Fiona Carmichael—Building a Better Tomorrow
Life is not always easy. There's no question that some people just seem to have it easier than others. But everyone at some point will have an obstacle in life they will have to overcome.
It's been my observation that people deal with obstacles in one of two ways. Some people choose to focus on solutions, not allowing anything to get in the way of achieving their goals. Then there are those people who take virtually no responsibility for solving their problems themselves. Which are you?
Overcoming obstacles actually serves two purposes: to heighten your belief in yourself and to strengthen your determination to succeed. For many people, obstacles cause them to find a more positive meaning in life.
There are other people, of course, who use obstacles as an excuse for not being successful. After all, what could they do? They wanted to succeed, but circumstances prevented them! Don't let that person be you. It is an intelligent person who sees obstacles as something to be overcome. This viewpoint brings them closer to getting what they want. Be this person!
Obstacles and hardships don't have to lead to failure. Look at them in a different light. When the army of Israel faced the giant, Goliath, they said, "He's so big, we can't beat him." But when young David saw Goliath, he said, "He's so big, I can't miss him!" Obstacles are opportunities in disguise that, when handled without fear, can transform our lives.
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
Expect Greatness
5 Steps to a Better Tomorrow
Step 1: Evaluation
Through careful evaluation, you may discover that perhaps the path on which you have been traveling is not leading you where you'd like to go. Sit down and ask yourself: Where am I going? Why? Where do I want to be? Evaluating what's working, what's not working, what you want and don't want is a necessary step to achieving your goals. As you evaluate your life, determine where you're going, how you're going to get there, and what steps you need to take. You will feel an influx of power as you take control of your life.
Step 2: Determine Your Goals
Having goals gives you a purpose in life. They are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.
Writing down your goals is a basic strategy. Yet only a small percentage of people actually commit to writing what they want for themselves. Get started! Write down what you want as well as how and when you want to achieve them. Do this at a time when you feel confident and positive. When you're panicked or when you don't feel as though you have the time, it's difficult to be open to achieving all the things you want in your life.
Step 3: Prepare for Change
Unless we prepare for change, it is unlikely that these steps will bring about the success we seek. The consequence of letting change happen without our active involvement is that we might not like where it takes us.
Instead of playing the role of spectator in your own life, take charge by participating purposely and deliberately. One of your biggest challenges will be making changes that will allow you to accomplish what is important to you. If you want to change your future, you must change what you are doing in the present. Eliminate old habits that don't produce meaningful results and do the things that will lead to a better tomorrow.
No matter what your present circumstances, you have a choice as to how you handle change. You can:
? let the change pass you by and hope for things to "return to normal."
? let the change run you over and leave you in a worse condition than you were before.
? take charge of the change and your destiny.
Proper planning and working through obstacles will enable each of us to fulfill Walt Disney's words: "If we can dream it, we can do it."
Step 4: Take Action
You have determined your plan. You know what you have to do. Now it's time to take action. You have to make things happen.
Step 5: Never Give Up
Anything worth doing is worth sticking with until you achieve success. Expect great things and great things will happen for you.
Years ago, Calvin Coolidge stated: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
By practicing these five steps, you will find yourself developing strengths, poise, and beliefs that nothing on this Earth can shake. You and I have the power to tap into our inner resources and connect with that strength that will always lead us to overcome our obstacles and allow us to build a better tomorrow.
Claudia A. James—Let Your Light Shine
Detour 1: Keeping a Positive Attitude
Fill your mind with positive thoughts. To accomplish this, surround yourself with positive people, take in only positive information, and begin as well as and each day with positive thoughts.
A 21-day plan for developing a positive attitude
? Begin each day by getting up when the alarm first goes off—don't hit the snooze button; that's indirectly saying no to life.
? Include a 15-minute devotional time in your morning's routine. Focus on a specific word, quote, or scripture. If other thoughts come into your mind, don't fight them, just let them come and go. Let the devotional subject be your guide for the day. End your devotional time by remembering the words of the great prophet Kahlil Gibran: "Awake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving."
? Memorize part or all of a new poem and/or scripture each day—recite it when negative thoughts enter your mind during the day.
? Throughout the day, write your negative thoughts on a piece of paper. Before you go to bed, rewrite every negative thought in positive language on another piece of paper. Then crumble up the paper filled with your negative thoughts and throw it away.
? Finish your day by listing all the positive—not the negative—things that happened during the day. And, as you drift off to sleep, repeat the word "Yes!" This will help you end the day with a relaxing smile and will set the stage that your subconscious mind will fill with positive thoughts as you slumber.
Detour 2: Discovering Yourself
In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey wrote that most people "live life by default." In other words, they live in a reactive state, letting the events of life direct their path, rather than living in a proactive state, letting their internal light direct their path.
To begin this detour of self-discovery, I recommend you complete the following formal and informal assessments: the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the California Personality Profile, and a values clarification. The first three assessments need to be administered by a professional, such as a career counselor or psychologist, who can help you evaluate the results. The fourth is one you can do on your own—simply create a list of the things that are important to you, such as a family, honesty, education, etc. This assessment is a key tool in understanding where some of your stress is coming from—it often comes from living out someone else's values.
