June 2016 | Page 65

mental habits that will increase your daily energy level. Let’s say you wake up thinking about a business meeting you have. You are going to be responsible for making a major presentation and you don’t feel 100 percent prepared. Your internal sky may be experiencing an internal thunderstorm of emotions that include being apprehensive and frustrated. If you wake up and you realize it’s a three-day weekend and you still have two more days off, your internal sky may be feeling pretty good, sunny at that moment, and you may lean over and press the snooze button. Our thoughts control our lives. However, sometimes we don’t check the weather forecast to see what we are thinking or feeling and wind up living what I call, “the hamster on the wheel effect.” We keep running and running because we just have so much to do. Are we running because there is something to run to or are we running because there is something to run from? For many years I was doing what most do, juggling my career, family, and whatever friendships I could keep as I didn’t have much time left over to give. The week was filled with work appointments, managing staff, hitting goals, managing boards, and some days were fifteen plus hour work days, keeping track of who is picking up the kids, taking them to their multitude of activities, cooking, cleaning, food shopping, doctor’s visits, and so on and so forth. The same holds true with what thoughts we are allowing in our minds each and every day. Your mind is your internal sky and this sky you actually have control over. Paying attention to the self-talk that comes into your mind from the minute you wake up, and taking the time to turn anything negative to positive, will create healthy Fast forward to my kids being thirteen and sixteen. They decided to break out the old home videos. Right away they both point out the common theme—mom sitting there with her laptop on her lap and Daddy videoing. Now that doesn’t sound so bad because I had to finish work. I was an Executive Director for a eydismedia.com 65