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20 June 2006 |
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| Accept
life daily not as a cup to be drained but as a chalice to be
filled with whatsoever things are honest, pure, lovely, and
of good report.
Sidney
Lovett |
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Giving
is the secret of a healthy life. . . not necessarily money,
but whatever a person has of encouragement and sympathy and
understanding.
John
D. Rockefeller, Jr. |
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I
would be always in the thick of life, threading its mazes,
sharing its strife, yet -- somehow singing!
Roselle
Mercier Montgomery |
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Eyes Wide Open
tom walsh
A Lesson on Letting Go
I recently started a fairly long run--I had planned to run
from San Diego, California, to the northeast corner of Maine
over the course of just under three months. I trained
for quite a long time to be able to do so, and I worked hard
to make sure that all of the necessary logistical problems
were taken care of. I ended up in San Diego on May 15,
ready to start out on my trek. I had no idea what
lessons lay ahead of me on the journey, and that was fine with
me. I was willing to leave that up to God and life, to
teach me what I needed to learn in taking on such a challenge.
For a while, things went really well. Over the first
two weeks I ran between 30 and 44 miles every day, and by the
end of May I found myself in Chinle in northeast
Arizona. My legs were feeling fine, my body was feeling
fine, and I had been able to run through two minor muscle
injuries. I had run through deserts and over mountains,
through incredible heat and along roads that seemed never to
end. Then I hit the construction zone.
It wasn't just any construction project, either. It
was more than 11 miles of road on which they had torn off the
upper layer of pavement, leaving a bumpy, uneven surface that
played havoc with my legs. For over two hours I had to
run on this surface, though I didn't notice any problems until
I finally ran once more on flat road and found that both of my
ankles had been injured; the left one was especially bad,
feeling as if I had just sprained it. The last ten miles
that day were especially difficult, and I ended the day by
icing both ankles as much as I could and wrapping them as well
as I could.
To make a very long story short, I spend the next ten days
trying to run through the pain, to varying levels of
success. I made it another 400 miles, over and through
the Rockies, to eastern Colorado before the time came when I
had to call the run off. While my ankle wasn't swelling
as much as it had before, the injury seemed to have spread to
the tendons, and I wasn't at all prepared to face some sort of
permanent injury just because I had said that I was going to
run across the country. It was time for common sense to
take over and rule the day.
I had expected to be able to walk the rest of the distance
even if I couldn't continue running, but the nature of the
injury made even that impossible. Basically, I had to
give the run up and head home.
Surprisingly enough, that was fine with me. There was
a time in my life when I would have been extremely
disappointed with what I hadn't done, with the fact that I had
started something and hadn't finished it. Not now.
This time, I've been able to look quite clearly at what I did
do--I ran about a thousand miles in four weeks, making it from
San Diego to eastern Colorado--and feeling quite good about
the accomplishment. I was able to let go of the rest of
the run fairly easily, not worrying about how it might look to
other people that I didn't finish what I started.
I was surprised that the major lesson of this whole project
seemed to be about letting go and paying attention to
messages. My ankle and foot gave me very clear messages
in the form of pain that wouldn't diminish. On the day I
was considering stopping, I called my wife to discuss it with
her. She told me that the day before she had talked to a
man who was just about to go through knee replacement
surgery. The ankle brace that I was wearing was becoming
less and less effective. I was having to take
extra-strength over-the-counter pain relief tablets every
night just to be able to sleep. All in all, the only
thing that I believe I would have accomplished by continuing
would have been to create a serious permanent injury out of
something that should heal properly given time and rest.
Being forced to let go of the original desired result and
focusing on what I did do, as well as on the fact that I was
willing to put a higher priority on my long-term health than
on accomplishing an arbitrary task, helped me to see just how
important it is to take care of ourselves. It also
helped me to see just how unimportant a desired goal can be
when weighed against something as drastic as our personal
health. It's helped me to realize that I never can judge
someone else who's "given up"--since I can't feel
their pain or know what's going on in their minds and hearts
and spirits, there's no room for judgment on my part at all.
There were many wonderful benefits to the run, and I
wouldn't trade the four weeks that I just went through for
anything. And while I didn't expect one of the lessons
to be about letting go of something so important, I'll cherish
that lesson just as much as any other lesson or experience
that I've ever learned.
(By the way, if you'd like to see some photos of the run,
you can go to http://www.corner2corner.org/photos1.htm!) |
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Two
Wise People
Joseph J. Mazzella
I
saw two very wise people the other day. These two
people really knew what life was all about. Their
smiling faces were beautiful to behold. Their eyes
sparkled with joy. They radiated happiness, peace, and
love to everyone around them. People who were sullen,
angry, and depressed just a few seconds before lit up with
delight as soon as they saw these two people.
