Frustration

“When we remember how hard it is to change ourselves, we begin to understand what little chance we have of changing others.”

–Unknown Author

 

Do you remember the last big change you wanted for yourself?  Losing weight, quitting smoking, changing jobs, starting an exercise program, getting a better job?  How did it go for you?  Did you make it?  If so, how long did it take?

If you’re like most of us, it was a long, hard process.  The fact is, most people who start the change process never finish. Beliefs and habits are tough to change.  Only the most disciplined and committed of us make it.

How much time and effort do we spend trying to change others?  Husbands changing wives, wives changing husbands, parents changing children, bosses changing employees.  If you think about it, we spend a lot of time each day trying to get people to do the things we want them to do the way we want them to do it.

What about the frustration when it doesn’t  happen, or it doesn’t happen fast enough? We invest a lot of time and energy trying to change people when all we can do is learn how to act and react to who and what they are.

Where do you spend your time?  Trying to do the impossible or accepting, re-acting and responding to people as they are?  It’s time to make the better and happier choice.

“Begin With the End in Mind”

Early in my adult life I was given a copy of Stephen Covey’s, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and the quote listed in the title of this article has stuck with me from that day.  I can trace all my success in life to my ability to plan and set goals.  I was able to visualize what I wanted the end result to be and I build a road map.  However the most important steps of planning is writing it down! I know it sounds elementary but having a reference or visualization reaffirms your desired goal and most importantly when you are tired or feeling down, it acts as that much needed pick me up!

 

Sometimes our goals are linear, which is fine from a very high level approach, but seldom in life do we not experience unforeseen obstacles. As we look back on our path, we notice the line traveled is less straight then we had hoped.  No matter how great you plan and prepare, life will always throw you a curve ball, and the ability to adapt and pivot on demand is what will set you apart! Remember the journey is the reward, know where you want to be and enjoy the ride. Happy Friday!

“Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

I’ve found people to be the greatest brick walls we encounter.  Entering into a relationship is always easy, it is fresh, it is something new and not a lot of work. However as time passes, the things you initially thought were cute or tolerable began to wear away at you and it’s natural to question is this what you really want.  Is there something else better? Am I happy?  The easy answer is always to give up, the more rewarding solution is to work at it, to try with all you can. Maybe it still won’t work out, but at least you can say you tried.

I don’t think people are meant to be by themselves.  That’s why if you find someone you actually care about, it’s important to let go of the little things, Even if you can’t let go all the way, because nothing sucks more than being all alone. At the end of the day it is really about chasing after what you really want. Even if that means showing you both care a little and even if it means sacrificing your own happiness.  But know that even if you do the right thing, there’s no guarantee it’ll turn out the right way. If you hit that low point, you have a choice, you can either wallow in self-pity.. or you can suck it up, it’s your call! The harder you have to work at something the more you will appreciate it. Have a super Wednesday

Do You Know Where You’re Going?

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“Never look where you don’t want to go.”

–Jim Huebner

Jim Huebner had never climbed a mountain when he decided his first attempt would be Alaska’s Mt. McKinley, one of the tallest and most difficult mountains in the world.

It took him three tries and three years to make it up to the 20,000 foot summit. When you try something new you learn lessons, and one of his lessons is today’s quote.

So what does this mean for those of us who are not likely to be climbing mountains?

Do you know where you’re going?  What are your life goals?  Your business goals?  How often do you look away?  Get distracted?  Do you ever find yourself looking back?  Thinking about those things you shouldn’t think about…past failures, fears, doubts, worries?  I can’t, I won’t, it’s too hard, it won’t work?

Looking where you don’t want to go can be fatal for mountain climbers.  While it may not be that disastrous for the rest of us, each time we do it, it becomes more and more likely that we will miss our target.

Our thoughts create our beliefs, and our beliefs determine what we experience.  Making it a habit to never look where we don’t want to go keeps us on track for memorable, fulfilling and positive experiences.

 

 

 

 

“Hope Never abandons you; you abandon it”

“Hope Never abandons you; you abandon it”

George Weinberg

Some of the most powerful drivers of our happiness are not tangible, and we incorrectly believe that happiness and success are synonymous.  These two can coexist however only if you are happy for when you are happy you define what your success is.  If you focus only on being successful, the drivers or measures tend to be heavily focused on material possessions or perceived status.

 

Hope is the breading ground of happiness, without hope our dreams die, or desire to better ourselves is lost.  We can offer two things in life, hope and truth.  The truth is cruel but necessary, in life things will seldom turn out the way you hope. You will do everything right, and still not achieve your desired results. Bad things happen to good people, you will love with your whole heart and have your heart crushed. Hope gets us out of bed in the morning, hope allows us to open our hearts again, a positive belief that good things will come is paramount to our happiness.

 

Have a great Wednesday and remember the sun will come out tomorrow, it always does.