At the beginning of every new year, most of us make new goals and resolutions. We have a desire to be better and do bigger things. In reality we want to add hope to our lives that things can get better. John Maxwell once said, "Hope in the future gives you power in the present." I want to share with you a little exercise that has meant much more to me than any New Year’s Resolutions that I have ever made.
My Personal Year-end Review
I must admit a weakness: I love new technology. Since the first time I played pong on the Atari as a boy, I was hooked on games, computers and technology. While those things can be great to enjoy it still begs the question: is our life really getting much simpler ? They said back in the seventies that computers were going to simplify our lives so much that by the turn of the century the average hours a person would spend on the job would go down considerably. The opposite has been true.
Have you ever felt that hopeless before in your career? Can I be honest….I have. It is a sinking feeling and you begin to doubt everything. Loss of a job or changing career directions can be an emotional time. The first thing you lose is self confidence. You begin to wonder if you were just on a “good run” and had a few years where “things just clicked.”
Now, life feels much different. Maybe you are not exactly certain what your unique skills are or what strengths you possess that can truly add value to an organization. You grow envious of others because they just seem to know what they are all about while the rest of us are on a quest and a journey.
Fearless by Max Lucado is one of those books that hit the shelves right at our country’s time of greatest needs. We are surrounded by fear everyday both external and internal. We face external pressures of terrorism, finances, hunger, sickness, death and many more. We also have internal fears that we carry on a daily basis such as worry, doubt, confusion, and stress. I really enjoyed the way that the chapters were laid out in the book. Max Lucado put a different spotlight in each chapter on the major fears that we face.
I am sure that everyone got their fair share of turkey and trimmings over the last few days. It is a great time to reconnect with family and to enjoy the most important relationships in your life. With the economy struggling and unemployment at the rate we have not seen in my generation, it is more important then ever to get centered and focus on what is really important. If you have not been directly effected, I bet you can easily point to a friend of family member that has felt the effects.
The Thanksgiving List
I have tried to do a Personal Extreme Life Makeover and let me tell you it doesn’t work. When you try to change all of the things that are wrong with your life all at once, you are doomed for failure.
We have a “bootcamp mentality” thinking that self-discipline all at once will get us where we want to be in a short period of time. The only way to get to where you want to be in life is by one small habit at a time.
Just finished one the most practical books on decision making that I have ever read. I have a whole shelf dedicated to Andy Stanley Books. The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley is an inspiring insight into a universal principle that exists in decision making. Whether you want to be or not you are headed toward a specific destination. All of life’s choices head toward a determined destination. The reason that the book rings so true with me is because I talk about some of the same principles in my Simple Life Habits Formula report.
I read an inspiring story this week that I want to share with you. Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega is a personal account of how a ten year old boy escaped Communist Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and came to America with nothing. Today, Ralph de la Vega is the President & CEO of AT&T Mobility.
Early on in the book he talks about how out of the enormous challenges in his life came some of the best opportunities. He challenges the reader to look for and expect opportunity to show up in the midst of great challenges that you face in life and how you can truly overcome obstacles.
Today’s tips are not about how to better organize the garage or what you should do with your husband’s baseball card collection. I want to talk about you. Sure it is good to simplify your environment and the areas in which you live. Sometimes living in a messy environment adds to your psyche and can quickly discourage you. I want to talk today about simplifying life on the inside. Which is the best way to simplify life in general.
You have heard it said that a bad habit is hard to break. So, how do you develop good habits? I think you need to first start with an awareness. We lie to ourselves more then any other person. In fact, there is a quote I heard once that really struck with me:
“Excuses are lies that you tell yourself.”
Are you using excuses in your life? Many of us think that good intentions will get us where we want to be eventually, but nothing could be further then the truth. Andy Stanley in his new book The Principle of the Path talks about this very thing.
