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On the Way

30 Aug

When we’re trying to be the very best we can be and do things well it can be hard to accept when things don’t work out. When we’re trying hard to excel it’s disappointing when we miss the mark we’re aiming for. It would be great if everything came to us easily and every project was successful but that’s not real life. We all have shortcomings and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect and even if we really want to achieve sometimes we will come up short. It’s hard to accept that we can’t do everything the first time we try especially if what we’re trying to do is important to us. But there are endless versions in life and if one plan doesn’t work, we can try another. We’re constantly changing and moving toward somewhere else or on the way to a new place. If one road doesn’t take us to our destination, we can try another. We don’t have to give up. Nothing can keep us from where we want to go but we may have to try a few different paths to find success.

The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” is helpful. We understand sometimes we have to try a few different ideas before we find the one that works. But if we’ve been trying for a while and still haven’t succeeded we may begin to feel defeated. It’s hard to keep going when the road never seems to end. But if the goal is something we really want to achieve, there is nothing that can keep us from it. We may have to try several different ideas, and it may take us longer than we had planned but it’s still there waiting for us. If we adjust a little and try a different method, we will eventually find success. Anything worth gaining is worth our time. We can take whatever time we need to get there and we can succeed.

This life is constantly in “hurry up” mode. It seems no matter what we’re doing someone expects us to get it done quicker but if we only focus on how long it takes to accomplish a task we may miss all the things we’re learning on the way. We can try to get things done quickly and often we will, but if we focus on getting them done well instead of the time it takes we will be happier with the results in the end. If we rush we may miss subtle clues that can bring us greater success. Doing our best requires our attention. Trying to hurry may get us to the end faster but it probably won’t improve the result. Whatever we’re doing is worth doing well. We can do our best at every step and when we get to the goal we’ll be happy and satisfied with our accomplishment.

Today if you’ve been trying to accomplish something and haven’t succeeded, it is still there for you. Adjust your path and try another road. You don’t have to hurry and the goal is within reach. There is nothing that will stop you from getting there. You have everything you need to succeed. Try again. You’re already on the way and success is just around the corner.

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Competition

26 Aug

There are a lot of ways to find success as we navigate through our lives.  Maybe we work hard and become successful in business, or we raise strong healthy children, or we do something better than anyone else.  There are limitless ways to express excellence in our lives.  Sometimes we might feel we have to do better because we’re in competition with someone else, or want to prevail in a specific situation better than anyone has before.  The idea of competition can bring out the very best in us as we strive for more and reach higher.  There are a lot of ways to compare ourselves to the world and those around us and we may feel inspired to do more because of them.  But in reality, no matter what we do as we try to accomplish anything we are only in competition with ourselves.  If we do our very best and reach as high as we can no matter where we land in the end we have succeeded.  The world has all kinds of ways to measure success.  There are accolades galore, awards, prizes, adulation and laud to seek after.  But those mean nothing if we haven’t done our best.  And when we give our best, we win.  We win even if we don’t come in first.  We win even if we don’t get the prize.  The competition is within us at every turn and how we handle it defines the true winner.

The way the world measures success may not represent us, and the ideas of success set by other people do not define it for us.  If others determine it’s desirable to be tall we can be happy being short.  If they decide it’s better to go fast, we can be content to go at our own speed.  We define our personal success.  We can determine how our lives should look and how we want to live.  We are not defined by the measures set by those around us but by the measures we set for ourselves.  We know what we want and we know where we want to be.  Doing things our way will bring us personal satisfaction and true success.

It takes time to decide how we want to live our lives.  If we go along with what we’re told and never think about what we really want we may end up in situations that aren’t where we want to be.  Defining who we are and what we want to do is up to us.  It’s easy to go with the flow and do what makes everyone else happy.  But we deserve to have lives that reflect who we really are.  We can turn left even if everyone else is turning right.  We can choose a different path any time we like.  When we live our lives genuinely, defined by our own personal parameters we will find success no matter what we’re doing.  We are unique, impressive, and precious as we are.  We can define our own successes and measure up to our own standards.  This life is an incredible gift.  Living it our way is the best blessing we can give ourselves.

Today if you’ve been competing with others remember the real competition is within you.  You will succeed if you accomplish what’s most important to you.  Decide what makes you happy and then proceed on your own course.  You have excellence in you.  You can define what that looks like and find true happiness.

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Failing With Glory

3 Aug

Sometimes our plans don’t work out and what we want to do fails.  Even if we do everything right and follow through effectively, there will be times when things go wrong and we don’t succeed.  There are thousands of reasons why it happens.  Maybe the influence of others involved stopped our progress.  Maybe the timing was wrong.  Maybe the idea was great but not a good fit.  We might see clearly at the end why things didn’t work out or we might never understand how we failed.  Failure is something we all experience from time to time.  We never plan on it and hope we don’t face it but we probably won’t succeed every time we try something.  Even if our plans fail, there is glory in doing our best.  If we did all we could, even if we fail we are magnified.  We can fail with glory if we were honorable and diligent in the struggle.  Failure doesn’t mean we can’t succeed, but an indication we need to change direction.  Despite the disappointment, we can learn from the experience, feel good about what we did accomplish, and move forward confidently.

Sometimes after we’ve failed at something we may see the new road we’re on is better than if we had succeeded.  We can’t see the future and when we’re striving to accomplish something we really don’t know exactly how it will look in the end.  We try to plan and prepare but there will always be unexpected developments and things we can’t see.  If we fail and it turns out the failure created a better situation than we would have had otherwise we feel happy.  It’s nice when things work out despite our plans falling through.  But we can feel happy even if the road we end up on isn’t better.  The glory is in the doing.  If we’ve done our best, we’ve learned new things and are wiser for the experience.  The end result isn’t where we grow.  Growth comes as we work toward the goal.  Not reaching it is disappointing but we can still be happy with what we learn and accomplish on the way.

