On my last post, I wrote about the things that we do, externally, such as our jobs or careers. Today I want to talk about who we are, internally. I believe that both are important and that there can and should be harmony between the two.
If you desire to make an outward change, you may have to make an internal change. Also, if you are unhappy in your career, you might get a new job and still be unhappy so you need to work on some internal issues first and then go from there. You may still want a new job, or maybe not.
Changing your circumstances on the outside will not change who you already are on the inside. Become the person you desire to become inwardly and it will be easier to revise any other aspect of your life that you wish. Look at who you are on the inside and decide if you are happy with the person that you are. Take some time and look deep within yourself and figure out who you and only you are. Reading good books on the topics that interest you, learning about people who inspire you and what you want to emulate is a great way to enhance your life. You are unique and your various abilities all together are yours alone to do with as you wish. How will you use those abilities in your life? How will you use your strengths to become the person you want to become?
Who you are on the inside should reflect and show through in the things that you do on the outside. You cannot be a kind, loving and generous person on the inside and be mean, selfish and unpleasant on the outside. If you love kids and teaching on the inside, it may not make sense for you a have a career as a pilot.
Do what you enjoy doing. Be who you want to be. Set goals for yourself and continually strive for something better. I wish you every happiness.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Do what you want.
Many years ago I was a secretary at a printing company. I enjoyed my work and the people with whom I worked. One day as I was happily working along, one of the guys came into the office looking tired and worn out. I asked him how he was doing and although I cannot recall everything he said, I remember the main point he made. He said he was unhappy with his work and he wished he had become a doctor instead, but that he hadn't wanted to spend all that time in school. Now he is unhappy.
So are you on the path that you want to be on? Are you setting goals for the things that will take you in the direction you want to go? Don't get stuck doing what you don't want to do for the rest of your life. Do you want to make a change? Then do it. Start setting goals that will bring you closer to the goal you want. It doesn't matter if you are the bread winner in your family and want to change your entire career, or if you are a stay-at-home mom who wants a little business off to the side. Napoleon Hill said: "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve".
But you have to believe and you have to take action. Many people have seen the DVD called "The Secret". The essence of the documentary is that if you just think about what you want, create a "vision board" and wait until the moon and stars align, you will have whatever you want. But it doesn't work that way. You have to go out and work for what you want. So that is why the title today is DO what you want, not THINK what you want, and it has a double meaning. Do what you want with your life, and DO it. Take action and then the moon and stars will align!
achieveBig.com
So are you on the path that you want to be on? Are you setting goals for the things that will take you in the direction you want to go? Don't get stuck doing what you don't want to do for the rest of your life. Do you want to make a change? Then do it. Start setting goals that will bring you closer to the goal you want. It doesn't matter if you are the bread winner in your family and want to change your entire career, or if you are a stay-at-home mom who wants a little business off to the side. Napoleon Hill said: "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve".
But you have to believe and you have to take action. Many people have seen the DVD called "The Secret". The essence of the documentary is that if you just think about what you want, create a "vision board" and wait until the moon and stars align, you will have whatever you want. But it doesn't work that way. You have to go out and work for what you want. So that is why the title today is DO what you want, not THINK what you want, and it has a double meaning. Do what you want with your life, and DO it. Take action and then the moon and stars will align!
achieveBig.com
Friday, September 12, 2008
Balance in the family
For the past few months my husband has been diligently working to get his program off the ground - a program he has been working on at varying degrees for about 4 years. He's just about ready to launch it and we are getting excited! Throughout most of August and this entire month so far, he has been working an average of 15 hours a day on this project which has not left him the time that he would like to spend with his family. Things will be changing soon and he is looking forward to spending more time with me and the kids - and so are we.
I prefaced with that because tonight as I was driving home from the store with the kids after they had just had yet another squabble, I was thinking, "Why are the kids fighting so much lately? Why have they been at each others throats almost constantly the past couple of months?".
Being pretty good at math (ha!), I put two and two together and decided that this imbalance in our lives is likely part of the reason there has been more contention than normal. It's not easy having my husband - their dad - working so much and not spending good quality time with us like he normally does.
I realize that there are a lot of families that struggle with this on a constant basis. Many parents have to work to take care of the necessities of life and often the kids get less attention than they want or even need.
Now this situation that my family is in right now is only temporary. It's important to keep balance and that should be resolved in the very near future. It will be a relief to me. Life gets crazy for all of us, but make sure that you are doing your best to have balance in your life and to create that for your kids. They need it. They need you. They need parents who are there for them, who will listen to them and hang out with them. We are not big television watchers. I watch some programs during the day while the kids are at school and I am folding laundry.(No Soap Operas!) But in the evening, the T.V. goes off and we read together, go on walks, play games, do puzzles or just go about our own activities in the main living area. We don't have the T.V. on to distract us from each other. Sometimes on the weekend we will watch a movie and we did watch the Olympics quite a bit. Those are togetherness times, they contribute to us feel closer as a family and help us maintain balance.
So work on that as a family. Maybe let go of some of the activities that take away from family time and see what you can do to create more stability and consistency in your life - I will, too!
I prefaced with that because tonight as I was driving home from the store with the kids after they had just had yet another squabble, I was thinking, "Why are the kids fighting so much lately? Why have they been at each others throats almost constantly the past couple of months?".
