A Decided Difference

Turning the page of a fresh new calendar year gets us more focused on looking forward than at any other time. It might be helpful to decide to look forward in a different way. In 2019, will you listen more to the shouting of the world or the whispering of your own heart? As always, you decide.

I hope that you will be celebrating Christmas in your favorite way, but if you are not, I hope you will make the decision to find and make some magic for yourself. Learn how in this episode of A Decided Difference.

When I named this endeavor A Decided Difference, I believed that making big decisions and allowing them to guide your choices was very important. Nearly six years later, I believe it more than ever. In this podcast episode, number 300, I examine the power of deciding. Not every decision will carry life-altering weight, but a few of them will. When it comes to basic decisions about who you are and how you want to live, you belong at the top of the list of priorities. After all, you are the one who has to live your life. Please, don’t let yourself down.

When negative events happen, you don't have to be at the mercy of your feelings. Taking conscious control of the processing of loss, grief, and loneliness is the way to better mental and emotional health. It is the way to build strength and resiliency. It is the way to build the foundation for future happiness, even if the present is filled with sadness. Learn more in this week’s episode of the Decided Difference podcast.

Your feelings about the holidays are determined by the focus you choose and the thoughts you create. In this week’s podcast, learn how to open yourself to the joy of the season, regardless of your external circumstances.

Seasons of waiting can be long and miserable if we choose to see them that way. By doing that, we can create some pretty disagreeable feelings for ourselves. If, instead, we choose to see the waiting time as productive and useful, we can feel much more satisfied as we wait. Learn more in this week’s podcast episode.

When you are feeling blue, or anxious, or discouraged, the fastest and most reliable method for lifting your mood is to focus on gratitude. This is a excellent strategy for shaking off a negative mood or rebooting your mindset. It is always possible to find something to be grateful for, yes, in any circumstance. Learn more in this week’s podcast from A Decided Difference.

You can choose to live happily and learn the skills and habits to keep it up for a lifetime. This week’s Decided Difference podcast wraps up a series of five episodes about change.

Significant change often takes more time, action, and effort than we wish. It isn’t always easy to stay the course or to decide what to do when you are not getting the results you want. This week’s Decided Difference podcast episode offers ideas for coping when the going gets tough.

The process of change begins with deciding which change you will make. Decisions can sometimes lead to feelings of being imprisoned by your own choices, but not always. Making a decision, cutting off all other options, can paradoxically be the very thing that sets you free. Learn more in this week’s podcast episode.