The Power of Words
Starting Each Day With A Little Thinking...Enough
It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of believing we don’t have enough. After all we’re constantly bombarded with pictures of bigger and better; and, we’re under constant pressure to compete with The Joneses for next best thing. I can’t tell you what enough is. And I can’t tell you how to decide on the trade offs that you have to make. What I can tell you is that in a large number of the situations, it comes down to a choice of time or money. Ultimately you decide which “pot” to fill up based on your decision. The question we often avoid during the decision making process is “Do I already have enough?” That’s a question that I think is worth answering consciously. And yes, answering it will likely make you uncomfortable!
With that in mind:
Do you have enough of the right things?
As always, thanks for the time.
Discomfort
A nice big meal, a comfortable recliner, a good book… All settled in for a relaxing evening of reading. And yet there’s that gnawing feeling in your stomach that won’t go away. Maybe it’s the unfinished project at work. Perhaps it’s concern about your retirement fund. Or it could be knowing that you used too harsh of words with a loved one.
Discomfort is there for a reason. It’s a signal that something’s not right. A signal that things are misaligned. And that wonderful subconscious of ours KNOWS. And it won’t leave you alone until the situation is addressed.
You can spend hours thinking, wondering, and worrying. However, ultimately it’s going to come down to determining a course of action and taking the leap. Yeah, that will be equally uncomfortable. But it’ll definitely take your mind off of the passive gnawing and refocus it on the active leap. And there’s not a chance in heXX that the discomfort is going to going away until you move from passive to active.
With that in mind:
What are you doing to avoid that feeling of discomfort?
As always, thanks for the time.
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Possessions
Yesterday (November 17, 2013) saw one of the worst disasters that Central Illinois has ever experienced. A series of tornados struck the Peoria area inflicting tremendous damage. The town of Washington, Illinois had a huge residential area literally swept away by one of the tornados. I checked in with several friends and found them and their families to all be safe and sound. With brings us to today’s topic: possessions.
No doubt the families in Washington are devastated from the loss of their homes and possessions; however, I have to think that they are at the same time extremely grateful to have escaped with their lives. In fact, I’d suspect that more than a few of the folks down there are reprioritizing this AM given the significant trauma that they just experienced.
So as we turn to the Christmas shopping season, as we get ready for Black Friday, as we make our “to buy” and “wish lists”, it might be worth taking a few moments to ask ourselves whether more physical possessions are what is really important to us. Or could it be that there are other possessions: faith, friends & family, and our physical well being that are a bit more valuable.
With that in mind:
What are your most valuable possessions?
As always, thanks for the time.
Success
I love to learn. That’s probably why I ENJOY failing so much — each time I fail I learn a new lesson. Hang in there with me today as my story today is going to take a couple of twists and turns…
There’s a couple of quotes/phrases that always seem to make their way to the front of my mind.
- From Lewis Carroll – “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there”
- From Steven Covey – “Begin with the end in mind”
As I wrote about previously, the unconscious mind is amazing and yesterday it showed me just how amazing it is. The above quotes have been bouncing around for years in my head. They just won’t leave me alone. And I’ve been using the heck out of them in all areas of my life. My specific focus on goals and end states has enabled me to achieve success in countless ways. And yet these two quotes keep coming back to me again and again. Why is that? Why won’t my unconscious mind put these two quotes away? Why does it keep bringing them back to visit me?
Yesterday it clicked. Again, bear with me…. My focus on goals and end states has been awesome! It’s allowed me to achieve just about every goal or end state that I’ve targeted: a great family, a healthy body, success as a fisherman, success as a golfer, launching my own business, writing a book, and achieving financial independence at the age of 47. However, my focus on goals and end states has actually been a failure!!! Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier with where I am, the blessings that have been bestowed upon me, and all that I have accomplished. However, I’ve failed to heed both Carroll and Covey’s advice.
- I’ve never taken the time to define success.
The challenge in front of me is figure out the answer to the question “How do you define success in life?”. Once I figure out the answer to that question, I’ll have a clear picture of the end state and know which road I need to follow. The challenge that I face is similar to that that many face. Once you’ve achieved success on one level, your unconscious mind turns to the question “Is that all there is?” While it’s poor form to answer a question with a question, you need to answer with the question “How do you define success?”. Once you figure that one out, you’ll be able to figure out what’s next. I’ll let you know when I get done wrestling with this one, but don’t expect an answer any time soon as it’s a bit of a challenging question!
With that in mind:
How do you define success?
As always, thanks for the time.
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