Page 1778

9 Signs You Might Be an Empath

December 12, 2014 by Power of Positivity

What is an empath?

By definition, an empath is a person with the ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual. It comes from the word empathy, which means the intellectual identification, vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. In other words, you might be an empath if you feel others’ emotions or thoughts on a deep level and take them on as your own.

If you have always felt more in tune with the spiritual side of life and what lies beneath the surface, this could mean that you are an empath as well. Empaths can have many different characteristics, but here are the most common ones.

9 Signs You Might Be An Empath

1. You are Highly Intuitive

You can pick up on others’ thoughts, feelings, and emotions without them having to say a word. Perhaps you can even pick up on a person’s intentions, mood, and personality by their body language and overall energy. On some days, you might even feel aches and pains because of a negative occurrence in your town or even thousands of miles away. You can just sense when something is amiss in the world, and often absorb the energies of everything around you without even knowing it.

2. You Take on Other’s Feelings as if They Were Your Own

You can relate to other’s problems and frustrations easily, just as well as their triumphs and accomplishments. Also, you listen intently to others and want to solve their problems or help them celebrate a positive event. More often than not, though, empaths tend to absorb negative energy. They tend to sympathize with people and want to help them overcome problems. However, empaths can take on the problems and feelings of others as their own, which is why they usually feel burdened by all the imbalances in the world. If you wake up every day feeling like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, you are likely an empath.

3. You Like to Keep Your Feelings to Yourself

Most of the time, empaths can listen to other people talk all day about themselves and their life struggles, but when the tables are turned, empaths usually have difficulty opening up. Since empaths are more inclined to help others with their problems rather than take on their own, they might have a hard time expressing their feelings.

4. You Experience Fatigue

When you absorb other’s energy into your own energy field, you unconsciously carry a lot of energy with you that can drain your own energy levels. If you lead an active lifestyle, but still feel tired often, you might be an empath. Also, fatigue can be attributed to energy vampires or people that feed off your energy, coming to you specifically to exchange their negative energy for your positive energy. If you think you might be an empath, watch out for these types of people who just want to drain you of your own vitality.

5. Strangers Often Share Their Problems With You

Strangers may come up to you at coffee shops or department stores from all walks of life that suddenly start talking about their problems openly and seem to be in great distress. If this has happened to you on multiple occasions, consider yourself an empath. People come to you because they can sense your caring and generous nature, and feel that they can release their pent up frustrations and feelings onto you. They trust you and believe you can help with their problems. Just be careful not to take on their problems as your own.

6. You Have a Strong Interest in Spirituality or Metaphysical Studies

If you have taken an interest in meditation, prayer, positive affirmations, holistic healing, or the many wonders of the universe, this is a huge sign of being an empath. Empaths usually see beyond the limitations of the 3D world around them, taking refuge in peaceful practices such as meditation or yoga. An empath usually wants to know more about the universe and what lies beyond the confines of society as we know it.

7. You Have an Open Mind

Empaths have no problem learning new things about the world, and actively seek out information not found in the mainstream news, movies, or TV shows. They want to learn things considered underground or weird by society as a whole and find the everyday way of living too restrictive and boring. If you got easily distracted or restless in school and always felt like there was so much more out there to learn, you are probably an empath.

8. You Don’t Fit in With the Mainstream

If you are an empath, you have a strong desire to heal and bring this planet back into alignment. You consider the way that normal people live as destructive to your nature and defy any person telling you to live this way. Perhaps you might want to work for yourself in a field that expresses your creativity or desire to heal others. You treat healing with utmost importance, and can’t understand why others choose to participate in destructive behavior. And, of course, you want to live life your way and don’t listen to others who disagree with your opinions on how you should live.

