Talent and potential mean nothing if you can’t

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“Talent and potential mean nothing if you can’t consistently do things when you don’t feel like doing them.”

—Shane Parish, Athens, Georgia based guitarist

Image from Unsplash by Rachel Sanner

Consistency is a superpower.

Putting in your steps when the weather is mild and sunny is easy. Doing so when the skies are grey and there is a chilly wind in your face is another story.

What percent of your talent and potential have you realized?

How does it correlate with your attitude and willingness to push through the challenging “I don’t want to’s” in your life?

What habits have you developed that channel the discipline to push through the resistance that often blocks your way?

EXERCISE:

Consider reading and applying the many nuggets of wisdom from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. Over 120,000 5- and 4-star reviews are on to something!

Beautiful things come together a stitch at a time

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Beautiful things come together a stitch at a time. Pace your efforts and watch the tapestry of your life unfold.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Barbara Krysztofiak

Where do you find yourself rushing through your days, or adding a level of urgency to areas of life that are clearly unimportant?

Where did all this striving to keep up or get ahead originate?

Where do the concepts of peer pressure — or the fear of missing out — have you trying to pack twenty pounds of potatoes into a ten-pound bag?

Years ago, my wife belonged to a needle craft club where she created various works of art a stitch at a time.

Sometimes a two-hour session would result in only a few square inches of her evolving masterpiece. Years later, these pieces have become increasingly meaningful because of how her meticulous efforts led to a one-and-only creation.

EXERCISE:

Where in your world would a slower pace help you seek, find, and stitch together a more beautiful and meaningful life?

Friday Review: Self-Image

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FRIDAY REVIEW: Self-Image

How has your self-image shifted over the last year? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

 

 

 

 

“When science discovers the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not it.”

 

 

 

 

“If you run out of kind words for yourself stop talking.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far backward

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“You might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far backward.”

—James Thurber, 20th century American cartoonist, humorist, and playwright

Image from Unsplash by Vitolda Klein

Today’s quote offers us alternative ways to fall flat in life.

The first choice involves being a leader in our own life and charting our own course through the world.

The second involves the impossible task of always trying to please others.

In the first case we get to pick ourselves up and start over whenever we wish. In the second, our backs never seem to straighten and it can eventually break you.

EXERCISE:

How often do you find yourself bending backwards to please others?

Where would listening to your inner voice and forging forward be a better approach for successful living no matter how many times you fall?

To achieve great things, two things are needed

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“To achieve great things, two things are needed: A plan, and not quite enough time.”

—Leonard Bernstein, 20th century American conductor, composer, and author

Image from Unsplash by Alvaro Reyes

What significant tasks or projects have you always wanted to tackle?

How often do you use the lack of time as the reason for putting them off?

How often do you see an empty calendar when all the stars align for you to begin?

When such rare days appear, how frequently are you diverted into some other far more pleasant venture?

What would happen if we simply used the small blocks of time we do have to first plan our efforts and then nibble away at our elephants, one bite at a time?

EXERCISE:

Schedule 5 to 15 minutes today to create a plan for a small or modest size project.

Allocate 5 to 15 minutes each day this week to execute the items in your plan. Take note of the momentum created by just being in action.

Using this approach, what will it take to create something great?

You can spend a lifetime prioritizing safety and security, but the world

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“You can spend a lifetime prioritizing safety and security, but the world comes alive when you consciously and selectively loosen your grip on the two.”

—Stephen St. Amant, author of the Savenwood blog

Image from Unsplash by National Cancer Institute

A few weeks ago, my granddaughter had an accident at her playground. During a trip down the slide she bumped her mouth and lost one of her front baby teeth.

Following a visit to the ER, the dentist, and some time to let everyone’s emotions settle, she is back to her usual playful self.

Although parents and grandparents want to keep their little ones safe at all times, this may not always be the best way to help them venture out and grow.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life have you prioritized safety and security?

Where might loosening your grip on the two offer you far more rewards well worth the possible bumps along the way?

Where is it time to zoom in on the details or zoom out on the big picture

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Where is it time to zoom in on the details or zoom out on the big picture? What type of focus is required in your current situation?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Aaron Burden

Last month, many of us in the United States had the opportunity to see the solar eclipse. A family we know traveled 1500 miles from their home to see this event in San Antonio with their two young boys.

Road trips like these are an integral part of their home-schooling efforts and they took plenty of side trips along the way to zoom in and out to capture many other sights and wonders.

EXERCISE:

Where and how would your life improve with greater focus on more of the details of your world?

How might zooming out to a bigger, broader view of things offer you greater perspective and insight about the world?

Friday Review: Renewal

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Friday Review: Renewal

What do you do to renew and rejuvenate yourself? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

When we feel burned out and depleted sometimes we need to plug into a new source of energy that renews and restores. Resting is only one available option.

 

 

 

“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.”

 

 

 

 

“Exhaustion is not a status symbol.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be

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“The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed — to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is.”

—Parker Palmer, American author, educator, and activist

Image from Unsplash by Mohamed Nohassi

How much time do your spend soul searching and looking within for answers to your most pressing matters?

Where do you go and what do you do to free yourself to examine the inner wisdom to direct your life?

Sometimes instead of going within for clarity we seek to be advised by others.

Although these people are mostly well intended, they often share their own “been there / done that” experiences as the T-shirts they think we should wear.

In many of these cases, being saved or fixed by their solutions just doesn’t fit.

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you spend more time witnessing the unfolding of your soul?

How can you also advise the people in your world to quietly let you discover more of the answers for yourself?

The way you look at things is the most powerful force shaping your life

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“The way you look at things is the most powerful force shaping your life.”

—John O’ Donohue, late Irish poet, author, Hegelian philosopher

Image from Unsplash by Bradley Pisney

Today’s quote is an excellent reminder to develop and cultivate our self-awareness and mindfulness abilities.

When we choose to adopt constructive perspectives and attitudes, we can harness our powers of perception to create a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

If and when we look at things from a negative or closed mindset, we limit our abilities to navigate life’s challenges and complexities.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you exercise and develop your powers of perception to shape your life and your world for the better?