The Power of Words
Starting Each Day With A Little Thinking...Structure
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning and have absolutely nothing to do? Not a care in the world? And do this day, after day, after day? Maybe not…
While most of us would be well served to work on balance in our lives, going “free-form” and removing all structure probably would not be a good idea. In fact, I’ll make the argument that structure is critical to our well being. Now mind you, structure does not mean that we script out every minute of every day. That’s madness as there are way too many uncertainties to get down to that level of planning. Structure does mean that we need to “fill the day’s jar” wisely…
And that means that we need to arrange time first for those things that are important to us. Whether it’s prayer, exercise, writing, or working, we need to slot these events in first. They’re non-negotiable. After that we need to work down our priorities and arrange other things in our life. If we don’t take the time to establish some sort of structure, things will get away from us. Again, I come back to my favorite quote from Jim Rohn:
With that in mind:
Are you going to put some structure in place today or cry about it tomorrow?
As always, thanks for the time.
Wonder
Wonder is a fascinating word. Consider it’s three definitions:
- We have the “something amazing” definition — the seven wonders of the ancient world.
- Next we have the “feeling generated by” definition — he was filled with wonder after watching the feat.
- And finally, we have the “I can’t believe that” definition — it’s a wonder that he can pull that off.
What they all share is a sense of the unbelievable. A sense that it wasn’t possible. And we love that. Because we all love to dream of the impossible.
The key is to realize that the only thing keeping those dreams from becoming a reality is taking a hold of them and moving forward. The challenge is overcoming the “I wonder how I could do that” hurdle. It’s easy, just flipping do it! Rather than worrying about what can go wrong, recognize that when you feel that sense of wonder, it’s your subconscious telling you what you should be doing. And let’s face it, our subconscious is a darn persistent presence that never shuts up until we listen to it — so stop wasting time wondering and start doing.
With that in mind:
What could you accomplish you listened to that voice that’s wondering in your subconscious?
As always, thanks for the time.
Security
We all have an inherent desire to feel safe, to be comfortable, to be in situations that are familiar. Uncertainty and change scares us. And yet with the increased prevalence of connectivity in today’s world, change and uncertainty have become much more common. The discomfort rises. The need to feel secure has increased. How do we cope in this “new world order”?
We cope by recognizing what drives our sense of security. By recognizing that while change and uncertainty are more common, the tools we have to combat their increased prevalence are well known, easy to apply, and effective.
The first step is to recognize “need versus want”. The fact is most of us are spoiled. We need much less than we want. Taking the time to step back and reflect on what we really need allows us to identify those things that are most important. To recognize that we have control over those things that matter.
Once we recognize our base needs, we can face the stimulus that is driving our insecurity. 99 times out of 100 it’s transient in nature. The cause of our fear simply does not have the requisite staying power to dominate our psyche over a long period of time. Once we recognize that the situation we are facing won’t be there tomorrow, it does not seem nearly so daunting.
The third step is to acknowledge the discomfort. All too often we shy away from recognizing fear exists. We’re brave. We’re strong. Nothing can hurt us. BS. There’s a reason we lack a sense of security in certain situations. The autonomous systems have processed the various stimuli and concluded that we “must” feel insecure. By consciously acknowledging the insecurity, we transfer control from the subconscious to the conscious. We’re then prepared to move past the insecurity.
Which leads us to action. Once we have recognized what we need, understood that the situation is transient, and consciously acknowledged our fear, we simply take the next step and move forward. The fear literally moves behind us as we move forward.
Finally, we reclaim our personal security by recognizing it’s the “only” alternative – ultimately choosing to feel secure is all about a conscious choice to put our fears aside. And the alternative – letting fear control us – is simply not worth considering.
With that in mind:
Are you going to choose to be secure or let someone else dictate the terms of your life?
As always, thanks for the time.
Steps
Sometime around the age of one, each of us began to take our first steps. They were awkward, inefficient, and exciting. And over a period of months and years these small steps came easier, were much more graceful, and our confidence grew with each one. While I doubt many of us can remember the actual experience, I do know from watching my kids take their first steps that at the time there was some degree of fear and doubt present. And yet they trusted and moved forward with the journey. While none of them ended up in the ballet, they all walk — actually run! — quite well today.
There’s so many other challenges we face each day where fear and doubt are at the front of our mind. And these two emotions paralyze us from taking those first steps. That’s a shame, because while we may stumble as we take the first step, the only way we’ll ever move forward is if we trust that we can walk just like all of the others who have come before us.
With that in mind:
What step are you going to take today?
As always, thanks for the time.
Recent Comments