9. You are a Free Spirit

As the point above suggests, you don’t like to be told what to do. You don’t enjoy living by someone else’s guidelines; you live by your own rules. Maybe you never liked rules as a child and would often argue with your parents or teachers. You did not understand the “system” growing up, and still don’t to this day. Additionally, you enjoy adventure, freedom, and expressing your creativity – you probably have a strong interest in art, music, or writing and have a vivid imagination. You let this imagination take flight and live by the reality in your head rather than the one you see every day.

Are you an empath? Discuss in the conversation below or join in on Facebook!

4 Ways to Feel More Secure in Your Relationship

December 12, 2014 by Power of Positivity

Relationships are an essential element of the human experience. Biologically, we are social creatures… in other words, we aren’t hardwired for isolation.

Consider our experiences. When born we immediately become part of a family, are raised with our siblings, play with other kids, attend schools, build friendships, meet a boy or girl we like, fall in love, get married, have kids, go to work, meet and befriend co-workers, become “besties”…and so on.

Being social creatures, it’s natural to consider what others think about us. We value acceptance, appreciate love, and fear rejection. We want respect, loyalty, and honesty. Because of the value that we place on relationships, we fear the loss of these relationships. When we fear the loss of relationships, we can become insecure.

When we love another man or woman, we can become insecure. And when we build strong friendships, we can become insecure. After all, we’ve devoted our time, energy, and heart into our relationships, and we’re certainly not going to squander them…right?

Well, in holding on so tight, you may be becoming more vulnerable to losing someone. Human beings value relationships, but we also value trust. Part of this is being mindful of other people’s need to feel that they have the benefit of the doubt…and they should until they prove otherwise.

Here are 4 ways to start feeling more secure in your relationship…

1. Understand personality and communication

Lack of communication is the crux of a multitude of problems in relationships. Part of this is because we all have different personalities and minds that form how we communicate. Personality differences can also create difficulties in our relationships. The key is understanding these differences.

Introverts (those that value solitude), for example, may not say more than a few words to you all day long. This doesn’t mean they don’t care about your relationship; they just don’t express their thoughts all that much. Extroverts (those that value social interaction) will often express something verbally before the thought is even fully formed in their minds. We can build great relationships with people on both ends of the spectrum, as long as we are willing and able to understand them.

Introversion and extroversion are each just one of the many elements of personality that can lead to misconceptions about your relationship someone. The important takeaway is this: learn about the people that you build relationships with. Be observant. Learn about their communication styles, personalities, moods, and habits. Doing so will help avoid potential conflict down the road while strengthening your understanding of that person and your relationship with them.

2. Discard Perfectionism

Realistic expectations of people are necessary if you’re going to have good relationships. When focusing on someone’s faults, you are never going to be fully satisfied being associated with them.

Human beings are perfect in only one way: being imperfect. Faults are an inherent element of being human. We are raised differently, educated differently, culturally different, and our experiences are different. Some have certain “advantages” in some areas and “disadvantages” in others.

In a nutshell, we all have different traits that create our being. Perfection is a myth, and trying to live vicariously through someone else – which is essentially what we are doing when seeking perfect relationships (as no one is perfect) – will always result in a sense of emptiness, disappointment and, if not careful, loneliness.

In the end, it’s not about finding the perfect person in a relationship…it’s about finding the imperfect person that happens to be perfect for you.

3. Trust…trust…then trust some more

Countless relationships continue to end because one person is incapable of trusting the other. Usually, this is the result of bad experiences in past relationships. We often see this in dating and in marriage, when one partner has experienced emotional or physical neglect or abuse. This kind of experience makes it very difficult to fully place your trust in another individual, especially in a romantic relationship.

Vulnerability is the one real, underlying fear when a lack of trust is present. However, without the strength to make ourselves vulnerable, healthy relationships simply aren’t possible. The truth is that we are all vulnerable in relationships… there is no way around this. Ultimately, it is up to us to decide if this emotional vulnerability is worth the cost of placing our trust in another person.

When it comes to having a fruitful relationship, trust should be given until there is a reason not to. We simply have to use our judgment and hope for the best. Being vulnerable allows us to enjoy our good relationships and learn from the bad ones.

