Bipolar Support Groups.com blog

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

Psych Central Drug Discount Card
You can learn more about the Psych Central Drug Discount Card here and save up to 80% off your medication costs — including prescription and over-the-counter medications. Psych Central’s drug card is the same one as you can get from NeedyMeds below and comes with all the same benefits.
NeedyMeds
The NeedyMeds drug discount card saves you up to 80% or more off the cost of:•Prescription Medicines
•Over-the-Counter Drugs
•Pet Prescription Drugs
It’s available at no cost on the NeedyMeds website and is accepted at over 60,000 pharmacies, including Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and more.

Together Rx Card
The Together Rx Card offers savings of at least 15% on generic prescription drugs at many grocery stories and pharmacies. Learn more about this program at Together Rx Access website.

GlaxoSmithKline
Bridges to Access offers GSK medicines to eligible patients at little or no cost. Patients can apply directly to Bridges to Access; advocates are not required for enrollment unless the patient needs a prescription filled that same day. Bridges to Access representatives are available to answer your questions 8:00 am to 8:00 pm ET, Monday through Friday. Learn more at at the Bridges to Access website.

Lilly TruAssist
Lilly TruAssist is the primary website where you can learn more about all of Lilly patient assistance programs that offer assistance to help people obtain the Lilly medicines they need. This site includes all of Lilly’s patient assistance programs with individual program details.

Pfizer Patient Assistance Programs
Pfizer offers patient assistance for Pfizer medicines through a number of programs, which you can review and apply for on their website, Pfizer Helpful Answers.

Merck Prescription Discount Program
If your doctor has prescribed a Merck drug for you and you do not have drug coverage or insurance, Merck offers its Merck Prescription Discount Program on the MerckHelps website. You can learn more about this program by visiting their website.

AstraZeneca Patient Prescription Assistance Programs
Check the AstraZeneca website to learn if you’re eligible for one of their patient assistance programs.

BenefitsCheckUp
This site helps thousands every day to find programs for people ages 55 and over that may pay for some of their costs of prescription drugs, health care, utilities, and other essential items or services. The site includes a questionnaire and uses the answers to provide information on prescription drug savings programs available to you based on your answers. Learn more on their website, BenefitsCheckup.

Store-based Discount Pharmacies
Some stores have discount pharmacy services. For example, Kmart pharmacies have a 90 day generics program for $15, available anywhere in the country where there is a Kmart pharmacy.
Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s pharmacies often have competitive prices. Membership is not required to use the pharmacy services. Costco has a mail order pharmacy service, with no additional charges for standard shipping.

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

The following resources can be used to help you find mental health treatment services, including affordable treatment for those without insurance, in your community.
Mental Health America’s fact sheet “Finding the Right Care” and some of the sites listed below provide detailed information to help you choose a mental health professional and to enable you to better understand treatment options and the treatment process. Sites providing specialized treatment referrals for specific illnesses also include considerable information about the specific illness.
If you, or someone you know is in crisis, please seek help immediately. Contact the following organizations for information about 24-hour crisis services in your area:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s 24 hour toll-free crisis hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) can put you into contact with your local crisis center that can tell you where to seek immediate help in your area.
The Child-Help USA 1-800-422-4453 crisis line assists both child and adult survivors of abuse, including sexual abuse. The hotline, staffed by mental health professionals, also provides treatment referrals.
In areas where 211 is available, dialing this number can connect you with mental health crisis services in your area or help you find where to seek immediate help in your area.
For referrals to affordable community mental health services:

