisition through relentless practice and persistence.

“I can’t, YET,” directly correlates to the ability and opportunity to learn how to do, and to practice doing, ANYTHING.  “I can’t, YET,” gives us the opportunity to feel the feelings that we are good enough, smart enough, and that we are strong, powerful, and capable.  It denotes a presence of confidence, indicating we are capable of learning and practicing  skills that will grow throughout this life, empowering each of us to successfully navigate the difficulties and challenges life will inevitably offer up to us.

Our SELF IMAGE, and the things that we choose to believe about ourselves, directly correlates to the quality of the perception and the continuous creation, or projection, of our lives.  When we experiment with and UP-LEVEL our SELF IMAGE and the beliefs we choose, we up-level the quality of the outcomes and results of our lives.

It is as if through up-leveling our beliefs and perceptions, we install an alternate filter or program through which we can view EVERYTHING more beautifully.  It is a life-long process of upgrading these filters through which we progressively and eternally expand our abilities to create and perceive of things more beautifully.

The incredible Vusi Thembekwayo lives his life by these two principles, and it has served him INCREDIBLY WELL:

1- “EVERYTHING EVERYONE KNOWS, THEY LEARNED, AND I DON’T ACCEPT THAT I AM LESS INTELLIGENT THAN THE NEXT PERSON, WHICH MEANS I CAN LEARN IT, TOO.”

2- “EVERY SINGLE EXCUSE I HAVE IS VALID, BUT THAT STILL ISN’T GOING TO GIVE ME THE RESULTS THAT I WANT.”

Our excuses, and their validity, will not change the circumstances.  Knowing the reasons why we aren’t successful will not empower us to move beyond our excuses.  It is doing WHATEVER it takes, CONSISTENTLY, that will empower us to create ANYTHING, regardless of our valid reasons why we can’t.  Using the word, “YET,” is EMPOWERING.  It removes us from a victim state and transitions us into a state of strength, capability, and creation.

We are smart.  We are capable.  We are responsible.  We are powerful.  We are strong.  We are resilient.  We are adaptable.  We can learn to do ANYTHING, given a long enough time line and an honest desire.  If we don’t accomplish something, no matter what it is, it is because we choose not to, or because we don’t truly want to.

Today I will remember to use the word, “YET.”

The first time I was introduced to this concept was on an interview featuring Carol Dweck, who is the author of my favorite book of all time, MINDSET.  I highly recommend buying the book ASAP, and reading it or listening to it often.  Here is the interview I watched, on the show, IMPACT THEORY, on YouTube:

One of my favorite documentaries that serves as an EXCELLENT reminder and perspective upgrade EVERY time i view and listen to it is called, WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW. Even though it was released in 2004, it is entertaining and serves as a useful mind-expansion tool. I highly recommend finding and watching it.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  To see this message in its entirety, and to share it, see 

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

We all have lived through dark periods.  The entire world has gone through dark times, and has actually named one of these times, “The Dark Ages.”

There was a period in my life where I struggled through extremely dark times for a 15-year period.  It was analogous to going to a beautiful location in a 4X4 truck or jeep, being prepared for the worse, and getting stuck.  I mean, really stuck.

Imagine having the time of your life, feeling confident, strutting around like you own the world and you have it all figured out.  Along comes a series of struggles, challenges, and difficulties, you make a few wrong turns, a few bad decisions, and BAM!!  Your big, bad 4X4 has all four tires stuck in a couple of ruts.  You go along a little farther, only to realize you are now in a position where there is no way for you to get unstuck without some help.  If you have nobody to call on for help, or if you are out of cell service, you are screwed.

Life is a lot like this, sometimes.  I grew up in a wonderful home.  I didn’t have to make many decisions on my own.  My mom was always there for me, making the decisions and telling me what to do, and I was always grateful for her help, and I chose to let her make the decisions for me, believing her experience and input was valuable.  Life was easy.  Growing up, I could depend on her strength, wisdom, and her presence.  Moving out, getting married, having children, and living a life of my own was sometimes extremely difficult.  I had not yet developed resilience, strength, character , emotional fortitude, and those necessary, decision-making muscles.

Whereas once I was confident, had no problems, difficulties, or challenges, and life was easy, things became extremely difficult.  Along came a series of struggles, challenges, and difficulties, and I made a few wrong turns.  I made a few bad decisions.  BAM!!  Just like that I was stuck.  Really stuck.  It didn’t happen right away.  I wasn’t even worried about getting stuck.  I didn’t see it coming.  It happened so slowly and methodically that I didn’t see any warning signs.  I didn’t even know what warning signs to look for.  I was inexperienced.  I had no business going where I went alone and so unprepared.  I didn’t realize how dirty I was getting or how dark it was getting.  I went along thinking all was right in the world, and all the while that darkness kept creeping in, unnoticed, undetected, undeterred.  By the time I was stuck, it was really bad.