After you spend time in reflection and complete all of these assessments, you will be equipped to create a one- or two-paragraph description of who you are and what you are about: your personal mission statement.
Detour 3: Respecting Your Uniqueness
To let your light shine even brighter, you must respect your uniqueness so others can see the authentic you.
Practical steps
? Untie the ropes that bind you to others; let go of needing their approval.
? Nurture your inner child; take time to play.
? Learn something new every day, perhaps a new word.
? Quantify your gifts; articulate your strengths.
? Unify your body, mind, and spirit; balance your daily life between all three.
? Express your thoughts, feelings, and opinions by using the pronoun I—use it more than the pronoun you.
? Approach others openly, honestly, and directly. NICE is a four-letter word you do not want used to describe you.
? Stake your claim. Articulate your accomplishments; review the things you crossed off your "to-do" lists yesterday.
? Strive for excellence, not perfection.
? Remember: You are someone's role model.
Detour 4: Embracing Change
Change is the only constant aspect of life, so embrace it and accept the challenge of being stretched beyond your comfort zone when change occurs. Realize that life is an evolution requiring us to learn new things and apply those new things. As you find yourself stretching and making mistakes, remember the words of my late father: "If you're not making one mistake a day, you're not doing enough."
To move comfortably through change:
? Affirm your negative feelings, but don't get stuck in negative thought.
? Determine what you can and cannot control.
? Ask for help from someone who will listen to you but not commiserate with you.
? Breath deeply, recalling these powerful words spoken by an old, country minister: "Out of chaos will come order, are ya listenin'?"
Detour 5: Listening to Your Intuition
Are ya listenin' to your gut? Your intuitive messages are calling you to action, so avoid second-guessing them. To affirm their validity, keep a log of your "callings" for the next month, whether you act on them or not. At the end of the month, review your log—how many times did you need to take action and didn't?
Detour 6: Leaving a Legacy
The legacy you leave will impact generations to come. To make certain you're leaving the legacy you want, write your epitaph now, then ask your friends and family members if they concur with what you have written. If they don't, ask them to write your epitaph based on their perceptions of your behavior so far.
If you decide theirs is better than yours, you may want to just keep doing what you've been doing. On the other hand, you may decide that you need to make some behavioral changes to change their perceptions of you and create the legacy you are proud of.
For more Information
* Business Success Skills, Self Help & Development, Innovation & Creativity, Empowerment, *
Life is not always easy. There's no question that some people just seem to have it easier than others. But everyone at some point will have an obstacle in life they will have to overcome.
It's been my observation that people deal with obstacles in one of two ways. Some people choose to focus on solutions, not allowing anything to get in the way of achieving their goals. Then there are those people who take virtually no responsibility for solving their problems themselves. Which are you?
Overcoming obstacles actually serves two purposes: to heighten your belief in yourself and to strengthen your determination to succeed. For many people, obstacles cause them to find a more positive meaning in life.
There are other people, of course, who use obstacles as an excuse for not being successful. After all, what could they do? They wanted to succeed, but circumstances prevented them! Don't let that person be you. It is an intelligent person who sees obstacles as something to be overcome. This viewpoint brings them closer to getting what they want. Be this person!
Obstacles and hardships don't have to lead to failure. Look at them in a different light. When the army of Israel faced the giant, Goliath, they said, "He's so big, we can't beat him." But when young David saw Goliath, he said, "He's so big, I can't miss him!" Obstacles are opportunities in disguise that, when handled without fear, can transform our lives.
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
Expect Greatness
5 Steps to a Better Tomorrow
Step 1: Evaluation
Through careful evaluation, you may discover that perhaps the path on which you have been traveling is not leading you where you'd like to go. Sit down and ask yourself: Where am I going? Why? Where do I want to be? Evaluating what's working, what's not working, what you want and don't want is a necessary step to achieving your goals. As you evaluate your life, determine where you're going, how you're going to get there, and what steps you need to take. You will feel an influx of power as you take control of your life.
Step 2: Determine Your Goals
Having goals gives you a purpose in life. They are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.
Writing down your goals is a basic strategy. Yet only a small percentage of people actually commit to writing what they want for themselves. Get started! Write down what you want as well as how and when you want to achieve them. Do this at a time when you feel confident and positive. When you're panicked or when you don't feel as though you have the time, it's difficult to be open to achieving all the things you want in your life.
Step 3: Prepare for Change
Unless we prepare for change, it is unlikely that these steps will bring about the success we seek. The consequence of letting change happen without our active involvement is that we might not like where it takes us.
Instead of playing the role of spectator in your own life, take charge by participating purposely and deliberately. One of your biggest challenges will be making changes that will allow you to accomplish what is important to you. If you want to change your future, you must change what you are doing in the present. Eliminate old habits that don't produce meaningful results and do the things that will lead to a better tomorrow.
