Your Emotional Fitness

1. Introduction

Many years ago I was working for a construction company. One day I was having lunch with some co-workers, and a guy we called Foont said, "Damn! Bologna sandwiches again! Every stinkin’ day I get nothin' but bologna sandwiches. I hate bologna sandwiches!" "So," one of the other guys said, "why don't you ask your wife to make you something else?"

"Won't do any good” he said. “I make my own lunch."

There are so many choices that we make every day, from simple routine choices to more profound choices that impact our relationships, our careers, and even our lives. You make a choice every morning when you choose how to start your day. Do you start with a negative thought like “Oh, no…do I have to get up?” Or a positive thought like “Time to get up and seize the day! What interesting people will I meet today…and what will I learn?” Just ask yourself…is this day going to be like yesterday and all of the days before that, or could it be a fresh start on the rest of my life’s journey?

Is this the life you hoped to be living? Imagine living your life…feeling love and acceptance towards others and experiencing happiness inside no matter what is going on in the world outside of you. You can do this for yourself, if you choose. Actually, YOU are the only one who can make this happen. Go ahead, it’s so easy to get started…just begin by turning the page...

“A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.”
---Confucius

1.1 My Goal for You

If you found a message in a bottle, and on the outside of the bottle it read “The message inside contains what you need most for a happy, fulfilled, and abundant life”, what would the message written inside say?
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My goal in writing this book is to help you take control of your life and be able to create the life of abundance that you want and deserve. My definition of abundance is a fullness of spirit which overflows, along with a lifestyle of more than adequate material provisions. Take a moment to think about what your definition of abundance might be.

This is not a self-help book, but a self-empowerment book. Its purpose is to change your state of consciousness and your perceptions of life. If you choose to allow yourself to learn the powerful principles contained within, the information in this book will guide you towards your emotional fitness.

“You are led through your lifetime by your inner learning creature,
the playful spiritual being that is your real self.”
---Richard Bach

If things in your life are not happening as you would like, and you make an effort to fix the symptoms (the problems you’re experiencing), you will only get a temporary solution. If you try to fix what is happening on the outside…bad job, unfulfilling relationships, challenging financial situation, ill health, etc…without changing how you interpret the situation from the inside, you will need constant reminders and motivation to behave in the way you have decided would be best for you. But the moment you see and perceive things differently, change is natural and inevitable.

“When you change the way you look at things…
the things you look at change.”
---Wayne Dyer

It’s not about cleaning the projection (what is on the outside), but cleaning the projector (you)…so you can let in more light. By cleaning the lens (your thoughts, perceptions, beliefs) and letting in more light, you will create a shift of awareness within, which will give you new perspectives…a new way of seeing and being in the world.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
---Rumi

Everything in your life, perfect or not, is you. Because of this, you have the power to change it. Facing, learning from, and transforming negative feelings is a conscious choice which requires a commitment to release the negative emotions which have held you back. Once you’ve released these negative feelings and thoughts, your health and happiness will take a turn for the better. You will no longer see your struggles as a tragedy, but as an opportunity for you to develop into a more flexible human being, thereby allowing your struggles to act as stepping stones to a better life.

You will learn to appreciate all of your emotions, even the negative ones, as the negative emotions will become a call to action, letting you know that something is amiss inside of you. These negative emotions are a signal that some kind of change is needed, and if you handle the negative emotions when they are small, the situation will not become a crisis. For example, instead of letting things escalate until you are infuriated, you will make the change when you begin to get annoyed. It is an empowering way to live! Furthermore, having transcended emotional pain, you’ll have more compassion for others who are still lost in turmoil.

What you will find truly amazing is that when you start to see things differently and change your perceptions, the old problems on the outside seem to miraculously resolve themselves and new opportunities just appear out of nowhere. It becomes the process of creation at its best. It’s not a matter of what you’re doing…it’s all a matter of what you’re being.

“I have invented the world I see.”
---A Course in Miracles

You may even experience a feeling that something is missing from your life, and then realize that what is missing are the old problems and the stress. Now you see the things that happen as just life situations and opportunities, not problems.

“We cannot choose our external circumstances,
but we can always choose how we respond to them.”
---Epictetus

This book will give you a deeper understanding of the choices that you have, and help you become empowered to make the most important choice of all…the choice to choose your thoughts and beliefs. Once you realize that your beliefs create your thoughts and in turn your reality, you will be able to take control of your life.

Please remember that the process of self-empowerment is never ending and has no time frame, yet results can be seen immediately. As soon as you are no longer seeing a limiting picture of your potential, you can become aware that you are perfect…even if everything in your life has told you otherwise. You’ve been living that old way long enough. Isn’t it time to allow for something new? You don’t need to understand anything, you just need to allow…

“Trying to understand is like straining to see through muddy water.
Be still, and allow the mud to settle.
Remain still, until it is time to act.”
---Lao Tzu

The purpose of this book is to change your state of consciousness and your perceptions of life. With the knowledge of “self” that you will gain, it is my hope that you will be empowered to take control and create the life of abundance that you so richly deserve.

“The world is missing what can be found in you.”
---James Miller