I was decluttering the basement where years and years of junk had piled up. As I was purging, I stumbled upon a bunch of papers and notebooks that contained quite a number of high school love letters (addressed TO me), receipts from now defunct stores (remember Consumers Distributing?) and photos.
I found a picture of me when I was in my late 20s and wow, I could see the anger piercing from my eyes even though I was smiling.
That period was my angry period and I remember why.
I was supposed to be doing something else. Instead of working for a technology start-up as a project manager, I was supposed to be playing basketball. My 20-something year old self would constantly remind me that I was supposed to be a big time basketball star representing my country at the Olympics and making my hometown proud as I played professionally in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
But instead, I was angry that a knee injury took me out of the game in my 2nd year of college which ended all my hoop dreams. I carried around that anger from the time I quit playing college basketball in 1995 until I attended the Millionaire Mind Intensive workshop in 2004.
Almost a decade.
Looking back on that period of my life, I could see that the anger did so many destructive things:
- It left me feeling resentful which meant that I complained about everything.
- It brought on a whole set of health issues, including being overweight and becoming lactose intolerant.
- My relationships with my family, my friends and my boyfriend at the time were strained because I only focused on the negative things happening in my life.
- I couldn’t figure out why I was constantly broke and continued to spend all my money buying food since it brought me pleasure (or so I thought).
- It disconnected me from having a wonderful experience with my Creator because I blamed Him everyday for my circumstances.
As Joyce Meyer said recently in one of her teachings, you can be bitter or you can be better. Anger encourages poverty, while gratitude encourages abundance. When I left the Millionaire Mind Intensive weekend in July 2004 at the age of 30, I made a decision to change my thinking. It has been a 5-year journey, but the person I am today is happier, healthier, more prosperous and feeling way better.
How can you develop a much more positive outlook? Be thankful for the small things. I was reminded of this when my friend, Nancy Marmolejo, sent out words of thanks even though her car broke down on a busy Los Angeles highway. If you’re thankful for the small things in your life now, God will cause an overflow of abundance in your life tomorrow.
Another thing you can do is keep a journal beside your bed where you can write down the 1, 2 or 3 things you’re thankful for before you fall asleep. I’ve been doing this every night for about two weeks. I’ve now developed a habit to say thanks whenever I’m tempted to complain.
Just these 2 things can help you get rid of the bitterness and anger. Having a thankful attitude is a choice. I challenge you to throw out the mental, spiritual and emotional junk.