No matter what your present circumstances, you have a choice as to how you handle change. You can:
? let the change pass you by and hope for things to "return to normal."
? let the change run you over and leave you in a worse condition than you were before.
? take charge of the change and your destiny.
Proper planning and working through obstacles will enable each of us to fulfill Walt Disney's words: "If we can dream it, we can do it."
Step 4: Take Action
You have determined your plan. You know what you have to do. Now it's time to take action. You have to make things happen.
Step 5: Never Give Up
Anything worth doing is worth sticking with until you achieve success. Expect great things and great things will happen for you.
Years ago, Calvin Coolidge stated: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
By practicing these five steps, you will find yourself developing strengths, poise, and beliefs that nothing on this Earth can shake. You and I have the power to tap into our inner resources and connect with that strength that will always lead us to overcome our obstacles and allow us to build a better tomorrow.
Claudia A. James—Let Your Light Shine
Detour 1: Keeping a Positive Attitude
Fill your mind with positive thoughts. To accomplish this, surround yourself with positive people, take in only positive information, and begin as well as and each day with positive thoughts.
A 21-day plan for developing a positive attitude
? Begin each day by getting up when the alarm first goes off—don't hit the snooze button; that's indirectly saying no to life.
? Include a 15-minute devotional time in your morning's routine. Focus on a specific word, quote, or scripture. If other thoughts come into your mind, don't fight them, just let them come and go. Let the devotional subject be your guide for the day. End your devotional time by remembering the words of the great prophet Kahlil Gibran: "Awake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving."
? Memorize part or all of a new poem and/or scripture each day—recite it when negative thoughts enter your mind during the day.
? Throughout the day, write your negative thoughts on a piece of paper. Before you go to bed, rewrite every negative thought in positive language on another piece of paper. Then crumble up the paper filled with your negative thoughts and throw it away.
? Finish your day by listing all the positive—not the negative—things that happened during the day. And, as you drift off to sleep, repeat the word "Yes!" This will help you end the day with a relaxing smile and will set the stage that your subconscious mind will fill with positive thoughts as you slumber.
Detour 2: Discovering Yourself
In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey wrote that most people "live life by default." In other words, they live in a reactive state, letting the events of life direct their path, rather than living in a proactive state, letting their internal light direct their path.
To begin this detour of self-discovery, I recommend you complete the following formal and informal assessments: the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the California Personality Profile, and a values clarification. The first three assessments need to be administered by a professional, such as a career counselor or psychologist, who can help you evaluate the results. The fourth is one you can do on your own—simply create a list of the things that are important to you, such as a family, honesty, education, etc. This assessment is a key tool in understanding where some of your stress is coming from—it often comes from living out someone else's values.
After you spend time in reflection and complete all of these assessments, you will be equipped to create a one- or two-paragraph description of who you are and what you are about: your personal mission statement.
Detour 3: Respecting Your Uniqueness
To let your light shine even brighter, you must respect your uniqueness so others can see the authentic you.
Practical steps
? Untie the ropes that bind you to others; let go of needing their approval.
? Nurture your inner child; take time to play.
? Learn something new every day, perhaps a new word.
? Quantify your gifts; articulate your strengths.
? Unify your body, mind, and spirit; balance your daily life between all three.
? Express your thoughts, feelings, and opinions by using the pronoun I—use it more than the pronoun you.
? Approach others openly, honestly, and directly. NICE is a four-letter word you do not want used to describe you.
? Stake your claim. Articulate your accomplishments; review the things you crossed off your "to-do" lists yesterday.
? Strive for excellence, not perfection.
? Remember: You are someone's role model.
Detour 4: Embracing Change
Change is the only constant aspect of life, so embrace it and accept the challenge of being stretched beyond your comfort zone when change occurs. Realize that life is an evolution requiring us to learn new things and apply those new things. As you find yourself stretching and making mistakes, remember the words of my late father: "If you're not making one mistake a day, you're not doing enough."
To move comfortably through change:
? Affirm your negative feelings, but don't get stuck in negative thought.
? Determine what you can and cannot control.
? Ask for help from someone who will listen to you but not commiserate with you.
? Breath deeply, recalling these powerful words spoken by an old, country minister: "Out of chaos will come order, are ya listenin'?"
Detour 5: Listening to Your Intuition
Are ya listenin' to your gut? Your intuitive messages are calling you to action, so avoid second-guessing them. To affirm their validity, keep a log of your "callings" for the next month, whether you act on them or not. At the end of the month, review your log—how many times did you need to take action and didn't?
Detour 6: Leaving a Legacy
The legacy you leave will impact generations to come. To make certain you're leaving the legacy you want, write your epitaph now, then ask your friends and family members if they concur with what you have written. If they don't, ask them to write your epitaph based on their perceptions of your behavior so far.
If you decide theirs is better than yours, you may want to just keep doing what you've been doing. On the other hand, you may decide that you need to make some behavioral changes to change their perceptions of you and create the legacy you are proud of.
For more Information
* Business Success Skills, Self Help & Development, Innovation & Creativity, Empowerment, *
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