The Promises You Keep: Recent Episodes
Daniel Cohen
How can I move forward in life? Why can't I have what they have? How can I be grateful for what I have right now?
The amazing thing is, you can have all of these things, and more. It just takes a little help, and a lot of work on your behalf. In this weekly podcast I share little bits of inspiration, tips, and insight on how you can step into your greatness.
Life is a beautiful mess, you have to embrace it. My goal here is to help you do that. bit.ly/promises31
If you would like more inspiration, here is a link to my book. bit.ly/promises31
The less you compare yourself to other people, The more you will love yourself. As you move forward this week, embrace your uniqueness. Stop comparing who you are to those people surrounding you. You are your only competition.
If you woke up this morning, you thought to yourself that today was going to be tough, that everything's going to go wrong, and the people are going to mistreat me. Then you probably right. The more you think that things are going to go wrong. The more things will go wrong. The more you think that life is going to turn out for you in a difficult way, the more it will continue to be difficult. i used to hate Mondays, and the reason why is because i would dread the fact that i would have to face the day and see a brand new week but not see it as a brand new week. i would see it as the same mundane week that I pleased others and chose not to please myself. I wasn't trusting the process. I wasn't trusting that all things would work out if only I allowed them to. And it wasn't even Mondays that i only hated. It was every day. on this Monday. allow yourself today to trust the process. know that everything is going to work out in your favor. permit yourself to believe that all things have a way of working things out. know that it's okay not to be okay, but recognize the fact that the more you allow yourself to open up to gratitude and to grace, you are choosing to believe that all will be okay because, as abraham hicks once said, you're not only trusting the process. you then expect the process. you're tuning into something that you do want. Are you ready to stop resisting and start doing? Sign up for my free newsletter full of tips to help you create the life you want https://mailchi.mp/c92eddd794a9/4-keys-to-gratitude
trusttheprocess #keeponkeepingon #thepromisesyoukeep
In life, I've learned that happiness is not an external thing. Happiness is found when you promise to see life as it is and be content with it at the moment. Not resisting it, not hiding from it; then life will begin to turn around and change for you. It is then that you will be happy. In this episode, I will talk about happiness and how gratitude plays a big role in choosing it.
Gratitude is a direct response to happiness; by allowing yourself to be grateful for the good, bad, and indifferent in your life, the easier it will be for you to find happiness within yourself. Keeping a daily gratitude journal can help. I have allowed myself to write down three to five things every day for the past eight years and have found this practice so powerful! Many people have asked about my daily practice, so I put together a 7 Day Gratitude Journal that will help you jump-start your practice.
Keep on keeping on.
Are you affirming who you are? In life I've learned that the more I affirmed myself, the more I healed. I began to love myself, and my life, and all of its messy goodness. Affirm yourself and start healing where you are.
Did you wake up complaining this morning? Why? Because it's Monday? Mondays, just like every other day, are a day to be thankful because you, unlike the millions of people who didn't wake up, took your first breaths and opened your eyes. That's something truly to be grateful for and to embrace. In this podcast, I talk about the power of gratitude and how gratitude will help you create the life you want.
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Keep on keeping on
Martin Luther King, Jr said it best when he said if you can't fly, run if you can't run, walk if you can't walk crawl, but by all means keep moving. Never give up on your hopes, and dreams, regardless of your circumstances. Don't allow your mindset to stop you from moving forward. The world is tough and will try to break you at every chance it gets, you have to remind yourself every day that you are strong, resilient, and can have anything.
Are you living the life that you want? Are you allowing your current circumstance to stop you from moving forward from having a life of happiness and joy?
A promise is something that allows you to move forward with all of your hopes and dreams, but first, you have to make it. When you promise yourself, you create a bond that cannot be broken. Living with anxiety and depression can sometimes seem complicated, but it will become easier to realize when you set a small, actionable goal and tie a promise to it. What promise will you set for yourself today? And what small actionable goals will you tie to that promise?
Embrace each new day as it comes, and embrace every beautiful mess that you are confronted with. I am including a promises worksheet for you to write your promises and goals; you can download it here
Happy New Year! I wanted to start this year off a bit differently by sharing with you something that I would normally share with my Facebook community. If you are part of my Facebook community click here, it's really awesome, and I post lot's of inspiring stuff!
Living with an uncontrollable circumstance can be very easy to want to give up; that is why it is so important to have Hope. I had a seizure today, and I felt drawn to share this podcast with you because Hope and gratitude are the two things that help keep me centered significantly when I am seizing. Even though I may be scared and feel like giving up, I don't because I know that Hope keeps me safe and resilient.
In life, it is very easy for those living with an uncontrollable chronic illness to want to give up, talk negatively about their life, and cause more pain and heartache than is already present. By allowing yourself permission to surrender, be grateful, and have Hope, you are allowing yourself to live a happier, more stress-free life. And when you are going through something such as a seizure, it becomes less scary because you already know how strong you are.
