Posts by Pat:
What do you complain about?
Over 50 years ago, spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi gave a pretty good description of what is still our current situation:
“The things that will destroy us are: 
- politics without principle;
- pleasure without conscience;
- wealth without work;
- knowledge without character;
- business without morality;
- science without humanity.”
As my sister has so clearly pointed out to me, we each have the responsibility to do what needs to be done to improve those situations we complain about.
Like so many things we want to be successful in, there is always a price to pay. And that price is often seen as thorns!
But anything worth having
- is worth deserving,
- is worth earning,
- is worth enjoying.
And as Dan Kennedy, marketing guru said:
when someone complains about their lot in life: their job, their income, the economy, politics, we should ask them the question:
What are the five books you’ve obtained and studied most recently to somehow improve your lot in life?…to acquire new skills, to make yourself more valuable, to find new opportunity.
Secondly, when they complain about their relationships (either personal or business), ask:
What are the five things you’ve done most recently to communicate your enjoyment of, and gratitude for, those folks?
I believe that we all know that no one (partner, parent, child, boss, co-worker) is going to always be exactly the way we want them to be, or do exactly what we want them to do when we want them to do it.
But for our relationships to prosper we need to accept folks as they are-warts and wrinkles and all! And hopefully then, they can accept us as we are too!
So…what do you think?
Are you actually doing what you can in your life and your relationships
- to learn more,
- to find new opportunities,
- to make the most of the opportunities you already have?
You’ve seen me use this analogy before…could it apply to you?
Is your glass half full? half empty?
Are you grateful for the glass?
(are you a complainer or a problem solver?)
Practice becoming unglued
Thinking doesn’t always serve us! When we rely on our mind to tell how things are, we are asking for trouble! Our brain… selects from vast amounts of incoming information, weaves fragments of information into creative fantasies, fills gaps with assumptions and beliefs, with rules, wishes, fears. Our awareness becomes glued to our thoughts, and […]
Stop signs, yield signs, dead-ends
It’s said that if you want to make God laugh, just tell him/her your plans! How many times have you neglected to pay attention to the signs that come up as you try to follow your plans and drive the vehicle called “Your Life?” It’s a good thing that life is really all about our journey, […]
Dueling Proverbs?
Many popular sayings are correct, even insightful, when we apply them to life’s circumstances. But when proverbs are viewed without qualification, they can cancel each other out! For instance, while it’s often true that “too many cooks spoil the broth,” there are times when “two heads are better than one.” And how about these? Wonders […]
Eat That Frog Now or Later?
The frog in the Mark Twain quote has been long adopted by the business community and by productivity advocates to represent the one task or activity you are least looking forward to completing over the course of your day. The idea being that once the unappealing task in done, the rest of the day is a […]
How many eggs can you hold?
When we are children, we begin to find and collect “eggs”-people, ideas, dreams-that we like to hold in our hands. As our hands naturally grow larger over time, we are able to hold more eggs. Our youth was a time of curiosity, gathering up and collecting more. But at a certain point we stop growing […]
Yellow Miracles
Almost nothing else represents the emergence of spring as the beloved yellow daffodil, happy and bright after its (and my!) long winter’s nap. I look out into the backyard of my home and see the flowerbed filled with the bright yellow and green of spring. I think some things on this earth just look as if […]
Let it be you
Like many of the great personal development leaders, Jim Rohn pointed out that what happens to us is not what determines our future, it is what we do about it. Someone, somewhere, is getting rich, is getting healthy, is improving their life. His recommendation: Let it be you! Someone is going to start a business. […]
Uplifting Showers?
Since the arrival of one or more rainy days can be interpreted as a signal to slow down and contemplate life, that’s MY choice this weekend! Slowing down to appreciate the gifts in my life is a blessing. Thinking of my life’s energy, love given and received, lessons learned but so often forgotten, reconnects me […]
We’ve got an “extra” day!
It’s More Complicated Than You Think! The difference between the duration of the earth’s orbit and the calendar year isn’t exactly six hours, or a quarter of a day. So, Leap Day is observed every four years, except for years that are perfectly divisible by 100 — unless they’re perfectly divisible by 400. Huh? Got […]