They say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”  There is no limit to the number of times we can try to accomplish something.  We can get more information or find another way to get to the goal and try again.  If that doesn’t work we can try another way.  We can pursue anything for as long as we like and we may find success or we may be continually daunted.  If we try several times and can’t reach a goal we may set it aside and work on other things.  Sometimes timing is an issue and we need to wait for our lives or the situation to change before we can find success.  And there may be times when success isn’t possible and we have to change our plans.  We can let it go and move forward in another direction.  We can fail with glory, be happy with what we accomplished, and move forward.

Today if you’re facing failure for something you’ve worked hard on be happy with what you’ve done.  You’ve learned a lot and although the goal was not achieved, you know more now than you did before.  Go forward with confidence.  You will accomplish many great things.  Be brave.  Success will come again.

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With Purpose

28 Jul

No matter what we’re doing with our lives, we have purpose. We are here for reasons that may elude us at times, but we are important and essential in our lives and to those around us. Recognizing our importance helps us live with purpose and define our journey each day. Life can get away from us if we aren’t careful and before we know it we may forget why we’re here or who we really are. But if we remember we are important and if what we’re doing isn’t what we want to do, we can change course. If we think about our purpose each day, and determine what we want to accomplish we will be more effective. Each day is a gift and every moment we’re here brings the chance to do something amazing and incredible. Living on purpose, meaning it every moment, and paying attention will help us become the very best we can be.

Routine has a way of numbing our focus. We know where we’re going, we know what to do, and we pretty much know what to expect. There is nothing wrong with routine but if we tune into each thing we’re doing instead of just going through the motions, even if we’ve done it a thousand times, we can learn something new. Everything changes every day but sometimes we have to look for the changes to see them. Meandering around and hanging back may keep us in a holding pattern. If we explore new ideas and ways to get things done, and apply ourselves to each activity we will open new doors and discover new ideas. We can’t expect to embellish our experiences and grow if we repeat them over and over again and do nothing to enhance them.

Being patient is valuable and if we choose to we can sit patiently and wait for everything we want to come to us. We can go through our lives day by day doing the same things and hoping something will come along to change them. But waiting for changes to come to us and doing nothing to make them happen is often fruitless. Waiting is fine if there is nothing we can do to make things happen, but often while we wait opportunities pass us by. It’s like being trapped in a flood and treading water because we have no boat to save us. While we’re patiently waiting and hoping for a boat we may let a large log that could carry us to safety pass by. If we sit and wait for exactly what we think we need to move forward and focus only on that, we may not recognize other things that could propel us ahead. But we can purposefully look for solutions instead of waiting for them to arrive. We are in charge of our lives and if we live them with purpose we will achieve our greatest goals and find success.

Today if you’ve been waiting for an answer to come to you, look around and find a solution that will work. Try something new and go forward with purpose. You have so much to offer. You know how to get things done and where you want to go. Stop waiting. All the answers are already there. Recognize them, use them, and start walking forward.

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Red Rover

27 Jul

There is a children’s game Red Rover where there are two teams of players lined up opposite each other holding hands and forming a line.  One side calls a player from the other team over to their side.  That person runs over to the other side and tries to break through the line.  If they succeed they take one person from that side back to join their team.  If they fail they must stay and join ranks with the other team.  It’s a fun game and the winner is the team that gets all the players on their side.  In our lives we might feel we’re playing Red Rover when we try to convince others of an idea or plan.  We present our idea and hope others will join us and sometimes they do.  But sometimes they counter with a revised plan and we end up joining them on their side instead.  When things go our way and others join us we feel confident and happy we prevailed.  But if our idea was important to us and we have to go another way it can be hard to let it go and join the other side.  Life is all about give and take, and sometimes we have to give when we’d prefer not to.  Compromise isn’t always easy especially when the compromise means we have to give up what we want.  If our ideas aren’t embraced the first time we present them, we can return to them again later.  If we must change our plans and go a different way for now we can wait.

Learning to wait for what we want can be a struggle.  If we’re sure what we desire is good and don’t see any reason we can’t have it we may be frustrated if it isn’t forthcoming.  But sometimes we have to wait even if what we want is beneficial.  There are a lot of factors influencing our lives – the decisions and desires of others, the current situation, timing, future plans, and present stressors may all come into play.  When we have a great idea and feel certain it will bring a desired result, we want to make it happen.  If that doesn’t work out the first time we try, we can back up and set it aside for now.  Things change every day.  We can try again later when the situation is different and we may find immediate success.

When we’re waiting for something we want if we focus on other things the wait will be easier.  If we obsess over the original idea, and worry about when we’ll make it happen we may lose focus of what we’re doing now.  We are living right now.  If we’re involved in what we’re doing at the moment and where we’re headed we will feel fulfilled.  Constantly thinking about a situation that isn’t where we are will only bring frustration.  We can plan for the future and how we want things to go, but if we must wait we can live effectively in the meantime.  When our lives change and the opportunity arises for us to try our plans again we will.  Until then, we can live fully where we are and learn as much as possible going forward.

Today if you’ve been thinking about something you really want to do but it’s not possible right now, move forward.  You can set it aside for now and live well.  Later when things are different revisit your plans and try again.  You have everything you need to accomplish anything you like.  Be patient.  Everything will come to you in time.

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