I had to share what I'm reading today because it struck a chord in me. Ya know that infomercial guy, Dean Graziosi? Well, I got his book "Millionaire SUCCESS Habits" awhile back,  and I'm just getting into it.

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He tells a story about a lady named 'Gena" who was hit hard by an empty nest.  She  quit valuing herself as she aged and her kids moved on. She was a great mother, was proud of the job she'd done, bit didn't know she held any value beyond that. 

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She started telling herself she was useless, that she couldn't do anything of significance at "this age."

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She listened to this tape so much, she started to see it as truth.  Until ....

She picked up one of Dean's books. 

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I LOVE the transformation Dean shares. Little by little she quit listening to the old stories in her head, the fear, the what ifs,  the bologna, and started affirming her worth.

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She told herself she was strong, vibrant, and beautiful.   She was entering a new phase of her life, with the wisdom age had empowered her with. 

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It got me thinking!  What are we going to do in this second half of the game?  Some of us have empty nests, some of us have retired, some of us don't know how we ever CAN retire. 

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What are the stories you tell yourself that limit you?

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Do you see yourself as vibrant, strong and excited to enter the second half of this game called life?

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Today I'm focusing on my thoughts. Are my thoughts encouraging me to enter life happily or limiting me?

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Stop for a moment.  Take a deep breath.  Hold it then let it go. Take another breath.  This time let it ALL 

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Affirm  today I am a strong player. I am discovering this new phase in my life with vibrancy.  I CAN do it.  Age empoweres me to be smarter and wiser. There is nothing that can hold me back from a joyous fulfilled life. God, the universe, Father, has blessed me with many talents and I intend to use them all.

I have no control over the passage of time, only how I respond.  Jack Canfield says, “You only have control over three things in your life, the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.” 

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Today I'm focusing on my thoughts. Where am I letting my thoughts go?  More importantly, where am I letting my thoughts take me?  Am I controlling my thoughts or are they controlling me? Hmmmmm.

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Stop for a moment.  Take a deep breath.  Hold it then let it go. Take another breath.  This time let it ALL out. 

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Lets take an assessment on where we are at emotionally. .

Do you spend hours of your day feeling stressed? Let it go.  Do you spend hours of your day ruminating over what your co-worker, your partner, or that lady in the parking lot said?  Let it go. Let it all go.  NOW!

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Decide to take back the steering wheel of your thoughts by switching one thing today.  Decide to make one shift. .

Interrupt worry or rumination by flipping it into gratitude.  Yep, you can do this.  When you wake up tomorrow, instead of complaining you HAVE to go to work, decide to be THANKFUL.  Thankful you have a job that you GET to go to. 

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Affirm today you will stop the worry and start the gratitude.  I will be thankful for all God's blessings in my life, great and small. 

Vans!  

Not really a heel at all. 

They came out when I was 2 and I've worn them ever since. Being in New Mexico at the moment, I'm digging my turquoise Vans.  What kind of shoes do you like?

As we walk through this journey, gaining confidence in the second half of the game called life, the choice of shoes takes on a whole new meaning. 

Some of us have been told to consider our shoes for health reasons. Do we ditch the high heels to avoid falling, do we strictly wear comfortable, reasonable shoes?

Honestly,  I do it all still. Though most days you can find me barefoot, in my Vans or Birks, I still like to get dressed up and wear a pair of heels on occasion. It makes me feel confident. Powerful. TALL. 

Where are you with all this?  Hit the message button, shoot me an email with a pic of your favourite shoes.

I remember being up on the bathroom counter the day my dad took this picture of little me.  Smile. 

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Big me and little me. We've become friends now.  Somewhere along the way, I had to go back and tell little me it's gonna be okay. It's all okay, I love you.  And I forgive the things you did.  You did what you knew to do at the time.  But as Maya Angelou says, now you know better, so now you do better. 

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Sometimes in the storms of life, you go into survival mode, your vision gets narrow, you don't know the answers but you're trying to survive.

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That's what I did. Maybe you did, too.  Maybe there are things in your past that haunt you, that you can't forget about. 

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It's okay. Not a single one of us is perfect. And I love the different 12 step programs that guide you to make amends with people in your past that you've wronged, but what about you?  What about YOU?

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Have you gone back to little you, teenager you, young adult you and looked her squarely in the eyes and said, "I love you, I forgive you!" Have you wrapped your arms around little you and hugged her tight and sob as you let it all out, let it all go?

Hmmmm.

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A lot to take in. Schedule some time for you to do so. Block out a half hour, hour, whatever you think, and make peace with your past. 

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We've been so kind and loving to our kids, partners, and friends.  Now is the time to be loving towards ourselves.  Now it's our time.  

Affirm today that you will be forgiving of your past and make the most of the present.  

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Lemme know how goes.