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Which Way

9 Nov

There are countless directions we can take with our lives. We can do anything we want and we can choose our direction any way we see fit. Whichever way we choose to go will take us to a specific destination. Whether we are successful or not depends first on our ability to identify where we want to end up. If we want to be a scientist, we have to choose an education that will open the door for us. If we want to be a dancer, we have to begin learning steps. It’s impossible to achieve anything unless we direct our course appropriately and do what is needed to get there. It’s a simple concept, but we can get confused and although we think we know where we want to go, may actually be on the wrong road to get there. Life is complex and our path is affected by a lot of influences and forces we can’t control. But we can control our decisions, and once we decide what we want, we can also control our direction to achieve it.

It’s important in any endeavor to think about where our feet are pointing. Some destinations have a lot of routes that will take us there, and some have only a few. For instance, if we want to a career that requires a college education, we must get on the road that will give us that education to open the door to that career. But if we want to do humanitarian work, there are many paths we could choose. The first step is to define where we want to go. Where do we want to end up? What do we want to accomplish? What’s the goal? Once we determine those things, we can begin to chart our course. After we make our plan, complications will inevitably begin. It seems there is no end to complications in this life and most things are never as easy as they seem at the beginning. But no matter what happens, if we know where we want to end up, and we keep our eyes on the goal, we can continue moving forward, and in time we will achieve it.

Sometimes in the middle of a journey, we change, and decide to alter our course to accommodate a new destination. There is certainly nothing wrong with changing our minds, but if all we do is continually change the goal, we may never accomplish much. We can do anything but there are so many choices it takes focus to choose well and stick to a decision. Focusing and sticking are imperative if we want to succeed.  Once we get to one destination, if we like, we may immediately plot a new course that will take us to the next goal. If we remember what we want to do, if we plan and stay true in each decision, we will accomplish a lot in our lives, and in the end, will be successful in doing all the things we want to do.

Today if you’ve been thinking about your direction, if you aren’t sure your feet are pointing to the destination you most want, re-set your course. You can accomplish any goal you set out to do. Once you’ve made your decision, stick to it and keep moving forward. Take things as they come and stay focused on the road ahead. You can do anything you set your mind to. Point your feet in the direction you want to travel, take a step forward, and you’ll realize all your dreams.

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Fact or Fiction

7 Nov

People have a lot of opinions and some of them involve us. They see us do things or hear us say something and draw conclusions about who we are. Sometimes they’re right, but sometimes their interpretations of what we’re doing are inaccurate. Unfortunately, once they’ve made up their mind about us, they may share their perceptions with others, and before we know it people may think we are someone very different that who we really are. It isn’t always bad. Sometimes they are wrong in ways that make us look better, but other times they may assume we’re doing something inappropriate, wrong, or distasteful. When that happens, we can be hurt by the stories people tell about us. Even when there is no truth to the rumors, they can hurt us, and damage our confidence.

We are the only ones who know who we really are. We share our lives with others, and even when we share ourselves in intimate relationships, nobody can know us like we do. We know our thoughts, our motives, our intentions and we know what we want and what we believe. Our outward actions only tell part of the story, and when they are misread, can tell a story that has nothing to do with the truth. It becomes a question of fact or fiction. We always know the facts but unless we’re clear in expressing them, fiction may take over. Lives can be destroyed by rumors, and spirits can be broken. It’s imperative that we do everything we can not to spread them, and if we are the subject of them, do everything we can to clear up the distortion. We need to speak up and correct any misconceptions, and hold fast to what is real.

There may be times when stories about us, even when they aren’t true, make us question ourselves. After all, if others believe we are a certain way, we might think there must be some truth to it. There is a minute bit of truth in almost all fiction, but that doesn’t make the entire tale true. We need to stand strong in being ourselves. In the end it really doesn’t matter what other people think or what they say about us. If we continue to live our lives authentically, in accordance with our personal goals and desires, those around us, even those who initially believed fiction, will come to know the facts. And when they do, they’ll see us clearly and without misinterpretation.

Today if you’ve been injured by stories about you, if someone misunderstands you or what you’re doing, you can be strong, knowing the truth. You know who you are and any fiction floating around means nothing. Be courageous in being uniquely you. Be open and honest about yourself, and those around you will come to understand exactly how impressive you really are. Live your life exactly as you choose. You are a gift to the world. Never forget that.

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Tapping Potential

25 Oct

To collect the sap from maple trees, a spike with a spout is hammered into the trees in early spring. The sap flows from the trees into buckets or lines attached to the spouts. Some days a lot of sap flows and other days it slows down. Although the flows are unpredictable, without the spike, no sap can be collected. Although we aren’t maple trees and don’t have sap, we do have potential we can tap into. Sometimes we need an event – a spike if you will – to realize the potential, and other times we can tap into it on our own. We all have untapped potential waiting to be realized. We can do anything. Our internal potential is a reflection of our unrealized expectations. When we don’t fulfill our expectations and make our potential progress a reality, it sits, dormant. If we want to live our lives to the fullest and be the very best we can be, we need to consider our possibilities, and then do everything we can to fulfill them.

Living a life of mediocrity can be comfortable. It’s like taking a lukewarm bath. The water isn’t hot enough to soothe tired muscles, and it isn’t cold enough to make us shiver. It’s the same temperature as the air around us, and we can hardly feel it when we step in. Mediocrity is the same way. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, it’s easy to accomplish, and we are hardly bothered or inconvenienced. But a mediocre existence is a life half realized. When we keep everything even and safe, when we take no chances, when we stretch no further than we can reach, we end up with a simple, predictable life. Some people prefer living this way, but when we do, we miss out on the tremendous growth we can make, and the amazing things we can do. Lukewarm means to be indifferent, which means to be apathetic and unconcerned. There are many things we need not be concerned about, but the way we live our lives shouldn’t be one of them.

