Category Archives: Self Improvement

“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”

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“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”

-Albert Camus, French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher

QC #636

Our society embraces youth, beauty, and vitality. These qualities coincide with spring and summer, where new growth begins and we bloom into our fullness.

As we age, we enter the autumn of our lives. I embrace the metaphor of leaves, in all their wondrous colors, being a second spring. With aging and life experience, we can discover new forms of inner beauty and wisdom.

Exercise:

How can you embrace every moment and every season of your life?

What beauty can you find in where you are and who you have become?

“Life’s strongest glue is being happy to be you!”

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“Life’s strongest glue is being happy to be you!”

-Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by Sam-Catch

Photo from Flickr by Sam-Catch

Have you ever heard someone say another person “has it all together”?

What exactly does this mean? If we look at attributes that could pertain to this statement, we might include the following:

  • Professional Success
  • Quality Relationships
  • Health
  • Good Looks
  • Intelligence / Wisdom

This quote points to self-acceptance as an important factor, providing the foundation and adhesive that helps us have a fulfilling life.

EXERCISE:

What are your strongest inner qualities that most support your having a full and happy life?

In what ways can you expand or enhance these attributes to further strengthen your life?

“Be there for others but never leave yourself behind.”

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“Be there for others but never leave yourself behind.”

-Author unknown

Examine all the roles you currently hold in your personal and professional worlds. If you are like many people, you may have to use toes as well as your fingers to count everything.

In what percent of these roles are you serving and supporting others? If you find the number approaching 80, 90, or even 100 percent, consider how much energy you have at days end for the most important person in your life – YOU!

There is wisdom in the flight attendant pre-flight instruction:
 Please put on your own oxygen mask before you assist others.

EXERCISE:

Take some time today to be a bit more “Self-ISH” (not selfish) by taking care of your own well-being and not leaving yourself behind, so that you can be your very best as you serve the people and organizations in your community.

What Weighs You Down

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“It is hard to fly when something is weighing you down.”

– Unknown

weighing

My health club is one of the largest in the region. It includes all the regular exercise facilities you might expect, plus some extras such as tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pools, and even a climbing wall.

I’ve noticed some of the fittest and most competitive athletes adding extra weights to their ankles or waists, to weigh themselves down and make their normal athletic efforts even more difficult.

When they remove them and are no longer weighted down, they experience a lightness and an added strength that lets them fly a bit higher and further.

Exercise:

Identify the circumstances and issues that weigh you down.

How can you use these personal and professional challenges as a resource to build your capacity to fly once you remove them completely from your life?

If a man does his best, what else is there

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“If a man does his best, what else is there?”

—George S. Patton, U.S. General in World War II

Image of a track starting line

Image from Unsplash by Kolleen Gladden

We live in a highly competitive society in which winning seems to be all that matters, in so many areas of our lives. Just look at sports, business, and even politics. However, if we examine how often any one individual or organization wins, we are often surprised at the modest or even low percentages.

This pursuit of winning and the pursuit of the perfect outcome leaves far too many of us falling short, often with negative views of ourselves and others.

Exercise:

Be your best self today and all this week, and use that as the only standard you measure yourself against.

Don’t be surprised by how great you feel, and by the considerable results you produce.

“There’s no greater power than to be in harmony with oneself.”

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“There’s no greater power than to be in harmony with oneself.”

– Panache Desai, spiritual writer

Do you like music? Me too. Great music has the power to move all of us. Think of some of your favorite songs, along with those smooth and often catchy melodies. I bet you could hum or sing some of them.

The action of tuning an instrument demonstrates that there is a certain frequency of vibration that resonates perfectly to make it sound just right.

Exercise:

Imagine you are a special and unique instrument of God that resonates at a particular frequency based on your unique abilities, gifts, values and beliefs.

Your job today is to take note 😉 of this special tune and play away.

Choose yourself

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“Choose yourself.”

– Seth Godin, author and entrepreneur

In recent months, I have met with numerous executives to explore next steps regarding their career advancement. Two of the most common options include advancement within their existing organization or creating an exit strategy to pursue greener pastures with another company.

Unfortunately in some cases, the entryway into the C-suite may be blocked, or the phone simply doesn’t ring with those plum assignments. In some cases, even after considerable networking and outreach efforts, they have yet to be picked for the team.

Exercise:

Take out one of your business cards and turn it over to the blank side. Write your name then the title “President” or a title of your choosing just under it.

By choosing yourself, you virtually eliminate all the current internal barriers that may be stopping you. Now all you need to do is overcome the external constraints to play your own game and make your ideal career a reality.

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but they are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”

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“People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but they are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”

– James Allen, author and philosopher

Do you play the lottery? Are you a wishful thinker? Would you like many of your life’s circumstances to change for the better? Do you believe in luck? As a highly optimistic person, I tend to live on the sunny side of life, where I not only hope for the best but work quite diligently to create my own luck.

Exercise:

Consider picking up the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, to explore many surprising insights into the world of success and how the hard work of improving ourselves is a fundamental key to extraordinary living.

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but they are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”

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“People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but they are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound.”

– James Allen, author and philosopher

Do you play the lottery? Are you a wishful thinker? Would you like many of your life’s circumstances to change for the better? Do you believe in luck? As a highly optimistic person, I tend to live on the sunny side of life, where I not only hope for the best but work quite diligently to create my own luck.

Exercise:

Consider picking up the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, to explore many surprising insights into the world of success and how the hard work of improving ourselves is a fundamental key to extraordinary living.

“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

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“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

– Zig Ziglar, best-selling author and motivational speaker

I’m not sure if I fully agree with this premise – however, I would support the belief that most buying decisions have a considerable emotional component. Marketers, the media, work associates and even friends and family are constantly pitching ideas and products. I find that I am most easily sold when both head and heart are involved in the decision – especially when the decisions are big ones.

Consider some of the big decisions that you’ve made successfully, including such matters as education, location, friendships, environment – and even your life partner. When making decisions such as these, you are unlikely to think, “there is an 83% likelihood we will be married seven years from now.” Instead, you pay attention to what your heart says.

Exercise:

How can you listen more closely to the wisdom of your heart, as you consider the decisions you need to make today and in the future?