Communicate - Can You Hear Me?

#MondayMinder from February, 2011

"Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more."
- Bob Nelson

Can you hear me now?!

It happens to each of us. A situation occurs between two or more people. Feelings get hurt or misunderstandings arise. One person thought the other knew something or another did not give the whole story.

The problem is normally caused by a lack of communication.

It is a pure and simple explanation for many of the problems which occur in our life.

The lack of communication could be intentional or at other times inadvertent. But in the end, if we just keep talking to each other we will avoid many of the misunderstandings which get in the way of a great life.

Keep talking, keep communicating and life will be a whole lot easier.

Stay inspired my friends!

Massive Blizzard

“He who is best prepared can best serve his moment of inspiration.”
― Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The snow is coming and as predicted by Frankie, it will be a massive one for the east coast. Many will prepare and many will not. There will be misery but there will also be joy from the circumstances encountered by such a storm. The weather predictions may sound dire indeed, but what will each of those impacted do?

For now, preparation is the best course of action.

Preparing for the worst or preparing for the best in outcomes is your choice. But getting ourselves ready and doing some level of planning is always the best course. A sailor lost at sea does not simply bring his sails down and allow the current to drift him in circles. The sailor uses the stars and the wind to plan a direction on which to take course.

Preparation is the best course of action.

Try to prepare in everything that you do. Make plans before those plans have to be used. While not every plan works as planned, most do and the circumstance encountered will more easily be overcome. But it starts with planning before the snow storm begins. It begins with you.

Stay safe, stay warm and help others that may need the assistance. You just might make a new friend along the way.

And stay inspired my friends!

Rose Petals or Thorns

"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious of the rose." - Kahlil Gibran

There are many people going about their daily lives who do not realize their attitude can have a tremendous effect upon their stress level.

Being constantly negative can cause a great amount of stress.

How you look at situations as being a threat, challenge, beneficial or negative, stressful or exciting, is a matter of your point of view. But this point of view can have impact on your life. By getting rid of self-defeating thought patterns, life can be more productive, happier and less stressful.

By simply changing your attitude.

There are many articles you can read which will help you find a new attitude. One in particular is titled Reduce Stress and Improve Your Life with Positive Self Talk - Develop the Positive Self Talk Habit! by Elizabeth Scott, M.S. Here are a few of her thoughts, but read the entire article if you want to find out more.

Notice Your Patterns: The first step toward change is to become more aware of the problem. You probably don’t realize how often you say negative things in your head, or how much it affects your experience. The following strategies can help you become more conscious of your internal dialogue and its content.

Journal Writing: Whether you carry a journal around with you and jot down negative comments when you think them, write a general summary of your thoughts at the end of the day, or just start writing about your feelings on a certain topic and later go back to analyze it for content, journaling can be an effective tool for examining your inner process.

Thought-Stopping: As you notice yourself saying something negative in your mind, you can stop your thought mid-stream my saying to yourself “Stop”. Saying this aloud will be more powerful, and having to say it aloud will make you more aware of how many times you are stopping negative thoughts, and where.

Rubber-Band Snap: Another therapeutic trick is to walk around with a rubber band around your wrist; as you notice negative self-talk, pull the band away from your skin and let it snap back. It’ll hurt a little, and serve as a slightly negative consequence that will both make you more aware of your thoughts, and help to stop them! (Or, if you don’t want to subject yourself to walking around with a rubber band on your wrist, you’ll be even more careful to limit the negative thoughts!)

Replace Negative Statements: A good way to stop a bad habit is to replace it with something better. Once you’re aware of your internal dialogue, here are some ways to change it:

Milder Wording: Have you ever been to a hospital and noticed how the nurses talk about ‘discomfort’ instead of ‘pain’? This is generally done because ‘pain’ is a much more powerful word, and discussing your ‘pain’ level can actually make your experience of it more intense than if you’re discussing your ‘discomfort’ level. You can try this strategy in your daily life. In your self-talk, turning more powerful negative words to more neutral ones can actually help neutralize your experience. Instead of using words like ‘hate’ and ‘angry’ (as in, “I hate traffic! It makes me so angry!”), you can use words like ‘don’t like’ and ‘annoyed’ (“I don’t like traffic; it makes me annoyed,” sounds much milder, doesn’t it?)

Change Negative to Neutral or Positive: As you find yourself mentally complaining about something, rethink your assumptions. Are you assuming something is a negative event when it isn’t, necessarily? (For example, having your plans cancelled at the last minute can be seen as a negative, but what you do with your newly-freed schedule can be what you make of it.) The next time you find yourself stressing about something or deciding you’re not up to a challenge, stop and rethink, and see if you can come up with a neutral or positive replacement.

Change Self-Limiting Statements to Questions: Self-limiting statements like “I can’t handle this!” or “This is impossible!” are particularly damaging because they increase your stress in a given situation and they stop you from searching for solutions. The next time you find yourself thinking something that limits the possibilities of a given situation, turn it into a question. Doesn’t “How can I handle this?” or “How is this possible?” sound more hopeful and open up your imagination to new possibilities?

The pessimist in you is probably saying "this is all silliness and will never work." Well I say why not give it a try and see a change in your life.

See the rose for all it's beauty and the greatness in your own life.

And stay inspired my friends!

What Is Your Story

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." - William James

We allow ourselves to go through life with a belief that the path we are on was pre-chosen for us. Looking forward, the only thing we allow ourselves to see is a narrow road which leads off in one direction. We might not be happy with this path, so we try to adapt to the road, to the scenery and make the best of our travel.

One day we come upon an intersection and stop to wonder.

We stop at this crossroads and see something different on the horizon, another path. Our interest is heightened but our mind tells us to "stay on our own path."

So we follow our mind and continue down the same path but with a growing sense this is not the path we should be traveling. And then one day you are standing at another crossroads. Here is the point at which you finally make a decision.

A decision of change in your life is made.

I would like to hear and share with others this decision you made in life. It is this change I want others to hear about. A story of your change in attitude and in personal revelation and change in direction.

What made you choose another path?

Your story can impact the lives of other people and together we can change lives for the better. With our stories of what we did to change the course of our lives will give others the courage to do the same.

I have heard some say "no one would want to hear my story" or "it was such a small and insignificant thing." These are precisely the stories I want to hear about. They are precisely the stories other people need to hear.

Leave a lasting impact for others.

Send me your story of change; the thing that happened which changed it all for you. It will be combined with a gathering of other stories to share with those who might be standing at their own crossroads right now.

Send your story to me at josephprimm@bellsouth.net.

These stories will become part of a larger story to inspire others. Stories which you helped to craft in changing the lives of others with something as simple as your own story.

If you are unsure, then guess what...you may very well be standing at that crossroads looking down the path at a new horizon. A new path which can make a difference for many others. Make a difference, make a change, tell your story.

Stay inspired my friends!