I have written a free guide that you can download here to help you live a happier, more grateful life while living with a chronic, uncontrollable circumstance. You can sign up for the guide here.
Throughout these eight years I have embraced my beautiful mess, and I have made it my promise to help others do the same. Here is more of my story, and my why.
Epilepsy and chronic illness can be difficult to live with, but if you allow yourself to think differently about your circumstances moving forward will be much easier. If you are bitter, you are not allowing yourself to be better. Choose to think gratefully and accept each moment.
Your I AM voice is the most powerful critic. Living with Epilepsy choosing the right I AM can sometimes be challenging. In this episode I discuss the benefits of choosing a positive I AM, and how it can help heal you.
Would you like more support on your gratitude journey? Join my free Facebook Group Find Your Greatness Through Gratitude
We all have two voices, positive and negative. The one we choose to listen to will shape our lives. In this episode I talk more about those two voices, and how you can use yours to help move you forward.
It's very easy to forget to stop and show yourself some loving-kindness throughout the day.
You wake up in a rush because you have that critical meeting to get to, and you fail to stop to have breakfast first. You forget to pick up that new toy your child has wanted because your mind is thinking about the ten other things you have to do when you get home, and you beat yourself up about it. Or you have a seizure, and you have to cancel on some friends, so you begin to feel that you are not good enough.
Stop. Take a breath, realize that nothing, nor you, or anything else in this life is perfect, and show yourself some compassion. Here are a few ways for you to love yourself up today.
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Be grateful for the moment. Choosing to be grateful for the moment and embracing it will help you move through it.
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Forgive yourself for the things that didn't go right
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Change your tone. Choose a more positive voice. Speak with praise instead of with criticism. Your inner critic is the most powerful critic of all.
Do you want to learn more about how you can create the positive life you want while living with Epilepsy? Follow me @thepromisesyoukeep for more.
Living with Epilepsy, it is very easy to focus on the seizure, and not the celebration. You have a seizure, or two, and experience some pain, or a headache, and you forgot to focus on the gift of the day. I completely get this, there was a time when I only focused on my symptoms, and not the celebration, but once I began to celebrate my day, even amidst the mess, my life began to change. Take time out today and celebrate yourself, and the good, and even not so good moments. You are only given so many. Feel your emotions, but don't dwell on them. Say thank you, and focus on what you have right now.
Living with Epilepsy can be challenging; it is very easy to find yourself focusing on the pain, frustration, and lack of peace that comes with having the condition rather than the healing, happiness, and gratitude found abundantly in your life live. You wake up with pain, or you have a seizure, or you're experiencing some gastrointestinal distress; the condition is the first thing that is there, nothing more, nothing less, just pain and discomfort. I am by no means discounting your illness; I have been living with three for my entire life. And eight years ago, after a series of unsuccessful brain surgeries for my seizures, I promised myself to be grateful for the life I live and teach others living through their chronic illness to do the same.
Your words are powerful; they can either make you feel healthy or make you feel sick. The words we choose to speak to ourselves every day have the power to move us forward or move back. If you find yourself waking up in the morning telling yourself that your life sucks because you have Epilepsy, or you consistently put yourself down because you are living with the illness, the more of it you will have, and the worst you will feel.
bit/ly.com/thepromisesyoukeep
It is very easy to feel alone, especially when we are experiencing chronic illness; and with September being suicide prevention month I wanted let everyone who feels alone right now that you are not alone. That you are seen, and you are heard, and you are loved.
There was a time when I felt alone, and there are days when I still do, but then I remember that there are those who love me, and I am thankful for them.
Allow yourself today to express your feelings, don't hold them back. Write them down in a journal, talk to a friend, or family member, reach out on social media.
It's okay to not have life all worked out, none of us do. Continue to embrace your beautiful mess, and move forward. 💜
chronicillness #suicidalawareness #gratitude
Living with Epilepsy can be stressful at times, but if you have a way to cope with the stress, life with Epilepsy will be a bit easier.
We have two choices, to either think positive or negative. Epilepsy is one of those disorders that tends to make us focus on the negative most often with the thoughts of when our next seizure will come along. Or what will those people think of me, or I just don't feel well all the time. The great thing is we have a choice to choose what energy we focus on. Will you allow the what-ifs stop you from being happy, or will you make a choice to focus on the positive amidst the chaos, and allow yourself to have a good day? Ultimately the choice is yours.
Some of you reading this may think that Gratitude can only be felt when good things happen; on the contrary, Gratitude is most powerful when felt during our darkest moments. In this episode, I talk about gratitude, chronic illness, and the challenges associated with finding gratitude.
I get asked the question of how I stay grateful during tough times quite often. In this episode, I explain how I stay grateful while living with my chronic illness and share tips on how you can too.
