A lot of people, I may even say most of them, have this confusing conclusion. Something they try doesn’t work out and they say out loud, and worse to themselves, “I am a failure.” Failure is an event, it is not a person.
Like almost anything in our life, the act of failing, and even the word failure, have a negative meaning. Why wouldn’t it? We want to succeed and in this case we haven’t. In some of our lives, we have decided something different. We have decided failure is not a result it is a stepping stone to greatness. Failure is a teacher of what does not work. That gets us one step closer to discovering what does. Failure can be fuel to pushing forward to never feel that way again.
How about you? What does failure mean in your life? Could the definition use an upgrade?
We have all heard the story about chicken little. He runs around yelling everyone the sky is falling. I’m sure most of us know people that fit this category. I want to share a recent story with you about the sky falling in my life.
This past week had been a busy one. Wednesday I ran a 5k. I really don’t run so that was something. Woke up feeling a little sore the next day. I thought I would do my best to take it easy at work. That day the city dropped off a dump truck full of mulch for me to spread. The put it conveniently 100 yards away from where I needed to spread it. I worked on this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By Saturday night I was ready to collapse in Margie’s arms. That was not to be…
We came home from dinner to discover it was raining…in our spare bedroom! Bits of plaster and paint were decorating our floor. We both were exhausted, but what could we do? Taking turns running with mops and buckets 🪣 we stayed up most of the night and got up early the next morning. So much for a relaxing day off.
Actual picture of our ceiling
Have you ever had one of those days when you think you have reached your limit, only to find the sky is falling? What do we do then? We could be like our friend chicken little, running around telling everyone the sky is falling. You could also do what Margie and I did, we focused on what we could control.
What did this focusing on what we could control get us? Due to the repairs needing to be done we worked together to reorganize our house. Then Margie’s daughter came over to help us out. Finally, my mother invited us over for dinner so we wouldn’t have to cook. Further proof, gratitude can save the day even if your sky is falling!
Because there are a lot of things to read in this picture, I’ll keep this post short. Earl Nightingale once gave us a list of things we worry about. I’ll give you the percentages here. Things that never happen – 40% Things over and done with that can’t be changed by all the worry in the world – 30%. Needless worries about our health – 12%. Petty miscellaneous worries – 10%. Real, legitimate worries – 8%.
You can see, out of everything we worry about, a full 92% are not worth spending, or should I say wasting, our energy on. Of the 8% that are legitimate, only 4% are things we have control over. Let’s focus on that. Anything else is just a waste of our precious energy.
Today is Friday, the end of the week! Let us go into the weekend strong. What I mean by that is to really appreciate the now. How can we accomplish this? Today, let us focus on one thing we are grateful 🙏 for this week.
What happened that you are thankful for? Did you reach a goal you have been chasing? Did you get closer to accomplishing something you have been working on? Did you brighten someone’s day? Maybe you are just grateful to have made it through the week?
Now, let us add one thing you are grateful for this weekend in advance (this is also known as looking forward to using the law of attraction) It could be time with your spouse or family. Perhaps working on that passion project? Enjoying some peace and reflection while enjoying a good book?
Personally, I am grateful for completing a 5k with the love of my life, enjoying a dinner with a good friend and accomplishingsome things at work. This weekend I am going to have coffee ☕️ with a good friend. Looking forward to the conversation there. Margie and I have some relaxing plans.How about you? What are you grateful for this week and what are you thankful for in advance this weekend? Share your joy with us!😃
A lot of people incorrectly assume that I do not have bad days. In fact, a more common but just as incorrect assumption is that the goal of self-improvement is to rid you of ever having a bad day. There are, believe it or not, many benefits to having a bad day.
Yes, bad days are not fun. What they do is help us grow at a much faster rate than good days. It also helps strengthen our character and positive mindset. Just like in the gym, you only achieve strength through resistance.
You might be thinking, “Neil that is all well and good, but what good is self-improvement?” What my books, and this blog, teach us is how to reduce the severity and frequency of bad days. This is done by mining them for lessons and growth.
When you ask yourself, “What can I learn and gain from my life being a dumpster fire at the moment?” You view and approach life, and your challenges, in an entirely different light. Learnto use your bad days and not allow them to use you! Please share your strategies for putting your bad days to work for you.
This is my lady and I enjoying an ice cold refreshment after running a 5K. I do this once a year for 2 very good reasons. First, it supports the Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation. I enjoy the great Wisconsin State Fair and this Foundation raises money to make improvements to the Park as well as other great causes.
The second reason is even more personal. I use it as a litmus test to see what kind of shape I am in. I see how my body feels when I’m done (usually like I swallowed a flaming charcoal briquette) how long it takes me (women with strollers often pass me) and how long it takes me to recover.
Knowing this personal test of my fitness is coming up, it motivates me to get back to my fitness goals. Sometimes it is only a week before, but other times I am a little more diligent. That is yet another thing to compare year to year.
How about you and your life? What litmus test do you give yourself? Is it in the area of fitness or some other important area of your life? Having these tests in our lives can keep us focused and driving to our goal.
Make sure you declare to yourself first thing in the morning that it is going to be a good day. This works even better if you are looking in the mirror setting it out loud. It still works, however, if you say it out loud to yourself on your morning commute. It is also makes the other drivers wonder what you are up to.
Being our own cheerleader may seem awkward at first, but it shouldn’t. There is only one person you are with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that is yourself. Make sure you are encouraging and a positive friend.
Learn a secret to creating an amazing life that is in front of you all along. You will not only discover this secret, but learn how to put it into action!
All you have to do is click on the link below or listen to “Living the Dream with Neil Panosian” podcast wherever you find your podcasts.
Here is episode 1 of season 2 of my podcast. You can access it at the link below, or just search “Living the Dream with Neil Panosian ” podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Today marks a milestone on this site – 2000 posts. We are also on a 373 day streak! There is something that gives us cause for optimism. We started this blog in 2012. We reached 1000 posts in 2020. For those we don’t care to read and do math, that makes 8 years to reach 1000 posts. From 2020 to 2023 We have doubled that! It only took us 3 years to reach the second 1000 posts.
We have also increased engagement. We have more views,more comments and more guest posts. It is your ideas and feedback that keep this website exciting. It also helps a great deal if you share this motivation with your friends and neighbors. Help them improve their lives so you will be surrounded by happy, driven people.
With 2000 posts, there may be something you missed. We have shared a lot of great ideas in the past 11 years. I encourage you to take a look back and read, or reread, a lot of the great content here.
Once again, I thank you for being a part of this wonderful journey with me. I look forward to sharing and serving you all for years to come!😃
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 