"As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can; by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given." ~Mary Lou Retton
During my teen years, I worked for a farmer near our own farm. He ran a very large operation and during the summer hired several people to help him with the many different operations he ran.
One of the operations he ran was a well drilling operation. These were water wells for either farm use or irrigation wells. His youngest son ran the crew of three others, including myself when they needed the extra hand. The crew hired was fairly ragtag.
One hired hand usually spent his money each night at the bar.
While we were at work, lunch time would roll around and he did not have enough money left for lunch. This made afternoons difficult for him as he slowed considerably due to not having eaten anything.
The farmer who owned the entire operation told him one day, "Son, you need to bring something each day. Even if you have very little money, a simple cheese and bread sandwich will do."
You can choose to drink one less beer and have enough money for a cheese sandwich. Or you can get smart with your life and have many more choices than a simple cheese sandwich.
Choices in life could mean making the bread wheat or adding a slice of tomato. Having two fewer beers could mean adding potato chips or a soda to your lunchtime meal. Saving your drinking for the weekend could mean doing a better job at work and getting a raise.
It is about the choices we make in life.
Small decisions can turn into big changes that propel us to a better life. A simple cheese sandwich can turn into something great if you make different choices. Try making a change in your life and see what happens.
“We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” ― Lee Iacocca
Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) Pick a black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) Pick a white pebble, she need not marry him and her father's debt would be forgiven.
3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful, analysis and would produce three possibilities:
1. Refuse to take a pebble.
2. Show there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. Pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself to save her father from his debt.
Take a moment to ponder over the story.
The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers. What would you recommend to the girl to do?
What she did was ....
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
'Oh, how clumsy of me,' she said. 'But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.'
Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dare not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY?
Most complex problems do have a solution.
Live life filled with positive thoughts and sound decisions. And stay inspired my friends!
“Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” - Winston Churchill
A few years ago I took a trip to visit the Chickamauga National Military Park in the state of Georgia. It is a somewhat forgotten piece of American Civil War history. Taking the tour of the battle fields and listening to what happened among the trees of those north Georgia hills is truly amazing. It was the last major battle that the southern Confederate forces won during our Civil War in the 1860s.
As you listen, you hear stories of courage and determination from both the northern and southern forces. The men that fought those battles died with valor for a cause that each believed in. The generals and politicians each had opposing views of what was right and just for our country.
Those differences are similar to current events and many of the same arguments can be seen. Historians still judge the events from past wars such as our own Civil War. And history will be the judge of our present day conflicts and disagreements. What we do though is continue to move forward with the decisions we make and try to learn from that history.
Your own life is a reflection of the decisions you make. Those decisions will be influenced by your own history and perception of events. Study and learn from your historical experience. You will grow and improve your life if you do.
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I happen to be a fan of the old Clint Eastwood western movies and maybe you have seen one or two of them as well. Many times he plays the unknown gunslinger who might have a checkered past but somehow has the redeeming quality of doing what is right. One of my favorite movies is "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
It is a movie that pits three men against each other in the search for a treasure. In a crucial scene near the end, the Clint Eastwood character declares that only he knows the real name of a grave in which the treasure is buried. He then writes the name on a rock, placing it in the middle of the graveyard.
He proceeds to tell the other two characters that "two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're going to have to earn it." The three then begin to stare each other down in the circular center of a cemetery, calculating alliances and dangers in a Mexican standoff before suddenly drawing their guns.
A Mexican standoff, as I am sure you have heard before is a stalemate, no one with an advantage, and no way to make a decision. In its most precise definition, it is a confrontation among three opponents. Popular usage would refer to only two opponents in which neither side has an advantage by attacking first. The interesting thing is that each of us create this standoff in our own minds daily.
We conspire against ourselves, weighing the decision to get out of bed early versus staying snuggled in bed warm, sleeping another 20 minutes. We could get up early to read, meditate, exercise or we could simply stay in bed sleeping. You might think is is an easy decision to make but it can stifle you.
Better yet, you might be thinking of taking that one college course to advance your skills. Yet it means sacrificing time with friends and additional effort in energy or less sleep while you study. The results could mean a better paying job, advancement or any other number of postivie outcomes. But we create that standoff, a Mexican standoff within our mind. Do I or do I not pull the trigger on moving forward in life?
