New Year - New Ways
The beginning of each year brings the opportunity for planned personal or professional change. The challenge to those who want to improve aspects of your life is to have clarity, stay the course, celebrate each day that actions are taken in furtherance of your goals, and have the courage to make course corrections when our change methods are not working.
If we are clear in what we want, there is a greater likelihood of success. If we have the courage to put the goals in writing (which is one of the most important steps in changing) and the self-discipline to stay the course even when the excitement and enthusiasm wears off-our success is more assured.
What is the secret to goal achievements? Why do some people succeed where others falter? Why so some people seem so confident in their ability to get what they want? The secret is that there is no secret. The success factor depends not upon one's circumstances but upon what one is willing to do in the circumstances.
The people who succeed while facing small or large obstacles are those who become engaged and emotionally invested in their goals. They focus like a laser beam upon their desires and plan of actions. They are persistent, even when faced with obstacles, and they continue to maintain a "can-do attitude".
The biggest obstacle that each of us face is our own lack of self-discipline. We can find many other things to do rather than work on our self-improvement plan. When we lack the self-discipline it is often because we really don't want to achieve a particular goal, at least not enough to fight the inertia that we inevitably experience.
When the excitement of setting goals has worn off and the true work begins, we may find our enthusiasm has waned also. It takes self-discipline to keep our enthusiastic mind-set turned on and turned up. A true, genuine, and heartfelt desire for a particular change in our lives is of paramount importance; otherwise a goal becomes merely a wish because of emotional, physical and mental laziness.
The question for the week for those who are contemplating or planning changes is, "Why do I want this change and how will it improve my life?"
Affirmation for the Week:
"I welcome changes and I will use my tools of self-discipline, focus, and enthusiasm to create a better life for myself."
Have a contemplative week
Mary Rau-Foster, E-mail Mary
Copyright 2010 by Mary Rau-Foster. All rights reserved.
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MY THOUGHTS
often, the reason we fail is because our definition of success is faulty. "when our ladder is leaning on the wrong wall, we will just get to the wrong "success" faster. i'm not saying it's easy. we live in a world where success is measured by the cars we drive, the office we keep, the high-rise we live in. true success is when you have made a difference in this world, in the life of a person - no matter how mundane or small it may seem. so, what's my goal for this year? to be a better Christian. i think this is the only way i can make a real difference - in myself and in others.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Five Ways to Welcome Change in the New Year
Five Ways to Welcome Change in the New Year
By Elizabeth Lesser
Raise your hand if you've had a crazy year with lots of changes--good, bad, or otherwise. OK! Just as I thought; we're all in this together. The most difficult change I've been dealing with is my sister's cancer diagnosis and treatment. Sitting by her bed in the oncology unit the other day, I came across words by the great Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan: "Walking on the turning wheel of the earth, living under the ever-rotating sun, man expects a peaceful life."
Reading them, I had an a-ha moment--I let go of demanding that life be predictable, easy, peaceful. Such a relief! I decided to make my New Year's resolution be about welcoming change with a willing heart. If you want to join me in this, here are some helpful ways to proceed.
Elizabeth Lesser is the cofounder of Omega Institute and the author of "Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow."
Expect Change
Since we live in a changing universe, expect change. Good change, difficult change, destructive change, transformative change.
Make Friends With Change
Try not to fight change. Make unconditional friendship with it, in whatever form it arrives.
Relax Into the Mystery
There is so much more to this life than we can ever understand through our tiny brains and fearful hearts.
So in times of big change, it's good to be gentle and kind and patient with yourself. And to relax. The best peacemakers are those who are at peace with themselves.
Receive Change's Message
Be still and listen deeply for the truth that is carried on its winds--information about the past, wisdom about the present, and direction for the future.
Come Alive
Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The African-American theologian Howard Thurman said: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."
And so, as the old year changes into the New Year, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it--for your own sake, and in service of the greater good.
MY THOUGHTS
destructive change? like tearing the whole house down so you can build a new, much better one? i kept thinking back to the many changes i've had in my life.i've had good changes, difficult ones, changes that changed me. i must say, its the destructive changes that truly transfoms us. the change that breaks you,that pulls you to the ground. the change that makes you start all over again. the change that makes you come alive. reborn into a new life. ready. accepting. actually looking for change. i'm sure the new year will be full of changes. just like the past ones. and i don't mind. it can get scary. it's hard to let go sometimes. especially if you can't find the reasons why. i learned how to accept change when i learned how to trust. i 've come to trust my Creator for all the changes in my ilfe. He knows best. He changes best.
By Elizabeth Lesser
Raise your hand if you've had a crazy year with lots of changes--good, bad, or otherwise. OK! Just as I thought; we're all in this together. The most difficult change I've been dealing with is my sister's cancer diagnosis and treatment. Sitting by her bed in the oncology unit the other day, I came across words by the great Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan: "Walking on the turning wheel of the earth, living under the ever-rotating sun, man expects a peaceful life."
Reading them, I had an a-ha moment--I let go of demanding that life be predictable, easy, peaceful. Such a relief! I decided to make my New Year's resolution be about welcoming change with a willing heart. If you want to join me in this, here are some helpful ways to proceed.
Elizabeth Lesser is the cofounder of Omega Institute and the author of "Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow."
Expect Change
Since we live in a changing universe, expect change. Good change, difficult change, destructive change, transformative change.
Make Friends With Change
Try not to fight change. Make unconditional friendship with it, in whatever form it arrives.
Relax Into the Mystery
There is so much more to this life than we can ever understand through our tiny brains and fearful hearts.
So in times of big change, it's good to be gentle and kind and patient with yourself. And to relax. The best peacemakers are those who are at peace with themselves.
Receive Change's Message
Be still and listen deeply for the truth that is carried on its winds--information about the past, wisdom about the present, and direction for the future.
Come Alive
Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The African-American theologian Howard Thurman said: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."
And so, as the old year changes into the New Year, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it--for your own sake, and in service of the greater good.
MY THOUGHTS
destructive change? like tearing the whole house down so you can build a new, much better one? i kept thinking back to the many changes i've had in my life.i've had good changes, difficult ones, changes that changed me. i must say, its the destructive changes that truly transfoms us. the change that breaks you,that pulls you to the ground. the change that makes you start all over again. the change that makes you come alive. reborn into a new life. ready. accepting. actually looking for change. i'm sure the new year will be full of changes. just like the past ones. and i don't mind. it can get scary. it's hard to let go sometimes. especially if you can't find the reasons why. i learned how to accept change when i learned how to trust. i 've come to trust my Creator for all the changes in my ilfe. He knows best. He changes best.
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