4. Focus on the positives

Worry, anxiety, loneliness, jealousy, and other negative emotions and thoughts will assuredly bring insecurity into your relationships. Instead, focus on the positive elements of your relationships. After all, relationships are meant to be enjoyed and appreciated, not approached with apprehension and fear.

This also means understanding that negative events can (and almost do) occur in positive relationships. There are always going to be some difficulties in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean that we should focus exclusively on these difficulties. Neither does it mean that the relationship should end because of them. Don’t overthink these circumstances.

Obviously, there are extenuating circumstances – emotional or physical abuse, for example, that may require reevaluating a situation. However, minor bumps in the road are not sufficient reasons to cut someone out of your life.

Insecure people are always looking for something negative in a relationship in order to protect themselves. The problem is that they always seem to find what they’re looking for. People that build quality relationships seek and understand the positives in their relationships with others and build upon those positives.

When we choose to accept the people in our lives, we are choosing to accept the “bad” things too. When we choose to fully accept someone, the quality of our relationships will grow, as will our happiness.

Have and show appreciation for the positive things in your relationships, including the entire person. Focus on their strong qualities, be an advocate and support them, and watch your relationships flourish.

What strategies do you use to feel more secure in your relationships?

12 Things You Should No Longer Be Ashamed Of

December 11, 2014 by Power of Positivity

“Never be ashamed of yourself. Be proud of who you are and don’t worry about how others see you.” – Kristen Butler

In today’s critical society, the lives of others are often measured and compared to “the norm”. So much so, that it comes down to the point of people actually being ashamed of how they live their life, or even who they live it with.

Whoever made you think that you had to give away your power of being a uniquely beautiful individual?

You do NOT have to be ashamed of your life, how you live it, or who you live it with. The most important part of life is that you are creating happiness in your own life as well as in the lives of others. You shouldn’t have to cover the life you live just because someone else may think or tell you that you shouldn’t, or don’t need to be living in that fashion.

Here are 12 things you should no longer be ashamed of:

1. Taking time for self-care

In a hectic world, getting lost in the hustle and bustle of doing things for others is easy. You can spend an entire day ensuring everyone you know is happy and well cared for.

But what about taking time for yourself?

Self-care, or more commonly referred to as “me time”, comes in many forms. You can go extreme and book a 5-night vacation to somewhere sandy and warm, or you can do something a little more subtle and treat yourself to your favorite meal, read your favorite book, or get a massage. Self-care is vital to well-being!

2. Showing or expressing your emotion

Feeling sad? Maybe a little angry? You could even be ecstatic! Whatever you’re feeling, please don’t be ashamed to express it. People who regularly use cognitive therapy to understand what they’re feeling become more competent in managing their emotions. As a result, they are less susceptible to manipulation and negative moods.

3. Who you spend time with

Not all your loved ones are family. Sometimes these people include your friends and romantic partners. In other words, you get to decide who you let into your life and who you spend most of your time with.

According to Jim Rohn’s law of averages, you’re most like the five people you spend most of your time with. If this is true, wouldn’t it be wise to proudly spend time with the people who you want to be around that will make you a better person?

4. What you do for work

In a society obsessed with what you do for a living and how much money you make, following your career aspirations can sometimes seem difficult. Just ask any liberal art college student how many times they’ve heard, “You’re getting a degree in that? What are you going to do? How are you going to pay your bills?”

When you’re constantly bombarded with attacks on your career choice, it’s easy to get discouraged. Always remember what drew you to a certain field in the first place, and why you feel that you’re positively contributing to the world through that career choice.

5. Forgiveness

Holding grudges is bad for your relationships and health. It can easily wrap you up in the past instead of the present, and produce a multitude of health issues.

Never be ashamed to forgive anyone. Forgiving is important to move forward in life. Sometimes people think forgiving means it makes it okay. That’s untrue. Forgiveness means you are allowing yourself to let go. You free yourself from the bondage, and in fact, receive more of a gift from it than those who you forgive!