Imagine what our lives could be like if every day we determined to be the very best person we could be. If we decided to stretch, give, learn, and grow a little more than was comfortable. Imagine the mountains we would climb and the challenges we could conquer. We don’t have to do everything at once, and we can change one small thing at a time. Life is not a race, but it is certainly a journey. Any successful journey needs a destination and a plan. If we want to have a rich, fulfilling life, filled with experiences that will renew and excite us, we need to decide on a destination of personal fulfillment. We can decide to live each day to the fullest and plan our actions accordingly. This life is a gift. Every single day is a blessing. We can waste them, skate through them, and ignore them, or we can face each one with an open mind and an open heart, determined not to lose one moment.

Today if you’ve been going through the motions, just getting through, think about tapping into your highest potential. Decide to stretch and push a little further. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll accomplish. You’ll grow more than you can imagine and gain confidence and grace. You have everything you need to live your life fully and completely. Don’t let another moment go by without embracing it. This is your life. Fill it up with everything you’ve been hoping for, and soon your dreams will become your reality.

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Not Even

14 Oct

There are a lot of things to learn in this life, and more things to try.  It would be great if we succeeded at everything we attempted, but that will not be our experience.  Nobody can do everything well.  It’s impossible, but despite that, we all hope for success in everything we attempt.  If we didn’t think we could achieve the objective we wouldn’t try.  But success may be elusive in some arenas, and although we hate to face it, sometimes we will fail.  We’ll flame out, crash and burn, and fall flat.  And when that happens we may lose our confidence.  We failed.  We did our best and it wasn’t enough.  It hurts, but failure is just one event.  It isn’t a life choice, it isn’t our destiny, and it isn’t permanent.  When it happens, if we can remember that, we can move forward with more certainty.  Even though things didn’t go as planned this time, what we try next may be a resounding success.

Daring to try new things takes temerity and courage.  It’s easy to be safe and secure doing the same things every day.  It’s easy to take a back seat to life and let others drive.  We can skate through our days and not try anything new, or see how far we can go.  But a life like that is not as rewarding as one where we dare to try and see what we could do.  There is no way to know if we stay in our comfort zones and refuse to venture forward.  We are capable of far more than we generally realize.  We can climb Everest, we can sail around the world, we can go skydiving, we can become fluent in five languages, or we could become President of our local club.  We can do a lot.  We just have to try.

If we fail at something we really want, it’s heartbreaking.  There is no such thing as fate and we can live our lives any way we want to.  But some things we want to achieve will be out of reach.  When that happens it will hurt, and we will be disappointed.  We may become depressed but we can’t forget that failure is not a destination.  It’s just a passage.  And today’s failure may open doors to a success we haven’t yet dreamed of.   Everything we experience in this life, even failure, brings new opportunities.  Being open to them, seeing them, and deciding to walk through new doors is exciting.  There is so much we can do, and today is the best time to start again.  If we can forget the loss of the past, and let it go, we can look ahead and move forward.  Life is all about forward momentum.  We can’t let failure slow us down.  There is a lot yet to do.

Today if you’ve been stung by failure, remember it’s just a passage to something new.  Try again.  Be brave and open all the doors.  You have so much promise and there are exciting and fulfilling opportunities all around you.  See them and embrace them.  Failure is just a way of fine tuning your path.  You know more now.  Go forward with that knowledge and conquer your dreams.  You can do anything.  You are invincible.

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Getting Back Up

12 Oct

In football, the object of the game is to move the ball from one end of the field over the goal line on the other side.  It seems simple enough but there are a lot of players on the field, and half of them are determined to prevent the ball from going forward.  Everyone does their best to push ahead, and because they are struggling with each other to get to the goal, they spend a lot of time on the ground.  They fall either being knocked down by their opponent or because they are taking another player down to prevent them from advancing.  The hits are hard and sometimes they are injured and unable to get up.  But mostly, they jump back up and push forward again and again.  They take a beating as the game progresses.  Seeing it play out, it’s not that different from what we experience in our personal lives.

We’re all trying to move forward in one way or another.  We push, and maneuver, and try to gain a little ground each day.  Sometimes we get further down the road.  Other times we get knocked down.  Something goes wrong, or someone doesn’t follow through, or what we thought would work out didn’t.  If the goal is important and we’re knocked down, we have to get back up and try again.  The first few times that’s a little easier than it may be after a dozen hits.  But if we want to succeed we can’t stop.  We have to muster our courage, regain our strength, and stand up again.  There is opposition in everything we do, and if we want to win we must be determined that no matter how many times we’re set back, we will continue to push forward.

With everything we want to accomplish we weigh the costs.  Great accomplishments often require great sacrifice and time.  But they also carry the greatest rewards when we succeed.  We need to decide if those rewards are worth whatever we must do to achieve them.  If they are, and we can see the big picture instead of the problems and inconveniences we’re going through, we have a better chance of success.  There isn’t anything we can’t achieve if we want it badly enough.  If we’re resolved in our purpose, and steadfast in our focus, we can face whatever comes.  If we get knocked down, we can get back up.  And when we do we’ll be smarter, and stronger going forward

Today if you’re trying hard to accomplish a goal and you’ve been knocked down, get back up.  Envision the success waiting for you at the end of the struggle.  There isn’t anything you can’t do.  You have everything you need to succeed.  Just keep going.  You know what you want, and you will have it.

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