The answer is simple: Because it's a new year.
I hope that 2007 has been a year filled with good things for you, but if it hasn't, don't fret, it's over.
Yes, I know that sounds trite, but it's true. 2007 will be gone in a few hours. Everything that happened in 2007, whether good or bad, will soon be consigned to that category of events that we label "past".
Did you have a bad breakup? Did someone swindle you? Did you lose someone close to you? Did you make bad mistakes? Did you hurt someone? Did you....
Did you finally get that big promotion? Did you make your first million? Did you marry the love of your life? Did you...
If it was mostly bad, take a deep breath, cry some tears, and then get up, and move on. If it was mostly good, take a deep breath, smile, and then get up, and move on.
Don't get stuck in the past, and in what may or may not have been. Instead, look at the new year as what it is, a NEW year, a new beginning, life moving on. Embrace the freshness of it, and the opportunities and hope that any new and fresh brings into our lives, and go forward with no eye to the past, except to learn from your mistakes and to be a better stronger more positive person.
Here's to your success and fulfillment in 2008!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Are you keeping busy?
I am. I have been keeping really busy the last few weeks with activities and demands of life. I have been a student, a worker, a partner, a friend, an advocate. I have been executing the roles of my office in all these categories, and it has consumed a good chunk of my time. Today, I sat down and thought about the last few weeks, and I was surprised at how truly busy I have been, and how being busy has kept me out of trouble.
I have not had time to worry, or fret, or listen to unnecessary information (read gossip), or fight, or fear. I have been about the business of learning and earning and giving and caring and sharing.
Idleness is not your friend. An idle mind truly is the devil's workshop.
Don't be busy for the sake of being busy. Find something useful, beneficial, caring, and kind, and set about engaging yourself in that thing with all your being. It will save you many troubles if you're out and about doing something positive with your time and your energy.
This is my thought for the day.
I have not had time to worry, or fret, or listen to unnecessary information (read gossip), or fight, or fear. I have been about the business of learning and earning and giving and caring and sharing.
Idleness is not your friend. An idle mind truly is the devil's workshop.
Don't be busy for the sake of being busy. Find something useful, beneficial, caring, and kind, and set about engaging yourself in that thing with all your being. It will save you many troubles if you're out and about doing something positive with your time and your energy.
This is my thought for the day.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Are you still feeling sorry for yourself?
If you are, then I want to give you something to think about. Watch this video in its entirety. It may give you a new perspective on life, on tenacity, and on living life to the fullest when you have it.
As a tribute to Randy Pausch, bloggers begun a series titled "One Last Blog Post." Below are some of the posts. They are inspiring.
Byron's One Last Blog Post
Mary's One Last Blog Post
Arnaldo's One Last Blog Post
Watch the video, and read the posts, and think about how your attitude impacts your success in life.
As a tribute to Randy Pausch, bloggers begun a series titled "One Last Blog Post." Below are some of the posts. They are inspiring.
Byron's One Last Blog Post
Mary's One Last Blog Post
Arnaldo's One Last Blog Post
Watch the video, and read the posts, and think about how your attitude impacts your success in life.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
What do you do with problems?
Well? What do you do with problems?
The intuitive answer is "solve them." I bet this is what you said - solve them, find a solution.
But here's my question to you - is that really what you do with problems? When you run into a problem at work, at home, at school, etc., do you start thinking of a solution, or if you can find one, start implementing it? Is that really your first thought? Be honest.
In my random observations of human beings and human behavior, I have found one thing to be almost universally true. The first thing most people do when they run into a problem is to COMPLAIN about it. When we find something that's not working, we complain, we whine, we find someone to blame, we ask who's fault it is, etc. Now it's important to find out why something went wrong, but not to place blame, but rather to prevent the same thing from happening again. But our first approach to any problem should be to find a solution. If you find the printer is jammed, don't just stand there and complain about the general incompetence of the people who should be taking care of the equipment, or how this is going to mess your day, etc. Unjam the printer, and if you can't, find another one, and move on with your day. If the toilet is clogged, don't start whining about how unsanitary everything is, and how people need to drink more water to not clog the toilet - find a plunger and unclog it, or find another toilet, call maintenance, or the plumber, and move on with your day. I could go on and on with examples, and I know you can add your own.
Why am I talking about this? After all, isn't complaining just part of human nature? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But do you have any idea how much energy is takes to complain? And how unproductive it is? Solving the problem is such a better way to spend your time and energy! It's such a better way to get your creative energies going and to be a positive influence in your environment.
If you are going to be successful in life it's important that you close the spout of complaints and whines, and open the fount of creative problem-solving energy in your life. Even if you only run into small problems like a clogged toilet, or a misplaced pen, promise yourself that you won't complain, but will instead find a solution. Try to do this intentionally each time you run into a problem, and you will start to notice a change in your thinking, your energy, your life, and the people around you.
The intuitive answer is "solve them." I bet this is what you said - solve them, find a solution.
But here's my question to you - is that really what you do with problems? When you run into a problem at work, at home, at school, etc., do you start thinking of a solution, or if you can find one, start implementing it? Is that really your first thought? Be honest.
In my random observations of human beings and human behavior, I have found one thing to be almost universally true. The first thing most people do when they run into a problem is to COMPLAIN about it. When we find something that's not working, we complain, we whine, we find someone to blame, we ask who's fault it is, etc. Now it's important to find out why something went wrong, but not to place blame, but rather to prevent the same thing from happening again. But our first approach to any problem should be to find a solution. If you find the printer is jammed, don't just stand there and complain about the general incompetence of the people who should be taking care of the equipment, or how this is going to mess your day, etc. Unjam the printer, and if you can't, find another one, and move on with your day. If the toilet is clogged, don't start whining about how unsanitary everything is, and how people need to drink more water to not clog the toilet - find a plunger and unclog it, or find another toilet, call maintenance, or the plumber, and move on with your day. I could go on and on with examples, and I know you can add your own.
Why am I talking about this? After all, isn't complaining just part of human nature? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But do you have any idea how much energy is takes to complain? And how unproductive it is? Solving the problem is such a better way to spend your time and energy! It's such a better way to get your creative energies going and to be a positive influence in your environment.
If you are going to be successful in life it's important that you close the spout of complaints and whines, and open the fount of creative problem-solving energy in your life. Even if you only run into small problems like a clogged toilet, or a misplaced pen, promise yourself that you won't complain, but will instead find a solution. Try to do this intentionally each time you run into a problem, and you will start to notice a change in your thinking, your energy, your life, and the people around you.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Don't feel sorry for yourself - the perils of self pity!
One of the keys to living successfully and developing a strong sense of self, in my opinion, is to not feel sorry for yourself.
Does that mean you can't be sad? No. Does that mean you can't cry? No. Absolutely not. You CAN feel sad, you CAN cry, that's okay. These are useful emotions and acts. It's an appropriate response when we're hurt, or when bad things happen.
What you absolutely should get out of the habit of doing is feeling sorry for yourself. I use the word "habit" intentionally, because we all have the occasional bout of self-pity, of feeling sorry for ourselves, and that's okay. But chronic and constant self-pity is one of the most demoralizing emotions that you can indulge in. It puts you in a position of weakness and can easily spiral you down the road to depression if you aren't careful.
Why do people indulge in self-pity when it feels so bad? Well, one big reason is because it gets attention. Whining about your lot in life gets you attention. People listen to you, they pay attention to you, feel sorry for you, perhaps even try to do what they think will make you happy... at least at first. And for some people, especially people who crave attention, that can feel good, because it fills a need that they have. But in the long run, you run out of an audience, and no one wants to listen to you or to be around you anymore, because listening to self-deprecating and self-pitying talk can be depressing to the listener. Most people want to be around upbeat people, positive people, people who are living positive lives, and changing things around them.
So if you want to be successful, start by stopping. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop whining, stop pouring your sob story to any ears around you. Be positive, be real, be strong. Find the good and work on it. Don't fake it, don't pretend it's okay when it's not. It's okay to not be okay. Strive for balance. If you're sad, say you're sad, but that you're working your way throught, it and move on to something else, something better, something positive.
One of the keys to success - stop feeling sorry for yourself!
Does that mean you can't be sad? No. Does that mean you can't cry? No. Absolutely not. You CAN feel sad, you CAN cry, that's okay. These are useful emotions and acts. It's an appropriate response when we're hurt, or when bad things happen.
What you absolutely should get out of the habit of doing is feeling sorry for yourself. I use the word "habit" intentionally, because we all have the occasional bout of self-pity, of feeling sorry for ourselves, and that's okay. But chronic and constant self-pity is one of the most demoralizing emotions that you can indulge in. It puts you in a position of weakness and can easily spiral you down the road to depression if you aren't careful.
Why do people indulge in self-pity when it feels so bad? Well, one big reason is because it gets attention. Whining about your lot in life gets you attention. People listen to you, they pay attention to you, feel sorry for you, perhaps even try to do what they think will make you happy... at least at first. And for some people, especially people who crave attention, that can feel good, because it fills a need that they have. But in the long run, you run out of an audience, and no one wants to listen to you or to be around you anymore, because listening to self-deprecating and self-pitying talk can be depressing to the listener. Most people want to be around upbeat people, positive people, people who are living positive lives, and changing things around them.
So if you want to be successful, start by stopping. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop whining, stop pouring your sob story to any ears around you. Be positive, be real, be strong. Find the good and work on it. Don't fake it, don't pretend it's okay when it's not. It's okay to not be okay. Strive for balance. If you're sad, say you're sad, but that you're working your way throught, it and move on to something else, something better, something positive.
One of the keys to success - stop feeling sorry for yourself!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Getting off track and what to do about it
A big part of the process to attaining success in life is recognizing when you're losing track. The second side to that coin is taking steps to get back on track.
It's been a while since I posted on this blog. I've been engrossed in a lot of different personal and business ventures that I got distracted from carrying on with my thought process and sharing my thoughts on success and what it means, and what you have to do to get on the road to being successful. And I recognize this. So this post is my first step... recognizing that I have lost track.
The second step, as I mentioned above, is taking steps to get back on track. I am working hard not to lose the introspective part of myself as I get busier and busier. Today I want to share with you an interesting post that I read. I will share my thoughts with you about this in my next post, but first I want to encourage you to read it and think on it, especially on the last few paragraphs. The post is from a personal blog and is titled On school and the NCLEX-RN Predictor Exam, and in it the author reflects on taking a calculated risk and the lessons derived from it.
Read it and share your thoughts with me.
It's been a while since I posted on this blog. I've been engrossed in a lot of different personal and business ventures that I got distracted from carrying on with my thought process and sharing my thoughts on success and what it means, and what you have to do to get on the road to being successful. And I recognize this. So this post is my first step... recognizing that I have lost track.
The second step, as I mentioned above, is taking steps to get back on track. I am working hard not to lose the introspective part of myself as I get busier and busier. Today I want to share with you an interesting post that I read. I will share my thoughts with you about this in my next post, but first I want to encourage you to read it and think on it, especially on the last few paragraphs. The post is from a personal blog and is titled On school and the NCLEX-RN Predictor Exam, and in it the author reflects on taking a calculated risk and the lessons derived from it.
Read it and share your thoughts with me.
Monday, July 16, 2007
What is success to you?
What does success mean to you? Let's look at a dictionary definition:
Let us look at the second word: outcome
Why have I meandered through this little adventure of looking at words? Because I believe that words are powerful, and that power, if harnessed by the strength of focused minds, through deliberate and conscious thought, can bring forth great results. But here is my purpose for this post, to ask you if you know what success means.
Success is a favorable or desired outcome. To pursue and attain success, you must have two things:
This is one of the corner stones. You must start here.
