At Odds

18 Oct

When we decide we want to do something, or change something in our lives, the decision often comes with the need to modify our behavior in some way. Making the decision to change may be easier than implementing the necessary adjustments to our behavior to make the change a reality. For instance if we want to get fit but don’t take the time to exercise, or want to be more educated but don’t want to study, we work against ourselves. We are at odds with what we want to do. If we ignore what is needed to implement the change, and instead simply complain about not being successful, we will fail. It’s good to define our goals, but without action to make them happen, we aren’t going anywhere.

Routines give us a sense of order. We know what to expect, we know how we’re going to spend our time, and we feel comfortable in the sameness they offer. When we decide we want to change, it often means we also have to change our routine. We have to vary things and re-order them to accommodate the new challenge. Things may be bumpy for a while as we adjust to the new schedule. We will have to plan instead of just go through the motions, and pay attention so we adhere to the new model. The transition may be uncomfortable but if we keep the goal in mind we’ll get through more easily. After we’ve kept to the new agenda for a while, it will replace our previous routine and we’ll go forward with more confidence.

Change requires effort. Adjusting our routine is important but it’s just one step. We must also adhere to the actions needed to facilitate the change we’re seeking. Once we’ve decided what we want to do we must devote the required time and activity to the goal to achieve it. A half attempt will result in a half success, which really isn’t success at all. If we want something, we are perfectly capable of getting it. But we have to take the time and effort needed to get it done. We can live an easy life and do the same things every day. Or we can determine to get the most out of our time, push ourselves, and dedicate our lives to excellence and success. A life lived fully, and without reserve, brings more happiness and joy than a life lived complacently. The choice is ours, and we need to be sure the choice we make is the one we want the most.

Today if you’ve been trying to make a change and haven’t been successful, review your routine and make a plan to include whatever is needed for you to move forward. You can make any change you want, and you can do it effectively. Plan your actions to find success. Achieving your goals will bring you great satisfaction and confidence. Take charge and do what is needed to get there. You can do this. Push forward and you’ll reach the finish line.

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Trains

16 Oct

Have you ever been in hurry to get somewhere and been stopped by a train?  Maybe you were stressed, running late, and then suddenly there was a train blocking your progress.  A train.  And not a short one either, but a train pulling 50 cars on it.  You couldn’t make it go faster, and you couldn’t cut in front of it, so you had to wait.  Maybe you sat there fuming, frustrated, and maddened that you had to sit when you had so much to get done.  But trains happen, and when they do, we have to wait.  When we’re in a hurry and are trying to catch up, having our progress stopped is discouraging, and can really knock the wind out of our sails.  It might be a train, but often it’s because of a decision someone else has made that prevents us from going forward.  When our hands are tied, and we have to wait, we could get upset or we could use the time more wisely.  We could take the extra time to think.

Thinking about what we’re doing is an excellent idea.  Some decisions pop into our heads with little thought or consideration.  Generally they are decisions without a significant consequence and mean little to our overall progression.  But for the decisions that impact our lives, our livelihoods, our families, or our futures, we need to think carefully before we act.  If we’ve made an important decision, and begin to implement it only to be stopped for reasons we can’t control, it’s a good time to re-evaluate what we’ve decided, and review our choices going forward.  Sometimes a second look brings clarification and a revised plan.  Sometimes the break changes our focus altogether.  The important thing is to use the time we’re stuck to ponder our way forward.  Instead of getting angry when we have to wait, we can look at it as a time out to reflect on our chosen path.

There are countless variables in every decision we make.  There is timing to be considered, the feelings of others, our personal comfort, and the destination we are seeking.  We sometimes make excellent decisions but they come at the wrong time in our lives and we have to rethink them.  Or we make what we believe is the best decision but once we begin going forward discover a lot of complications we hadn’t planned on.  Life is unpredictable, and no matter what we choose, there is a lot we can’t control.  We can’t control the choices of others, we can’t control unexpected developments, and usually, we can’t control trains.  Whether it’s a real train or a symbolic one, when they come into our lives, we have to wait.  We can make the wait count by using it to confirm our choices, and review our approach.  If we take the time and use it wisely, we may be surprised by what we find.

Today if you’re stuck and waiting because of something you can’t control, think about the path you’ve chosen and evaluate the decision again.  Is there a way to make it go more smoothly?  Is there something you can do that you didn’t see before?  Think about your next move and make it as productive as possible.  You’ve already determined what you want, and you are capable of making it happen.  Think clearly about your next step and when the time is right, take it.  You know where you’re going, and success is just around the corner.