It's the end of the month, what thoughts will you continue to allow yourself to feel, and to believe as you move forward into the next month?
You might not feel your best, but that doesn't mean that you don't have the choice to choose how will let it affect you. We can choose to be happy, or sad, angry, or mad, grateful, or ungrateful. Which will you choose?
Ask yourself this question, and continue to move forward.
In this episode I talk about being at peace with your illness, and your current situation.
I often look at my life in a positive light, and this past week is no exception. I had a few rough days, but despite those days, I will promise myself today to continue to move forward. What will you allow into your life today? Will you allow strength, hope, and gratitude? Or pain, sorrow, and suffering? I understand everyone's situation is different, but the choices we make are all the same. bit.ly/promises31
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Our intentions help us to accomplish many things. They either help us to move forward, or to move backwards. On Sunday set your intention to be positive for your Monday, and move forward.
Creating a daily gratitude practice is key to moving forward when living with a chronic illness. Being grateful for the good and the bad, the big and the small, are ways to help make life a little less difficult.
We all want to get things done, and when we live with a chronic illness, we all want the pain to be over, but wishing the time away and wanting these things to happen will not make them happen any quicker. On this Sunday, choose to focus your attention on the joy and peace of today and live here now. Be grateful for each new moment.
As I mention in my book; Keep on keeping on 31 Days 31 Promises to bring more Love, passion, and hope into your life. Promise yourself to be grateful for all of the things you have and all of the things you do not have. I will look in the mirror and acknowledge that I am this way for a reason. Life is this way too.
Whatever you are going through right now, I want you to know that it is only temporary. Life, illness, and the way it all unfolds is forever changing, so you can either let it make your thoughts run wild, and think unhappy things, or accept what is and step back, breathe, and focus on the present moment.
In this podcast, I talk about how overthinking can create a feeling of dis-harmony and some techniques you can use to stay present.
The link to my book mentioned can be found here bit.ly/promises31
or you can send me a direct message through Facebook to get a signed copy of my book ( US RESIDENTS ONLY )
https://bit.ly/DANNYCOHEN
It is a brand new month and a brand new day. Don't let last month's problems stop you from moving ahead with today's goals. Even though life might still seem tough, continue to focus on your goals and stay positive throughout.
In this episode, I discuss acceptance and chronic illness. I also talk about my own personal journey with acceptance and how accepting each new day has helped me get through some of the toughest times.
Links and websites discussed in this podcast
Instagram page @thepromisesyoukeep
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/keeponkeepingonnow/
We all have a choice to either let our emotions run us or take control of our emotions. If you had a bad couple of days throughout the week, and they caused you to feel sad, bad, anxious, or upset, and then you had a few great days which made you feel happy, excited, hopeful, and content; you ultimately have the choice to choose which feeling you want to hold onto.
Chronic illness has a way of making us feel a combination of things, and feeling good generally is not one of those things. But on the good days, we get a chance to focus on those things that we couldn't on the bad days, only if we allow ourselves to. Moving into the weekend, which will you choose to focus your energy on? The choice is yours.
Have you ever had that moment in your life when life knocks you down? Living with chronic illness, It seems like that happens quite often.
There are those days when I feel like life has hit me with a fastball, and I don't want to get up, but I do. I don't allow the not-so-good days to keep me down and make me bitter; I instead let those days make me better. When we choose to wake up and not let our circumstances stop us, we start to feel better about the life that we have and the life that we were given. In 2013 I promised myself after my brain surgeries that although they didn't work, I wasn't going to let life keep me down. I would instead let my circumstances make me better, not bitter. I wanted to be grateful for the life that I had, and so I made myself the promise to be grateful every day regardless of what the day would bring.
Seeing life through positive eyes doesn't mean that you ignore your problem; it means that you are acknowledging your problem and choosing to be happy anyway.
Focus on being better, not bitter.
If you are feeling lost, or in need of inspiration please check out my book here. I wrote these promises at a time when I felt lost, and I published them in 2017 to inspire others going through tough times. bit.ly/promises31
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand," Randy Pausch. In life, we have two choices, we can either move through life and live it openly; loving full out and be grateful for every circumstance that is put in our way, or we can allow our circumstances to stop us from living and make us feel, hurt, hopeless, and unappreciative of the life we cannot change.
In this episode, I talk about how Randy Pausch's book "The Last Lecture" helped change my perspective after having three unsuccessful brain surgeries in 2013 and made me realize how important the practice of gratitude really is when living through a chronic illness. I also talk about the importance of choosing to live life openly every day, whether living with a chronic illness or not will help you push forward instead of keeping you back.
Links discussed in this podcast Randy Pausch 'The Last Lecture' My book, Keep on Keeping on, 31 Days. 31 Promises To Bring More Love, Passion, and Hope into Your Life
The past is gone, and you cannot get it back, so why will you continue to let it cloud your vision for a better today?
