What level of accountability do you hold, personally or professionally? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“Live a gentle, human-sized life.”
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
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What things in life get you excited and stir your passions? What activities and efforts really float your boat? How fast and how far have these winds taken you personally and professionally?
Sometimes people find themselves adrift in the middle of nowhere without direction. They often feel lost at sea with a sense of queasiness and loneliness without a place to drop anchor. It’s at such times that our passions can be combined with the purpose of a north star to guide us home.
Where and how can you more fully combine both passion and purpose in your life to sail confidently and contently into the welcoming harbors of your world?
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Research has shown that when we do the same things day after day we fire and wire our neurons to generate consistent and ingrained patterns of thinking and acting. If we happen to be sad over extended periods of time, changing things up can alter our brain chemistry, improve our overall well-being, and strengthen our social connections.
Engaging in new physical activities, taking a creative class, and even learning new recipes and cooking techniques are just a few ways to break your patterns so that a more positive outlook on things can emerge.
How can and will you embrace Merlin’s wisdom and engage in some new learning effort to magically boost your mood and chase some clouds away? Feel free to reply to this post with what new learning efforts work best for you.
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I used to believe that puzzles were something you only did to pass the time on vacation or on a rainy day where there was seemingly nothing to do. These days puzzles are an almost daily activity with my grandson Weston. He keeps graduating to increasingly more challenging images with more and more pieces. Matching colors, finding the straight edges, and of course securing those all-important corners are all part of his increased mastery.
Take the metaphoric leap to view your own life as an 80,000-piece effort. How can you be more focused and intentional about flipping, sorting, and placing your living, breathing pieces to build your own less puzzling masterpiece?
What parts of your personal and professional puzzles are you piecing together? Who are the people sitting around the tables of your life that can help and support your efforts?
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Jay Shetty of the CALM Daily Jay meditation series recently offered today’s quote as a twist on a common theme to mindful awareness.
We all wrestle with chaotic thoughts from time to time, much like distractible hyperactive monkeys playing in the trees and jumping from branch to branch. Unless they are sleeping or grooming one another, their kinetic energy is often off the charts.
Shetty, a former Hindu monk, suggests we develop a monk mind of calm self-reflection and awareness that we can access during times of both calm and chaos.
Bring to mind your own vision of a mindful monk. How can and will you develop and practice these attributes to calm the rambunctious monkeys that often scurry around in your head? Click here to learn more about Jay.
We could all benefit from more laughter these days. Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“A good laugh recharges your battery.”
“A person who belly laughs doesn’t bellyache.”
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How do you go about getting the things you want? How do you influence and persuade the people in your life to act in ways that you desire?
What are your current strategies and approaches with family members, neighbors, and your professional colleagues? As parents, grandparents, and other influencers of young impressionable minds, today’s quote is particularly relevant.
I recently attended an engaging webinar on Ethical Persuasion by Sam Horn, in which she introduced many practical and creative ways to gain attention and buy in to our ideas and intentions.
She shared what she called “words to lose” and “words to use” when we want to transform resistance into rapport. Here are just a few of her suggestions:
Words to Lose: but —should — you’ll have to
Words to Use: and — next time — If you would please
What are some of the words you use that are shaping or shaming the people in your life?
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When do you receive the most rain where you live?
Just as water is essential to life, Rumi suggests that wisdom is water for our spirits. Unfortunately, we do not always receive rain when we need it throughout the year.
What season of life are you in? Look back over the years to see how you have benefited from the wisdom of others and become the reservoir for members of your communities who thirst for its refreshing and renewing properties.
Where in your world are people experiencing a drought of wisdom and a thirst for growth?
How can we tap the aquifers and sprinkler systems that are often out of sight to soak and refresh our souls?
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My grandson Weston loves to watch TV, especially when he is learning something new. The options for both learning and entertainment these days seem limitless. I find his ability to keep a laser focus on most occasions remarkable.
Many of his favorite programs are found on YouTube, which inserts ads if you are not a premium customer. Upon seeing these ads, he promptly says “Skip It,” not wanting to wait even the 5 seconds to hit the link for the show to resume.
Where in your personal and professional worlds do you find yourself edgy and impatient with the pace of things? How do you behave when you desire to get back to the good stuff of what you consider important and urgent?
What are the payoffs and benefits of your impatience?
Where is there a cost or some considerable downside to skipping things that are truly important in your life?
Image from Unsplash by J. Balla Photography
Over the past several months, I’ve been finding it more difficult sleeping through the night. I usually wake between 4 and 5 a.m., still tired but with an active mind that makes falling back to sleep difficult.
After about 20 minutes of tossing and turning, a visit to the facilities, a drink of water, and maybe a visit to the kitchen for a nibble to calm my growling stomach, I try again.
One sleep strategy that often works is listening to the sleep stories on my Calm app. These guided journeys take me on a variety of adventures and back to dreamland, well before the stories are ended. Upon rising refreshed, I do my best to keep this hopeful state of possibilities throughout my day.
What hopes and dreams do you want to realize today?
What possibilities can and will you turn into reality with your imagination and creative intentions?