How does one "win" the standoff when allow both sides of our mind have equal advantage? To answer, let us go back to the three men standing in the circle. Each has what seems to be no advantage but that is not quite so. You also have an advantage that you may not thought of, an advantage in which you have stacked the odds in your favor.
In the movie, the Clint Eastwood character had done just that. He had taken the bullets secretly from one of the men. The decision to pull first and which man to shoot first was easy. He had stacked the deck in his favor and so can you.
In your own standoff, you get to stack the deck by doing some things before hand. You get to make the decision and by believing in yourself, the deck is stacked in your favor. You know the benefits of making the right choice, of where you want to be in life and believe that you will get there.
So when the standoff occurs, you have the gun of decision already in hand and get to pull the trigger first. When you believe in yourself, no matter the outcome, the decision becomes easier each time. You will be the one to pull the trigger first.
Sounds easy, right?
Setting yourself up for success is never easy. It takes hard work and consistency in your daily habits. There will be days when you fail to pull the trigger first and the day will fall from a bullet of indecision. You mourn the decision and then let it go and move forward.
The next decision to be made will come around soon enough. This one you will pull first and have the advantage within your own Mexican standoff. The accomplishments and success will be your's to have. And all it took was making a decision to keep your life moving forward.
Volition is defined as the act of making a choice or decision. Other sources describe it as "the cognitive process by which an individual decides on and commits to a particular course of action."
So what that means is we have the power to choose our own attitude, our own happiness, or even our own path in life. All it takes is making a decision to do just that. All it takes is overcoming our own self-doubt.
It is the making of a decision that we often struggle with. We worry either about the outcomes of a decision or about having enough information. Sometimes it comes down to trusting our own ability to accept the choices we have made. Other times we are simply scared to decide.
Whatever is preventing you from making those decisions, know that the power to decide still lay in your own hands.
Knowing that you have that power is a big part of moving forward. But if you need some added ideas, Kathryn Britton wrote a good article in Positive Psychology News Daily titled "On Making Choices". In summary, she offers six tips on improving your ability to make a decision.
Learn how to make good enough choices, rather than aim for best choices.
Make a choice and then focus on its benefits instead of peering down the road not taken.
Remember that the identifiable attributes of a decision may be negligible compared to the accidentals that one cannot predict.
Create personal heuristics for choices that do not warrant great effort, such as selecting items on a menu.
Group large numbers of options into categories so that you can rule out several at a time, rather than having to study the pros and cons of each individually.
After collecting the pros and cons of the remaining alternatives, give your intuitive mind a chance to work on decisions that involve integrating a large number of complex options.
The choiceis yours to make. Start with small ones if you must but the key is to make a choice and move forward. There might be setbacks but you make a choice and you go with it. Of your own volition, you keep moving your life forward.
"It is truly said: It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide what to do." -Chow Ching
Early in the morning, the alarm awakens us to another work day. Rattling our mind from the quiet recess of dream and slumber. We may roll over and take refuge in the snooze button for a few more minutes. Yet we eventually remove ourselves from the bed and prepare for the day ahead.
It certainly didn't take much physical strength to move from the resting state to a state of movement. The strength came in your will to rejoin others in the daily tasks at hand. It is the 'will' to do something that takes the most strength.
In every decision you make, there is a battle within the mind to either stand still and do nothing, or take a step forward in action. But as you notice each morning, it isn't the physical act of taking a step but the decision to take that step which requires strength.
When I begin a new book, I always battle the negative aspects of doing so. Will people purchase it, will people like the book and will they actually be able to take some measure of goodness from it? The battle of time and work involved sit like a rugged mountain in the middle of my path. Is it worth the effort to climb it one more time? But with each book, the will to proceed grows easier. I have reached the peak, seen the other side and know the effort is well worth it.
You can develop the strength of will by continually moving forward. You fight off the desire to remain complacent. If you do not, laying in bed all day will eventually result in bed sores and a not very pleasant life. Get up and move out into the day with the strength of your decisions.
The results will surprise you when you decide to step out in change. It is the decision which is the hardest part. The rest will seem easy. _
is yours to make. Start with small ones if you must but the key is to make a choice and move forward. There might be setbacks but you make a choice and you go with it. Of your own volition, you keep moving your life forward.