I have learned that living with a chronic illness, the only moment that truly matters is the present moment. If I had a seizure yesterday, and if I felt a bit anxious yesterday, that was yesterday too; this is today. And if for some reason I have some tough times today, I am not carrying the burden of yesterday, but I am only living for this moment, and I am thankful for it.
Anxiety, depression, and chronic illness all have their ways of trying to push you too far ahead or keep you too far behind. So take some time out, and appreciate what you have today, and be compassionate with yourself. Keep on keeping on, and have a great day, everyone.
Gratitude and anxiety are two separate emotions that can't be felt at the same time. When you allow yourself permission to bring more gratitude into your day, you will start to see that anxiety will soon start to disappear, and you will start being "here" instead of wanting to be "there." On this Monday promise yourself to choose gratitude, and let it lead you through your week.
Life is never good 100% of the time, and living with a chronic illness life finding the good in life can seem even harder. We wake up, and we try to focus on the things that should make us feel happy, but then we realize that focus is the furthest thing from our minds. That is when it is best to just stop, breathe, and let go.
I have found that once I stop, breathe, and let myself go, and just focus on the moment instead of the moments that life is throwing at me, it makes it easier for me to find the one thing good in the bad day that I may need to move forward.
In this edition of the Promises, you keep podcast I share my one tip to help keep you focused, and find your peace in your beautiful mess.
Living with chronic illness can be tough at times; as a matter of fact, it sucks! But I have learned over time that the more you tell yourself that something sucks, the more it is going to suck. Waking up after having a seizure sucks, having Cerebral Palsy, and being in pain sucks, and shunt revisions because your Hydrocephalic brain decided to clog up sucks! Overall Chronic illness, sucks.
Chronic brain negativity is on the rise, creating the biggest illness of them all, ungratefulness. Most of us have missed the boat when it comes to seeing just how amazing it is to have a brain and aches and pains still. Being brain positive instead of brain negative is crucial when living with a chronic illness. It will allow us to see just how beautiful this mess we have is and be grateful for the moments that we have, even if sometimes they aren't the greatest.
Today challenge yourself to be brain positive and be grateful for the chronically ill life you were blessed with.
Living with Chronic Illness, we sometimes fall into the rut of we're not good enough. We see others who aren't dealing with half of what we are dealing with, and they are pulling ahead while we are falling behind. We start thinking that we can't have what they have because we are "sick," but that's not true; we can have what they have but only if we believe we can. I understand that not all chronic illness is the same, but the outlook about our illness is. Over the past 90 days, I have been tested, having to go in for three brain surgeries to fix a shunt malfunction for Hydrocephalus; I felt sick, and I experienced pain, but I didn't let my inner voice get the best of me. A week after my surgery now, I am still recovering, but I continue to stay strong and not let those around me stop me from pursuing my goals. I made myself that promise never to doubt myself, and I've stuck with it ever since. Listen to yourself, and focus on your journey, no one else's. Keep moving forward and being your best for yourself.
You can find the promise and learn more about my journey here
Embrace the new week with open arms. Open your mind, and your heart to the good, and continue to stay grateful for what you have.
Sundays are a source of stress and anxiety for many of us and can be even more so if we deal with a chronic illness. We have to think about our work week ahead and how we will get through possible doctor's appointments or just the day-to-day tasks. On this Sunday, make the promise to yourself to breathe. When we breathe and sink into the present, we are much better able to focus on the peace of the moment and the tasks at hand.
The promise
When I first made this promise to myself, I was lying in a hospital bed in 2013 after a series of unsuccessful brain surgeries for seizures; I wrote a single promise on an index card and, after that, another fold, and then another. Thirty-one days later, I started noticing a difference in myself, and how I felt about my life, and as I like to say, my re-birth after surgery. I was more grateful, more accepting, and loved myself unconditionally. In 2017, I wanted to share this message with the world, and I published these promises. You can read more about them here
Being strong is one thing, but having the strength to go on is another. In this episode, I give a little inspiration and insight on staying strong and moving forward. bit.ly/promises31
sometimes life gives you something sweet, and sometimes life gives you something sour, but it is up to you to decide which to focus on. In this episode, I talk about focusing on the small wins throughout your week, and how those small wins could turn out to be our biggest victories in the end.
My name is Daniel Cohen, an Epilepsy thriver and chronic illness survivor. Gratitude and acceptance saved me from living a life full of literal pain, mental strain, and lost hope. My message and mission are to help others living with chronic Illness realize that life, regardless of how messy, is beautiful and is meant to be loved, not loathed.
Monday are a day of renewal. Get excited about life. Get excited about your goals and move forward. Short inspiration.
When you are grateful, great things happen. With this moment of gratitude podcast my intention is to help you find what you are grateful for.