6. Being hopeful

There’s a common saying that a person is made truly happy by three things: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. The dreamers among us know all about hope and how common it is to have that hope challenged by people who tell you to “be realistic” and prepare for the worst.

But to those challengers, we say, “You may call me a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Hopeful, positive thinking even has multiple health benefits including increased life span, lower levels of stress, and improves coping skills. So in difficult times, keep calm and hope on!

7. Positive thinking

Not every day may be a good day, but this doesn’t mean that you have to let life kick you while you’re down. It’s impossible to predict when a bad day is going to come around, but thinking positive throughout those bad days will make you more resilient next time you’re challenged with one. With this ever growing resilience, you’ll be cruising down the best possible path you can take with your life.

8. Being true to yourself

One of the biggest death bed regrets people express is not living a life true to themselves. It’s easy to get wrapped up in other people’s expectations for you and your life, but it will always boil down to what you want to do with your life.

Embracing your unique self and loving that self is one of the most courageous things you can do. Don’t worry about what others think. As that ridiculously catchy Bon Jovi song goes…it’s your life. It’s now or never.

9. Your past

Trials and tribulations ultimately create experience and wisdom. There are a lot of bumps along the road of life, especially in the first couple of decades. Don’t let those minor bumps turn into mountains. There will be moments that you wish you could do over, but the power of hindsight is that you learn from your past mistakes.

As time goes on, you’ll be able to make better, more informed decisions, allowing you to create a happier and healthier life.

10. Your natural self

In her wildly hilarious memoir, Bossypants, Tina Fey references a laundry list of beauty standards forced on women, including Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, small Japanese feet, the arms of Michelle Obama, and much more.

Men and women are both subjected to this kind of social standard, and can often become ashamed of how their body looks, based on what other people think about it. Even if you try every cutting edge surgery or serum, no one can be a perfectly sculpted specimen. Give those strict beauty standards a kick to the curb and embrace your natural state, while aiming to be the best version of you.

11. Your eating habits.

From animal protein lovers to vegans and beyond, people can be very sensitive about their food. Some people swear by their diets, while others jump from superfood to superfood trying to find their next nutritive fix.

Whatever you’re chowing down on, don’t let others discourage you from being consistent with your beliefs. Listen to your body. It will tell you exactly what food it needs, and if you ever get stuck on what to eat next, there are many resources available online to create a perfect meal plan for your individual needs

12. Doing your best

We all want to live happy, fulfilling lives. Doing so takes a conscious effort, a lot of energy, and sometimes even a lot of time. Striving to do your best is always admirable and should be revered, not frowned upon.

Anyone who tries to make you feel ashamed for striving may simply be ashamed of themselves for not striving to be their own optimal self

Step into the freedom of being your unique self. You can be free from living in shame, regardless of what anyone thinks. Know that you are positively impacting the world and that everything outside of that is strictly superficial. Shine ON!

9 Signs You May be a Light Worker

December 11, 2014 by Power of Positivity

Do you feel like you have a strong calling to bring healing to the world? You could be a light worker.

Many of the world’s population are made up of them. And, if you aren’t a light worker yourself, you’ve most likely met one.

Light workers carry a strong sense of desire to produce positive energy in the world. They use their gifts to spread the divine wisdom of love for self and others. Along with it, they share freedom, knowledge, and self-mastery to align ever closer with pure, loving energy.

Have people told you that you have a “pure heart” or you inspire them? Or that you warm their spirits, especially when they’re feeling down? Then, you might be destined to work the light. A light worker feels much different than those around them. Often, they become intertwined in the spiritual community to help identify and heal the ills of the world around them.

9 Signs You May Be a Light Worker

If you’re not sure whether you were put here to work the light (or not), these 9 signs will help you identify:

1. You are sensitive

A light worker’s spirit is very pure, and many of the negative things that go on in this world can be difficult for them to understand. They may also find difficulty in dealing with people who display intense emotions such as aggression and anger.