Being pretty good at math (ha!), I put two and two together and decided that this imbalance in our lives is likely part of the reason there has been more contention than normal. It's not easy having my husband - their dad - working so much and not spending good quality time with us like he normally does.
I realize that there are a lot of families that struggle with this on a constant basis. Many parents have to work to take care of the necessities of life and often the kids get less attention than they want or even need.
Now this situation that my family is in right now is only temporary. It's important to keep balance and that should be resolved in the very near future. It will be a relief to me. Life gets crazy for all of us, but make sure that you are doing your best to have balance in your life and to create that for your kids. They need it. They need you. They need parents who are there for them, who will listen to them and hang out with them. We are not big television watchers. I watch some programs during the day while the kids are at school and I am folding laundry.(No Soap Operas!) But in the evening, the T.V. goes off and we read together, go on walks, play games, do puzzles or just go about our own activities in the main living area. We don't have the T.V. on to distract us from each other. Sometimes on the weekend we will watch a movie and we did watch the Olympics quite a bit. Those are togetherness times, they contribute to us feel closer as a family and help us maintain balance.
So work on that as a family. Maybe let go of some of the activities that take away from family time and see what you can do to create more stability and consistency in your life - I will, too!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Kindness
"A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over." - Benjamin Franklin
When I first read this quote, I thought of the words that inadvertently slip from my mouth in a moment of frustration or aggravation. Maybe not always the words so much as the tone. Perhaps you, too have experienced such moments. You want to take back the angry words you spoke. Maybe the words were considerate enough, but yelling them wasn't. Hopefully those around you are NOT used to hearing negativity or anger coming from you. Perhaps this quote better illustrates your communication:
"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." - Mother Teresa
If there is kindness in your face, your eyes and your smile, it would be pretty difficult to yell at someone, wouldn't it? But what if the person you are around is being angry or unpleasant? Well, here's a quote I found that will help you:
"Be kind to unkind people - they need it the most" - Ashleigh Brilliant
Often it's hardest to be kind to those who are ill-mannered, but the way you act will have a great bearing on the way you feel. Act pleasant, feel pleasant. Act grumpy, feel grumpy. It reminds me of times I am in the car and I accidentally cut someone off or I pull in front of them after giving them plenty of notice but they are upset with me for getting into "their" lane. Sometimes I get the horn, or a dirty look, maybe the finger, but if I let it get to me, I am not hurting that other driver, he's already in a foul mood, I am only hurting myself."
Here's one more quote, just to leave you in a really good mood: “Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back."
When I first read this quote, I thought of the words that inadvertently slip from my mouth in a moment of frustration or aggravation. Maybe not always the words so much as the tone. Perhaps you, too have experienced such moments. You want to take back the angry words you spoke. Maybe the words were considerate enough, but yelling them wasn't. Hopefully those around you are NOT used to hearing negativity or anger coming from you. Perhaps this quote better illustrates your communication:
"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." - Mother Teresa
If there is kindness in your face, your eyes and your smile, it would be pretty difficult to yell at someone, wouldn't it? But what if the person you are around is being angry or unpleasant? Well, here's a quote I found that will help you:
"Be kind to unkind people - they need it the most" - Ashleigh Brilliant
Often it's hardest to be kind to those who are ill-mannered, but the way you act will have a great bearing on the way you feel. Act pleasant, feel pleasant. Act grumpy, feel grumpy. It reminds me of times I am in the car and I accidentally cut someone off or I pull in front of them after giving them plenty of notice but they are upset with me for getting into "their" lane. Sometimes I get the horn, or a dirty look, maybe the finger, but if I let it get to me, I am not hurting that other driver, he's already in a foul mood, I am only hurting myself."
Here's one more quote, just to leave you in a really good mood: “Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back."
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Attitude
You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true that a good attitude can make a tremendous difference in your day. Each day you can make a choice as how to react to the events of the day and the people with whom you surround yourself. Everyone has at some point been around a person with a lousy attitude. A person who is negative about everything and everybody. They are no fun to be around. They tear you down and make you feel like strangling them! Other people have just the opposite effect. They lift you up, they are happy to be around you, they are happy to be alive, they are taking their struggles in stride and they know the storm will pass, it always does. I have a friend who is like that. I no longer live near her, but I wish I did. She was fun to be around. She made me feel happy because she was happy. She made me feel like I am the most important person in her life. When I knocked on her door, she was delighted to see me, she invited me in and would always make time for me. Who wouldn’t give anything to have a friend like that?
So what kind of person are you? Are you like the guy that everyone wants to run away from whenever he opens his mouth? Are like a cancer that spreads negativity and makes people feel yucky? Or perhaps you are a happy person, a person with a good attitude, one that looks at the good even when it seems difficult to find. Other people gravitate towards you because you exude goodness and light and make them feel important and worthwhile.
It’s up to you. Decide the attitude you are going to have. Make it a great attitude and people around you will begin to notice a difference. They will wonder why you are so happy!
So what kind of person are you? Are you like the guy that everyone wants to run away from whenever he opens his mouth? Are like a cancer that spreads negativity and makes people feel yucky? Or perhaps you are a happy person, a person with a good attitude, one that looks at the good even when it seems difficult to find. Other people gravitate towards you because you exude goodness and light and make them feel important and worthwhile.
It’s up to you. Decide the attitude you are going to have. Make it a great attitude and people around you will begin to notice a difference. They will wonder why you are so happy!
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