Archives for 2011

New Year’s Eve 2011

Happy New YearIs it really that time again?

A lot of people will set their resolutions this weekend on how they are going to be better or improve their life next year.  I hope you have already set your goals and you are prepared for what the new beginning has in store for you.

A new year is not the only time to make changes in your life.  Review your goals throughout the year so you can recommit to them.  Many resolutions never get completed and that is because they are out of sight out of mind.  Review your resolutions/goals/wants regularly and achieve what you are looking to achieve.

Here is hoping that 2012 brings the happiness and purpose you want in your life and we will see you next year!

Merry Christmas 2011

Bloomberg Tower Christmas Tree

Photo Courtesy of Rob Boudon

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.  I hope you will take the next couple of days to rest, relax, and enjoy those around you.

Thank You

Thank YouI want to take a moment to thank you and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  I will not be posting any more full articles until the new year so until then have safe travels and happy memories!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving Dinner

Photo Courtesy of Buxtrosion

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Take a moment to reflect on the holiday and what made you feel good that day.  Even if you had a not so great day or had to be at work pick out one or two things that made you happy that day.

 

The Other Perspective

Perspective - Disney's Hollywood StudiosHave you ever thought about what the other person is thinking?  Even if they are being hateful what might be going on in their lives?

When someone cuts me off in traffic my first reaction is to get agitated.  Then I calm down and often the way I do this is to think to myself that I don’t know what is going on with that person and maybe it was an honest mistake.  When we have knee jerk reactions we tend to do or say things that we don’t mean or, at least, don’t mean them to be as hateful as we said them.

When someone pisses you off do you stop to think about what they are going through?  Do you try and look at it from their perspective?

Each of us are individuals with our own thoughts and minds and three of us looking at a picture might perceive three different things.  If you look at the picture to the left you might see something totally different than me.  Let’s say three people are looking at it and these are their perspectives:

  1. A quiet street.
  2. A nice shot of San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
  3. A picture of a building.

All three people have legitimate perspectives.  It does look like a quite street (maybe it is early morning and the sun just rose.  You can see a bridge in the background which may very well be the Golden Gate leading you to believe this is in San Francisco.  And the brown building on the right tends to stand out a little so maybe that really is what this picture is of.

However, all three would be wrong.

This is a picture I took at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.  This was a backlot like they shoot movies on.  Those buildings are fake and the sky and buildings in the background are plastered on a wall.

This is simply a rather long explanation to say when someone does something you don’t like, don’t agree with, or what have you take a moment and try and see their perspective on the matter.  You still do not have to agree but looking at it from both sides can help you understand where the person is coming from and in matters where a decision has to be made can help to make one that satisfies all parties involved.

It Is Never To Late To Try Again

Never To LateI hear people talk about how they wish they had done this or that. So, why not now? Is it really ever to late? As long as you are breathing I don’t see why it has to be.

mental_floss recently put up an article with 10 people who did not start their careers or what they became known for until late in life.  This included people such as Colonel Sanders who didn’t open KFC until he was 65, Grandma Moses who was 76 when she did her first painting, and Takichiro Mori who left teaching at the age of 55 to be a real estate investor and died with a net worth of $13 billion dollars.

No matter what it is that you wish you could do in life it is never to late to try.  If you are 40 years old and wish you had a degree then go get one.  60 and want to be a professional wrestler – I can show you how to do that as well.

“Don’t dream it.  Be it.”  Rocky Horror Picture Show

Photo Credit:  Terry-Anne

Negative People In Your Positive World

“The attitudes of your friends are like the buttons on an elevator. They’ll either take you up or they’ll take you down.” Alexander Lockhart

RolodexWhy associate yourself with negative people?   It is a very simple question with a huge impact.

Have you ever been so extremely happy one minute and then your friend comes by and you can feel your mood drop?  This may not happen right away but I am sure you have noticed someone around you that causes this to happen.  What do you do about it?  Most people stay around and never say anything about it and let it happen time and time again.

Don’t get me wrong.  We all have our bad days where we bring other people to the bottom of the barrel with us and that is one reason we have close relationships – so we have someone who will take that ride with us when needed.  But those around you who are doing it day after day are impacting your life in ways you may not even think about until you sit back and look.

So, take a moment and open your contact list on your phone or in your e-mail.  Who all are constantly negative?  Think about this hard.  Who always drags you down, dampens your attitude for the remainder of the day (or sometimes days), and then effects everyone around you as you are taking their negativity around?  It may be time to delete them.

“We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin’ thinkin’ which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes. ”  Zig Ziglar

 

Side note:  Want to learn how to deal better with a negative co-worker?  Check out Dealing With Toxic People on the A Daring Adventure blog.

 

Listen To The Mustn’t

Shel SilversteinListen to the MUSTN’T, child,
Listen to the DON’Ts
Listen to the SHOULDN’Ts
The IMPOSSIBLES,
the WON’Ts
Listen to the NEVER HAVEs
Then listen close to me–
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
~Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein had it right all along.
No matter what you set out to do there will be detractors.  Those people who are going to bring you back down or try and knock you back.  Many times it is the people closest to us that make that attempt.  If you listen to Dave Ramsey any length of time he talks about the people that will make fun of you for getting out of debt because they say it cannot be done or they don’t see the point because you will always owe someone something.
Well, ANYTHING CAN BE!
You have to set your mind to accomplish whatever it is you desire and go do it.  The people around you may tell you that you can’t but you have to know you can.  A lot of the ones who say you can’t just feel like you are going to leave them behind while you are pursuing your path and you may have to reassure them that is simply not the case.  Others feel that they need to keep you on their level because they don’t want you “to be better than them” and you will have to tell them that you are the same person you have only accomplished what you want out of life and they can do the same.
See, they can do it to if they only have someone to tell them that they can.  Will you go out today or pick up the phone and encourage someone to follow their dream?  To find the career that fits them, to get out of debt, or to lose five pounds all it takes is a little encouragement.  I try to provide that to you with everything I write.  Will you go out and do it for someone else today?

Are you feeling trapped?

Trapped

Photo Courtesy of Walt Stoneburner

Do you sometimes feel you are trapped in your current job? You have to pay bills so you fear that if you quit you will not find another place to work thus you fear not being able to pay those bills.

You may feel trapped but you need to get yourself out of that mindset.  There are things you can do to transition to another position within the same company where you may be happier.  You can create a plan to create your own business or to make a move to another company without the risk of quitting your current job first.

If you want to know how to do this I recommend you pickup a copy of Jon Acuff‘s book Quitter.  It will show you how to transition from jobs so you are not being left hanging if nothing else comes along.

“Once a manager, in front of everbody said to me “You aren’t the only person who can do this job”. And I replied, in front of everybody, “And this isn’t the only place I can do it either”.” A comment by a user named Artful Dodger at bnet.

To Big To Tackle?

Turtle vs. StrawberryDo you have a task in your life that you feel that is to big to tackle?  Feeling overwhelmed or like to much is being put on you?  Well, there is an easy way to fix this.  Now, the way is easy – that does not mean your path to the end of the obstacle will be but it helps you get to the end.

How do you do it?  One step at a time.  Simple, right?  It really is that easy.  Take whatever you are dealing with at write it at the top of piece of paper.  Now write down small steps that you can do to help you get to the end.  Hang this up where you will see it and mark off the steps until you get to where you are going.

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!  – Author Unknown

Take any large task and break it down to it’s smaller steps.  Before you know it you will have accomplished something you thought was out of your reach.
 
 
 

Photo from Must Love Dogs by way of Jonfun.