As the light worker travels through life and negative events occur, they seem to have a more profound effect, leaving them to feel tired, and feel the need for self-care to restore their clarity and energy levels.

2. Being alone feels normal.

From early on in their life, a light worker can feel isolated from others, lonely, or misunderstood. As they experience all of life’s challenges, they will often find further isolation as they seek their unique path.

And because they easily pick up negative feelings and moods of people around them, it is important for them to spend time alone on a regular basis. This introverted nature doesn’t really come from a social preference or temperament; it is simply at the core of the light worker’s spirit.

3. You are empathetic

The light worker is drawn to grow their sense of understanding in the world, and will often reach into the dark corners of life to gain this perspective. Doing more than simply sympathizing, the light worker cares for others from a place rooted deep within them.

They continue to grow more compassionate as their experience unfolds, and the direct effects of that effort ultimately help grow empathy in the hearts of others.

4. You have a strong desire to help people

Because of a light worker’s empathetic nature, they often take up careers of service to others. Whether as a counselor, nurse, or even teacher of any kind, it is all further verification of a light worker’s dedication to make a solid contribution to the higher good of humanity.

5. You honor and respect the spiritual sense of life

The light worker sees a grander vision of the world. Like a small cog in a big machine, light workers realize that they are a small, but integral part of life that can have an effect on the world. Almost like panning out with a camera, the light worker is tuned into a spiritual sense that all things are related, and that with every action comes a very real reaction.

When the Earth witnesses destruction through the many pursuits of man, the light worker can feel a sense of loss, and even perhaps grief. This deep connection often leads to a close connection with animals and the environment, possibly even prompting their life’s work in one of these fields.

6. You’re a bit of a rebel

As the light worker is a bit different and doesn’t seem to quite “fit in” to the mold of society. Hierarchical structures don’t often work well in traditional organizations, and the authority that goes with them often make a light worker feel the need to rebel.

This anti-authoritarian nature is at the core of the healer’s being. It is connected to their life work to set a new way of living that transcends the blockages of spiritual evolution here on Earth.

7. You act as a voice for humankind.

Light workers often act as a representative for mankind through their own creative expression. They depict the mental activities of society through the liberal arts, giving a voice to the thoughts of culture as a whole.

Throughout history, many sages have connected us through a depiction of their visualization in the most creative ways. The light worker finds fulfillment in this self-expression. Their creativity, knowledge and intuitive nature make an impact on those they meet and ripple through humankind.

8. You admire the cosmos

Have you ever felt like you had “another home” in the great space beyond? The light worker has a fascination with the stars and expansion beyond our mere Earthly existence, feeling as if they’re directly connected with something beyond this planet.

The healer’s connection to source, the divine, and all that is in the Universe is strong in their spirit as they are guided to bring the light to where they are now.

9. You find yourself drawn to inspiration and personal development.

Light workers live as their best selves and help others attain the same. You see who we are and who will be can be in our daily habits. Because we are drawn to the light, we surround ourselves with inspiration, positivity and personal development activities. This could be in the form of physical, mental, or spiritual.

For example, you may spend time forming self-improvement habits. Think reading self-help books, practicing yoga, meditation, praying, personal development seminars, running, walking, going to church, listening to audiobooks, etc.

Live to learn to love.
Learn to love to live.
Love to live to learn
so that you may live the life that you yearn.
~ Rico Dasheem

Most of all, these healers can be free from seeking validation outside themselves as they realize the true empowerment that lies within. It is up to each light worker to continue helping to spread that message by shining their own luminescence outward.

Do you feel that you’re a light worker? Discuss in the conversation below, or weigh in on Facebook!

