Your Year of Miracles

Tag: responsibility

  • Take Responsibility For Your Life

    Take Responsibility For Your Life

    Today’s Miracle Moment Is About Taking Responsibility for Your Life…

    In Your Year of Miracles program, we have Five Foundations for Living in the Miracle Zone. Today, we’re going to talk about the fifth of these foundations, which is Take Responsibility for Your Life. 

    Taking responsibility is the way to embrace your true power in life. This means showing up as a victor rather than a victim of your circumstances. We’ll explain more about that in a minute.

    Now we recognize that the word “responsibility” can feel heavy. Many people think that taking responsibility means judging or blaming yourself: “things are all my fault” or “shame on me.” That does feel heavy.

    But that’s not what we’re referring to. Instead, we suggest you think of responsibility in this way: “If my life is my responsibility, it means I have some say in it. I’m going to have a great role in the outcomes I get in life.”

    When you allow yourself to make choices from the place of what’s possible for your life rather than from the place of limitation, then you feel the power and freedom of taking responsibility for your life.

    You can start to take more responsibility for your life by noticing how often you give away your power by showing up as a victim in life.

    Here are three ways to know that you’re showing up like a victim:

    Blaming: Anytime you’re blaming somebody else or outside forces for what’s going wrong with your life—whether you’re blaming the weather, or blaming someone else or blaming society — you’re giving away your power.

    Shaming: This is blame turned towards yourself. Telling yourself things like, “I’m never good at this. I can’t do this. I’m always messing up. I don’t deserve this” is evidence that you’re stuck in the rut giving away your power through shaming yourself.

    Complaining: When you spend energy complaining about the circumstances in your life you don’t like–focusing on what’s wrong–you’ll inevitably end up getting more of that, because what you put your attention on grows stronger in your life.

    We’re sure you’ve noticed what a bummer it is to be around people who are blaming, shaming, and complaining, yes? Well, it’s also a bummer to be around yourself when you’re blaming, shaming, and complaining.

    Any time you’re blaming, shaming, or complaining, you’re showing up like a victim in life and you’re not in the Miracle Zone.

    So, here’s what we invite you to do this week: play the “Blame, Shame and Complain Game”.

    It’s quite simple. Every time you find yourself blaming, shaming, or complaining, you put a dollar into a bowl. You’ll be surprised how often you catch yourself on those first few days. But by the fourth or fifth day, you’ll be doing much less blaming, shaming and complaining. We’re sure of it.

    You can play this game with your family (it’s great with kids) or your friends or your co-workers. (At the end of the week, you can donate the money you’ve collected to a favorite charity.) This is a fun way to shift the habit of showing up like a victim.

    Click here to learn more about the first Foundation  – Trusting the Universe
    Click here to learn more about the second Foundation – Living from the Soul
    Click here to learn more about the third Foundation – Leading with an Open Heart
    Click here to learn more about the fourth Foundation – Choosing Where You Put Your Energy and Attention

     

    Please share with us below what your experience is with playing the Blame, Shame, and Complain Game.

  • Miracles We Receive Through Giving

    Miracles We Receive Through Giving

    Today’s Miracle Moment Is About the Miracles We Receive Through Giving.

    Great miracles can come into our lives through the power of giving.

    Many spiritual traditions have shared the power of giving in order to free ourselves from suffering and to experience greater happiness.

    In Sanskrit, there’s a tradition of selfless service called “seva,” which means giving as an act of devotion to the Divine. You can give seva through “Karma Yoga,” which is giving through acts of service, like cooking for others or cleaning a common space. Another way that you can give selfless service is through your attention — you can listen to someone else’s needs or offer them your support.

    The Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Han, has told a story about a vegetable in Vietnam called “he” (pronounced “hey”). It looks like a scallion and it is part of the onion family. In order for these vegetables to grow, you need to cut them at the base of the stalk. The more you cut them, the bigger they grow — and the less you cut them, the less they grow. Thich Nhat Han says that it’s the same for the practice of giving:

    The more you give, the more you grow, and the richer you become in happiness and well-being.

    It’s also been scientifically proven that giving creates more happiness. Researchers with the Science of Generosity Initiative did a study on a group of US adults to find out what changes they experienced in life after giving.

    The study showed that acts of generosity resulted in more happiness, good health, a sense of purpose and personal growth.

    And it’s not just about the act of giving — it’s about our intention and energy, too. If we give with an expectation of receiving, or with any resentment, it’s dropping the vibrational frequency of our gift. When we do this, we won’t experience the joy and abundance that comes with true giving from the heart.

    When we give from a place of love and generosity, that’s what comes back to us.

    It shifts us out of feeling scarcity into connecting with the abundance of the Universe and infinite possibilities — all of which we’re meant to be experiencing in this life.

    This week, we invite you to find ways to give to those around you. Maybe it’s giving your presence to someone and listening to them in a deep way. Maybe it’s giving a compliment or encouragement. Maybe it’s giving to your community. All that matters is that your giving comes from your heart.

    Miracles We Receive Through Giving

    Please leave a comment below and let us know how you’ll give to others this week.

  • Miraculous Power of Do-Overs

    Miraculous Power of Do-Overs

    Today’s Miracle Moment is About the Miraculous Power of Do-Overs…

    We’ve all had those days where maybe we didn’t get enough sleep, work is stressful, or we’re exhausted from trying to get a huge to-do list done. We might feel crabby and aggravated at everything (and everyone) and find ourselves snapping at a partner, roommate or close family member.

    In those moments, wouldn’t it be great if you could just have a “do-over”?

    The great news is that you can!

    This is something that Marci and her husband Sergio have practiced many times over the years and they credit with saving them from getting into pointless squabbles or arguments. If they find themselves being crabby with each other, they’ll stop mid-conversation and say, “Let’s have a do-over.” They’ll rewind and start the conversation over, choosing a different way to respond. It’s a practical and yet powerful way to pattern interrupt and get back on the right foot.

    Here’s a recent example: Sergio and Marci are working with contractors on remodeling their house. One day, Sergio asked Marci to send the contractors photographs of some electrical wires that needed to be fixed. This day happened to be one of those stressful, exhausting days, and when Sergio asked Marci later if she’d sent the photographs yet, she snapped and got defensive. In that moment, Marci realized she needed a do-over. So, she asked Sergio for a do-over and then literally stepped out of the room and walked back in. Sergio asked her the question again and this time, she replied, “I’m so sorry — I haven’t sent them yet. Here, let me do that right now.” The situation was resolved and no squabble was needed.

    This present moment is always an opportunity for a do-over and to begin again.

    Every day and in every moment we all have the opportunity for do-overs — whether that’s in relationships or in our own daily life.

    We’re often carrying emotions, thoughts, and feelings from the past into the present moment. Sometimes we’re even carrying baggage around from previous days, weeks, or months. We can end up making assumptions or getting upset, and then we give responses to circumstances that aren’t really appropriate.

    If you find yourself playing out a pattern that isn’t serving you, you can always pause, reset, and choose to have a do-over.

    There’s always a creative solution available and all you have to do is open up to it.

    This week, we invite you to practice doing some do-overs in your life. You might want to do over a way of being, a habit that’s not serving you, or a conversation with a loved one that starts to go in an unnecessary direction.

    This practice can help you bring more awareness into your daily life, knowing you always have the option to choose something even better.

    Do Overs

    Let us know in the comments how it goes practicing the miraculous power of do-overs.