Your local Mental Health America affiliate is an excellent resource for information about local programs and services including affordable treatment services.
Network of Care offers information including descriptions of community treatment services and other supports for the following states: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. For some states, information about all counties is currently included; for others only some counties are currently listed. Click on your state, then click on Services (top right) to begin your search.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Health Information Network (SHIN) has a Mental Health Facilities Locator that can also help you find community outpatient, inpatient and residential treatment facilities, including affordable mental health services in your area.
The SAMHSA Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator and the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) 24-hour information and referral line at 1-800-662-4357 (also part of the SAMHSA Health Information Network) provide referrals to alcohol, substance abuse and dual diagnosis treatment facilities, including facilities that offer sliding scale fees and other special payment arrangements. Dual diagnosis services provide integrated treatment for individuals who have both an alcohol or substance abuse problem and a mental illness. Use the detailed search option on the left hand side of the page to find the facilities that most closely match your needs.
Rehab Locator offers a searchable database for drug and alcohol rehab centers.
Universities or teaching hospitals may also be a source of low-cost or free treatment services. It is recommended that you contact those in your area.
The World Federation for Mental Health can assist people from other countries throughout the world in finding mental health services in their area.

For referral to individual mental health providers:

You can use Psychology Today’s Therapy Directory to search for mental health professionals in your area. You can search by zip code, city, last name, etc. For each provider listed, you can read about their therapy approach, specialty areas, information about their fees including whether they accept insurance and whether they offer sliding scale fees, as well as their credentials and contact information. There are a variety of options for sorting your results to find providers who most closely match your needs. You can also send them an initial e-mail.
The Therapist Referral Network at 1-800-843-7274 and 1-858-481-1515 provides referrals to individual mental health professionals. Providers participate in a variety of insurance plans. Some offer affordable fee structures and may accept Medicare and Medicaid.
GoodTherapy offers a searchable database of over 1600 counselors and therapists worldwide. GoodTherapy is dedicated to promoting healthy counseling and psychotherapy.
The Medicare Participating Physician Directory can assist you in finding a psychiatrist who accepts Medicare.
Your state Medicaid office, whose contact information can be found using the map on the National Association of State Medicaid Directors site, may be able to assist you in finding a provider who accepts Medicaid.
There are a number of professional provider associations and other national organizations that provide treatment referral services. These organizations are listed below with links to their websites.
Professional provider associations that provide treatment referral services include:
•American Counseling Association
•American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
•American Association of Pastoral Counselors and http://www.aapc.org/content/aapc-accredited-centers
•American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists
•American Group Psychotherapy Association
•American Medical Association (Use the Doctor Finder option; then select Search by Physician Specialty option to search for psychiatrists in your area)
•American Psychiatric Association and http://www.healthymi…ychiatrist.aspx
•American Psychological Association
•American Residential Treatment Association
•Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
•National Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapists
•National Association of Social Workers
•National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology

Professional provider organizations that serve specific audiences include:
•
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
•American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
•American Association of Children’s Residential Centers (Note:You can sort list of member treatment centers by state and reach the national office by calling 877-332-2272 )
•Association of Black Psychologists
•Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists
•Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
•National Medical Association at 1-800-662-0554 (Physician Locator Service maintains a list of African American psychiatrists)
•Self Reliance Foundation/Acceso Hispano 800-473-3003
•Su Familia (National Alliance for Hispanic Health) at 1-866-783-2645

