As you go through your day, are you aware of how you’re acting? No, I’m not talking about performing your favorite scene from Romeo and Juliet, I’m talking about how you’re coping with what happens to you and around you through the day. When something happens you have a choice to be reactive or proactive.

A lot of times, being reactive to a situation is the norm. When you react to something you’re not in control; the very act of reacting is the result of a stimulus in your life, cause and effect. When you’re reacting, you’re living your life through your emotions. You’re allowing circumstance to drive your decisions. This is where the seed of victim thinking is planted and springs to life. Your focus is on the problem, how it’s affecting you, and how unfair it is. Many times being reactive is caused by being so engrossed in doing things or being so checked out that you don’t see what’s happening around you....

When you’re in the groove everything just seems to be going right. You feel great and you’re achieving great things. You’re on fire and loving life. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up turning that groove into a rut. You don’t want to be in a rut. This is where each day is filled with mind-numbing activities and the only goal you have is to make it to the end of the day or to the weekend. Where are you today? You in the groove or in a rut? Being the curious guy I am, I decided to dig into this and figure out what causes each and how to turn the rut back into a groove.

I discovered that when you’re in a rut you’re focused on the activities of the day. You’re focused on what you’re doing. The monotony of performing the same tasks every day has put you in a trance and you’re drifting. This is a sad state to be in because you’re allowing your present moment of disengagement to become your past.

When...

Your life is the way it is because of one very simple thing. The meaning you give to what happens to you determines the quality of your life. If you want a better life, you need to see these events from a different perspective.

The greatest lesson I ever received on perspective was from my grandson Brandon when he was four years old. One day he and I were playing in his room, sitting on the floor and racing his little cars on this rug that had roads in its’ design. When all of a sudden he laid down on the floor and continued to roll his car around the rug. 

“Brandon, are you tired?”, I asked. 

“No, Papa.”, he answered.

“Then why are you laying down?”, I inquired.

“Because it’s different.”, was his reply.

So, I tried laying down too and the whole landscape changed. Instead of looking down at the rug and cars, now I was looking at the side of the car and the rug. The change in perspective was...

Have you ever been around someone that made you feel like the most important person in the whole world? Someone that you love to be around because your day is brighter because of them? If you step back and observe, you’ll find that you’re attracted to them like metal to a magnet. What you’re seeing isn’t magic, it’s a mindset and it’s a game changer for the those that can master it.

What they do is put the needs of others before their own needs. I know this sounds counterintuitive but hear me out. When you’re thinking of yourself first, everything you do is with the thought of what you can get. Your thoughts and sentences start with me or I. And then there’s the sense of fairness that comes with a self-serving attitude where you count everything you do for others and demand that you get at least as much in return. You do this in business and in relationships. I know what’s best for my customer, so they should do it. Or,...