How To Heal And Move On From Toxic Love

December 10, 2014 by Karen Salmansohn

Warning! This story includes a naughty word – however – this word is necessary – because its shock-value is what catapulted me to change my life. I share this naughty word now with only the most loving intentions – hoping it might be an empowering caffeinated jolt to any sleeping spirits out there!

About a decade and a half ago I used to joke that for me all dating should be re-named ‘blind-dating” – and instead of saying I was “seeing someone right now” – I should be more honest, and say, “I’m dimly viewing someone.”

I remember I was once “dimly viewing” this particular guy. I’ve written about him before – explaining how every time I said this guy’s name, my girlfriends would sing the theme song to Batman. Not because this man looked great in black Spandex tights. No, no. It was because he was a bad man.

“Dadadadadadada Bad-man! Bad-man!” my girlfriends would sing, right after I’d finish telling a particularly bad Bad-man episode—of which there were many.

Let’s call this ex of mine “Bruce Wayne” – to protect his not-so-innocent secret identity.

Today I want to share something I never told you about Bruce.

Ready?

Bruce’s “dadadadadada bad-behavior” began very early on – a few weeks into our relationship.

Yep, right out of the gate Bruce displayed what I felt were highly controlling and paranoically jealous behaviors.

Yet I continued to date him.

I even went away with Bruce for a week-long vacation in Turkey – where we had a very big fight one evening. I made a silly joke to our Turkish waiter – who then laughed – and touched my shoulder before he left our table. Bruce then became convinced that I was flirting with this Turkish waiter. He specifically wanted to know if I’d rather be dating this waiter – a man who could barely speak English – plus lived well beyond a 5,000-mile radius of my zip code. I kept reassuring Bruce I was not the teeniest bit interested in this Turkish dude – yet Bruce refused to talk to me for a full two days of our vacation!

When I came home from vacation, I sought out therapy. I found a nice older psychotherapist, named Sid, who eventually became like a “grandfather from another great-grand-mother.” I adored Sid.

“You’ll never believe what Bruce said/did last night,” I’d begin each and every therapy session. And then I’d launch into another “Dadadadadadada Bad-man Episode”!

“Bruce said he doesn’t want me to have brunch with girlfriends on weekends anymore – unless he comes along.”

“Bruce told me he doesn’t want me to take an evening painting class – because he thinks I just want to meet someone.”

Or… “Bruce told me he doesn’t want me to go to the gym – because he thinks I just want to meet someone.”

“Bruce told me he doesn’t like it when I come home happy from work – because he worries I enjoy work more than him! He actually became angry the other day because I came home so happy!”

And so, the toxic love continued

Each week I’d tell Sid story after story – quickly followed by rationalization after rationalization – always explaining why I should stay with Bruce.

“You know what your problem is Karen?” Sid asked me one session. “You’re so smart, you’re stupid.”

I laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You are able to over-think things so much – that you wind up talking yourself out of what you already know.”

“So you think I should break up with Bruce?” I asked.

Sid sighed loudly. “I’m a therapist. I’m not supposed to tell you what to do. But if you want my honest opinion… I can’t believe you’re gonna stay with him when he’s an asshole.”

“Wow! I can’t believe you just called Bruce an a***hole,” I said. “But you’re right, he is an a**hole.”

“Actually, I didn’t call HIM an a**hole! I called YOU an a**hole. You heard me wrong. I said, ‘If you continue to stay with Bruce, then YOU are an a**hole.’”

“What? I’m not the a**hole! Bruce is the a**hole!”

“At this point, Karen, if you stay with Bruce knowing what you know – then YOU are the a**hole.”

“I’m the a**hole?” I repeated this word out loud – a word as opposite in content as a mantra could ever be – but alas, more powerful than any mantra I’d ever used.

This word “a**hole” became my wake up call!

Sid was right. If I stayed with someone who was so very toxic to my well being – then I became the A**hole to me – for allowing this soul-crushing, freedom-squelching relationship to continue!

