Every breath you take is an opportunity to create or destroy.

Let’s repeat that, so it really sinks in:

Every breath you take is an opportunity to create or destroy.

You see, time is the most valuable asset we have. Whatever time has passed is gone. We can never get it back. Nor do we know how much time we have left, making the present moment the greatest opportunity we have to do what we will.

The present is where we face the constant decision about whether to create or destroy.

That is, we can use our thoughts, words, and actions to create, build, and uphold positive beliefs, relationships, and opportunities, with both ourselves and others.

OR we can use waste our thoughts, words, and actions to destroy those same beliefs, relationships, and opportunities, which, in the end, deeply impacts our own hearts and lives in the most negative ways.

So, which do you choose?

Like me, I assume you would opt to create more and better for yourself, to build the life you want, and to engage in situations and with people who support your vision for your future and encourage your forward momentum.

However, if you really are like me, you are also human; and the human ego can be influenced by internalizing the words and actions of those with whom we interact.

Neuroscience has proven that our brains are wired for familiarity, not fulfillment. As such, the people around us contribute to what our brain believes to be truth, even when it isn’t.

In my childhood, for example, I consistently and repeatedly heard that I was a “mistake,” and my stepfather’s complaints that he “shouldn’t have to pay for another man’s child.”

Although I didn’t want to believe any of those degradations, my pleas to my mother were met with scolding that I should be more grateful that I was provided with food, clothing, and shelter.

Altogether, I internalized the belief that I was a bother, a burden, and, ultimately, unworthy and unlovable.

Was that true?

Anyone with a heart would say “no.” They would likely shame my mother and stepfather for treating their child, never mind any child, in such a detrimental manner.

But as the adult who lives with the pain of that little girl inside, I spent most of my life believing that those self-perceptions were the absolute, irrefutable, definitive truth.

Having done some intense spiritual and psychological therapy and mindset work, those false truths still sometimes tap me on my shoulder to let me know they’re still there. They show up in interactions. They show up in my reactions. They show up in my inaction. They still, at fifty years old, affect the way I move through the world.

It takes conscious effort and intention to stop the negative self-talk in the midst and reframe it in a way that better suits the version of myself that is living the life I desire and am embodying now.

That’s where the conscious creation comes in. It’s a choice—to use more positive verbiage, to control the direction of my thoughts, to support and encourage the woman I am now to ensure the woman I am becoming.

That’s because I am choosing to use every single breath I take, every moment I live, to create the life I truly want for myself.

And, I don’t know about you, but that life has no room for negativity, mistreatment, discouragement, toxicity, and the like. Therefore, I have no time for the people and situations that burden me with any of it.

It sounds extreme, perhaps. But isn’t it sadder to think that so many people opt to waste whatever time they have in this life with people who make them feel like less than or undeserving of or inept in any way?

If you agree, then you are a creator. As such, I call all creators to do one of the following today:

• Compliment a complete stranger.💖

• Encourage someone in some way.😀

• Text someone you haven’t talked to in a while with a simple “thinking of you” and a smiley face!😁

• Do something nice for yourself while you’re at it.💕

➡️However, if you’re feeling a little lost in the words that were spoken to you and about you in the past, please go to https://shiftinggears.danasdiaz.com.

⚙️For less than a dinner out, THE JUMPSTART is a short, self-guided course that gets you back on track with clarity, focus, and solid tools to start moving in the right direction.

⚙️⚙️For those who want more, THE ACCELERATOR is a much more in-depth option that gives the same clarity and focus, but more information, more tools, and more support from me.

✨So, choose change now. It’s never too late. And it’s never out of reach.✨

You just have to choose better for yourself by choosing to be a creator; and there’s no time like the present!