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Small Moves

15 Oct

Change is rarely easy.  It’s always more comfortable to keep things as they are than it is to change them.  But change is constant and can’t be avoided.  Sometimes we need to make adjustments to facilitate new situations in our lives.  Maybe we are moving and must change our jobs, or our jobs are changing causing us to relocate.  Perhaps a family situation has developed and it’s impacting our lives and routine in ways that mean we have to adjust our patterns and how we do things.  When we have to make serious changes it can be hard to navigate at first.  We may try to keep doing things as always and hope it’ll work out.  If it doesn’t we’ll have to find a new way to go forward.  It’s important to realize that change doesn’t usually happen all at once.  We generally have to make small adjustments one at a time to figure out what works.  We turn a few degrees to the right or to the left, re-adjust and then, if necessary, turn again.  We continue to modify our path until things are working more effectively and we’ve completely implemented the change into our lives.

Sometimes it seems like life would be easier if everything stayed the same.  We’re familiar with this road, we’ve been on it for a while and don’t see any reason to go into uncharted territory.  But this life is consistently changing.  It’s really the only constant we can count on.  No matter how things are now, they won’t stay that way forever.  So learning to accommodate the inevitable change that’s coming is imperative.  We can’t see the future and we don’t know what lies ahead.  What we’re doing now is preparing us for the new experiences coming our way.  If we are confident and positive looking forward, we will be able to adjust to whatever comes.  There really isn’t anything we can’t face.  Even the most difficult developments are within our ability to understand and navigate.

Our responses to change often result in stress.  Whether the change is wonderful or disastrous doesn’t really matter.  The measure of the change often brings with it a comparable amount of stress as we try to adjust.  If the impact is great, it takes more time than if it’s small.  We may feel out of control, anxious, and uncomfortable as we navigate through the transition.  But if we take it one step at a time, we’ll find our footing again, and no matter what the change is, we’ll figure out how to process it into our lives.  We don’t need to be afraid, and we don’t need to worry.  There isn’t anything we can’t manage.  We can be calm and confident as we figure out what to do next.  In time we’ll get through and although our lives may be different, and we may be facing a new “normal,” we’ll be able to find happiness and peace again.

Today if you’re facing some new changes, if you’re unsure and feel stressed, give yourself time to adjust.  Take it one step at a time.  Change is a normal and expected part of life.  It’s a time to redirect, and redefine who we are and where we’re going.  Walk through the transition at your own pace.  Give yourself time to adjust, and before you know it you’ll be on the other side happy with where you are, and looking forward.

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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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All Set

13 Oct

Being busy is just part of life.  We have things we need to get done, and things we want to get done, and there are always complications that eat up our time.  We have tasks that keep us busy, and we have goals for things we want to accomplish.  It takes planning to get everything done, and if we aren’t careful, the daily tasks that pop up will take all our focus and we’ll forget about the goals that are waiting in the background.  We can think about our tasks as short term projects, things we have to address now.  The goals we’ve set for our personal growth are generally more long term.  If we want to accomplish them, we need to manage our time, and make a plan so we can succeed.  Our daily chores are important, but our personal goals are important too.  They help us define who we are and who we want to be.  Although we may think of them as a priority, if we don’t take time to plan for them, they may get lost in the shuffle.

If we have a goal that requires significant time like going to the gym for three hours each week, if we want to make it happen, we need to get it onto our schedule.  If we write it down and decide that no matter what comes we are committed to being there, we have a better chance of making it happen.  If our goal is to have more down time by ourselves it may take careful planning to be absent from our routine.  We can figure out how to excuse ourselves, and find a private location where we won’t be disturbed.  If we want to develop a more extensive social life, we can make plans for local events, and if we invite friends to join us their participation will ensure we actually attend.  No matter what the goal is, if we want to achieve it we need a plan.

Sometimes our long range goals involve a financial aspect.  We may not have the funds for them now but if we commit to a date to be ready, make a plan for saving the required amount, and implement it, we’ll be prepared when the time arrives.  If they require a fitness level we haven’t yet achieved, we can start training and maybe work with someone else until we are strong and ready for the event.  There are few things more rewarding than planning for, and accomplishing a long desired goal.  We feel gratified and happy when we realize we did what we set out to do.  Even very difficult challenges may be attained if we work for them, and plan for them.  If we start out believing we will achieve them, and refuse to let complications stand in our way, we’ll get there.  We can do anything we want to, and we can fill our lives with exciting changes and new experiences.  We can reach for the brass ring, and we can grasp it.

Today if you’re thinking about something you want to do, make a plan to achieve it.  Schedule your time to allow for it, and believe that you will accomplish it.  You can make all your dreams come true one step at a time.  Believe in yourself.  Believe you can, and you will.  You have the courage and determination to get this done.  Reach high and stretch.  There isn’t anything you can’t do.

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