“Listen, Karen,” Sid said, “at this point in therapy we are simply wasting time talking about Bruce – and how messed up he is. Quite frankly, you are only using stories about Bruce to distract yourself from your real issues – and the important inner work you have to do on yourself. It’s time we talk about the white elephant in the room: your wounds! There’s obviously something very wounded inside of you, that you feel the need to stay with Bruce – when he is so toxic.”

So toxic

Although this story happened well over a decade ago, I think about it often. I particularly think about it whenever I’ve found myself starting to enter into what I intuit might be a toxic relationship –be it in love, business or friendship.

Also, I feel if we’re not careful we can all find ourselves wasting a lot of precious tick-tocking time complaining about how badly someone is behaving towards us. We waste that time on toxic love.

I believe we need to stop asking questions like:

“Why is this person treating me this way?”

“Why did this person do that crappy thing to me?”

“What is wrong with this person?”

“Are they an a**hole?”

“Are they a sociopath?”

“Is this person a narcissist?”

“Isn’t this person simply just a terrible person?”

The really important questions we should be asking instead are:

“What did I miss in the vetting process that I allowed this person into my life?”

“What is wounded inside me that I choose/chose to stay with this person for as long as I do/did?”

“How can I grow from this experience – so it doesn’t repeat itself into a bad pattern?”

“Do I want to make this a story about how I was a victim – or how I became a victor?”

“Do I want to waste my time, thoughts and energy on toxicity or use it for a higher purpose?”

“Aren’t I wise and strong for how I moved on to be with better people and live better days?”

If you’re presently caught up in telling stories about the toxic misbehaviors of someone – the time has come to stop getting caught up in name-calling, contempt, and blame.

The time has come to recognize you’re just distracting yourself with all the drama, chaos and static!

Yep, the more you stay with and/or complain about a toxic person, the more you’re merely delaying doing the important inner work you need to do – to heal your wounds, expand your limiting beliefs, and show yourself far more love and respect.

All of this time expended on them could be time spent on expanding you – growing who you are!

My lesson/your lesson: Don’t be an a**hole to yourself. Stop staying with (and/or complaining about) toxic people. Choose to focus your time, energy and conversation around people who inspire you, support you and help you to grow you into your happiest, strongest, wisest self. Find a partner who will love you as much as you deserve!

The end result

Want to enjoy happy, safe-feeling love? Want to say NEVER AGAIN to toxic relationships? Check out the results-proven tools (for both men and women) in Karen Salmansohn’s NEVER AGAIN PROGRAM – an inspiring online webinar – you can listen to anywhere in the world. For a limited time THE NEVER AGAIN PROGRAM is discounted 40% – for the holidays! These tools Karen shares were loved so much by the people at OPRAH they gave Karen a column on the OPRAH website! Click to find out more!

6 Things You May Forget to Be Grateful For

December 9, 2014 by Power of Positivity

Do you start each day with a grateful heart?

How many things do we take for granted every day? Probably more than you think. If you’re reading this right now, you have the gift of reading – a gift that about 800 million people in this world do not have. You also have access to the internet – only about one-third of the world’s population has such access to such technology.

Sometimes, it’s healthy to take a step back and put things into perspective. It’s healthy because it’s very easy to slip into contentment mode – a default mindset that thinks things “just are”, and most times this is not a healthy mentality. It’s not healthy because it creates thoughts and feelings of lack and scarcity when there is an abundance of things to be thankful for.

“Your day should always begin and end with being grateful. Gratitude unlocks the robust life waiting for us all.” – Kristen Butler

Let’s take a look at six things that we may forget to be grateful for.

1. Water

A basic, easily accessible element and necessity of life to most people, water, is not so easy to access for some. Consider these statistics from water.org:

– 780 million people lack access to an improved water source, about one in nine people.

– Over 2.5 times more people lack water in the world than live in the United States.

– If you take even a five-minute shower in the morning, you are using more water than an average person living in a developing country slum uses in an entire day.