Thank god I had cell service.  Thank god I had good, strong people to come help me and pull me out of the ruts and the mud and the darkness.  Without those people in my life, I would be dead.  Without them, my sons would no longer have a father around.

I often think of all the people in the world who literally have nobody.  How do these people make it out of their struggles and dark times?  I realized, years ago, the importance of connections and bonds in our lives, and how even just ONE can be invaluable.

Sometimes, to truly appreciate the light, we must experience the darkness.  Truly, BOTH are valuable.  Our experience of contrasts teaches us so much.

Today, I will review all the contrasts I have experienced in life, realizing ALL of these experiences were of benefit, and that ALL of it contributed to my greater good and to where I now am in my life.  I will be grateful for ALL of it.  I will create or foster connections with others.  If I don’t know how, or need ideas on how to practice social skills, I will get a written or audio copy of the book, How To Win Friends And Influence People.

Simon Sinek teaches that, TOGETHER IS BETTER.

I first came across Simon Sinek while watching the YouTube show, IMPACT THEORY.  His interview completely changed the way I view certain things, and impacted my life and my decisions that I began to make in the workplace and at home.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share any message which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

In the book, The Rise of Superman, Steven Kotler speaks incredibly eloquently about the brain and all we do know about it.  (Which in actuality, is very little.)

He points out the chemical called dopamine, and how important it is in our brain.  It is usually associated with addictions (drugs, alcohol, cell phones, social media, praise, food, etc.).  The rush of dopamine actually reinforces pattern recognition.  We get a little hit of it as a reward, every time pattern recognition takes place.  It is also used in the learning process.

He states, “Noticing patterns actually prepares the brain to notice more patterns.  It’s why creative insights tend to snowball. Once we do the hard work of identifying that first pattern, the dopamine dumped into our system primes us to pick out the next.  And the next.

Neurons that fire together wire together.  The more times a particular pattern fires, the stronger the connection between neurons becomes, and the faster information flows along this route.  When the pattern recognition system correctly identifies a pattern, it’s stored not as a series of steps, but rather as a whole – a chunk.  Chunks get added to chunks which get added to chunks, until seeing the front edge of a tiny pattern allows us to make very complicated predictions about the future.”

Wow-talk about evolution at its most incredible!

He also states, “The goal is to cut out consciousness.”  As humans, we are capable of automating certain aspects of our lives, conserving energy to be used elsewhere and allowing for consciousness to thrive in OTHER areas of life.

Becoming automatic in mindset, therefore, is a real thing.  Automating gratitude is incredibly useful.  Mindset is a skill which can be learned of, then acquired and practiced consistently, until it literally becomes an automatic response, a habit.

WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT.

Today I will think of ways I can improve mindset in my own life.  I will remember by doing so I will not only improve my own life but the lives of those around me.  EVERYONE stands to benefit from any improvements I make.

The audio version of Steven Kotler’s book, The Rise of Superman, is free on YouTube.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

In Melody Beattie’s book, The Language of Letting Go, she says:

“Today I will trust that God will do for me what I cannot do for myself. 

I will do my part.”

Trusting and having faith that everything will fall into place as it should, or fall out of our lives, completely, AFTER WE HAVE DONE ALL WE CAN, is challenging.  However, it is my firm belief that if we are doing our part, I mean really doing all that we possibly can for ourselves, God, the Universe, the One, or whatever else you want to refer to it as, will have no other desire but to bless us, help us, and strengthen us.  I love the teaching, “God helps those who help themselves.”   It is a great way to be, and a useful rule to live by.

THE UNIVERSE WAS DESIGNED FROM THE BEGINNING TO CONSPIRE ON OUR BEHALF, and it WILL, as long as we are doing OUR part.

When we do the work to earn and deserve something, usually we get that thing, or something else even better manifests or falls into place during the process which benefits us in some way.

Seems like common sense, but it is incredibly easy to become distracted by so many things these days.  What would a day of you doing your part look like?  What would a day of you really pouring it on look like?  If you were to live a day doing all that you possibly could for yourself and the ones you love, what would that day consist of?  What would happen if you chose to repeat that day consistently for a year?  Two years?

