A single act that occurs to you can set the tone for your entire day, if you choose to let it. Those seemingly small 'slights' that are thrust upon you by another person. An example would be getting cut off in traffic.
This happened to me recently at a two lane right-turn when a person in the righthand turn lane decided to get into a hurry. They moved over into my lane as I was turning and nearly hit me. Now out of all the articles I've written, life happens and you should just let it go. But of course I couldn't for the first five or so minutes.
How could this person do this, 'what a jerk' and all the other thoughts you develop in these situations. Physically I could tell that it was upsetting me, I identified it and began a series of thought processes to bring me up from that low point.
You first identify that is has upset and is effecting you. Secondly, ask yourself why you are reacting in this manner. What is the reason that action upset you in the first place. Then begin to think about how you are going to let it effect you the rest of the day. If you decide to hold onto it and let it fester, the rest of the day is going to be miserable.
Let it go, chalk it up to simple human interaction. There was no real harm, so no real foul and you both move on. The problem is if you don't, it will impact how you deal with others during the day and can have disasterous results. Letting it go will free you to move on and have a productive day.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Lifes Debris
"Knowing who you are, when you do, you can overcome anything." - Dean Sweetman
Life has a funny way of throwing obstacles in your daily path. My choice of the word 'funny' is because what else can you call it. Is it life conspiring only against you? I doubt that very much. Is it a predestined pattern for your life and your life only? I doubt that very much. No, life is just happening, circumstance is occurring as you pass along on your daily path.
It may be that you are driving to work and in the traffic you encounter debris in the middle of your lane. Boom...you run over it and a flat tire occurs. You hobble your way over to the side of the road. You say to yourself, "why is this always happening to me?" But it isn't, it happens to other folks. It isn't as if someone was waiting along the road for you to come along and drop the debris out there.
Sure you could have left five minutes earlier, maybe used the other lane or possibly had your mind on driving instead of other things. Just maybe you would have avoided the trouble. The fact remains is you didn't avoid it and here it is, a flat tire. Life happening with all of its splendor. You change the tire, call for road service or someone stops to help. Eventually you are on your way once again.
It could have been worse you suppose. It could have been raining, not a great condition to be changing a tire. The spare tire could have been flat, the debris could have caused more damage resulting in a terrible and tragic accident. Oh the 'what if' things we could conjure up through our imagination. But none of it didn't, a flat tire occurred, you pulled over, it was changed and you were on your way. Life was just happening.
For those that do not understand themselves will have a hard time understanding that it was just life happening. They will berate themselves or worry with second guesses of what may have or could happen. I wouldn't be bold enough to say that you will fully understand yourself. I'm not even sure I understand who I am completely.
Just trust in who you are and where you want to be in life. Life's inconveniences will become minor bumps on the path to your vision. You will gain confidence in overcoming anything that comes your way. It isn't to say that you won't face difficulties. What you will be able to do is flow through difficulties better. To make the lows less low and the highs much higher is what each of you deserve.
Life has a funny way of throwing obstacles in your daily path. My choice of the word 'funny' is because what else can you call it. Is it life conspiring only against you? I doubt that very much. Is it a predestined pattern for your life and your life only? I doubt that very much. No, life is just happening, circumstance is occurring as you pass along on your daily path.
It may be that you are driving to work and in the traffic you encounter debris in the middle of your lane. Boom...you run over it and a flat tire occurs. You hobble your way over to the side of the road. You say to yourself, "why is this always happening to me?" But it isn't, it happens to other folks. It isn't as if someone was waiting along the road for you to come along and drop the debris out there.
Sure you could have left five minutes earlier, maybe used the other lane or possibly had your mind on driving instead of other things. Just maybe you would have avoided the trouble. The fact remains is you didn't avoid it and here it is, a flat tire. Life happening with all of its splendor. You change the tire, call for road service or someone stops to help. Eventually you are on your way once again.
It could have been worse you suppose. It could have been raining, not a great condition to be changing a tire. The spare tire could have been flat, the debris could have caused more damage resulting in a terrible and tragic accident. Oh the 'what if' things we could conjure up through our imagination. But none of it didn't, a flat tire occurred, you pulled over, it was changed and you were on your way. Life was just happening.
For those that do not understand themselves will have a hard time understanding that it was just life happening. They will berate themselves or worry with second guesses of what may have or could happen. I wouldn't be bold enough to say that you will fully understand yourself. I'm not even sure I understand who I am completely.