Tragically, lack of access to water causes death to many – including women and children. Lack of a clean water source in the world is truly an epidemic and one that must be addressed.

2. Electricity

When the sun starts to go down, it is an automatic reaction to simply switch on a light. However, this is not the case for about 1.3 billion people in the world without access to electricity.

The sources of light in areas of the world without a power grid are both unhealthy and unsustainable. The burning of firewood, dung, and materials heavily pollutes the air and causes nearly 3.5 million deaths.

The implications of not having a power grid are vast. There is no power to run refrigerators or air conditioning, no light in classrooms, no power for computers and other technologies. 90% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa go to schools that have no electricity. 60% of businesses in this region cite the lack of a power source as the primary crux in operations.

The world is slowly starting to take notice. U.S. President Barack Obama recently introduced his Power Africa initiative, investing over $7 billion to bring electricity access to over 20 million households in South Africa. However, this is a very small investment in to what amounts to be a multi-trillion dollar problem.

3. Nourishment/food

The world produces plenty of food, especially in developed countries like the U.S. This is evident by the $1 double cheeseburger that you can buy at your local fast food joint.

Despite this abundance, about one person in eight on the planet goes to bed hungry each night. In some countries, one in three children is underweight. The reasons are various: poverty, lack of investment in agriculture and transportation, droughts and climate problems (such as climate change), and food wastage – one-third of all food is never consumed (1.3 billion tons).

Malnutrition is an epidemic and is being put on the world’s stage. In late November, the United Nations help a conference to “eradicate malnutrition”. This event was attended by leaders from over 170 countries.

4. Education

Nothing else is more important to both societal and individual advancement than education. Citizens that can read, think critically, and learn special skills (such as trades) have better economic opportunity, healthier children, contribute more to society, and have better overall health.

In the U.S., much still needs to be done regarding the affordability of college and student loan debt. The fact still remains, however, that most people have at least a high school education – specifically, basic reading, writing, and math skills.

As with nearly everything else on this list, education is not very accessible in unindustrialized countries. This is mostly due to a lack of both funding and the number of educators. Supplies that are easily accessed by citizens of other countries – pens, paper, folders, etc. – are in very short supply in poorer countries.

5. Shelter

If you’re reading this in the comfort of your own home, you have shelter (even if you are dreading writing that monthly check!). For that, be grateful.

In all seriousness, there are many people – including in the U.S., which should be considered unacceptable – that do not have a roof over their head or an ability to sleep in a bed at night. If developed countries have a problem with homelessness, imagine the conditions in the poorer areas of the world. Huts, shacks, tents, and other makeshift shelters made out of gathered materials are a commonality in these areas. Some sleep on concrete, dirt, or in other unsafe, unsanitary places.

It is very difficult to calculate the number of homeless in the world because of the lack of technology and government outreach in many poorer areas of the world, but a conservative estimate from the U.N., which was last calculated in 2005, has an estimate of well over 100 million people. This number is likely much higher due the above mentioned reasons.

6. Freedom

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly…these are just four elements of a social construct that most democracies have.

If there is a cause that you want to fight for, you can do so. This is because of the basic rights embedded in documents such as the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or another document that safeguards the basic rights of citizens in a democracy.

Contrast this with other countries with oppressive, overreaching governments such as North Korea and China, just to name a couple. Forced labor, inadequate food supply, no due process, no independent media, no religious freedom, and very limited opportunities for advancement within society are the norm for citizens of totalitarian, oppressive countries.

Our freedom is one of the greatest things for which we should be grateful.

Freedom of the individual should be a basic human right, but it isn’t in many areas of the world. Women, especially, have it even more difficult than men in many of these places because of the “lower status” that they have been labeled with upon their birth…simply because of their gender. Many women around the world experience forced marriage, abuse, and even reproductive mandates that limit the number of children they can have.

Remember–be grateful! For more information, including on how you can help, please visit www.hrw.org.

The Community

Our Free Community of Positively Powerful SuperFans

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!