my thought for today........

We have control over only 3 things in our lives:

- - The things we choose to think about

-- The way we choose to see the world around us

-- The things we choose to do in our lives

my thought for today

The way we live our lives is the way we live our lives.
Annie Dillard

my thoughts on..........pain

"No pain, no gain" is a sentiment we typically associate with physical activity. I wonder if it would not be just as aptly applied to the mental aspects of our lives. I have experienced very good times in my life, and I have had very bad times in my life. From which did I learn the greatest lessons? Without a doubt, it was during the "bad" times. Even knowing this, however, it is always difficult for me to recognize the lessons while in the midst of the pain. Just as I complain about the painful effects of exercise, even though I know it is good for me, I admit that I find it difficult to acknowledge the benefits of any experience that causes me pain, as I am actually experiencing that pain. But - just as a healthy body is the payoff for exercising, a healthy mental perspective can be the result of lessons learned from the trials of our lives. We only have to allow ourselves to learn from the experience, and then to move forward.

Otherwise, we just stay stuck in the pain.

And those are my thoughts on that.

my thought for today

Make your vision a mission.

continuing my thoughts on .......... goal setting

As strongly as I have come to believe that setting goals can sometimes limit my growth, I have just as strongly come to believe that having a clear vision of the life I want, is the key to unlimited growth. The operative word here being - clear. If I am not clear about the kind of life I want to live, I am going to be indecisive, unsure, and much more likely to allow other people and events to influence the direction of my life.

Jim Rohn (see a link to his website below) encourages us to ask ourselves these questions:

1. Who do I want to be?

2. What do I want to do?

3. What do I want to have?

4. What do I want to see?

5. Where do I want to go?

6. Who do I want to share it with?

I know it is not enough to simply ask myself these questions, and then push them to the back of my mind. It is not enough to think about what I would "like" the answers to be, and then push those answers to the back of my mind. It is not enough to tell myself I will ask myself these questions later - when I get my life on track and can think about the future. None of those are acceptable, if I am to live the life I want to live. Because - my life is NOW! It won't wait until I have more time. It won't stand still until I have more courage. It won't stop because I don't like the direction it's going. My life will keep going, until the end, whether I participate in it or not.

And those are my final thoughts on that.

my thoughts on.............goal setting

For years I was the ultimate goal setter. I had a one year plan, five year, ten year, and even a 20 year plan for my life. Over time, as my life evolved, my desires changed. Goals were modified and time lines were adjusted. But regardless of what was going on in my life, there were goals - things to do, places to go. Until finally one day, I realized my goals were not directing my life, my life was dictating my goals. Whenever something unforeseen would happen to change the direction of my life, I would adjust my goals to fit the new direction. After years of playing this leap frog game, I realized it had been a useless exercise.

That is not to say I didn't accomplish anything with my life. And - some of the things I accomplished were those one year, five year, & ten year goals. But I can honestly say, the greatest achievements in my life did not begin as preconceived goals, but rather as a clear, single thought in my mind. A thought that simply appeared. Without solicitation, without struggle. A thought that was at once idea, plan, result.

So - if not through long term goal setting, how do we stay focused? What do we need to do to provoke those thoughts that become the reality of our focus? We need to think more in terms of a vision for our lives. "Vision is the part of our lives that encompasses pure possibilities," Deepak Chopra. We can (and probably should) set short term goals to help us reach our vision. But setting long term goals can actually be restricting, and may even prevent us from realizing our vision. The key is to always be "seeing" one's vision without missing the beauty of the path along the way.

And those are my thoughts that.

--------------------------------------------------------

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

my thoughts on......resolutions

By now, most of us have broken our new year's resolutions. No big news there. The act of breaking our resolutions is as common as actually making the resolution. So, why make the resolution at all? I think the answer to that is - at the time we make the resolution, we believe we are going to keep it. If for only a few days, or even for a few hours, we see ourselves exercising everyday, or watching less TV, becoming healthy, happy, successful. It's like a mini fantasy. Like when we buy a lottery ticket and imagine that we are the big winner! And then, the reality of our lives settles back in, and the fantasy is forgotten - the resolution is broken.

But.....what would happen if this year, you kept just one resolution? What if, just this one time, you didn't allow the expectations of others, old habits, or fears to keep you from doing something that would improve the quality of your life?

What if? You can answer that question now, or you can answer it at the beginning of next year, when you start the process all over again.

And those are my thoughts on that.
--------------------------------------------------

"You always do what you want to do. This is true with every act. You may say that you had to do something, or that you were forced to, but actually - whatever you do, you do by choice. Only you have the power to choose for yourself."
W. Clement Stone

my thoughts on ....... this blog

This is my second attempt at blogging. I started my first blog, about a year ago, with the intention of writing regular posts that would be filled with ideas & information that would somehow make the world a better place. Well, thankfully the world wasn't depending on me, because I failed in all matters. I failed at writing regular posts, and I failed (miserably) at providing interesting ideas & information that - had it been read - would have made the world a better place. Instead, my few attempts at blogging were random, and of no value to anyone who might have stumbled upon them. Oh, I suppose it was helpful to me, in that I did go through the process of learning to set up a blog. And, I did enjoy the few moments of creativity when I was posting. So, it was not an altogether wasted experience. Just one that had ran its course.

So - here I am a year later, starting my new blog. I suppose the first thing to do is to answer the question - why? My best answer is that even though I did such a poor job with my first blog, I still enjoy the creative process. I love to write, and at this time - this is my best outlet for my writing. I can honestly say, even if no one else enjoys or appreciates it, I am OK with that. Of course, my choice would be to have followers who did enjoy and appreciate my blogs. I'm not saying that isn't important to me. It is. It just isn't the motivating force behind my blog.

My new blog is called "my thoughts on that" because I am well-known for giving my opinion. Sometimes when it isn't wanted! So, I am hopeful that by saying exactly what I'm thinking about something on my blog, I can curb my inclination to offer my thoughts when in conversation with someone who may not value my opinion as much as I do! I will be expressing myself on all sorts of topics - from the very serious to the outrageous. I will not only offer my thoughts, but I will also try to give inspirational quotes, links to related stories, etc., etc., to try to make the posts more interesting.

And those are my thoughts on that.

---------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave comments........