Other organizations that offer specialized treatment referral services include:
•
ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) A description of various types of therapy used in treating people witih eating disorders is found at the following link Therapy Information
•
Anxiety Disorders Association of America: Treatment Centers
•
ATTACh at 866-453-8224 (Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children offers treatment referrals for children with attachment disorder)
•
Attention Deficit Disorder Association
•
Autism Society of America
•Behavioral Tech, LLC (treatment referrals for borderline personality disorder)
•Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center: Treatment Options
•Brain Injury Association of America and http://www.biausa.org/stateoffices.htm (list of their state offices)
•Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
•Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
•Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (patient to patient recommendation section)
•Freedom from Fear (treatment referrals for anxiety and depression; Use the Findhing Help/Resources option on the left hand side of the home page)
•Give an Hour ( a non-profit organization offering free mental health services for returning Veterans and their loved ones through a network of mental health professionals who volunteer their time)
•Hospice Foundation of America at 1-800-868-5171(grief counseling)
•International Society for the Study of Dissociation
•Male Survivor (treatment referrals for men who have been sexually abused)
•National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Dept. of Veterans Affairs PTSD Information Center offers information about ptsd and its treatment. Look for box on the right hand side of the page “Where to Get Help” to access the section of the site with links to the VA facilities locator and other informational resources)
•National Center for Trauma-Informed Care
•National Council on Problem Gambling
•National Eating Disorders Association
•National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization at 1-800-658-8898 (grief counseling)
•Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (See Find a Doctor Online under “Information and Resources” on right-hand side of the home page)
•Postpartum Support International (Use the Find Local Support, Resources, and Events option to find contact information for the State Coordinator for your state to get a list of psychiatrists and therapists in your area who specialize in reproductive-related mood disorders in women of all ages).
•Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (counseling centers throughout the U.S.)
•S.A.F.E. Alternatives (treatment referrals for self injury)
•Sidran Institute at 1-888-825-8249 (treatment referrals for post-traumatic stress disorder and self injury)
•The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (You can go to Finding Help for Sexually Abused Children and click on the National Network Members page option, to search by state for programs in your area.)
•TARA at 1-888-482-7227 (Treatment and Research Advancements National Association for Personality Disorder; treatment referrals for borderline personality disorder)
•TRICARE (mental health services for military personnel and their families)
•U.S. Vets (a non-profit organization that helps homeless veterans access mental health and substance abuse services along with housing and other community supports to achieve successful reintegration into the community. Current locations include California, Texas, Arizona, Washington DC, Nevada, and Hawaii)

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

Self Trust

Ask yourself empowering questions
Balancing In This Hurry Up World

This video -How To Make Resolutions You Can Keep?
This is the article version of the above video

Sometimes, changing what we can …incorporates team work Favorite Printables for Your Honey-ToDo
Interactive…meaning can print on screen… and EASY printable for planning food goals
Create Your Own Exercise Log
Get out your healthy popcorn….short animation I had fun making
Out of This World Spock healthy living animation 1 min. 7 seconds

Health

Quote from Dr. Hyman: Think of food first: Most of us are opportunistic eaters—when the opportunity comes, or when we get hungry we eat whatever’s in our path. In our culture that means junk food, fast food and vending machine “food like substances.” We live in a vast nutritional wasteland, a food desert. Every week plan where you are going to get all your meals. Think ahead; don’t end up in a food emergency where the only thing open is a fast food restaurant or convenience store. Think breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. It will become a habit. Plan, shop, prepare, eat. Create an emergency food pack and buy quick-to-cook meals or make whole foods at home.

Daily Goal Log
Daytime-Evening Checklist
Home Budget
Weekly Health Journal (http://www.kristensguide.com)
Monthly Bill Chart
Price Book Template
Prioritizing Bills

Many of our printables come from a site called Life Your Way…Intentional and Creative Living
Weekly Meal Planning Printable
Monthly Blank Meal Planner
Blank Grocery List
Weekly Health Journal
Daily Diet Tracker
Freezer Inventory
Pantry Inventory
Shopping List
Sometimes, changing what we can …incorporates team work Favorite Printables for Your Honey-ToDo

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

•The 2 Step Process of Achieving Optimum Health
1. Start

2. Continue

Acknowledge your resistance and watch yourself bloom !

Excerpt from a passage written by Jennifer Louden -Life Coach

So, when you’re feeling squirrelly, whiny or stuck, take yourself by the hand and say something like, “I don’t feel like doing anything, but I can acknowledge how I feel without being impressed by it. I can accept that I am feeling this way, even if only for a blink of an eye. And when this part of myself feels heard, I can ask, &;squo;What is one thing I can do to be kind to myself right now?’” Love, which is what acknowledgment really amounts to, is truly the great fear dissolver.

Acknowledge your resistance and watch yourself bloom !

