The Positivity Blog: 10 Simple Ways to Change Your Life in 2 Minutes a Day

I like this stuff... a lot! Enjoy and Roll on!

10 Simple Ways to Change Your Life in 2 Minutes a Day

Image by Pink Sherbet Photography (license).
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Lao Tzu
“The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult.”
Madame Marie du Deffand
Making a positive change in your life does not have to be about making a huge leap. But I believe that belief is one of those things that hold people back from improving their life and world.
A simpler way that more often results in actual action being taken and new habits being established – in my life at least – is to take smaller steps but many of them. So here are 10 ways to change your life in just 2 minutes or so a day. Through these small steps you can start to build habits that become stronger and over time can change your life in ways you perhaps can’t imagine now.
To remember to actually do one of the things below each day write down a simple reminder. Put it on your night table so that you see it when you wake up each morning. Or put the note in your workspace so you see it early in your day. If you like and if possible, expand on the small habit after a week or two and do it for just a few more minutes a day.
1. Just start working for 2 minutes on your most important task.
I use this one at least one day every week. On some days I simply don’t feel like getting started with work. I’d much rather stay lazily on the sofa. So on such days I just start to work for 2 minutes on my most important task. That is the deal.
The thing is: getting started is pretty much always the hardest part. After I have started moving and been at work for those 2 minutes it is usually pretty easy or simple to just continue working on that task.
2. Review and appreciate your day at the end of it.
If you do good things during the day and get things done then that can raise your self-esteem. If you reflect upon that you have done so that is.
So take two minutes of the end of your workday. Appreciate what you did and what you thought.
That is what I will do when I am done with this article and workday.
3. Set a low bar for happiness for the day.
Lately I have been telling myself this when I wake up in the morning: “Have a low bar for happiness today.”
As I tell myself this and try to keep it in mind during the day I appreciate things more. The food, my work, the weather, the small events of the day becomes not everyday stuff but something I feel happy to have. The small or what may be something one takes for granted becomes something I now often pause for a moment or two to take in and appreciate.
But if I become happier in my everyday life for the smaller things does that mean that I become unmotivated to keep working towards the bigger things?
Nope.
This way of looking at my life actually fuels me with more energy and inspiration and fun, life becomes lighter and I feel less inner resistance as I explore and work towards both small and bigger things.
4. Breathe when stressed.
When stress catches up with you, when you start to feel anxious, irritated and or fearful because of it then take 2 minutes. Sit down. Breathe rather deeply with your belly. Focus on just for your breathing for those 2 minutes. This will calm your mind and body down and you can resume your work in a calmer mood after that.
5. Open up your senses to what is here now.
Pull yourself out of the past where you relive an old conflict and drag yourself further down a depressing spiral. Pull yourself out of the the future where you imagine a catastrophe at your next meeting, date or presentation. Place yourself and your attention on where you really are. Here now.
Do so by sitting down for 2 minutes. See what is right in front of you. Listen to the birds and cars outside. Feel the spring sun shining in through the window onto your clothes and skin. Sense the small draft from one of the windows. Smell the flowers and trees that have started to bloom.
Be here fully with all your senses for those 2 minutes. This will calm your mind and body down. Thinking will become easier and an optimistic viewpoint will feel more natural.
6. When you feel the need to judge someone tap into understanding instead.
When you feel the need to judge someone you know or may not know then take 2 minutes. Ask yourself these two questions: What parts of this person can I see in myself? How is he or she like me?
Why do that instead of judging?
Because no one wants to be judged in a negative way and doing so to the people in your life doesn’t help to build good relationships. Plus, the amount you tend to judge others often is a similar amount that you judge yourself. So help yourself to live a more positive life in those two ways by pausing when feeling the need to judge and then choose something better.
7. Think for a minute and give someone a genuine compliment.
Spend one minute coming up with something you really and genuinely appreciate about someone in your life and that is in the same room as you at some point during the day. Spend the other minute or less on telling him or her the compliment.
She or he will be happy. You’ll feel good about yourself and probably get some positive feelings too from the now happy and complimented person. It’s a good and small way to build more positive relationships.
8. Hug.
It’s a small thing but physical intimacy can reduce stress and make us feel good. So spend 2 minutes of your day on hugging. Like compliments it can be a simple way to build warmer and more positive relationships with all kinds of people in your life. Just use your common sense before you start hugging.
9. Be interested instead of interesting.
At the start of a conversation or to break the ice spend two minutes on asking one or a couple of questions about someone you are talking to and his or her life.
Pay attention and don’t just wait for your turn to talk again. The interest you give will most likely be returned and you can start to build not only a good conversation but also a giving and fulfilling relationship for the two of you no matter what kind of relationship it may be.
10. Mix things up.
Try the opposite. Have the vegetarian dish if you always go for the meat. Walk away from a stupid conflict instead of making it worse. Let one thing go if you often cling to things. Say yes to something spontaneous if you often say no and stick within your daily routine.
Take 2 minutes or less in one common or negative situation in your life today, pause for a brief reflection and then make a decision that is uncommon for you.
Make a habit of mixing things up to have more fun. To grow your life in small or bigger ways. To add unexpected experiences. To make it easier and simpler to step out of your comfort zone in general when you really need to.
And to feel alive.
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Want to learn much more about living a simpler, happier and less stressful life where you dare to follow and achieve your dreams in 2012? Then have a look at my four premium courses and guides:

