Keto Mom here!
"Yes, of course, we all get in a bad mood. But if I ever find myself in a bad mood, I immediately make a choice to be happy, today I will be happy. I stand in the mirror, I look at myself and I say today I will be happy. It's a choice. All of the things are choices. My life, my personalities, my hobbies, everything I speak, the books that I read, the people that I hang out with, the things that I choose to listen to. And the thoughts that I choose to tolerate in my mind are all choices". ~ Andy Andrews
Points to Ponder
00:44 Winner for today
02:26 Seven decisions
02:43 Meeting Anne Frank
03:23 Get your Mindset on Track
03:31 It starts with reading
05:58 We make choices
06:31 Gratefulness is a Choice
08:35 What's important on the inside
08:41 Perspective
08:57 The vicious cycle
09:36 Live life to its fullest, is a choice
10:11 Fifth decision for success
10:39 Choose to be happy
12:21 "Who was?" books
12:37 Reading about something that's real
Full Episode Transcript
Good morning! Welcome to the Keto Mom page, and we're diving into chapter seven of "The Traveler's Gift" by Andy Andrews. So if you're just tuning in, where are you're tuning in from? Every morning, we are doing a book club. This is the book that we're going through right now, and I actually have some kids books to share with you when we're done going over this chapter. I've realized, it's a young girl that our character meets. So first of all, how is your morning going? If you're reading the book with us, or following along, share below, your biggest takeaways and what you're loving about the book. We have a new winner for today for my Mom Fuel.
Her name Ashlee Hannigan, you are the winner of my Mom Fuel. Congratulations! And I need your address.
So going back, if you are brand new, we went through a lot of books that talk about habits and creating systems, more of science, data, story and application. However "The Traveler's Gift" is very much a story perspective, and it's incredible. So we are about halfway through, we're on chapter seven for today.
Our main character, his name is David, he had some challenges in life, basically he is in a coma. Or maybe he's dreaming, maybe he's dead, we don't really know. All we know is he was in a car accident, and now he's meeting people from the past.
So he's meeting people, and they're giving him one thing to think about. There are seven decisions he needs to make in order to have success.
What are the seven decisions that you need to make based on what the author thinks, to have success. So today, our character is met by Anne Frank, and as I was reading it, I thought, I need to share some books for kids. There's so many people that send messages saying I've learned to love to read and I really thank you so much. I will say all day long, I can tell you what to eat, how to eat, how much water to drink. I can tell you not to stand on the scale, or what net carbs and total carbs are. I can tell you all of those things, but if your mindset isn't right, then you and I are going to be chatting over and over again.
You're going to start stop, start, stop, keep going and it's this vicious cycle. But if we can get your mindset on track, help you make better choices if we can, help you understand so many things, then I truly believe it starts with reading and it can change your life.
So as he was meeting and Frank in the book, I thought I should share some kids books. Because this isn't just about me, I also encourage my kids to read. I pick up books for them and I actually pay my kids to read. There's stipulations behind it, but if they read a book that we choose, and it's books like "The Traveler's Gift", not just Boxcar Children and my girls read the babysitter club, those are fine.
But if they read a book, I'll show you. Did you guys know that Andy Andrews, has a kids version, and my daughter started it yesterday. So it's called "The Young Traveler's Gift".
If my kids read books that I choose for them, and once they're done reading, they write out a basic outline of what they learned, and they have to share it with the family. After they give a little presentation, they get some money, and it depends on the book how much money they get, it's usually twenty bucks.
So this is a great book for kids, I'll show you some more books in a minute. We're going to dive into chapter seven, David meets Anne Frank. If you don't know the story of Anne Frank from history in school, she was a part of the Holocaust. I think there's some things I can say online and some things I can't. So he meets her, while she's hiding in the attic with her family. If you don't know the story, you should read it, it's incredible, read her diary.
So David looks around at her situation with all of the people living there, with very little food, and under terrible conditions. He asks, "How can you live here, you've been here for probably over a year. How can you not complain?. You have to be quiet, there's not enough food. You have to ration food between eight people. You and your sister have to share three dresses, you share sleeping quarters, and there's no privacy"...
He just kept asking "How are you not complaining?"... And sweet Anne Frank says "Mr. David ponder... First we make choices, and then our choices make us"... She says "Rough conditions? Yes, an ungrateful person might see this place as too small for eight people. A diet that is limited and portions that are too meager, or only three dresses for two girls to share. But gratefulness is also a choice. I see an annex that hides eight people, while others are being herded into railroad cars. I see food that is generously provided, by families who uses their ration cards for us. I see extra an dress for my sister and I, while some people have nothing. I choose to be grateful, and I choose not to complain"... "Are you honestly telling me that you are always in a good mood?" So David asks "Are you always in a good mood?"... He just can't fathom it. He has a daughter and he's going through this time travel. And he's saying I don't understand... You can be in a bad mood, you can hit your snooze, you can wake up late, you can make a choice that you're not happy about.