- Main Entry:
- suc·cess
- Pronunciation:
- \sək-ˈses\
- Function:
- noun
- Etymology:
- Latin successus, from succedere
- Date:
- 1537
1obsolete : outcome, result
2 a: degree or measure of succeeding
b: favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence
3: one that succeeds
I pulled this definition from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. The definition there that speaks to me is 2b. "favorable or desired outcome." As I chew and ponder on this definition, it occurs to me that as we begin this journey there are two words we must pay particular attention to: "desired" and "outcome". I will explain in a moment why I feel that those two words are very crucial to our laying the foundation for attaining personal success. First, let us return to Merriam-Webster to define these two words.
Ignore the archaic and obsolete definitions and focus on the transitive verb - to long or hope for. What strong and beautiful words those are. When do you hear the words "I long for..." - when someone is missing a loved one, or a loved place, when a suitor is wooing a lover... "I long for home...", "I long for your kisses..." To desire something in the true definition of the word is to long for that thing deeply and with feeling.
- Main Entry:
- 1de·sire
- Pronunciation:
- \di-ˈzī(-ə)r, dē-\
- Function:
- verb
- Inflected Form(s):
- de·sired; de·sir·ing
- Etymology:
- Middle English, from Anglo-French desirer, from Latin desiderare, from de- + sider-, sidus heavenly body
- Date:
- 13th century
transitive verb1: to long or hope for : exhibit or feel desire for <desire success>
2 a: to express a wish for : requestdesire an immediate answer>
b archaic : to express a wish to : ask
3obsolete : invite
4archaic : to feel the loss ofintransitive verb: to have or feel desire
Let us look at the second word: outcome
An outcome follows as a consequence of something... it is not an entity in and of itself, but rather must be preceded by something else.
- Main Entry:
- out·come
- Pronunciation:
- \ˈau̇t-ˌkəm\
- Function:
- noun
- Date:
- 1788
: something that follows as a result or consequence outcome>outcomes of bypass surgery>
Why have I meandered through this little adventure of looking at words? Because I believe that words are powerful, and that power, if harnessed by the strength of focused minds, through deliberate and conscious thought, can bring forth great results. But here is my purpose for this post, to ask you if you know what success means.
Success is a favorable or desired outcome. To pursue and attain success, you must have two things:
- You must have a desired thing that you long for, that you have deep feelings about, that you want to see happen. This is something that causes you to toss in bed at night, to sit in pensive thought, to engage in purposeful endeavors, hoping, dreaming, fearful of failure, but trying nonetheless. This must be something that you want, that you feel will make your life that much more fulfilling. You are the only one who knows what this thing is.
- You must have an action... something that will lead to the outcome. You cannot be in limbo, for there cannot be an outcome without an action.
This is one of the corner stones. You must start here.
Attaining Personal Success
Welcome to Attaining Personal Success, a blog aimed at helping you, and me, the girl next door, and that guy across the street, to grow and move towards greater levels of personal success and satisfaction.
My aim in this blog is to share with you, and invite you to share with me, thoughts and ideas about how to live consciously, and deliberately, and how to move towards Marslow's highest peak - self-actualization!
Maybe you want to become a millionaire, or a president, or an opera singer... or maybe you want to be a better parent, friend, sister, lover, person... whatever your goals are, this blog is intended for you. There are no secret tips here, no hard and fast rules. I am not a guru, nor am I a master. I have not achieved self-actualization. I am an ordinary person, with dreams, and fears, failures and successes, virtues and vices... I am that person next door, that colleague in the cubicle two rows down, that nurse with the bright orange scrubs...
I am taking this journey with you. Your thoughts are valuable, share them with me.
My aim in this blog is to share with you, and invite you to share with me, thoughts and ideas about how to live consciously, and deliberately, and how to move towards Marslow's highest peak - self-actualization!
Maybe you want to become a millionaire, or a president, or an opera singer... or maybe you want to be a better parent, friend, sister, lover, person... whatever your goals are, this blog is intended for you. There are no secret tips here, no hard and fast rules. I am not a guru, nor am I a master. I have not achieved self-actualization. I am an ordinary person, with dreams, and fears, failures and successes, virtues and vices... I am that person next door, that colleague in the cubicle two rows down, that nurse with the bright orange scrubs...
I am taking this journey with you. Your thoughts are valuable, share them with me.
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