- Stop feeling lousy about yourself and start living a life of self-happiness where you live up to your potential and dare to follow your dreams - with The Self-Esteem Course.

- Simplify and start living a more focused, peaceful and meaningful life - with the Simplicity Course.

- How to minimize stress and free up more time for yourself starting today - with The Art of Relaxed Productivity.

- How to become a more mindful, motivated, action-taking optimist - with The Power of Positivity.

Copyright 2006-2012 Henrik Edberg. 

High-wire walker Philippe Petit inspires us to dream

From YouTube: http://www.ted.com Even a death-defying magician has to start somewhere. High-wire artist Philippe Petit takes you on an intimate journey from his first card trick at age 6 to his tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.

Philppe Petit has become a hero of mine. He is a dreamer, and imagineer. Is a man who as a six-year-old boy, dreamed of being a magician. The idea of creating something from nothing and captivating audiences grabbed him by the heart somehow and by adolescence he was juggling clubs. At age 16 Philippe decided after witnessing it with his own eyes, that he was going to be a wire walker.

I admire Philippe Petit not because he is a magician, a juggler or a walker on a ominously thin cable while it is suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Rather, I admire Philippe Petit's intrepid will to inspire us to imagine greater things for ourselves whether those are works of entertainment, works of art, tinkerings of engineering or breakthroughs in medical science. It is people like Philippe Petit, the ones who do what we think is impossible that inspire us to do what we believe to be possible when others do not believe in us and in so doing, push us beyond our fears and allow us to discover our greatest capabilities!

Roll on with imagination!

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate


If you have questions or comments about this or other TED videos, please go to http://support.ted.com

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Watch Dr. Wayne Dyer's PBS special 'Wishes Fulfilled'

Hi, folks! I'm back from a Memorial Day weekend visit to Orlando and Tampa, Florida to bring you more goodness and motivation from your Wheelchair Philosopher! I thought about posting a full detailed entry about certain personal insights I've had of late. But instead, I decided to post a follow-up to my previous Wayne Dyer post with the PBS incarnation of Wayne's latest book offering Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting. It's a long video, so you may want to take breaks in watching it. Feel free to do so for better absorption of the material. I recommend four sittings. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: To be clear, Dr. Dyer does reference the concept of "being" God. He however does not mean this in an egotistic sense of domination over others and control of them. Rather he references in particular, the Christian religion's New Testament idea of being in Christ and God as an embodiment of God's love and thus, in that particular sense, "being" God by being love as God is love.