WRITTEN BY Jennifer Louden-Life Coach

1. Accept your (current) limitations in re:to time, space, energy and money
2. Be consistent (ongoing and a little at a time)
3. Success breeds success (the more you do, it will get you to want to do more)
4. One day at a time (with organizing yourself toward your goal(s)
5. You only have to live up to your own expectations.
6. If you don’t do as you had planned—start fresh-

Micro Goals:
…measurable goals so I can track my progress
…inspirational goals this is so I invest the time and effort into achieving my goals
…concrete goals that is so determine exactly what I want to accomplish
…realistic goals these are my goals that work with my personality and lifestyle
…obtainable goals… so my goals do not assist in my feeling discouraged
…micro goals move me closer to my vision
great download to remind yourself of these planning concepts
A Plan MIT-Most Important Task

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. ~ ☼Jim Rohn: was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker
Self Discipline in 10 Days

Personal Trust & Accountability

Realistic Expectations?

One of the best things I’ve learned to include in my daily writing helped me further develop clarity and trust in myself

What makes a good promise to yourself, a promise that grows self-trust? by Jennifer Louden

Clarity, Competency, Conditions of Satisfaction, and Completion

With clarity, she asked you to ask yourself to be be clear with your promise/intentions to yourself. I declare that I will _____________.

With Competency, she asks you to review if you are able to comply with your intentions.

With Conditions of Satisfaction, she asks you to ask yourself find a way to know if you did what you said you were going to do.

And with Completion, you ask you to to follow up on yourself to see if you keep your promises. For myself, I write about my follow-thru, to discover why or why not, without harsh criticism.

I really enjoy Jennifer Louden. Here are some things she has written on self trust:

Without self-trust, you forget what you can do and who you can be.
Without self-trust, fear has a wide-open route to your mind and your future.
Without self-trust, you believe the snide whispers of perfectionism and get stuck.
Without self-trust, you dare not face your actual missteps, and lose the best opportunities to learn — and thus to develop more self-trust.
Without self-trust, its hard to take action. Action (not planning) is how you get what you want.
I once took a self-trust inspiration e-course from Jennifer Louden

Get a great freebie from Jennifer Louden
Subscribe to this free newsletter and get a wonderful interactive 72 page workbook
An Interactive Daily Planner (…interactive meaning can print out your words from the screen…) EASY printable from yourway.net -I use this regularly & print it out. I enjoy writing and rewriting my goals, intentions and micro goals.

Define Your Non-Negotiables
Time Management Quadrants
One Year Planning Guide

Brian Tracy

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

Practice Detachment –
excerpted from article Forging Your Self-Confidence by Brian Tracy… It’s important to remember that no one can affect your thoughts or feelings unless there is something that you want from him, or something that you want him to refrain from doing. As soon as you begin to practice detachment and decide in your own mind that there is nothing that you want or expect from another person, you will find that his ability to shake your self-confidence is greatly reduced. The people who are the most successful in human relationships are those who practice a calm, healthy detachment from others, and although they are friendly and engaged in the conversation, they don’t allow the behaviors of others to determine how they think and feel about themselves.

As you can see, it is our fears and doubts that, more than anything else, undermine our self-esteem and self-confidence and cause us to think in negative terms about ourselves and our possibilities. As Maslow said, we begin to “sell ourselves short” and see all the reasons why something might not be possible for us. We magnify the difficulties and minimize the opportunities. We become preoccupied with the possible losses we might suffer and the possible criticisms we might endure. Our fears and doubts paralyze us, preventing us from acting boldly, lowering our self-confidence and causing us to think and talk in negative terms. In fact, this probably describes the great majority of mankind. Most people are so preoccupied with their fears that they have time for little else, and this preoccupation manifests itself in much of what they say and do.

The only real antidote to doubt and worry and fear and all the other negative emotions that sabotage our self-confidence is action. Your conscious mind can hold only one thought at a time, positive or negative. When you engage in systematic, purposeful action, using and stretching your abilities to the maximum, you cannot help but feel positive and confident about yourself.