And she says "Yes, of course, we all get in a bad mood. But if I ever find myself in a bad mood, I immediately make a choice to be happy, today I will be happy"... I stand in the mirror. I look at myself and I say today I will be happy. It's a choice. She said, "All of the things are choices. My life, my personalities, my hobbies, everything I speak, the books that I read, the people that I hang out with, the things that I choose to listen to. And the thoughts that I choose to tolerate in my mind are all choices".
"Before the war when I was a little girl, my papa took me to a park on a Saturday afternoon to hear the orchestra play. At the end of the concert from behind the musicians. One hundred helium balloons flew up, Red, Blue, Yellow and Green floating all in the sky. It was so amazing. I tugged at my papa and I said, What color balloon do you think will go the highest?" And he said,
"It's not the color of balloon that is important. It's what's important on the inside that makes the difference"...
I love this book because it's about perspective. We can go back and we can say I can give you all of the things that you need to do, to have success in your diet. But if you don't have what's right on the inside and your mindset, then you probably have already gone through the vicious cycle over and over again of not feeling good enough. Not being grateful, blame shaming and justifying when all you probably need is a little bit of perspective. She says "Greatness does not care if you are a girl or a boy, in fact, it's what's inside that makes a difference. And the difference is made when you choose what goes inside"... The things you listen to, the books that you read, the people that you are around are important.
Then she says "I will remember you, but most of all, both of us will remember that life itself is a privilege. But to live life in its fullest is a choice"...
My question to you is "Are you going to live life to its fullest?". At the very end of meeting each character, he's handed a note and on the note it walks him through a decision. We're on the fifth decision for success, "Today I will choose to be happy". Anne says, "Today I will choose to be happy and I will greet each day with laughter. Today I will choose to be happy and I will smile at every person that I see. Today, I will choose to be happy, I am the possessor of a grateful spirit. I am thankful and grateful. I will choose to be happy"... So my question is "What do you think about that, do you agree or disagree with the perspective on Anne Frank's thoughts?
My challenge to you today is, walk in the near go look at yourself and say today I choose to be happy". So I need you to say today, I will choose to be happy. Even if my dogs are barking, I will choose to be happy. Even if they drive me crazy, I will choose to be happy no matter the circumstances, no matter what's going on in life. If you're not happy where you're at with your diet, and you're alive, then you can learn to make better decisions.
But ultimately what you're going to put in your mouth, and the things that you are going to choose, whether you are go to the gym or you don't, whether you say no to the donut, or you don't, whether you get up in the morning or you don't, whether you read or you don't. Everything you do every single day is a choice.
It's going to lead you to one percent better or one percent worse in your life. I'm going let you go, and I hope you guys have an incredible day. And here's some books for kids real quick, Andy Andrews has a kids book. So if you're trying to figure out how to get your kids to learn and to love reading, these books worked well for us.
My kids love the "Who was" books. We just read "Who was Rosa Parks?", we also read "Who was Anne Frank", and one of my daughters just read "Who was Joan of Arc?"... And "Where is", they just read this one, "Where's Alcatraz?". So there's "Who was?", "Who is", "What is", "Where is" and they're all very small. It's all based on history and it's real. I don't know about you, but I think fantasy is great. But my kids have learned to find more of a love of reading, when they're reading about something that's real. And they would say it's pretty amazing. Like the story of Joan of Arc, and just you can't help but change your kids lives by these simple stories.
So these are great books. This one is great, "Can you survive?"... There's one called "Can you survive the tornado", or "Can you survive extreme mountain climbing?" So you go through the book, and then it gives you a choice, fast forward through the book, and see if you made the best choice. And then here's one more it's called "The Energy Bus" for Kids. There's an adult version and a kid's version. There are so many great books that your kids can read and not just listen to. I'm fine with fantasy, but I love real application and I love to be able to help make them think. I would love to also know what books have you challenged your kids to read? What are some books that have grown their mindset, I would love for you to share below. These are just a couple of them. I'll find some more and I'll share them in my stories. So that's it, I hope you guys have an incredible day. I look forward to seeing what you think of this chapter. I hope you have a great day. We'll talk to you soon.
Hit me up on IG! @ketomomsecrets
Join me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KetoMom
Check out our videos https://www.youtube.com/c/KetoMom/videos
Text Me! 507-363-3483
Join my newsletter at ketomomsecrets.com
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: