As we look to finish the week strong, let us remind ourselves to keep our perspective fresh and positive. That does not mean pretending the challenges of life are not there. It simply means focusing on the blessings. It also means having faith that those challenges will eventually turn around.
Keep a mind full of joy and a heart full of faith my friends
Today I am doing something that I like to do every year, I am going to run a 5K. This may not sound too crazy. Especially to any of my friends who are runners. Let me explain, I do not fit into that category. My body is better equipped to cheer on runners than do any of the running myself. This is exactly why I do it. It is important to test and push yourself.
This year will be a little bit different than the last 5 years I have done this run. In addition to my asthma, and the fear of hyperventilating, I am only 6 months removed from open heart surgery. Some people think I am crazy, but I am excited to not give up on the idea of self-improvement due to a set back like heart surgery.
I am not advocating being foolish with your health. My doctor advised me to listen to my body. There is a certain growth and self-realization that only comes when you push yourself and become uncomfortable. There is also a feeling of pride and accomplishment when you complete the task.
Think of ways in which you can push yourself, and step outside of your comfort zone. Think of ways you have done this in the past. What growth came out of that?
There are so many things in life that we fail to appreciate because they are free. Yet, often these are the things that would affect our life the greatest if they were missing. Can you imagine your life with no laughter? What if you never saw anyone smile ever again?
Please take a second and share what free thing in your life means a lot to you.
It is Monday, and that can be a pain. People generally focus on what is causing them pain in their lives. Why? In a physical sense, it can be pretty hard to ignore. When the pain is mental or emotional, it can be overwhelming.
The bad news first, there will always be pain in your life. Pretty inspiring for a Monday, right? Pain is not always a bad thing. It can be one of life’s greatest teachers. It can let us know when something is not right in our lives. This can be the pain of a physical injury, where our body is letting us know something is wrong. Even the heartache of a toxic relationship is pain that is telling us that person is not right for us.
The good news is that in many ways you can choose your pain. In most cases this comes down to the decision of the pain of discipline verses the pain of regret. I am forever reminding Margie that “discipline equals freedom” a quote I stole from Jocko Willink. So much so, she probably is sick of hearing it. That does not make it any less true. If we choose to skip the initial pain of discipline, we will have to face the pain of regret.
Let us look at our examples above. In the case of a physical injury, physical therapy and doing exercises can be painful. If we do not do them, we could heal incorrectly and suffer the pain of regret. Toxic relationship? Breaking up with someone can be hard and painful. Staying in that relationship can have us waking up to the pain of regret with every painful episode.
How about you? Are there disciplines you are putting off because they are painful? Not disciplined in your fitness because you “don’t have time” or it is “too hard”. Let me tell you from experience. The pain of a good workout goes away in time. The pain of being out of shape is something you have to deal with daily. Not disciplined in your diet because you would just rather “eat what you like. ” or “eat what tastes good.” Then you must suffer the regret of all the pains an unhealthy diet give you. These pains, such as heart disease, can be fatal.
This week, if you find yourself trying to get out of the pain of discipline,ask yourself what the pain of regret will be if you don’t follow through. Be honest with yourself. The pain of missing just one workout or the pain of eating just one doughnut can lead to the regret of choosing bad habits over good ones.
Use some of this Sunday to relax and recharge. Starting the week with a fresh body certainly has its Advantages. Your ability to handle any stress the work week can throw at you will be increased. In the likely event responsibilities may cause you to sacrifice some sleep, you’ll be better off if you have rested during the weekend. Even your immune system will be stronger!
All of this seems pretty obvious. What about relaxing and recharging your spirit? This is equally, if not more, important. What can you do to take on the week with a relaxed and recharged mind and spirit? Personally, I spend some time alone in meditation or even some sacred silence. Your mind is usually going 100 miles a minute during the week, give it a break on Sunday.
My Sunday to Monday is always a bit rough. Margie and I get home from our DJ gig at 2am, and my alarm for the post office goes off at 4:45am. To account for this, I make sure to get as much physical and mental relaxation as I can. What do you do to relax and recharge your mind, body and spirit?
If there is one trait that you should work on develop, it is gratitude. It is important to remember the greatest gift we receive is the opportunity to wake up another day. We may not have everything we want, but if we wake up, we have the potential to create it.
Today, as often as you can, take a moment and be grateful you are here. You have the gift of opportunity!
This is a mindset I use quite often. There are days, I’m sure we all had them, where you just can’t seem to catch a break. You may be endeavoring to do something really good for yourself and others. There are times when one thing after another goes wrong. You can be left wondering why. Maybe it is because you were meant for greatness in another field.
This can be true in many different areas of your life. Are you working hard at your job but the boss is still a jerk? It could be you should be working elsewhere. Doing your best to be romantic and loving with your partner, but all you ever seem to do is fight? There may be a partner that is more compatible with you out there.
All of these examples are not to say you should think it is the other guy. Check yourself first. Make sure you are doing the best you can, and more importantly, being the best person you can. If so, maybe that is a power greater than ourselves pushing us in a different direction.
The title of this post may sound counter intuitive to most, but that is precisely why it is so important. Doing nothing is often frowned upon. This is especially true in this material driven world we live in. We are made to believe if we are not working away on some chosen project, we are somehow guilty of a modern world sin. This could be housework, physical fitness, grocery shopping or pretty much any goal-driven activity. Even worse, we were told for a while that we should be a great multi tasker. Further research shows this is not only bad for productivity, but can lead to burnout. That is a subject for another post.
Even relaxing has us searching for distraction. We have our Ipods, books,tablets or phones. It feels we have to be doing something even when we are doing nothing. We can’t even relax completely. It is in this world of never ending motion that we find ourselves in a constant state of physical and mental stress burnout. This leads to a loss of productivity. It also suppresses our immune system. This, of course,leads to illness.
What can we get from doing nothing? How on earth can it be productive? So glad you asked. Doing nothing gives our brains a chance to cleanse themselves. It gives our bodies, and our minds, a chance to decompress. This allows us to return to our busy bee life with more energy, and more importantly, more resilience. It gives our immune system a chance to repair and re-energize. This keeps us healthy. It can refresh our spirit. In addition to reducing the likelihood of burnout, it also helps reduce the risk of depression and overwhelming.
As amazing as all of those benefits are, to me, they are not the best thing one can get from doing nothing. My favorite benefit is the creation of great thoughts and ideas. When I wrote my first book, A Happy Life for Busy People, I had plenty of time to think. It took me roughly a year. After which, I started writing for several magazines, a food review site, and my blog. All this while working full time at the post office and working as a DJ. Factor in a relationship with the world’s most beautiful woman and my dance card was full.
With six jobs and a great relationship, my second book, Living the Dream, took 5 years to write. The funny thing was that was not due so much to lack of time writing, but lack of time just being. When we are alone with our thoughts, that is when they seem to appear. You can’t call someone if the line is always busy. If it is busy long enough, you stop calling all together.
Leading up to my heart surgery, I wrote like a man possessed. I wanted to get out as much content as possible in case I found myself on the other side of the great divide. I feel the quality suffered. Without time to sit and think, my brain could not come up with any new brilliant ideas. If it did, I was too busy to hear them.
After my surgery, I was forced to take 3 months to do nothing. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t go to the gym. I was instructed to just relax. Guess what happened? Ideas started to come to me all day long. Perhaps they had always been there, but now I was free enough to notice them. My third book was written in 6 short months. (It should be available late July/early August) I also started to think of new ways to improve my life…in all areas.
My favorite thought happened when I began to write. Often, when I sit down at a coffee shop to write, my mind is filled with thoughts that have nothing to do with writing. Most often, those thoughts are of my beautiful Margie. Either I am missing her because we have not seen hardly enough of each other, or I am missing her because I just had some amazing moments with her. Before my surgery, I would try to focus and ‘persevere’. After my surgery, I thought to myself, I’m going to enjoy these thoughts.
What happened next was a miracle. My love for my beautiful woman began to increase exponentially! Just when I thought I could not love her more, a new reason, memory or idea how would pop in my head. I began to think of new ways in which I could both make her happy and improve our relationship. The best part was,once my heart was full of love, the writing just flowed.
I went home to my little miracle more in love and excited to share my life with her than when I had left. All of this was made possible because I took the time to do nothing. Can you imagine the positive impact that had on our relationship? Think of the impact it could have on yours, or any area of your life you stop and think about. Do nothing for a little while today. It might be the most productive thing you do.
Last post we talked about the importance of planting seeds. Not actual plant seeds, but one of inspiration, motivation and love. What happens when we plant a seed; water and take care of it? It blossoms and bears fruit!
What seeds do you plant in life? Are you going through life planting seeds of love and respect for your fellow humans? If you do, those seeds will grow and blossom. The fruit they bear will be deeper relationships, respect, and love and happiness in return.
The seeds will often grow even if you plant them and walk away. Just like in plants, the seeds will grow quicker and stronger if they are watered and nurtured. Same holds true for your seeds of joy and love. The more seeds you plant, the bigger your garden will be, and the more fruit it will bear. Plant seeds of joy and love wherever you go!
A lot of you reading this have messages that could help people. This could be a strategy of success. Something to motivate someone. Maybe it would be something to uplift someone’s spirit. It can be frustrating when we want to deliver this message and it doesn’t appear to be getting through.
It is important to remember the day we plant the seed is not the day we eat the fruit. This is also true of getting through to others. You cannot force someone to hear you. In fact, doing so usually has the opposite effect. The best way is to deliver our message and then live a life that is not hypocritical to that message.
Everyone receives messages when they are ready. Just because they are not at that moment, doesn’t mean the seed will not sprout later.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 