The Power of Habit

At the Words of Inspiration Blog, we believe that we can be our best and live a lifestyle of health, happiness, and love by the choices we make and the habits we develop and practice.

Practicing healthy habits such as gratitude, hopeful and positive thinking, exercise and good nutrition lead to healthy, happy and successful lives. May these words inspire and motivate you to change some bad habits and develop good habits for life! 

THE POWER OF HABIT

I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do you might as well turn over to me,

And I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.

Show me exactly how you want something done,

And after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great individuals

And, alas, of all failures as well.

Those who are great I have made great

Those who are failures I have made failures.

I am not a machine,

Though I work with all the precision of a machine

Plus the intelligence of a human being. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin; It makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, And I will put the world at your feet Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am habit!

~author unknown

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~Aristotle


Things do not change. We change. ~Henry David Thoreau


Hard work is a two-way street. You get back exactly what you put in. ~Unknown

We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any weaknesses. It’s not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist. ~Vince McConnell


For a great resource to help you develop 10 life-changing habits, check out: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino


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Empowering Way to Start a New Day!

Words to Live By
The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins. ~Bob Moawad


The Greatest Handicap - Fear
The Best Day - Today
Easiest Thing to Do - Find Fault
Most Useless Asset - Pride
The Greatest Mistake - Giving Up
The Greatest Stumbling Block - Egotism
The Greatest Comfort - Work Well Done
Most Disagreeable Person - The Complainer
Worst Bankruptcy - Loss of Enthusiasm
Best Teacher - One Who Makes You Want to Learn
Greatest Need - Common Sense
Meanest Feeling - Regret at Another's Success
Best Gift - Forgiveness
Greatest Knowledge - God
Greatest Thing in the World - Love
(from Jim Pierce's Big Golden Trumpet Encyclopedia)

I love words of wisdom and inspirational quotes because they are truly motivating and empowering. They can encourage, strengthen and direct us. I had the following words of wisdom in my music binder. On occasion I will stop and read through them. Today was one of those days. And as always, they really inspired me. I started my morning by saying that today is a good day, and I decided I was going to do my part to make it good. And in these words to live by, I was reminded that today is not just another day, it is the best day! Yes, it is the best day because we can choose to believe it is. We can choose to make it good by the way we think, behave, and relate to others and our world. We can choose to give thanks for what we have, what we can learn, and what we can give. We can choose to recognize and appreciate each new day as a gift and give thanks for all that is good. This attitude is truly the very best way to start our day. It empowers us to do our part to live life to the fullest.

I was also reminded that fear is the greatest handicap. It keeps us from maximizing our potential and being our best. It leads us to the greatest mistake of giving up. It can also cause us to become a complainer (the most disagreeable person) if we are not careful. Once we get into complaining, we are out of gratitude. Complaining and gratitude cannot coexist! And if we are not thankful, we will not experience true joy and peace. A lack of joy hampers our enthusiasm for life, for our relationships, work, etc. And a loss of enthusiasm is certainly the worst bankruptcy. The unfortunate thing is that we do it to ourselves.

Another value I thought was especially empowering is the best gift--forgiveness. I was reminded that this is a gift we give to ourselves. Forgiveness is more about us than it is about who or what hurt us or offended us. Not only do we forgive and find freedom, we also receive forgiveness and experience grace and love which are truly life-changing. Yes, forgiveness is the best gift! There is so much more I can say about this and maybe I will in a future article.

The greatest knowledge--I agree 100% is God. I believe there is no greater knowledge, experience, or relationship we can ever have. I couldn't even imagine life without God and for this I am most grateful! His love is the greatest thing in the world, for He is love. To know Him is to know love, an ongoing life experience. His love is like no other--it is so deep, so wonderful, so beautiful, so empowering.

May you be blessed by these words to live by and let them empower you to be your best and give thanks for today and always!


Copyright © 2011 Krystal Kuehn. All Rights Reserved.
New Day Family Counseling Marriage Counseling Center & BeHappy4Life.com




Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family couples counseling, children counseling and teen counseling center, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Check out Krystal's other blogs: Give Thanks Journal, Baby Poems blog and Be Your Best blog!





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It's A New Day for a New Beginning

Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new end. ~Carl Bard

You've heard it said, It's not how you start, it's how you finish.  Sometimes we wish we could go back and do things all over again.  It would be so different if we could just have a brand new start.  But no matter how far off track we have gotten, or where the road has turned, we can still reach our destination.  The life before us is filled with hope and promise.  No detour can change our purpose and call.  We just might have to take a different way to get there than we expected.  Yet, we will fulfill our dreams and purpose as long as we are willing to pick ourselves back up and start from where we are at right now. 

It's a new day for a new beginning!

Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way.  Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be. ~Marsha Petrie Sue

The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings. ~Dave Weinbaum

What Comes Around Goes Around

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

When we think about it, many of the good things and blessings we have came from someone investing in our lives. We didn’t know where to go, and someone showed us the way. We didn’t know what to do, and someone gave us insight & wise counsel. We didn’t have the finances we needed, and someone provided them. We needed encouragement, and someone listened & helped us to not give up.

I want to share a story with you about giving back to those who have given so much to us:

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the young boy from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life. " "No, I can't accept payment for what I did, " the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son? " the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of. " And that he did.

In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

We’ve all heard it said that what comes around goes around. It’s the principle of sowing and reaping. When we sow goodness, kindness and love, it comes back to us in one way or another. The same holds true when we sow judgment, hate, and revenge.

Lord Randolph Churchill couldn’t walk away from the humble Farmer Fleming with a simple "thank you." He knew he could never repay him for his son’s life, but he wanted to give him something, anything he could to show his gratitude and appreciation. And his investment not only changed their lives, but it has changed all of our lives forever.

This story made me reflect on a couple of questions:

For one, How much do we value what others do for us?
How often do we show them that we truly appreciate them?
And, How can we give back to them?

I encourage you to remember to be thankful for those who have made a difference in your life. And, think about how you can express your appreciation and love to those who have blessed you.

I hope you have a great week filled with gratitude expressed in love and giving! Krystal


We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
~Sir Winston Churchill

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
~Sir Winston Churchill


Copyright © 2008 BeHappy4Life.com, written by Krystal Kuehn This article is based on the BeHappy4Life Audio Podcast: What Comes Around Goes Around by Krystal Kuehn.