Everyone
who saw them wanted to touch them, talk to them, and smile
at them. They were true teachers about how to live
blissfully and go through life blessedly. I myself
held both of them in my arms for a minute and was happier
the whole day for it. They were two of the most
wonderful babies I had ever seen.
It
is strange how so many of us as we get older forget the God
given wisdom that we had as babies. We start to worry,
fret, and be miserable much of the day. We separate
ourselves from others, put conditions on our love, and stop
finding happiness and delight in all the little things in
life. We question our feelings, analyze our joy, and
feel afraid to do anything because it might bring us pain.
Instead of living in joy and bliss we wonder why we are
unhappy all the time and search for contentment everywhere
except inside ourselves.
You
don't have to live this way, though. It isn't hard to
reconnect with the joy and love you had at the beginning of
your life. All you have to do is start to choose it
once again. Love is easy. Joy is simple.
We all know how to behave kindly and lovingly. We all
know how to behave joyfully and happily. We need only
choose to do it moment by moment and day by day.
We
may not be able to have a baby's natural happiness anymore,
but God gives us a joy, love, and delight that is just as
beautiful and just as wonderful. We may not be able to
have the innocence of an infant anymore, but we can live
with the wisdom of the very young. |
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Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week. |
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One
Hundred Goals? YES! One Hundred Goals!
Julie Jordan Scott
Was this speaker stark raving mad?
One hundred goals? He thought I could come
up with 100 goals for my life?
The speaker, Mark Victor Hansen, compiled
the hugely successful Chicken Soup for the Soul
series of books with co-author Jack Canfield. He
challenged the assembled throng at the Women's Business
Conference to brainstorm 100 life goals.
Furthermore, he encouraged us to work with
a partner with whom we would swap lists. Together we
would encourage each other to develop our list. We
would hold each other
accountable. We would help each other eventually
reach these 100 life goals.
Seeing that he was where he was, and I was
where I was, I decided to take his advice! How many
best-sellers does Mark Victor Hansen have anyway? Exactly my
point! He was a best- selling writer, highly paid
motivational speaker, darn good dresser too! And me?
I was an employee of local government who read a lot of
inspiring books. The kids in my Sunday School class
were motivated by my speaking. That was certainly
worth something. My wardrobe?
Usually bought on sale, or at the end of the season on
clearance.
If Mark Victor Hansen got where he
was by writing 100 goals? Then I figured it
would not hurt to try! My co-worker and I buddied up
to walk together through the process.
The next day I sat at my keyboard.
At first I thought I would have difficulty in thinking up
goals. Soon, though, I was on a roll. My goals
were as diverse as "Have lunch with a friend one time
weekly" to "Host a radio talk show" to
"travel to Europe."
I approached my co-worker to share my list
with her. I also wanted to do my part as her buddy.
I knew I needed to encourage her to write her own 100 goals.
She read through my list, saying "Great! Oh, and
you wrote 'Learn French twice!' " With that, she
went back to the tasks on her desk.
"Ummmmm.....how is your list coming,
buddy?" I tried to sound as positive as I could
on this one. Never sound accusatory towards your
buddy, I thought.
She looked out her window and
replied, "My 100 goals are to get up tomorrow and the
next 100 days!" She laughed at her humor.
Me? I didn't understand.
Then again, her dream in 5 years is to
still be working in local government. Perfectly
respectable. Nothing at all wrong with that goal.
It is just not something that I could be
particularly passionate about. Not something that I
would be especially inspired by.
So where does that leave you, today?
Can you think of your 100 goals?
Where would you like to be in 5 years? If you had a
magic wand and your life could look like anything, what
would I see when looking at you? What would it feel
like to live that ideal life? What would others
think of your life? Would you inspire people?
Annoy people? Learn from people?
In other words, what do you really want to
do with your life?
Start slow if you think you can not
possibly think of 100 goals. Take out a piece of paper
or open a new document on your word processor. Go for
ten goals at first. No set order of preference,
just let your mind go. Let the ideas and thoughts
flow.
You may find you need to write more than
ten goals as your ideas start moving less like a
trickle and more like a deluge. If you run into a
roadblock? Stop working. Walk away. Save the
goals you have written. Promise yourself that you will
come back later.
And then do exactly that! Come back
later. Challenge yourself to finish your list of 100
goals.
Finally, find someone with whom to
share your goals. A buddy to encourage you as
you grow. Do you have anyone who would encourage
this kind of challenge? If not, ask around or
look for a group on line that discusses goal setting.
Update:
When
I first wrote this article, I was still working as a
government employee. I have gratefully been an
entrepreneur, coach and writer full time since November,
1999. As for me, I am on my way to reaching more and more of
my 100 goals. I spend my hours caring for my
precious babies (one goal was to have another baby, who is
now 4! This May I was blessed with another baby, my first
son). Just this past week I bought four new website
domains to add to my main website, www.5passions.com.
It is all about Living a Passion Filled Life. My
second book is about to hit the market.
"I
have not yet made reservations for a European Trip, nor have
I hosted a Talk Radio program, but listen to
your local station. You just never can be sure,"
were
the words I wrote back in 1998. In fact, that needs to
be updated. In January I begin hosting my own radio
show, so now I will have to say, listen for when my show
hits syndication!
100
Goals? YES! 100 goals!
100
Goals. A method for uncovering what you really want.
100 Goals. A way to find out what is stored in your
heart. 100 Goals. The beginning of your
future. 100 Goals!
© Julie Jordan Scott. Julie is a Personal Success
Coach who left her career as a government bureaucrat and
built a successful business in less than six months.
She now combines mothering 4 children with inspiring people
worldwide with her books, ezine, teaching and personal
coaching. Visit http://www.5passions.com
for free resources for YOUR success Contact Julie now to
bring YOUR vision to life today. ph: 661.325.4116 or email mailto:julie@5passions.com |
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Goals
Only Work When You Do
Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Goal
setting seems to be a perennially hot topic! Could it
be that you hear and read about it so often because its a
subject that is easy to know about and difficult to
practice?
It
would be very surprising to find an adult in the work force
who has not heard about goal setting. A Harvard study
of their graduates over thirty years found that there were
only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down
their goals--and these were the most successful! You
can be certain that every one of those students had
repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only
3% actually wrote down their goals consistently.
Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals
and, then, focus on them every day, every week, until they
are accomplished!
What
is it the causes the "New Year's Resolution
Syndrome"? You probably know the one.
People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks,
maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next
year, they make the same New Year's Resolutions. That
is the syndrome. It is self-defeating and
self-sabotaging. So, why do so many people do it?
They
may be making goals that are too global, too extensive, too
unrealistic for the time frame, body type or current
finances. That is not to say that they are not worthy
goals. They need to be broken apart into smaller, more
specific, attainable pieces. The elephant analogy is
still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal
setting. You probably know it. "How do you
eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time."
So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and
accomplish them. Once you've mastered those, get a
bigger spoon!
You
may have too many people in your life who consciously or
subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to
reach your goals. Everyone has a 'personal tribe' -
their friends, families, colleagues. You have created
agreement among your tribe members that you are a certain
way, or you do certain things. They are comfortable
with you as long as you are and do those things. They
may even be enthusiastic about your desire to change
something or accomplish something new. Just know that,
as you change and accomplish, they may not like it.
They may even go so far as to put you down in small ways or
make light of your accomplishments. Do you know why?
It is usually because your changes remind them, on some
levels, that they could be doing it, too...and they aren't!
Surround
yourself with people who want you to have what you want for
yourself. Be mutually supportive and you'll all
achieve your highest goals.
You
may have filled your schedule with so many things that there
is little room for your goals to grow. We must be
careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be
selective about how you use your time and what you focus on.
Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather
than what to include in your life. Notice, too, how
much time you spend on trivia. It has a nasty way of
taking your attention from what you say you want to focus
on, doesn't it? Have you ever just "had" to
clean your office before you could begin your project?
Then you know how this works!
Goal
setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk
in town early one morning. The chicken became really
excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs,
$2.99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've
got double billing again." The pig grunted and
said, "That's all right for you to say. For you,
it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total
commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work.
Goal achievement is total commitment.
©
Rhoberta Shaler, PhD All rights reserved worldwide.
Rhoberta
Shaler, PhD, is a motivational keynote speaker, corporate
team builder and executive coach from San Diego, CA.
She is the creator of The Consociate Way: Promoting
Performance & Peace in Your Workplace.
Register today for Rhoberta's new Teleseminar and Coaching
program: GOAL GETTING: MOVING FROM RESOLUTIONS TO RESULTS -
a 12-week program to help you stick to your path and achieve
success! Click on "Teleseminars" at her website: www.SpeakingAboutWork.com |
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Blessed are
they with a cheery smile
Who stopped by to chat for a little while. . . .
Blessed are they that make it known
That I am loved and not alone.
Grace
McDonald |
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