Roll on!

Success Magazine publisher Darren Hardy explains why happiness is a choice

As I head to Florida for the long Memorial Day weekend, I'd like to remind you that happiness is very often a choice. The following is a piece on this very subject from the Success Magazine blog. See you next Tuesday!

Roll on!

Dr. Wayne Dyer gives five foundations for manifesting your biggest wishes

Dr. Dyer's latest book

Ladies and gents, as most of you know I'm a huge proponent of creative visualization and affirmation: the idea that thoughts are the beginning of all action and therefore they are not as benign as some of us may have been conditioned to believe by the world around us.  Dr. Wayne Dyer in his new book, Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting, the good doc lays out five foundational principles for getting the things, the outcomes, and in the general sense, the life we most desire. He draws from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, Albert Einstein and many other wise teachers, sages and philosophers for living your greatest wishes as if they have already come true. (Reference: Mark 11:23-24).

A New Day and a New Me (Original article)    

“FIVE WISHES FULFILLED FOUNDATIONS”

• FOUNDATION ONE – Imagination.  Many great thinkers have spoken about the power of imagination. William Bligh said “what is now proved, was once only imagined.” Einstein said “imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” If you want something to show up in your life, manifest something new into your life, be the kind of person you would like to become, you must first be able to imagine it. Independent of what anyone else says about it, independent of what your senses tell you, independent of all the evidence that may be to the contrary, you can place into your imagination an “I AM” that represents what you would like to attract into your life and make it come into fruition. “I am strong”, “I am healthy”, “I am kind”, “I am prosperous”, “I am getting the job I want.” Never let other people’s ideas about what is possible or what is not possible to occupy your imagination. Your imagination is yours! Remember, “With God, all things are possible.”
• FOUNDATION TWO – Living from the End.  Romans 4:17 “in the presence of Him, whom he believed God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Dr. Dyer says ‘living from the end’ means that you call the things that do not exist as if they did. The “I AM’s that you put in your imagination, you have to treat them as if they exist. From Neville..”Disregard appearances, conditions, in fact all evidence of your senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you are already what you want to be, for in that determined assumption you and your Infinite Being are merged in creative unity, and with your Infinite Being (God) all things are possible. God never fails.”
• FOUNDATION THREE – Assume The Feeling Of The Wish Fulfilled.  Dr. Dyer offers this explanation from Neville…”that which you feel yourself to be, you are. And you are given that which you are. So assume the feeling that would be yours were you already in possession of your wish. And your wish must be realized. So live in the feeling of being the one you want to be and that you shall be. Every feeling makes a subconscious impression and unless it is counter acted by a more powerful feeling of an opposite nature, it must be expressed. Your feelings are different from your thoughts. Your feelings are what you experienced in your body. The dominate of two feelings is the one expressed. “I am healthy” is a stronger feeling then “I will be healthy”. Dr. Dyer says assuming the feeling of your wish as if it has already been filled is not just something you say. It is not an affirmation. An affirmation is an intellectual exercise. What you are feeling is a spiritual knowing from within that “I am well” that “I am content” that “I am prosperous.” 
  Every feeling that you have makes a subconscious impression upon your body and upon your awareness.
  Your subconscious mind rules your life. 96 to 97% of everything that you do is done as a result of your subconscious mind. And when your subconscious mind gets programmed it goes ahead and responds to whatever your conscious mind has placed into it. But Dr. Dyer warns if you keep telling yourself “I can’t do that”, “I can’t make things happen”, “I am not ever going to lose weight”, you are programming your subconscious mind with this awareness to respond to.
  So practice putting into your subconscious mind the practice of assuming the feeling of what it is you would like to attract into your life as if it already existed. Feel it , not just think it!
• FOUNDATION FOUR -Attention. Your imagination is able to do all that you asked in proportion to the degree of your attention. So what kind of attention do you place on your desires? Dr. Dyer says according to Neville there are two kinds of attentions.
  Objective (facts, concrete and solid objects ) and Subjective (subject to feelings and emotions).
  We want to use Subjective Attention. Why Subjective? Because what we place in our Imagination does not have to be based on concrete, solid facts. Because what we place in our imagination is anything that we want to “call that which does not exist as if it did.” Because what we place in our imagination is whatever we want to wish for and to live and feel as if our wish is already fullfilled. Dr. Dyer says with objective attention, you become the objectified result of other people telling you what you can do and what you can’t do, what’s possible and what’s not possible. Take Dr. Dyer’s suggestion and put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your imagination. Do not allow anyone else’s opinions, do not allow what it says on the Internet, do not allow the cost, or the difficulty to distract your attention from the burning desires you place in your imagination. “
• FOUNDATION FIVE -Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.  Dr. Dyer calls the last five minutes of your day very important. Why so important? He offers this explantion from Job 33:15-16…”In a dream, in a vision of the night. When deep sleep falls upon men while slumbering in their beds, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction.”… Now Dr. Dyer asks “…how do you want to prepare yourself for having your instructions sealed?”
  Most people use their last five minutes of the day as they are about to go to sleep reviewing all the things that they don’t like. And all the things that didn’t work and all the people that hurt their feelings. And all the stuff that is going on in their life that they wish were not happening. This is their worry time. Then you go to sleep and “He opens your ears and seals your instructions” while you are slumbering.
  What you want to do is reverse this practice because your subconscious mind is listening to how you are asking the universe to provide for you what it is that you would like to attract or manifest into your life. Here you are suggesting to your subconscious mind all the things “you don’t want”, “you don’t like”, “that make you unhappy.” You want to shift from that way of thinking and use the last five minutes of your day to program your subconscious mind with what you have placed in your imagination with your “I am’s”, “I am well”, “I am happy”, “I am prosperous.” etc. You don’t want your instructions sealed with everything that you don’t like, that makes you depressed, that makes you unhappy.

