How to Move Forward in Life

On a more positive note this week, I'd like to talk about the future. The future is bright regardless of how things may look at the moment. That is why it is called "The Promised Land". 

What is it in life that you would like to accomplish? Write a book? Start a blog? Build your own business? Is there someplace you've dreamed of visiting for years but haven't? Perhaps it's a personal goal like losing 10 pounds or learning to be more assertive or creative. There is always some area to grow in. 

I am a firm believer in goals. I always have a list of things I want to do, places I want to go, changes I want to work on in the various areas of my life. There is something powerful about having goals and things to work towards. Fulfilling goals brings us joy and happiness, a sense of accomplishment and enhances our confidence to push us into new levels. It gives us direction and purpose in life. Once we stop growing we might as well be dead, and that is for a long, long time. 

But sometimes, something holds us back from accomplishing the desires of our heart and fulfilling our destiny. It's called fear: fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of the outcome, fear of losing the status quo. It's a mind game for sure. It is natural to fear stepping out of our comfort zone but step out we must if we want to go higher. As children of God, however, we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

If we want to have more joy, we must change the way we perceive things in life. I like to use the phrase "paradigm shift". We have to change the lens of the glasses we see the world through. 

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects which only sabotages our dreams and desires, try a different, more empowering approach. For example, if I want to lose weight, instead of "I don't have any will power", I can say "I have control over my food choices".  Instead of "I don't like to cook" I can say "I will enjoy learning how to eat healthy". If I want to get in shape, I need to look at exercise as pleasurable and a gift rather than a chore. Instead of "I don't have time to exercise" try "I'll have more energy to accomplish what I need to do." What about visiting that spot you've dreamed of? Instead of saying "I'm afraid of flying" how about "Imagine the new sights and places I will experience when I get there". 

Changing the way we look at things motivates and energizes us to go for our dreams and pursue our destinies. It is never - ever - too late to embark upon an adventure. Dreams are the stuff life is made of. 

Friend, don't let the nasty demon of fear hold you back any longer from living the abundant life. Life is wonderful, rich, and fulfulling if we choose to embrace it and go forward in faith, rather than fear. Remember, we will get what we expect, right?

Love to hear what new thing you are going to step out in faith for in your life. Write and let me know. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join our community, do enter your email address in the box provided. You'll receive my weekly posts plus a copy of my free eguide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path" for yourself or to give a friend. 

Until next time, stay tuned for more positive and practical wisdcom and above all, keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

A Summer Break

Summer is here and  this year, in accordance with my philosophy of giving the mind and the body a break, I will be taking a sabbatical from blogging during the months of July and August. Writing these blog posts takes quite a lot of thought and effort, trying to pick topics of interest and appeal, making sure they are grammatically correct, selecting and creating images for the posts, dealing with all the issues with social media. It is quite the endeavor and I try to be faithful by posting twice a week.

While I'm on sabbatical from blogging, do visit my Facebook page @ArielPaz for practical and educational posts on the topics I write on. Looking for ideas and info? Stop by and visit my Pinterest boards for lots of info on health and wellness, aging, diet and recipes, gluten-free, exercise, tea, fashion, and much more.

Do enjoy these  summer months. Make time to do what makes you truly happy. It is good to take a break once in awhile to recoup, restore, and rethink our priorities and what figure out what makes us happy and fulfilled as well as what is bearing fruit in our lives. Get your house and your mind decluttered by getting rid of what is no longer serving you. Speaking of serving,

This fourth of July, let's all remember to celebrate and pray for those who are protecting our freedoms. Despite our problems, I am proud to be an American.

Thank you for being a follower and a reader of my blog. I consider you all friends. Above all, stay safe and take good care.

Until September, remember always to

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

Goal Setting 101

Have you set some goals for the New Year yet? If so, are they SMART? Today I would like to share three tips on setting goals to ensure they are achievable and worthwhile. SMART goals, as they say in the business world, have the following characteristics.

1) S- stands for specific, not vague.
2) M - stands for measureable, quantifiable. How will it be measured?
3) A - achievable, action-oriented not ridiculous.
4) R - realistic - do I really want to achieve this goal? Why?
5) T - time bound. A determined timeframe is established when the goal will be finished.

Let's take the example of exercise. A smart goal would be "I will exercise at my target heart rate for 30 minutes 3 - 4 times a week to improve my cardiovascular health & reduce my blood pressure." This means 1) I will find out what my target heart rate actually should be so that I am working out hard enough to make a difference and 2) I have connected my goal to my long range purpose for my life i.e living a long and healthy life.

The second point I want to make is that in order to make a significant change in our behavior, we must first take on a new perspective on how we perceive the issue. For example, if you have always said "I hate to exercise", then my suggestion is to reframe that perception to something positive such as "Exercise is good for my health and is enjoyable when I find the right activity to pursue." In other words, we must change the way we think about things in order for our behaviors to follow suit.

And last, but certainly not least, have faith that you can achieve your goals. Have a vision of yourself in that size 6 little black dress or riding that motorcycle, climbing that mountain, or writing that book. Faith is the belief in things not yet seen which means we need to see them happening and pull them into our present by our thoughts and prayers.

Setting the right kind of goals can motivate us to succeed. They challenge us in our lives. Reaching a goal gives us courage to climb a bigger mountain next time. I know. I've climbed lots of them, all by the grace of God.

I hope this post has encouraged you to make some changes in your life. If you are new to goal-setting, start small. You will be amazed at the renewed zest for life you will feel when you begin making positive changes.

Until next time, keep the faith and keep looking up!


Ariel Paz