Happy People think about Their Future

When you think about your future, you are doing all kinds of things to your brain and your heart and your body that you don’t understand. There’s a fun little exercise I do with kids sometimes. I give them a broomstick and tell them to hold it in the palm of their hand. I ask them to focus on the bottom inch of the broomstick in their hand, to stare at it up close and then to try and balance it. And they can’t do it. The get mad. They think it’s a trick, especially the boys. But then after I calm them down, I ask them to do the same thing but to stare at the top of the broomstick instead. With almost no effort, they balance the broomstick perfectly. Then I ask them to turn the broomstick sideways and think of it as a timeline. If that bottom inch represents right now, and you only focus on it, then the future has no balance. But when you have your eyes set on future ideas, today usually finds a way to balance it self out. When you set your eyes on something greater, then you do better at today. And you usually enjoy it more too. I know it sounds like a paradox—something that can’t possibly be true— but almost anyone who has ever accomplished something great didn’t just fall into it. They dreamed it and went after their dreams. So dream a plan. Your day will be brighter and your future will glow.

Excerpted from The Truth About Dating, Love, and Just Being Friends © 2011 by Chad Eastham. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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Excerpted from The Truth About Dating, Love & Just Being Friends. 2011 by Chad Eastham. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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Teens can be outspoken and confident about expressing their opinions.  That can be great, but it’s not always great.  There is a difference between expressing yourself and being rude and insensitive.  Like it or not, rude and insensitive behavior is portrayed all the time in popular television shows.  And because these people are always portrayed as getting what they want, teens can get the idea that rude behavior gets them what they want.

The real world doesn’t work that way.  Rude behavior gets you a lot less friends and a lot poorer quality of relationships.  Good relationships, good friendships, and just about anything are rooted in showing respect.  When someone is blatantly rude, loud and controversial, showing his or her counter-opinions down everyone’s throat, the first thing I think isn’t Wow!  What a confident person.  Instead, I usually think, Wow!  There are probably a lot of things going wrong in your life since you feel the need to act like this. 

Don’t be rude.  Mature, enjoyable people build others up; they don’t tear them down.  That’s a good, basic building block for healthy communication so that you don’t have miserable relationships.  In case you wondered.

Excerpted from The Truth About Dating, Love & Just Being Friends. 2011 by Chad Eastham. Thomas Nelson, Inc. pg. 43. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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What are your dreams? We’d love to know.

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Big moments in life seem to always start with those little moments of decision.  But it first takes a decision.  And then it takes putting that decision into action, which can take time.  But the first step is the decision.

Excerpted from The Truth About Dating, Love & Just Being Friends. 2011 by Chad Eastham. Thomas Nelson, Inc. pg. 229. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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Stop and think for a moment about the things and people in your life and how they affect the way you feel about yourself.  Maybe it’s the people at your school.  Maybe it’s the social hog who talks over you and everyone else.  Maybe it’s your parents or siblings and the way they treat you.  They probably don’t mean to make you feel dumb or incompetent.  Most of the time people don’t even know that they are doing it to others.  But it happens.  And when it does, don’t be like some trained animal.  Don’t just sit back and take it.  Decide for yourself that you have a voice, that you can express what you think and what you need.  Decide to be competent.

Excerpted from The Truth About Dating, Love & Just Being Friends. 2011 by Chad Eastham. Thomas Nelson, Inc. pg. 207. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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