Do you ever wake up and just feel like you can’t go on?  All of the feelings of impossibility just overwhelm you as you make your way out of bed, into the day?  Here is what I do to put all of those blocks behind me – a top ten list of personal problem solvers.

1 – I thank God for another day.  I say a prayer of thanks, then add “Your will, not mine.”

2 – I feel the love from God that is always there for me.  As I surround myself in prayer, His love surrounds me.  I open myself up to feel it and take it in.

3 – With the power of God surrounding me, and in me, if I catch myself thinking that I am flawed, or that anything is impossible, I ask God to relieve that old feeling.

4 – I give myself a pep talk.  I encourage myself to be my “own best friend.”  I imagine that I am making suggestions to someone who needs a friend (someone like myself!)  If I am thinking, “I’m never going to succeed, I am just spinning my wheels,” or “I’m fat and can’t stop eating…”  I simply turn it around: “I am going to succeed with God’s plan for me, I may not understand how, but I’m not giving up no matter what.”  Or, “I may not have any will-power, but I am going to try to do what’s right and best for me.”

5 – After doing the mental work above, there always comes a time when I have to stop thinking and start acting.  I put my stifling thoughts aside and get to work!  I remind myself, “the self-limiting thoughts are the hardest part of this.  The actual work isn’t nearly as difficult or impossible as I think it is.”

6 – I move my body.  Knowing that the body often stores emotions, particularly difficult ones, I have learned that by exercising, stretching or just moving, they can be released.  So I go for a brisk walk, or do some stretches for 15 minutes to soothing music, or best – I get up and groove-dance to a fast-beat song.  Best of all:  I get myself to a dance class.

7 – Talking to a friend helps a lot, too.  Sharing my life, my challenges, my efforts with someone else gets the “cant’s” out.  I also make sure to take time to listen to my friend’s world, too.

8 – I think about this truth:  it’s too easy to focus on what I can’t do, or what’s wrong.  I honesty don’t want that stuff.  What I want is to have a full and fulfilling life.  Yes, it’s harder to be productive; it takes effort for me to be what God wants me to be.  However, that effort has many rewards.

9 – I think of those rewards that I have received in the past.  I think of what I have accomplished.  I think about what I did to overcome or get through the blocks and limitations.  I take a little moment to celebrate, and then get going on something new.

10 – After the day is done, I make absolutely sure I take time to rest and recharge.  If I don’t rest; if I don’t get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, it makes the “cant’s” really intense.  If I am tired and low-energy, then it’s a recipe for hard times no matter what I do.

I would LOVE to hear some of YOUR ideas for turning the “cant’s” into “cans.”  Please post below!  And please share this daily blog with all your friends, family and co-workers.  Tell them www.beliefnet.com/drnorris