When it comes to living with intention and making a change for the positive, we have to make a few adjustments.  In other words, we have to take time out to re-evaluate our perspective, thoughts, even our environment and those who surround us.  If you surround yourself around others who are negative, energy bloodsuckers, one uppers, takers, Debbie Downers, etc., you will find that you begin to embody their habits and become the same way. You also have to be careful of those who want to see you settle rather than grow, owning and becoming your greatest self.  

You want to surround yourself in a Growth Environment, meaning surround yourself around those who want you to grow, to succeed, who will support you not discourage you, those who will push you and keep you accountable, aka the Buddy System.  That goes hand in hand with detoxing, but detoxing our environment and surroundings as well as detoxing from toxic people.

With that, let us jump into what the 4 "A"s are and what the point is for practicing them. 

I give all the credit to Trent Shelton, who is a former NFL football player turned Motivational Coach.  I have been listening to Trent Shelton's talks for quite some time now, and he has really brought up some great points that we should all be practicing to live with intention and begin our journey to achieving our goals.  The interesting thing is, they are all ideas we have all heard of, already know, and have even spoken them ourselves.  The sad part is we aren't practicing them to their fullest, which is why we fall short of achieving what we are meant for.

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We encourage you to begin each day first thing in the morning to start off with the 4 "A"s, that way we all begin to build a habit and set ourselves up for success!

The 4 "A"s:

1. Appreciation.   The moment you wake up, appreciate everything (big and small, good and bad).  Tomorrow is not promised for any of us, and through all the hardships, there are lessons to be learned.

2. Affection.  We are the most connected society with technology, and yet the most disconnected society towards each other.  What this world is lacking is affection and interaction between us as the human race.  However, all living things/beings/souls thrive, grow, bloom, and shine from affection.  So wake up and give something/someone affection (pet, plants, family, etc.)

3. Accomplishment.  When you wake up, accomplish something.  We have become such a lazy entitled society full of expectations.  Begin to build a good habit of starting and finishing something, so start small (like making your bed in the morning, do the dishes, clean the house, etc.)

4. Activity.  When you wake up, do something that gets you moving or involves movement.  Like take your dog for a walk or play fetch with your pup, go for a 15 minute walk yourself, stretch, dance, etc.