What If?

Take a minute. Think about who and what in your life is causing you pain and grief. It can be anything: a relationship, a regret about something you did or didn't do, a dream you should have let go a long time ago, truly anything. What would you give up if you were strong enough to let it go?

Now, think about who and what are important enough, bring you the most joy and happiness, that you would keep them in you life forever. This list shouldn’t include anyone or anything that causes you pain or grief; no matter how much you want to hold on to them. If it’s hurtful to you, it shouldn’t be here. This list is for those things that add joy and meaning to your life; people and things that make your heart smile and those who would never think of hurting you or making you unhappy.

How long are each of those lists? How many people and things help make your life happy and complete? How many things are you holding on to that you should have let go a long time ago? How much of your life are you wasting on being unhappy because of them?

Now, ask yourself another question: Why? Why are you holding on to the things that hurt you? Why are you letting them take up valuable space in your life? Why are they so important to you that you are keeping them in your life and allowing yourself to be hurt instead of releasing yourself from their grip?

What are you waiting on? What has to happen before you finally realize that it’s time to let them go?

What if, just for today, you decide to concentrate on the positive things in your life? What if you only allow those people and things who bring you happiness and make your life better to be a part of your day? Try this: every time something negative tries to creep into your day, stop what you’re doing and push it away. Don’t take the call from the person who always upsets you, no matter who they are; that is what voice mail and answering machines are for. Banish those negative thoughts as soon as they pop into your head; force yourself to think about something positive instead. How much happier could you be by the end of the day?

Is it going to be easy? No, not at first; it’s going to be hard, really hard. But, it will get easier. Most of us are so enslaved to the negative people and things in our lives that we don’t even notice it. However, once you start consciously working on only letting the positives into your life you’ll see just how much the negatives affected you and how much energy you spent dealing with them instead of on being happy.

How long it takes to get to the point of waking up one day and realizing that you don’t have to tell yourself to concentrate on the positives and to avoid the negatives because it will be automatic will depend solely on you. The quicker you take away the power of the negative people and things in your life, the sooner you will find yourself happier, healthier, and more energized than ever. You won’t be wasting your time and energy combating negative people, things, emotions and feelings in your life; you’ll be celebrating your triumphs and happiness. You’ll wonder how in the world you used to let all those negative things take up so much of your life and rob you of so much happiness.

What if you decide to start today?