Act as though it were impossible to fail. Act as though you already had a high level of self-confidence. And continually ask yourself, “What one great thing would I dare to achieve if I knew I could not fail?” Whatever your answer, you can have it if you can dream it, and if you have the self-confidence to go out and get it.

I love this guy!!! It was Brian Tracy coach-in box type tapes that helped me exceed various goals when working 2 jobs (with many overlapping areas) that were quite meaningful to me. It was his tapes which helped me push forward when my health needed me & not a medical community to do what it takes. Like I said I love this guy! And whether it is crunching numbers for a family budget or desires…Brian helps me plan and gradually optimistically pull it together. Thanks Brian!

Confidence Affirmation Video
Self Discipline in 10 Days
Please review this calendar..scroll through it to see areas it asks of you

Life is about change/growth. This thread contains affirmations, thoughts, quotes, free printables and ideas for the wonderful inevitable changes we will choose to make. Joy to you, Selfcare

Words are powerful! Action is Magical (:

Every time you make a casual promise to yourself — without checking in first to see if you actually want to and are able to keep this promise — you erode your trust in yourself ~ ☼Jennifer Louden

Ask yourself empowering questions

Change Your World BRIAN TRACY You cannot change the world,
But you can present the world with one improved person – Yourself. You can go to work on yourself to make yourself

Into the kind of person you admire and respect. You can become a role model and set a standard for others. You can control and discipline yourself to resist acting Or speaking in a negative way Toward anyone for any reason.
You can insist upon always doing things the loving way, Rather than the hurtful way. By doing these things each day, You can continue on your journey Toward becoming an exceptional human being.

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

4 Simple Steps-The Exercise Habit Post written by Leo Babauta.

The Main Problems

So why do most people have trouble making exercise a regular habit? Well, there are probably a number of factors, but here are the main ones as I see it:

Too difficult. People set out with a lot of ambition and enthusiasm, and start out with a big goal. “I’m going to go to the gym for an hour a day!” or “I’m going to run 30 minutes every day!” The problem is that the goal is too difficult to sustain for very long. You can do it for a few days, but you soon run out of energy, and it becomes a drag to do it.

Too many goals. Often we set out to do too much. We want to run, and lift weights, and eat healthy, and quit sweets, and stop drinking soda. Well, those are multiple goals, and you cannot focus on the exercise habit if you’re trying to do all the others at the same time. Or we might start with one goal, but then get caught up in another goal (to stop procrastinating, for example), and lose our focus on the first one.
Not enough motivation. It’s not a lack of discipline, it’s a lack of motivation. The most powerful motivators, in my experience, are logging your habit and public pressure. There are many others that help as well.

The 4 Simple Steps

So how do we solve those problems? Keep it simple. Here are the 4 simple steps to start the exercise habit (and keep it going). I should note that you can use these 4 steps to start any habit.
Set one easy, specific, measurable goal. There are several keys to setting this crucial goal:

[A] Written: Write this down. Post it up. If you don’t write it down, it’s not important.

[B]Easy: Don’t — DO NOT — set a difficult goal. Set one that is super, super easy. Five minutes of exercise a day. You can do that. Work your way to 10 minutes after a month. Then go to 15 after 2 months. You can see what I mean: make it easy to start with, so you can build your habit, then gradually increase.

[C]Specific: By specific, I mean what activity are you going to do, at what time of day, and where? Don’t just say “exercise” or “I’m going to walk”. You have to set a time and place. Make it an appointment you can’t miss.

[D]Trigger: I recommend that you have a “trigger” right before you do your habit. For example, you might always brush your teeth right after you shower. The shower is the trigger for brushing your teeth, and because of that, you never forget to brush your teeth. Well, what will you do right before you exercise? Is it right after you wake up? Right after your coffee? Right when you get home? As soon as you take off for lunch? A trigger that you do every single day is important.

[E] Measurable: By measurable, I mean that you should be able to say, definitely, whether you hit or miss your goal today. Examples: run for 10 minutes. Walk 1/2 a mile. Do 3 sets of 5 push-ups. Each of those has a number that you can shoot for.

