How well-defined are your ambitions? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“Ambition is a get-a-head-ache.”
“If you’re too busy to sit for 10 minutes you need to sit still for an hour.”
“The forced separation from ordinary ambitions temporarily right sizes one’s life.”
Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan
Perhaps no other event personifies today’s quote than the Olympic games. This summer over 10,000 athletes will compete in their chosen sport after spending the majority of their lives preparing for this moment.
When not physically practicing, they are also conditioning their minds and their indomitable spirits to take on the best in the world — which includes themselves.
EXERCISE:
In what ways have and are you taking the necessary steps to be prepared for life’s opportunities?
Who are the coaches and other people supporting you to grow and stretch to be your very best?
Image from Unsplash by Meghan Holmes
The 2024 summer Olympics begin on Friday July 26th. If you’re a fan like me, you’ll be tuned into this global event, watching over 10,000 athletes pursue new levels of excellence and those elusive medals.
My coaching career was inspired by the 5,000+ athletes and 2,000+ coaches at the 1992 Barcelona games.
Seeing the correlation between coaching and the highest levels of performance in sport inspired me to raise my own bar of achievement and help others pursue new levels of success in their personal and professional lives.
EXERCISE:
Where in your world do you see the bar being raised to new heights?
How and in what ways are you preparing for your personal Olympics with the goal of having a gold medal life?
Image from Unsplash by i yunmai
How often do you find yourself operating as your own PR firm, with your inner voice painting a rosy picture?
How often do you try to fool yourself by denying the realities about you and around you?
Many people do this with their personal appearance. In our youth-worshiping world, we often compare and contrast ourselves to those genetically lucky folks with perfect figures and six-pack abs.
Our propensity to judge others and ourselves can be a constant source of dissatisfaction and denial.
Looking back at the starlight from earlier times only makes us miss the current moments we’re fortunate enough to experience.
EXERCISE:
In what ways are you deluding yourself from seeing the realities of your life?
How would a more honest and objective view of things lighten your load and improve your overall attitude?
Image from Unsplash by Felicia Buitenwerf
What is your typical mood and attitude in the following situations? These are examples of positive and negative “creative tension.”
When we have seemingly positive events in our future we’re up, and when impending negative situations loom, we’re down.
What about all of those in-between moments that seem rather bland or neutral?
EXERCISE:
How can you improve your mood and shift your attitude by welcoming more of the moments of your life?
A friend of mine uses the phrase It’s All Good to express his daily appreciation of simply being alive.
Are you living up to your fullest abilities? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“Of all knowledge, the wise and good seek most to know themselves.”
“We are capable of greater things than we realize.”
“Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.”
Image from Unsplash by Willian de Oliveira
We live in two fifty-five and older senior communities — one in Pennsylvania, one in Florida. For many of us, the added trips around the sun come with various maladies — including conditions related to the wear and tear on hips, shoulders, and — given today’s quote — knees.
Some of the people I know have experienced many of these conditions on multiple occasions. What always inspires me are their courageous hearts, which have them face their challenges and continue to take each step to live as fully and meaningfully as possible.
EXERCISE:
How does your own courageous heart help you stand tall and steady when life tries to bend you over and knock you down?
Image from Unsplash by Towfiqu barbhuiya
My wife and I recently finished watching the 46th season of the TV show Survivor. To keep the viewer’s interest the game moves faster and has many more twists and turns than a formula one race.
Instead of a 39-day format each new season is squeezed into 26 days where a widely diverse group of people are placed on an island where their physical, mental, and social skills are tested to their limits and beyond.
I’ve added the word beyond because of the transformative impact this game has on many of the contestants.
Along with the potential of winning a million dollars, a high percentage of players discover new levels of grit and determination that laid dormant prior to the challenges they face by the game and their opponents.
EXERCISE:
What miracles in you are waiting their turn to happen? How can you rally your belief in yourself to not only survive but thrive playing the game of life?
Image from Unsplash by Luke Chesser
“Time management” is a misnomer. Time flies while having fun, and moves along on its own even when we’re not having such a good time.
I prefer the term allocate, as in today’s quote. It conveys levels of intentionality and prioritization in the way many people try to wisely save and spend their money.
Time is life’s ultimate currency.
We only get so much and when it’s gone it’s gone. Investing this precious resource reminds me of the phrase, Plan your work and Work your plan.
Even when we are not working it seems wise to allocate significant periods of our days to the priorities of family, community, health, and leisure to keep things operating optimally.
EXERCISE:
In what areas of your life would allocating your time more wisely make the biggest difference? What blocks of time works best for you to apply this planning practice?
Image from Unsplash by Noah Silliman
Have you ever spent time in an isolation chamber? Not me!
I think that would be too much nothing. What about the use of room darkening shades and a set of noise cancellation headphones?
We tend to live in a noisy, lights-on world where the presence of absence is absent.
How and where do you escape the barrage of stimuli that can drain your power and disturb the peace?
EXERCISE:
Where in your world is it possible to turn down the volume and turn off the lights?
Try a few experiments this week and discover the peace and power in their absence.
Try playing with your other senses and see where your mind wanders in this open field of awareness.