If we want the success and blessings, we have to do our part to earn and deserve it all.

Today I will re-visit my goals for the next 20 years and decide what my morning routine needs to be and look like.  I will decide what action steps I need to take in order for my days to align with the vision I have for myself in 20 years.  I will break down the daily tasks into simple, easy-to-do, consistent tasks so I have no excuses NOT to do them.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

In an interview Tom Bilyeu did with Tai Lopez, they spoke of an interesting concept they had both used and applied to their lives.  Tai asked the question, “What would you want it to say on your tomb stone if you had lived the life of your dreams?”

The idea was that if you could imagine exactly what that was, then reverse engineer your life to have daily, weekly, and monthly routines, rituals, and goals that would align with that end, then you could break it down into small, easy, daily actions in order to achieve the goals that would lead you to live the life that would result in such a tombstone.  This is why having a daily routine can be so incredibly helpful.

How do you want to be remembered?  What sustainable contribution would you like to be remembered for long after you are dead and gone?  What legacy do you want to leave behind for your loved ones, and how do you want them to remember you?

We all have 24 hours in a day.  The thoughts we think, the words we say, the actions we decide to take, the connections we make, the content we choose to allow into our minds-EVERYTHING we choose is up to us, each and every day.  The creation and expression of our life is 100% OUR responsibility.

When we take full responsibility for our own lives, we display a high level of maturity.  When we stop blaming and coming up with excuses for weaknesses and failures, it frees up time and energy to begin working at acquiring and practicing skills and progressively doing better.

May we all make the most of every, single day.

Today I will think about what I would want it to say on my tombstone after I am dead and gone.  I will think about the contributions I would like to make along the way.  I will think about what small actions I can take each day to make it all happen.

One of the greatest mentors I have encountered is Jim Rohn.  His book, 7 STRATEGIES FOR WEALTH AND HAPPINESS, is of MASSIVE use for creating a life of wealth, abundance, happiness, health, and contribution.

goodinthehead is on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

“I manifest my destiny.” -Blake Leeper

We are meant to learn to be in control of ourselves.  We can control and choose our thoughts, words, and actions.  We can learn to control our reactions to ALL things happening.  We can learn to control the meanings we attach to all things happening, throughout our entire life experience.  The life we live today is the outer manifestation of what we USED to think, believe, say, and do.  In a year or so, the life we live THEN will be the outer manifestation of what we are CURRENTLY choosing to think, believe, say, pay attention to, and do.

If we want the next three years of our life to be the same as the last three years, it’s easy!  All we have to do is think the same thoughts, believe the same beliefs, speak the same words, and take the same actions.

IF WE MAKE NO CHANGES, EVERYTHING WILL PRETTY MUCH STAY THE SAME.

If we want things to change, WE have to change.  If we want things to improve, WE have to improve.

EXACTLY how do you want things to change and improve for you in the next three years?  Ten years?  If we are CLEAR on EXACTLY where we want to be and EXACTLY what we want, we will more quickly be able to figure out exactly what we need to do in order to make it happen.  Without CLARITY, there is no target to aim at.  We can break our three-year or ten-year desires and goals down into daily action-steps, and manifest that destiny.  CONSISTENCY will be key.

How badly do you want it?  You will prove it with your own thoughts, words, and actions.

Our consistent actions reveal our true priorities. 

Consistency is the key.  If we stop, we can always simply start over.  Sometimes, it is necessary to take a break and have some time to recuperate, recover, and recalibrate.  REST, but don’t UNRAVEL.  Relaxing for too long results in momentum being lost.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BEGIN AGAIN.

Becoming who we want to become and manifesting the destiny we want can be EASY, as long as we take action.  The sooner we start the sooner we can make it happen.

Anytime things seem difficult, hopeless, or challenging, we can replace our current thinking with a piece of content that motivates and inspires us.  We can choose to realize and remember just how good we have it, and how much we have actually been blessed with.  We can choose to list EVERYTHING we have to be grateful for.  Perspective is an important part of life.

Having a folder on our phone dedicated to favorite quotes or ideas we want to expand into, then reading them DAILY, is an EXCELLENT way to reprogram the subconscious mind.

Who we are and what we do comes from our self-image and our beliefs at the subconscious level, and the meanings and definitions we attach to everything unfolding and happening BECAUSE of our beliefs.

The quality of the life we experience depends upon the quality of our beliefs and perspectives, and EVERY moment is an opportunity to practice shifting and up-leveling our beliefs and perspectives.

