Tuesday, September 27, 2011

New Things To Flow With

Affirmation 2:
Today's affirmation talked about going with the flow, and always being ready to accept what life throws at you. I got in the car this morning, at an unreasonably early hour, wondering why on earth I set my appointments for physical therapy, so damned early. I mean, I BARELY had time to gulp down a cup of coffee this morning. Let alone, enjoy it.
I kept repeating the affirmation silently, over and over again, as I went to my appointment. I go with the flow of things. Sure, I can accept that. As long as the flow of things isn't taking place at 7 FRIGGIN 30 in the morning.
I got to my appointment, with just minutes to spare. And, I knew. I just knew.
The affirmation starts here.
For the past 8 visits or so, my therapy appointments have been the same old, same old. No new things to learn.
That changed today. THREE new things were thrown at me. Each of them wonderful, in their own little ways. And, guess what. I just went with them. I went with the flow, just as that little affirmation told me to.
Then, I came home, and I napped. (But, that is another story, altogether).

Monday, September 26, 2011

And I'm Feelin' Good

Okay, so here I am. It is funny...Ever since writing that first post, I have been feeling this rush. After the initial post was published,  I went to my digital copy of Power Thoughts: 365 Daily Affirmations, and I got started.
So, before we get too far into this journey, perhaps I should write of why I chose to do this.
I am 29 years old, and I am just now learning to live, all over again. Up until 2 years ago, I was living with a false diagnosis, or Cerebral Palsy. Let me just tell you...Living with a disability. Not fun. To make matters worse, my 'father' was a horrible individual, who took advantage, because I was 'weak'. For years, I went through extreme abuse, living a hell that nobody should ever have to live. And, his reason for hurting me. I was disabled. I was NOTHING. I might as well serve one purpose. He has been out of the picture for a while now. I was FINALLY able to tell my family of what was happening, and things got resolved. But, I was still believing that I was nothing. After all, if you hear something enough, don't you have to believe it?
Two years ago, I was properly diagnosed, and I went through surgery, to remove my 'disability'. I am now learning to walk, after spending my entire adult life in a wheelchair. It is hard, but I am doing it. And, I figure that since I am already on the road to becoming a 'New me', I might as well make it count, and go all the way.
Okay, now that the summary of my past is done, let's move on.
I looked at the first affirmation in the book. (Let me just say, I love the art! The graphics that go along with the affirmations are truly uplifting.) Upon first reading the affirmation, which talks about feeling good, about who you are, I thought that it was a pretty simple concept. I mean, how hard can it be, to feel good about yourself?
I went about my day, after memorizing this affirmation. I said it over and over again. And, while I felt good about myself, the whole day, I also realize that maybe, it is not as easy an affirmation as I thought it would be. You see, I have always  been one of those people, who put myself down. I am constantly judging myself. And, the verdicts are rarely kind.
Today...Damn it, I WAS going to take the time, to learn to feel good about being me. That was all there was to it.
I started off, with doing school work. Going to school online is extremely beneficial. And, as I sat in front of my computer, reading my text, I realized that 'Hey! This is my FOURTH class! And guess what...I am TOTALLY kicking ass. I am maintaining a 4.0 GPA! Instantly, I started to feel good about myself. As I thought about my school, and the great grades I am getting, I instantly began to see that I am capable of GREATNESS! What a good feeling.
Next, I went outside.
With my cane in my right hand, I traipsed around the property. Another thing to feel good about. Walking is always such a thrill.
Of course, there were those moments (quite a few of them, in fact), where I started to think negatively of myself. Old habits die hard. But, when I became aware of these nasty little thoughts, I would randomly start saying nice things about myself.
This is an affirmation that I will continue to work on, for a long time. I am sure that each of these affirmations will take time. But, each day, I will work a new one, while still working on past ones. Eventually, I will have so many good things to think about, that it will be hard not to feel good about being me.
Well...That is the hope!
So, there we have it. The first affirmation has come. And, I can already see that this is going to be a WONDERFUL journey.
Until tomorrow...

Let the Year of Transformation Begin

Affirmation: According to Wikipedia, an affirmation is defined as a declaration that something is true.
If you were to walk into a bookstore, or search the internet, for self-help books, you would most likely find a TON of books, designed to take the reader on a ONE YEAR journey of self discovery. One year is long enough, I suppose. I mean, a lot can happen in one year, that is for sure. And, with proper guidance, it isn't completely unbelievable that your life could be entirely different. 
On the other hand, one year...it just seems so short a time, for such a drastic change.
My name is Michael Leach. I am 29 years old, as I start this blog. And, this morning, before starting this post, I decided to become a candidate for the ONE YEAR journey, to self discovery. I searched through quite a few books, before finally settling on one, that seems just RIGHT for me. There were a TON of books, saying that, if I gave just one year, my entire life would change. They promised it, even. Well, even though change is what I am after, that seems like a pretty damned big promise, to me. So, any book that made such promises was instantly dismissed. Surprisingly, this left me with very few options. But, determined to take this journey of self-discovery, I kept my search going, until I found the PERFECT book.
The book:
Power Thoughts: 365 Daily Affirmations, by Louise L. Hay. This book is the perfect choice for me, because it offers the chance to improve my life, without being so arrogant, as to promise it.
In this book, there are 365 pages, of colorful, wonderful affirmations.
So, here we go.
Starting today, I will read ONE affirmation, per day. I will keep that affirmation in mind all day, and spend time focusing on what I could learn from it. I will take these short affirmations, and draw from them.
Now, I will not write the affirmations, in this blog. After all, that would be a HUGE no-no. (I am not too keen on getting sued.) Instead, what I will do is choose one or two of MY OWN words, to summarize the affirmation. And, I will also give the page number of the affirmation, should you have a copy of this book, and wish to follow along.
The deal is this.
Each morning, as I have my coffee, I will choose an affirmation for the day. I will spend my entire day putting the affirmation to practice. Then, at the end of each day, I will come to this blog, and write about what I have learned from the affirmation. There will be no breaks, and no days off.
For the next 365 days, I will work with an affirmation. And, I will write a new post, each and every day.
Later tonight will come a post on my first affirmation.
Let the ONE YEAR journey to self-improvement begin!