I was talking to a co-worker recently and the topic turned to childhood games. We spent several minutes reminiscing about Pong, Space Invader’s and the Rubik’s Cube. He said the best he ever did in terms of solving the cube was to get one side all of the same color. He would haphazardly turn the sections attempting to do better but could never get more than one side done. In desperation, he peeled off all of the stickers and put them back on where he wanted them. I have actually solved it multiple times (without cheating) but never fully understood what I did to make that happen.
On December 11, 2016, I challenged you to read a book on personal development and to complete every exercise in the book. I shared with you my answers to some of the exercises in a book titled “Planning for Success: Living Your Dream by Dr. Mark Chironna. I didn’t pick this book for any special reason, it was just the one I was reading at the time.
In this post, I share my answers to the second series of questions. It is good to reflect on the progress you make in the pursuit of your dream! The questions from the book are in bold.
Note the areas in which you approach life with intentionality. How have the outcomes in these areas surpassed results elsewhere? When it comes to my work life, I have very intentionally slipped out of the rat race. When our per-diem OT left, I immediately recognized the opportunity to leave full-time work behind me.
I sketched out a plan that I thought would work, looked at the pros and cons and took a giant leap of faith that everything would work out. And it has! I intentionally stepped away from full-time work and a full-time paycheck. I intentionally reduced my expenses, eliminated my debt and pursued other ways to earn money doing activities I enjoy. This has led to a massive increase in my happiness. No where else in my life have I had results that compare to this.
I strive to live a simple life, I imagine most people do. But lately it seems a bit more chaotic than usual. I feel stress settling into my bones and little tasks are tiring. With the holidays quickly approaching, things are likely to get even busier, and crazier.
Recognizing when you are on the brink of falling into a pit of stress filled days, before the actual fall, gives you the time to make a change.
We need to recognize stress before it becomes unmanageable
Some people put an incredibly positive spin on everything. You ask them how they are and they enthusiastically respond “fantastic”! And they mean it. Other people respond “lousy” and proceed to tell you every last detail of why their life sucks. Other people mumble “good” or “ok” and give the obligatory “and how are you?”, then walk away before you even have the chance to respond.
My response could be any of the above depending on the day, my mood, and my health. I strive to be healthy and enthusiastically responding “fantastic” (and meaning it) seems like a wonderful answer to such a simple question.
Do you ever wish life came with an instruction book? I mean every day we are faced with decisions to grapple with; some are easy, some are hard, some seem impossible. Every day we must interact with others; some are nice, some are cold and some are so beat up by life circumstances that they are down right closed off or even mean. Every day we must do the daily tasks as well as put out the fires that the dragon of life breathes upon us. Every day! So, I will say it again… do you ever wish life came with an instruction book?
For those of you who know me, or have been reading my blog over the last few months, you know I typically keep a positive outlook on life. The glass if ½ full, I look for the good in people and in events. When I share my day with my honey, even my bad days, I find at least 1 or 2 good things to share in order to remember it wasn’t 100% bad. I choose to be positive!
Positively Happy
The last few days I have been tired, my nerves have felt a bit frayed and I have been feeling under the weather. When I feel like this, it is all too easy to get sucked into the black hole of negativity. One negative thought leads to another into a downward spiral and one bad feeling leads to another. It gets harder and harder to find the positive in any situation. Do you ever feel like that? Do you always feel like that?
Why do people allow themselves to get stuck in a rut? Why do people remain in that rut doing the same thing, day in and day out despite knowing they are adding to their unhappiness. Why do they ignore the life-preserver that is being thrown to them that can open the door to health, wealth and happiness? When given suggestions on small steps they can take to make life better, they think – yes that is a good idea but I don’t have the time or the energy to do that. Or, that might work for someone who doesn’t have kids or doesn’t work killer hours or doesn’t have debt up to their eyeballs. Continue reading “2 Life-Preservers”