WHEN WE CHANGE THE WAY WE LOOK AT THINGS, THE THINGS WE LOOK AT CHANGE.

ALWAYS BE UPGRADING.

Today I will decide upon the destiny I want to manifest in my own life.  I will decide EXACTLY what I need to do every day in order to make it happen.  I will create and follow a simple, consistent, daily routine, designed NOT to make things easier and less stressful for myself, but to make who I am stronger, wiser, and more skilled and capable, so that I may be more optimized and useful, and more fully enjoy my life experiences, while helping others to do the same.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

I listen often to an interview featuring Carol Dweck.  From it, I got this bit of advice:

Speak of struggles and failures often.

Our struggles and failures are the valuable lessons we have learned from that added value, growth, improvement, and progression in our lives.  Wise people can and will learn from our struggles and failures, just like we are blessed to learn from the failures and struggles of others.

Something I heard from Tom Bilyeu on one of his interviews he conducted was this:

“A stupid man never learns.  A smart man eventually learns from his mistakes.  A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Admittedly, I spent most of my life being stupid.  In my forties (Yes, I’m a late bloomer), I started getting smart.  Finally.  In my mid-fortiesI began working on becoming wise.

There is something freeing and empowering about sharing one’s struggles and failures.  It makes you vulnerable, strong, and relate-able to absolutely everyone.  We have all made mistakes.  We have all gone through struggles.  We have all failed at something.  The experiences of mistakes, struggles, and failures has added insight and value to each of our lives.  They were experiences that we must all remember to be grateful for.  These experiences, if we are wise and humble enough to admit it, were blessings in our lives.

Today I will remember the importance of struggles and failures.  I will speak of them and share them often, allowing myself to be vulnerable and opening myself up to connections with others.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our personal realities.

There is value in pain and suffering, in that through the experiencing of it we realize we don’t want to spend the rest of our lives experiencing it, and we get to work acquiring the skills, perspectives, philosophies, mindsets, and beliefs necessary to create and expand into a better and better life.  We also get to a place where we can share what we have learned with others in a compassionate, understanding, non-judgmental, non-critical way, empowering them to use what we have learned as a roadmap, if they do choose.

There is an amazing interview on YouTube by Tom Bilyeu with Bedros Keuilian.

After listening to it, I asked myself, “What the hell are you doing to contribute?!”  The message made me realize that we must all start with ourselves.  The more valuable we become, the more value we are capable of adding to others.

When we successfully learn and practice the art of self-care, we fill ourselves up to the point of overflowing, and those around us benefit from it.

Through obtaining the tools and doing the work and research, and by putting in the sweat, blood, and tears to try and figure out how to end or cope with my own suffering, I’ve become more valuable, and much more capable of contributing to others.  I’ve learned many tools, tips, and tricks during my struggles which when shared with others empowers them to more efficiently look at their own suffering, navigate through it, deal with it, rid their lives of it-or at least learn to cope with it, and become more valuable for themselves, as well as for others around them.

We are all ONE, connected together in this beautiful, intricate web called life, designed for our benefit and betterment.  Just like the strands in a spider’s web, when one of us is touched, we ALL feel it, as it reverberates throughout the entire web.

Every thought, word, intention, and ALL we do emits an energetic vibration that up-levels or downgrades the collective vibration. We ALL contribute to the collective whole at all times, even if we do not yet realize it.

We are in this together.  The more we help and lift up others, the more fulfilling and meaningful our lives will be.

“OUR REWARDS IN LIFE WILL ALWAYS BE IN EXACT PURPORTION TO THE CONTRIBUTIONS WE RENDER.” -Earl Nightingale

Says the parent to the child:

Reminder to self:  There is value in pain and suffering.  Be grateful for what it makes you in the recovery from it.

THE PRESENCE OF SUFFERING SIMPLY MEANS THAT HEALING IS TAKING PLACE, AND THAT STRENGTH AND SKILLS ARE BEING ACQUIRED.

“Often crisis is what drives evolution, and little else does.” -Kristen Ulmer

Today I will find a way to better myself, remembering that in order for things to change, I must change, and I will come up with a way to begin contributing, helping, and serving others in some way.  I will take action.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

If we are to live a deep, meaningful, fulfilling, passionate, connected life, we need to choose strength.  We need to choose to remain courageous.  We need to practice consistently be loving, understanding, compassionate, kind, appreciative, accepting, and empathetic.  

ANYONE can learn these qualities, practice these attributes, and create a routine, a set of rituals, or implement habits, which when practiced daily will empower the practitioner to create the life they so desperately want and need.

