Cookies in Paradise…

“Man, I sell cookies in paradise for a living. How could I have a bad day?” -Cookie Dude in Key West

Wow… what a great question. A simple smile and hello led me to the next great question of my own life. When you become who you really want to be, do what you want to do, live where you want to live, and can find Joy in simplicity and solitude…

 How could you have a bad day?

Please don’t get “bad day” confused with a lack of challenges and adversities. Without the stimulation of difficulty and discomfort, as humans, we would suffer from the misery of boredom and stagnation.

A “bad day” would be defined by your attitude about the day. The ‘feelings’ you have about the events of the day would be the difference between a smile and a frown.

What are the events of your day that great positive or undesired feelings?

Why do you reflect these feelings about what happens to you rather than simply finding the positive parts and learning from the difficulties?

How could you look at the things that happen “to you” with a different perspective?

Simple…

Change the way you see things and the things you see will change.

Simple?

Yes.

Easy?

No.

What does this mean for you?

I hope to help you realize something that I have learned from people much smarter than me and have applied to my own life to help find Joy and Positivity, even through the difficult darkness I have faced in the past.

Life isn’t about what happens to you… because nothing happens TO YOU… things just happen. You put yourself right where you are in this moment and it is up to you to respond accordingly. If you would have left 1 minute early or later, you would be in a different place. If you would have done ‘that’ instead of ‘this’ you would be somewhere else. If you were to ‘think’ rather than ‘react’ you would find a different perspective so you may change your perception on the events in the NOW.

For things to change… YOU HAVE GOT TO CHANGE!

There is no magic formula.

There is no secret to success.

There is no miracle drug.

There is nothing outside of YOU that can change things for YOU…

Only YOU can change things for YOU.

Now you ask… but HOW!?

Here you go.

Are you ready?

Really?

Awesome, let’s get to work.

For things to change, YOU have got to change!

Actions must be changed, but action takes time to see results.

The first step toward changing is to change what you see.

Then change what you think.

Followed up by changing what you do.

At any time, at any point, you can change ANYTHING you want by first changing how you see it.

The absolute best way I know how to do this is to realize what is happening in the moment. Seek to understand why you are reacting the way you are and then step forward with how you want to move forward in the future.

Here you go…

The money shot.

The secret sauce.

The all powerful change pill.

When something happens… STOP! Just STOP! In this moment in time stop.

Take a physical step backward.

Create a big deep breath in.

Let a strong relieving push of air out.

Ask yourself this simple question: What do I hope to gain through the feelings I have in this moment?

That’s it.

All better.

Simple. Effect. Awesome.

On to the next task of the day.

Huh?…

Seriously Gary? That’s it?

This silly little exercise is supposed to change my life?

Yep, it is… and it will change is drastically if you’ll let it. The hardest part about it is remembering to do it. The second piece is to actually do it. The third part is to let it work. The most important part after you follow through is to accept your new mindset of the new perception you have in this moment. Without acceptance, you will lack the positive reward associated with this action and your brain will dismiss it, never doing it again…

Wow… that was a lot… even for me. So, I have put together a short little video to take you through the process as an example. I hope you are willing to give this a try. It works. It works better than any pill or product or service you can spend your hard-earned money on.

I have used this process in my own life to grasp control of my mindset and behaviors around poor thoughts and decisions in business, fitness, and life. I hope you are will to follow the simple steps to create a future for yourself too.

We have ONE WEEK before the 100 day “I Commit” Challenge starts… ARE YOU IN!? We would love to support and encourage you as you take your next best step forward!

garystotler.com/challenge