what are you waiting for?

[Guest guest]

I read this today (from a swim team website, no less), but felt like it was very

worth sharing. ~Cam

Excerpt: Living a Five Star Life by Betty Mahalik

In this day and age, we are surrounded by messages that virtually scream, " Your

life would be perfect if... " My life would be perfect if I had a different job,

a different house, car, nose, spouse, bank account (fill in the blank). Or my

life would be perfect if I could be like some celebrity whose life appears so

well-ordered and perfect-o. This week I encourage you to stop playing " my life

would be perfect if, " and start playing " my perfect life. " What's the

difference?

Three things: being in the present, an attitude of gratitude, taking action with

what's available now. When we're caught up in the " my life would be perfect if "

trap, we've lost touch with the present. And the moment we detach from the

present, we can no longer practice gratitude. Think about it: it's difficult to

be grateful for what you don't have...and what you don't have is always

somewhere out in future-ville.

Look around you right now. Think of 10 things you're grateful for. Do you have a

roof over your head and food to eat? I'm

guessing the answer is yes. Do you have at least a few good friends or close

relationships? Then appreciate them too, right now. Keep going, and practice

being in the present and being grateful for what is here and now at least a

couple times a day. You're also probably sitting there thinking " yes but. " Yes,

but I want more money, a better relationship, more time to travel, to be

thinner, happier or whatever. It's one of the great mysteries I'll never figure

out. The minute you stop focusing on what you lack, start focusing on what

you've already got, and add the " magic " ingredient of action, you actually begin

to attract more of what you want. It's an amazing formula for really living

your perfect life!

Let's say you want to lose weight or get in better shape, but you don't have an

hour a day to spend exercising at the gym.

Therefore, you've pretty well resigned yourself to not losing weight or getting

in shape. What if you had five minutes though...just about everyone can find

five minutes to exercise, stretch, walk around the block or walk the dog. Would

you be willing to be grateful for five minutes and make the best possible use of

it? Therein lies the beginning of your perfect life!

A simple formula may help you remember how to apply this principle:

The present

+ an attitude of gratitude

+ positive action

= my perfect life.

Try it for a day.

Each time you start dreaming about how perfect your life would be if...come back

to this moment, give thanks for what is, and do one thing to perfect what you

have and who you are right now. There's a saying that " when the student is

ready, the teacher appears. " If you're ready to start perfecting your life, your

teachers are all around you.

What are you waiting for?