Just trust in who you are and where you want to be in life. Life's inconveniences will become minor bumps on the path to your vision. You will gain confidence in overcoming anything that comes your way. It isn't to say that you won't face difficulties. What you will be able to do is flow through difficulties better. To make the lows less low and the highs much higher is what each of you deserve.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Kaizen - change for the better
The Japanese have a word that embodies a concept of striving to always improve. A "change for the better", the English translation being a "continuous improvement", or "continual improvement." It is something embraced within business improvement models such as Six Sigma.
The Japanese way encourages small improvements day after day, continuously. To understand that this is an on-going, never-ending improvement process. A "soft and gradual" method opposed to western habits to scrap everything and start with new.
Even though the term is applied to business, it can certainly be applied to your daily life. Making small changes in how you approach your daily life. One can use cigarette smoking as an example. For some, going 'cold turkey' is a method to accomplish something all at once. Yet statistics show it's one of the less effective ways of quitting. For every 100 smokers who quit without aids or counselling, only 10 will remain non-smokers for 12 months.
So maybe a more gradual and persistent move to change a habit is better. In turn one can make changes in attitude by taking small and gradual steps to improve. Staying on a path to change can be difficult but the reward is much greater. Big steps or small steps to change, at least take a step in a new direction, a new attitude.
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better." - Richard Hooker (English Theologian, Author and Preacher, 1554-1600)
The Japanese way encourages small improvements day after day, continuously. To understand that this is an on-going, never-ending improvement process. A "soft and gradual" method opposed to western habits to scrap everything and start with new.
Even though the term is applied to business, it can certainly be applied to your daily life. Making small changes in how you approach your daily life. One can use cigarette smoking as an example. For some, going 'cold turkey' is a method to accomplish something all at once. Yet statistics show it's one of the less effective ways of quitting. For every 100 smokers who quit without aids or counselling, only 10 will remain non-smokers for 12 months.
So maybe a more gradual and persistent move to change a habit is better. In turn one can make changes in attitude by taking small and gradual steps to improve. Staying on a path to change can be difficult but the reward is much greater. Big steps or small steps to change, at least take a step in a new direction, a new attitude.
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better." - Richard Hooker (English Theologian, Author and Preacher, 1554-1600)
Monday, September 25, 2006
Your Thoughts
This morning I have to apologize to several folks that may have commented on various articles. It seems that when a comment is submitted, two entries were getting placed and if I deleted either one, the entire comment was being tossed out. So to those that have tried to strike up a conversation, I am very sorry for that.
Today I did catch the mistake and have a copy of a comment from a recent article. The article was "Enjoy Your Work or Change It", posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006. A comment from an anonymous reader said, "There are a number of reasons why your job could be less interesting. You can like the job on itself, but when you are dealing with a bunch of idiots inside the company and the people you need to get help from are useless makes it very hard to make yourself up for a change, just imagine something will change eventually?"
I guess my thought is that you have not had great experience with quite a few of the people inside your place of work. And on the surface there are people that may read this and believe you think pretty highly of yourself. And then again, maybe your company is actually like the commercials from Career Builder. So please don't think I'm trying to pass judgement because I really don't know your personal situation.
But the key is that it is 'your' situation and not someone else. Your attitude is your's to determine. The work atmosphere you are working in sounds to be frustrating for you. The choice becomes that either your change the environment or make another change. The stress and irritation is possibly not worth the effect it is likely having on your life.
To sit back and only imagine that things will change is filled with disappointment. I have said it in the past and maybe not enough lately, but movement causes change. While the idle remain forever wishing for a better life, those that step out and create movement will see actual change occur.
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” - Robert Kennedy
Today I did catch the mistake and have a copy of a comment from a recent article. The article was "Enjoy Your Work or Change It", posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006. A comment from an anonymous reader said, "There are a number of reasons why your job could be less interesting. You can like the job on itself, but when you are dealing with a bunch of idiots inside the company and the people you need to get help from are useless makes it very hard to make yourself up for a change, just imagine something will change eventually?"
I guess my thought is that you have not had great experience with quite a few of the people inside your place of work. And on the surface there are people that may read this and believe you think pretty highly of yourself. And then again, maybe your company is actually like the commercials from Career Builder. So please don't think I'm trying to pass judgement because I really don't know your personal situation.
But the key is that it is 'your' situation and not someone else. Your attitude is your's to determine. The work atmosphere you are working in sounds to be frustrating for you. The choice becomes that either your change the environment or make another change. The stress and irritation is possibly not worth the effect it is likely having on your life.
To sit back and only imagine that things will change is filled with disappointment. I have said it in the past and maybe not enough lately, but movement causes change. While the idle remain forever wishing for a better life, those that step out and create movement will see actual change occur.
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” - Robert Kennedy
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