Dr. Dyer points out that there are two things that will interfere with attracting a desire into your life.

1. It must feel natural to you. You have to be able to say to yourself ” Even if I don’t know how to do it, even if I have no experience, even if everyone has told me I can’t do it, my wish fulfilled feels natural to me!”
2. You cannot have any thoughts of condemnation, criticism, or judgment towards any of God’s children. We are all just doing what we know how to do and you cannot ask anymore of anyone. As long as you are having these thoughts of condemnation, criticism, or judgment, you are throttling the great “I AM” presence within you, that is God. Read more about the “I AM” Presence Within You.

To see Dr. Wayne Dyer’s  special program “Wishes Fulfilled” in it’s entirety, contact your local Public Broadcasting Station.  The PBS Special also offers Donor Supporter Packages of books, DVDs and CDs containing exclusive bonus material related to his broadcast and teachings.

Roll on!

Help Jamie Oliver celebrate Food Revolution Day on May 19

Even in my own life, I find that junk food and fast food are much more accessible than whole foods, organic choices and the like. But thanks to the efforts of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and others, many of these popular restaurants, schools and stores have made a genuine effort to make healthier food options available!





Roll on... in good health!

Art teacher Abby Escobal explains how to inspire creative confidence

My original digital painting Colour de Noise, 2005

Today, I wanted to re-address the issue of "creative confidence" which I addressed in my previous post about my 10th grade Studio Art teacher Ms. Wheeler. (Read that post here). This very well articulated post by artist and educator Abby Escobal on her WordPress blog explains the concept likely far better than I would. Her recent post on David Kelley's TED Talk on how to build creative confidence in both children and adults as told from Abby's perspective as an art teacher is quite inspiring!

So I encourage you to read it, enjoy it, be inspired and of course, roll on!

