Succeeding at a goal brings wonderful feelings of accomplishment. Celebrate! Enjoy the moment! Success can also create an opportunity for us to recognize that the skills and qualities that got us to our goal will not take us to the next level. This is something I have faced head-on this year in my riding and training in dressage. If you haven’t met us previously, know that my horse Usache and I compete (Adult Amateurs) at …
We are conditioned as youth to expect forward, upward linear progress in life. When we are young our parents chart our growth on the door jamb with pencil marks chronicling our progression. We go through school passing through one grade and then onto the next in a steady forward progression (for most). This continues through college and likely our first one or two (or more) jobs. But for many of us, somewhere along the way, …
How do I know I am on the right path when I undertake something new as an adult? Given our experience growing up in this world, we have learned that not everything we undertake is a rip-roaring success from the first move. Remember the story about the bike? As adults, we become more cautious in our approach to new things. We remember the scraped knee or broken arm, the temporary failures. Rather than truly committing …
Isn’t it funny how little things can spark a major change? A recent project to improve the view in our home involved washing the exterior windows. One should know that undertaking such a project involves washing not only the exterior but the interior of the windows as well. Once the outside is clean it reflects how dirty the inside is! Completing the entire project meant sliding the front bedroom bed away from the large window …
Let’s play a game! I am thinking of a four-letter word that begins with “F”. No, not that one! The word I am thinking of is “fail” and its commonly used counterpart “failure”. What does it mean to fail? We typically think of failure as being unsuccessful in our efforts to be or do something. In last week’s message, we recalled our first unsuccessful attempts on the bicycle. Mastering the art of riding a bike …
Recall from the recent message Life by Choice, I stated that the real surprise was the boost of confidence that came from handling the situation in a positive manner, a choice that I made.What is it about this confidence thing and how can you have more of it? Confidence is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances”.This definition is expounded by stating that this confidence …
Here is a real world example of how the choices we make, make us. How do you choose to be happy about an unfortunate circumstance? On a recent Saturday my car was broken into and my purse stolen. Yes, I know… there is never a “safe” place to leave your purse in plain sight in your vehicle. Once I got over the initial shock of the discovery, I made a choice as to how I …
So how does Perspective (previous blog) relate to our feelings of happiness? Let’s dig a little deeper and look at the perspective that we bring to things. Life happens to all of us. Substitute another four letter word for life (hint – starts with an “s”) and the phrase takes on a completely different meaning. Life happens…yet we are at choice as to how we deal with it. My dear friends from Tokyo embraced the …
Living in Tokyo taught me many things, yet one of the greatest lessons came through something seemingly simple. It is hard to describe living in a foreign country, yet I think most of you can relate on one level or another. Just take your world, turn it upside down and continue to go about your daily business. As you rise to the challenges of living in a foreign environment, you begin to wonder how other …
A recent lunch with a friend brought this subject to light. In our conversation, I detected that our views of happiness differed so I asked. The conversation followed this thread… Me: Do you deserve to be happy? Friend: Deserve connotates that you did something to deserve, that you earned the privilege to be happy. Me: Let’s rephrase – do you have the right to be happy? Friend: Meaning this is a natural right. I am …
Rest that is! Many of us short-cut our bodies on the rest that is needed to restore and refresh us. We’ve all had those events or evenings when we just can’t get in the 7 to 8 hours we need. We are groggy or short-tempered the next day but we live. That is the challenge with our immediate gratification society. Our bad habits don’t do us in immediately. If we were unable to function the …
Are you considering a career change? What happens when we think of career changes? Do your thoughts turn to the “logical next step” given your experience or are you thinking outside your box, outside your comfort zone? How do you even begin to consider other options? Many people have an all or nothing attitude toward a career change. The thinking is typically “how can I quit my job and start all over from the beginning?” …
How is your career? Do you feel stuck, limited in your options based on your experience and personal situation? Creativity is called for. Do I hear you saying “I’m not the creative type”? Are you limiting yourself right from the start? Let’s shake off those self-limits and open the world of possibilities. Here are a couple of steps to get you started. If what you are currently doing does not excite you, take a deeper …
Usache (my horse) and I began showing competitively in early 2008. For the first few shows we (okay, me) were thrilled just to be there. After our third outing came the wake-up call. We had an okay showing but it was obvious there were some skills yet to be learned by me and some teambuilding for the two of us. Usually the Sunday night after a show I am wiped out, but this time I …