One goal: Stick to this one goal for at least a month. Two months if you can bear it. Don’t start up a second goal during that 30-day period. If you do, you are scrapping this goal.

Log it daily. This is the key habit. If you can log your workout, you will start to see your progress, and it will motivate you to keep going. And you have to make it a habit to log it right away. Don’t put it off, and say you’ll do it before you go to bed. As soon as you’re done working out, log it. No exceptions. And don’t make the log complicated — that will only make you resist doing the log. Just the date, time, and what you did.

Report to others. I think this is key. You can do it on your blog, on an online forum, with your spouse, or friends or family, or a workout partner, or a coach, or a group, or a class. However you set it up, make it part of the process that you have to report your daily workout to other people. It could be using an online log, or on a forum, or through email, or the phone, or just by telling your co-workers what you did this morning. But be sure that they know your goal, and that you are going to report to them, and be sure that they are expecting it every day.

Add motivation as needed. The first three steps might be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, don’t just give up. If you miss two consecutive workouts, you need to look at why, and add a new motivation. Rewards, more public pressure, inspiration, whatever it takes. Read this article for more on this. You can add one additional motivator, and then see if it works. If you miss two more consecutive workouts at any time, add another motivator. And so on, until the exercise habit sticks.

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

Deep within each person is an intense desire to feel strong, effective, powerful and in control of his or her life. You automatically trigger these feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem when you start to work on the task that is most important to you at the moment. Brian Tracy

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of

God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

CHANGE BEGINS WITH CHOICE by Jim Rohn
Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.
And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

POST 1 Excerpts from an article by Dr. Phil Shapiro on Spiritual Growth Habit/EXERCISES

1. Make a list of your good and bad habits. Which habits would you like to change now?
2. What barriers keep you from changing your bad habits?
3. Make a list of constructive, meaningful activities that you will use to avoid bad habits.
4. What spiritual methods would you like to practice?
5. What spiritual qualities would you like to develop?
6. What will you do when craving for a destructive habit returns?
7. Practice the ten steps for replacing bad habits with good and spiritual habits.Following is a technique for replacing bad habits with good spiritual habits:

1. Introspection
2. Avoid everything associated with the bad habit
3. Affirmations and will
4. Constructive meaningful activities
5. The habits of a seeker
6. The habits of a sage
7. Support
8. Solitude
9. Perseverance
10. Victory
11. Keep a log.

Each day you can inspect the status of your habits. Give yourself credit for your successes. Recognize your slips, but do not dwell on the bad habit; this only reinforces the associated brain groove. Instead, cultivate the mental habit of being gentle with yourself while you focus on the good habits you are creating.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

In the beginning of our spiritual work, it may be difficult to get traction. We can gain momentum by setting reasonable goals, taking small steps, achieving modest successes, and building from there.

The next step in our spiritual development is in the immediate moments of our lives. However, when we do not like what is going on, we leap out of the moment and back into an unhealthy habit. … choose constructive, meaningful activities and the spiritual methods of a seeker to develop the spiritual qualities of a sage.

Break bad habits of thought, attitude, emotion, desire, energy, and action so you can emerge from the past and find yourself renewed: fresh, spontaneous, and in the moment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

1. What is a difficult or troubling situation in your life?
2. How are you creating it or allowing it to happen?
3. What are you pretending not to know?
4. What is the payoff for keeping it like it is?
5. What would you rather be experiencing?
6. What actions will you take to create that?
7. By when will you take that action?
from The Success Principles workbook -Jack Canfield…

There are only 3 responses (Rs) you have any control over:

1) Your behavior (including what you say and how you say it)
2) Your thoughts (self-talk) and beliefs (both conscious and unconscious)
3) Your visual imagery (including your images of the future) Jack Canfield…How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

http://www.bipolar4lifesupport.co

CHANGE BEGINS WITH CHOICE

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.
To Your Success,