Read Abby Escobal's blog post at the link below: 

Building Creative Confidence: Thoughts on David Kelley’s TED Talk

The Charlie Rose Brain Series presents a full hour on autism

Charlie Rose and guests discuss autism: its considered causes, remedies, particular incidents and what can be learned from the disorder with regard to the general workings of the human brain and specific recent wondrous discoveries that have been made concerning the brain's larger spectrum of potential.

Watch here and comment below this post after you watch: http://www.charlierose.com/view/content/12354

Roll on!

WWE's John Cena: 'Wishing is Powerful Stuff'

WWE Entertainer and athlete John Cena describes his motivation for being one of Make-A-Wish Foundation's top wish granters in this video  which is based  on his recent USA Today piece. 





 Get the text of the article here.




Live with hope and roll on!

Esther Hicks gives her unique view of the special nature of autism

In this short clip, author and self-help counselor Esther Hicks gives her uniquely optimistic view of autism - a disorder that is most often characterized by a lack of both non-verbal and social commutation skills. Hicks believes the disorder to be a unique form of expression in which the autistic person has the distinct advantage of being able to be happy without the need for approval from others. Please watch. Feel free to leave a comment. Do you agree with Hicks' assessment? Or, on the other hand, do you believe she is off base with her views?

Disclaimer: The views of Ms. Hicks do not necessarily correlate to my own in all cases. However, her ability to make the listener think deeply about the way in which he or she may view the circumstances and events of life makes Hicks someone who I believe can shed light on new ways to engage in critical thinking and imaginative creativity regarding those things we may take for granted as "everyday life."

From estherhicksbiography.com:

Hay House, Inc. published the Hicks’ best-selling book, Ask and It is Given, in 2004. Since then, they have also published four more New York Times Best-sellers:

• Money, and The Law of Attraction (made #1 on New York Times Best Sellers List)
• The Law of Attraction
• The Astonishing Power of Emotions
• The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent
• as well as the fictional children’s series of Sara books.

Esther was born in Coalville, Utah. She married her current husband, Jerry Hicks, in 1980 and has one daughter by her former marriage. Currently, Esther travels the world with Jerry, speaking and teaching and writing.

Think. Roll on!

What will you do with your story?

 In this clip from X Factor's UK version, a young man named Emmanuel tells the story of how he was found in an Iraqi war zone with his brother and himself in a shoebox with his and his brother's limbs severed for the two brother's later to be adopted by a loving Australian woman nearly 20 years ago. Please watch this video and ask yourself, "What will I do with my story?"

Roll on!

Tony Robbins shares three ways to effect success

Tony Robbins' 3 Ways to Effect Success

"Tony Robbins, a self-help author and motivational speaker, reveals three ways you can effect success: have a strategy, change your story and develop a quality state. Plus, find out why he says some people need to divorce their stories so they can marry the truth."  - Oprah's Lifeclass


Always remember the fact that you are not in your past and the future has not come yet. You are NOW!

Roll on!

Let me tell you a story about moving past limitations (Revised 5/3/12)

 This image of rapper-singer Drake is taken from an anonymous source on Facebook. Copyright is granted in full to the original owner of the image.

How many times in our lives have we intended to do something? We say, "I meant to do this, but I didn't because…." We make excuses as to why we can't accomplish a given goal or why it'll just be too hard to complete or even try to do that which we always wanted to do. I am no exception to this rule. For years, I never tried drawing or painting because I assumed my hands were too spastic from my Cerebral palsy. For the same reason, I never learned to play Jazz piano, or how to rock on the guitar.

But one day, at the age of 15 in the 10th grade, fate would seem to strike me the face with an opportunity. You see, for some odd reason, my guidance counselor thought it would be prudent judgment to put me in a technical drawing class rather than an art class because of my disability. Somehow she seemed to think that rigid rules, rulers, wedges, compasses, lined graph paper and the rest would be easier for me to handle than a basic studio art class.  So, after about a week of being bored by drawing straight lines with rulers, I opted instead to take Studio Art with Ms. Wheeler -- a choice I credit with encouraging me to explore my creativity more than I ever had in the past. I had written poetry and short stories, tinkered with computers and all that. But in my mind, I was limited by something I had no control over. But as I would later discover, I was, in truth, very literally "disabled" by my own thinking.