We can choose to protect the weak and help others every chance we get, in any way we can.  The stronger and more skilled we are, the more proficient we can become at doing this.

In order to do these things, we must FIRST practice doing these things for OURSELVES.  We can only give to others that which we are capable of giving to ourselves, and more things like acceptance, appreciation, and unconditional love can and will make this world more beautiful.

Today I will ask myself:  Am I loving, understanding, kind, appreciative, accepting, and empathetic towards myself?  How can I get better at this?  Every chance I get, I will help or protect myself or someone else in some way.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

Sometimes, because of the beliefs we perceive that we were raised with and still believe, we are critical-minded.  We learn to criticize OURSELVES, feeling inadequate and devoid of value, and then we practice criticizing OTHERS, many times simply hoping to prove to ourselves that others are ALSO inadequate and devoid of value.  This can, over time, become a very damaging habit.  I know that in my own life it has been a destructive force.

Over the years I’ve been able to really take a good look at some of the beliefs I thought I was being raised with when I was much younger-MOST of which my young mind simply mis-perceived.  Some of these beliefs weren’t helpful, effective, or useful, in creating the life I want to live in the future, so I’ve been experimenting with beliefs to replace them, that have 100% proven to be HIGHLY effective, helpful, and useful in recreating a personal reality FAR more enjoyable than the one I lived for DECADES.  I wish I had known to do this much sooner.

I created The goodinthehead Beliefs Project as a result.  This project empowered me to completely alter and optimize ALL aspects of my life.  Google it and check it out!

One of the beliefs which I perceived that I was raised with, but was never really verbalized, was that it was important to criticize myself and others.  My perception was that I thought I was taught to think that it would somehow help me and them improve.  It was meant to motivate and be a positive force which would then bring about positive results, but eventually it led me to being overly-critical towards myself and others.  This resulted in a catastrophic decline in self-confidence, bouts with severe depression, self-loathing, and hatred towards myself and others for never being good enough.  Being overly-critical of myself and others also resulted in lost opportunities for deep, meaningful connections with the people that were supposed to mean the most to me in my life.  I drove important people away from me and missed out on key experiences, and opportunities, that I now believe would have resulted in a much more fulfilling and meaningful life for myself and the ones I love.

I eventually decided to replace that belief with a new one that I believed would serve me much better in the future.  As I continue to reprogram my brain to think differently so I will then behave differently, adopting this new belief for the old one has been incredibly helpful:

Never criticize anyone.  I think that instead, it is important to first and foremost reveal our own, personal mistakes and weaknesses.  We can choose to point out where we can improve and how we plan to do so.  This gives others the opportunity to do the same thing.  Being vulnerable and transparent is where our strength is.  Be daring enough to expose ourselves, it affords others the same opportunity, and can even inspire others to connect with us on a deeper, more meaningful level, and many others will actually choose to protect us and speak up for us when we are not even present.

This is all much easier said than done.  It takes time and practice to replace potentially harmful thoughts, words, and actions with the thoughts, words, and actions that will benefit us and others.  Especially when such practices have become a habituated, automatic addiction.  I believe that if we work hard to do so, the environment we create for ourselves to live in will become infinitely more enjoyable.

Vulnerability is not a weakness.  It is a strength.  Expressing and sharing things we feel make us vulnerable is the equivalent to telling others, “I do not think I am better than you, I am simply different than you.  I have human strengths and weaknesses, just like you.  We are unique individuals, and I am not going to compare myself to you.  I choose, instead, to compare myself to who I was yesterday.  I accept you exactly as you are and hope you choose to return the favor, but if you don’t, I’VE GOT ME.  I am trying to be the best person I can be, and that is the only expectation I will ever have of you, that you also try to be the best version of yourself you can be.  I choose to believe that you always are doing this.  I know it is my job to take care of me, not yours.  It is your job to take care of yourself, not mine.  I am in charge of my happiness and success and you are in charge of yours.  I will never expect you or anyone else to make me happy or successful in any way.  That is my job.  Along the way, let us be there for one another, always helping, uplifting, inspiring, supporting, and motivating one another, but let us always remember the importance of personal accountability.”

Today I will practice complimenting others instead of criticizing them.  I will practice being vulnerable and talk with someone I trust and look up to about an area in which I think I can improve.

Some of the most helpful, useful, effective content I have come across is the interview given by Lewis Howes on YouTube, featuring Marisa Peer.  In it, she shares methods of healing that are so easy and effective, which after implementing and practicing has completely revolutionized the ways in which I think and live.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.  

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.