Today I Will Make A Difference

by Max Lucado
From On The Anvil

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of their thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble - I will get up. It's OK to fail - I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

It's Ok to have Negative Thoughts

WHAT!?!

Yup, I said it right here, "It's Ok to have Negative Thoughts" I know that seems contrary to all personal development thought, let me explain.

I'm talking about negative thoughts, not negative thinking. For purposes of this post, negative thinking is an ongoing and persistent way of thinking. negative thoughts are those that sneak in when we want to grow, to move from where we are to where we want to be.

When starting out to change my life I got so wrapped up in "gotta think positive all the time." "Bad/negative thoughts are bad" "This is never going to work" "I'll never be successful" I let these negative thoughts become a pattern, a habit. This habit grew and became a permanent way of thinking and living.

By listening to tapes, again and again, reading books. Learning about affirmations, goal setting, changing who I hang out with, changes in my life, the occasional positive thoughts have become more of a habit. I still catch myself with negative thougts, but overall my thinking is positive.

The point I want to emphasize is the habit of negative thinking is where you are now. It's your habit. Now, it's time to work on developing a new habit of positive thinking. This starts with the new positive thoughts being the occasional thought. When you notice yourself thinking negative, start to be positive about that. "I've been a good negative thinker for years, now it's time to change to a more positive way of thinking and living."

By beating yourself up about the negative thoughts, you perpetuate the negative habit. Acknowledge that you do have this past pattern of behavior and that you do want to change.

Acknowledging you do want change and want to be more positive is a positive thought. Then go read a book, listen to a tape/CD, read a blog, say affirmations, something else positive. Reinforce this new habit with more positive activity.