Our Changing Normal

"There is nothing permanent except change." - Heraclitus

Each of us encounter changes in our lives on a fairly constant basis. Change is really the one thing that seems to remain constant in our life. I have experienced many changes in my lifetime and as such had to adopt a willingness to flow with those changes.

This has been especially true when it comes to my job in the high tech industry. For over 35 years I have managed to remain employed even as the industry continues to evolve rapidly. The last thirty years have been with one company, so suffice to say the young guys are probably putting me into the dinosaur class.

But I am still here, keeping up with the changes.

In all of my year, I have had to adapt as many of you have in your lives. I have paid a personal cost due to changes and decisions made which were not expected. As it is said, one decision begets another, so on and so forth.

Yet all of us survive and push through.

Many times I could have wallowed in a negative attitude, complaining about all that was happening around me. Doing so would have left me lost in a sea of change. To feel you have lost all control can make it difficult to pull out of at times.

You struggle to find one bit of good through the maze of confusion.

And once you find the good, it becomes your focus and the goodness grows. To have a positive attitude helps tremendously and it will guide you through the bad times. It will help you get safely to the other side.

I am reminded of dialog from a movie called Tombstone, in which Wyatt Earp is telling a dying Doc Holliday that all he ever wanted was a 'normal' life. Doc Holliday responds to him by saying, "Wyatt, there is no such thing as a normal life. It's just life."

The same is true in our own life. There is no such thing as a normal life because life will happen around you. That is the normal part of living. How you react and respond to that 'normal' will determine the type of life you live.

Choose to live it well. Choose to live it in a positive way.

Stay inspired my friends!

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

- Charles R. Swindoll -

We The Spectators

“Too often we honor swagger and bluster and wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others.” ― Robert F. Kennedy

blus·ter

verb : talk in a loud, aggressive, or indignant way with little effect.
"you threaten and bluster, but won't carry it through"
synonyms: rant, rave, thunder, bellow, sound off

noun : loud, aggressive, or indignant talk with little effect.
"their threats contained a measure of bluster"
synonyms: ranting, thundering, hectoring, bullying

When the wind howls on a snowy day, or the waves blow crashing across the dunes during a hurricane, there will be spectators. As the swirling terror of a tornado rips through the heart of the country. Like someone blustering loudly for all who will listen.

There will be spectators.

When those winds of a rant or blustery occasion subside, there will be debris left behind for others to clean up. There will be property damage and human scares left in the wake of the storm.

There will be spectators.

A thundering wind does not care what havoc occurs in its path nor does it mind what debris are left behind. All it cares is to blow hard across the landscape, to hear its own self.

And of course, to have spectators.

All of us are drawn to the spectacle a blustery wind storm creates. Yet the hollow shouts of excited enthusiasm are drowned out by the bellowing of the wind. But then the stage is cleared, calm returns.

And the spectators will leave.

Stay inspired my friends!

What Do You Expect?

“People expect what they expect.. They never realize the possibility of surprise beyond expectations..!” ― Vaibhav Mehta

Its official, if you expect the worst, you will not be disappointed.

An article in Popular Science revealed information about a psychology study published in the journal Cognition and Emotion confirming the old adage reflects how you will feel about failure.

The study conducted shows that people who expected to perform poorly on a test actually felt worse when they did fail. This in comparison to those who also failed but approached the test with a positive attitude.

I would say the real message in all of this is your attitude.

Failure is a part of life and comes with being human. If you go around with a negative attitude about everything in life, you will likely feel worse when failure does occur.

And why is that true? Because when the failure occurs, you have only reinforced your negative belief. You dwell on the fact that only bad things happen and you simply feel worse. Negative reinforcement one could say.

If true, why not embrace the idea that failures and success both happen?

Change your mindset to believe success can and does happen. When failure occurs, treat it as a lesson learned that will only help to make you better.

You can live in the negative and feel continually bad about "...your lot in life." Or you can choose to live in the positive and enjoy all that you can attain.

Stay inspired my friends!

Your Healthy Heart

"In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than two and a half billion times, without ever pausing to rest. Like a pumping machine, the heart provides the power needed for life." - from The Human Heart

Several years ago I went in for tests to check on the condition of my heart. The doctor had decided to perform a Nuclear Isotope Stress Test and an Echocardiogram which are meant to better understand how well my heart is functioning. There had been a few small warning signs and I do have factors which also increase my chances for heart disease or worse yet a heart attack.

After testing, a few days passed before I received the results and until then I let life go on normally. The 'normal' I refer to meant continuing to train for the Peachtree 10K Roadrace on July 4th back in 2010. My wife Laura and I have run/walked/volunteered in this event for many years.

We get immense enjoyment from doing so.

This particular year the training had exposed some pains I had never noticed before. I would like to say I decided myself, but with the encouragement of my wife a visit to the doctor was planned.

And what were those signs of something being wrong?

The following symptoms are those which you should pay attention to. I did and actually had a few of these which triggered my visit to see a doctor to catch any problems ahead of falling face first on the running course at Cardiac Hill. Yes, actually referred to with that name.

- Angina; feeling of tightness, pressure, or pain which appears with exertion or stress and disappears with rest. Usually felt in the chest, throat, upper abdomen, or arms.
-- ANSWER: Yes, not terribly bad but it was there and I paid attention to it.

- Shortness of breath; difficulty breathing when exerting yourself, resting or asleep.
-- ANSWER: Yes, sort of. I tried to explain it away with the exercise, but it would appear at other times when it should not have.

- Edema; swelling of your ankles, usually at the end of the day.
-- ANSWER: Yes, a weird symptom that I would not have expected.

- Palpitations; forceful, rapid, or irregular heartbeat.
-- ANSWER: No, this is one I would have expected to have.

- Fatigue; decreased ability to exercise, tiring easily.
-- ANSWER: Yes, the most frustrating one of all. I get plenty of sleep but fatigue creeps up on me quickly.

- Fainting; sudden loss of consciousness or light-headedness.
-- ANSWER: No, none of this.

So here I was not trying to be 'He-Man' and kept pushing through. I chose the route of "Einstein-Man" or in other words, smart about my health.

I talked to my doctor about my symptoms.

We discussed it and given the symptoms, more tests. The certainty of those test results had me wondering what my new normal would become. But fair enough to say that I ended up being okay. The usual of course, exercise more, lose more weight, and all of those things I thought I was doing.

I remain positive though after all these years since that time to do the best I can. I look forward to fifty more years of encouraging and inspiring others greater heights. And more so seeing my children, grand-children and great-grand children experience great lives.

So be smart about your health folks.

Exercise just a bit more, maybe join a gym and talk to a doctor when you can about your health. Find out more about being healthy. The internet has a HUGE amount of information for you to read about staying healthy.

So learn, act and realize great health. Have a healthy life and a great life; your best life possible.

Stay inspired my friends!