Posts by Pat:
Powerful Lessons from Stephen R. Covey
seven habits
Think of what the most important resources in your life have been. Stephen Covey’s death this last week brought to my memory one of my very favorite resources, the business AND personal growth book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” from 20 years ago.
Things which matter mostmust never be at the mercy of things which matter least.Goethe
The Answers Are in the Back of the Book!
Do you remember that first day in algebra class when they passed out the textbooks and you discovered the answers were in the back of the book? I do! I thought I had gotten the teacher’s book by mistake, but then I looked around and saw that everyone else had the answers too! I […]
Let’s Color Outside the Lines!
Most of us spent our childhood learning to color inside the lines, to do it right. Our parents and teachers wanted us to fit in, to succeed. Do you remember? I remember the art lesson in kindergarten when we were asked to draw a tree. I pictured the tree outside my bedroom […]
Who’s Driving Your Car?
Who’s Driving Your Car? Sometimes we act as if we were passengers in the car of our life! Are we “just along for the ride”? When did we hand over to someone (or something) else the ability to decide where we are going? What route to take? How fast we want to travel? Since it […]
First Day or Last Day of Your Life?
How best can you optimize your day today? There’s one school of thought that suggests you view today as the first day of the rest of your life. With a clean slate and no past regrets, worries, or angst you can move forward unencumbered with the garbage of your yesterdays. Truly, releasing any energy on the past […]
Eeyore got a bad rap!
It’s a never ending battle between the optimists and the pessemists as exemplified with Tigger and Eeyore of “Winnie the Pooh” fame!
Have you ever taken pride in your position on this? I know I had taken pride in being upbeat and Tigger-like in contrast to the gloomy negative folks like Eeyore that I ran into.
Folks would accuse me of being a Pollyanna and unrealistic and said it was annoying to be around someone who’s unfailingly cheerful, with me never acknowledging that the glass might be half-empty rather than half-full.
And they didn’t like me trying to convince them that things weren’t “that bad” or to “look on the bright side.” The more I tried to change their minds, the more they dug in their heels.
And that’s when “I got it!”
Eeyores may well seem so negative because we Tiggers push them into it. We want them to change-to be happy and positive. And yet we know that when we are pushed, we too resist and dig in our heels.
Do we use too much Tigger in order to mask our real feelings that need addressing? And do we risk too much Eeyore which can put us in a serious state of depression?
Yet both the Eeyores and the Tiggers of the world believe that their point of view is more socially valuable, more thoughtful, and more realistic than the others.We all tend to think that our way is the “best” way.
So…are you an Eeyore or a Tigger? And do you have a suggestion on how to create balance? Maybe how to be a bit more Pooh? I’d love to hear from you!
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One of Life’s Paradoxes
Taking off our blinders, opening up to all the possiblilities that exist around us…It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it?
The peace and serenity at our center is often hard to experience with all our daily busyness and clutter. Let’s explore our paradoxes, our inspirations, and our choices to create the life we desire.