When I first entered the class I felt immediately at ease with Ms. Wheeler. She was an upbeat, jovial woman seemingly in her late 20s who told us all that she didn't believe in people who couldn't be creative. So she started us out randomly enough by drawing tree bark. She told us to look at the lines and contours and to carefully examine each bit of the tree and really pay attention to the tinniest details. Somehow by doing this, breaking down the lines into smaller, more manageable pieces, the lines seemed so much more accessible, even easy for me. Ms. Wheeler would then send us all home with a sketchbook to draw everything from telephones, pets and simple versions of human faces for the entire school year. I went on that year to draw monochromatic still lifes, to create abstract tissue paper tapestries and even create one watercolor painting that seemed to remind one administrator of a Salvador Dali piece. I went on even further in my remaining high school years to take up courses in black-and-white photography, drama/improvisational acting and even international cooking. But none of this would've been possible without someone like Ms. Wheeler to show me how to think beyond my limitations. For this much I say thank you to Ms. Wheeler, wherever she may be now.

Today, I take that creativity with me and so many lessons learned from people like Ms. Wheeler. Since graduating over a decade ago, I've discovered several hobbies and abilities. I stuck with my poetry and have expanded it into new forms and I'm now writing with greater depth and intensity at 31 and I ever thought I could at the green and often unripened age of 15. I began taking on music in the form of DJing in my early undergraduate years for friends, relatives and neighbors. For a moment I tinkered with the idea of doing Hip Hop mixtape of my original raps; and I only stopped because I realized that the life of a rapper was not something I wanted. But, as funny as it may seem, I am absolutely convinced beyond all doubt that had I pursued it, rapping could've taken me to some very interesting places in my life.

In the same creative vein so to speak, I began thinking of a screenplay idea and eventually  would become fleshed out more and more in a screenwriting class in 2006. I'm still working on this. I also began a freelance writing career in 2007, built a portfolio by 2009 and by 2011, I moved into the realm of promotional work for everything from a performing arts studio to an interior design blog. At present, I'm still freelancing and promoting while being 25% owner of the novelty store LoveList.com. Also, my recent editing adventure with author Andre Burrell, The Fight Versus Reality, is now available at Amazon.

The moral: You are not as limited as you might think you are.

Roll on!

Karly Fesolowich performs "A Letter to Alexander Graham Bell from His Deaf Wife Mabel"

The following spoken-word poem is a narrative retelling of the story of Mabel Hubbard Bell, wife of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell by SUNY New Paltz student and Slam Team member Karly Fesolwich. 

In the piece entitled "A Letter to Alexander Graham Bell from His Deaf Wife Mabel," the character of Mrs. Bell speaks candidly and unabashedly about her feelings toward her curious relationship with her husband and touches with a firm thumb on what may have been the prevailing stereotype regarding deafness and disability in the late Nineteenth Century with a poignancy and potency that shakes the hearer of the poem  into a vivid imagining of the almost cruel paradox of Mrs. Bell's role as her husband's public touter  -- and the poem does all of this not withstanding the irony of an auditory poem being performed from the perspective a deaf person.

MABEL HUBBARD BELL
by Stan Griffin, Deaf Friends International Special Contributor 

Before teacher and inventor Alexander Graham Bell married Mabel Hubbard, he described her voice as " ... naturally sweet ... (having a) beautiful quality ..." Unfortunately, she was never able to hear it herself because Mabel was deaf. And when Bell's most famous invention (the telephone) became extremely popular throughout the world, Mabel was unable to use it for the same reason.

Source material here

Roll on!