Surviving difficult times

“You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity…” ~ Epicurus

Relationships are not easy.  People disappoint one another, sometimes intentionally, but often without even knowing.  In many instances it is due to a break in communication, even the lack of communication.  We expect the other person to know what we are feeling or even what we want.

If you are strong enough to survive adversity, it is like reaching the top of a mountain where you can admire the view even though every muscle is aching.  The accomplishment makes you proud of one another and you grow closer. 

True friends

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend…” ~ Albert Camus

True friendship is scarce.  If you find a true friend, treasure the relationship.  One can have many acquaintances, but a heartfelt friendship is built over many years.  It is a reciprocal relationship where each person is focussed on the others’ needs.   

True friends are there for one another; they laugh and cry together.  True friends are not scared to praise or criticise because they know it comes from the heart.  True friends believe in you, encourage you, and don’t mind your call at 4h00 in the morning…  True friends are treasures.

If you have one true friend, you are rich and fortunate.

Purpose

"Purpose is what gives life a meaning..." ¬ Charles H. Perkhurst

Do you know what your purpose is?  Maybe you are not sure or still trying to find out what your purpose is.  We all have a purpose in life. 

Without a purpose you merely exist.  Once you have established what your purpose is, you can make the best of it and inspire others to find their purpose in life too.

Do something

“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something” ― Max Lucado

Do you feel as if you are doing everything by yourself while others are sitting around doing nothing?  Don’t feel despondent.  Draw them in by delegating some of the responsibilities.  Praise them and let them know that you are involving them because of special talents that they possess.  There is no I in the word TEAM = Together everyone achieve more.  When you allow people to make mistakes while they are learning, coaching and guiding them along the way, you are empowering them.

People are often just waiting for someone to take the lead. It might be that they don’t believe in themselves.  Motivate them to take the first step.   

  

A helpless bat

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble creature in the air,
cannot take off from a level place.  If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and,no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air.  Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

Maybe life shunted you onto a sideline and you’re flapping around helplessly.  Just hang in there, soon you will find a slight elevation and take off again.

Miracles

Miracles are a retelling of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see... ~ CS LewisJohn

Tunnel vision, due to what we are going through, can prevent us from noticing miracles.  Miracles are there, we are just not noticing them anymore. 

The earth is spinning in the middle of nowhere and nobody is falling off...  Waves know exactly how far to roll onto the shore...  If you look at the quality of a photo compared to what the human eye detects, you stand in awe that the human brain can translate that into pictures with so much detail…  Every Spring trees bloom, come Fall, they lose their leaves…  A tiny newborn animal that stumble onto its wobbly legs minutes after being born and knows exactly where to find nourishment without a word being said… That babies don’t drown or suffocate in a mother’s womb…  That a heavy iron ship can float…

Open your eyes to the miracles… they’re there all the time.

Liberation!

Speak when you are angry and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret - Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Daily we are faced with people who rub us up the wrong way.  No matter how hard we try, there will always be people who are on a mission to bring out the worst in you.  It is as if they thrive on the sensation they create.  In the heat of the moment we don’t even realise that our buttons are pressed and often we speak our mind without realising what we are saying.  Defence mode prevents logic actions.  Often we replay the scenario afterwards and we feel guilty, sometimes even ashamed.

Just imagine you being aware of these triggers, consciously ignoring the attempts.  Liberation!

Who would you be?

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”  ― Marilyn Monroe

A professor asked a class of students: “If you can be anyone in the world, who would you be?”  Eighty percent of them responded that they wanted to be somebody else!  Only twenty percent of the class was happy to be who they were born to be. 

Wishing you were someone else is just going to make you resent your own circumstances even more.  Find consolation in the fact that you are so unique that people should rather aspire to be you.  Be a trend setter rather than a follower.  The world of business relies on our insecurities.  Marketers know we don’t want to be isolated; that we would sell our souls to be in.   

Sometimes we become someone else, just to realise one day that we don’t like who we became.  Remember who you are.  Remain true to yourself.

Choose hope

Once you choose hope, anything's possible… ~ Christopher Reeve

We always have a choice.  We can choose hope or despair, happiness or gloom, fight or flight.  When you feel despondent, try the alternative option. 

Brainpower power is powerful.  Once you choose hope, the mind sends out signals that everything will be ok.  It’s like programming yourself.  Before you know it, you will sing while you’re unhappy or laugh when you feel like crying. 

Courage is not the absence of fear

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear…” ― Nelson Mandela

You don’t have to wait to become afraid.  There is more than enough reason throughout the day to be fearful.  Listening to the news compare very well to watching a horror movie.  Newspapers are sensation busters.  Around the tea trolley or braai vleis fire it’s impossible to escape the discussions.  Did you hear… 

Being anxious does nothing for the crime statistics.  Live your life boldly.  Fear nothing or nobody.  Bravery is a frame of mind.

No limits

“Challenge your limits don’t limit your challenges…” – Juan de Jongh

You are capable of much more than you are giving yourself credit for.  You have survived for so many years since you were born.  Despite your set-backs, you have continued.  You have conquered trials and tribulations.  What is impressive is that you have done this with your head held high. 

Most people don’t know what you are going through, but you persevere.  Your ability to get up after every fall is testimony to your tenacious nature.  It has not been an easy road for you, you have dents and scratches, you are battered and bruised, but you are alive.  This demonstrates that you are a winner.  Winners have no limits. 

I've learned...

“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on (and it will), it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

Take a detour

“A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour…”  ~ Anonymous

Sometimes our plans don’t work out and then we are upset about it.  Life is not a journey with an itinerary; it pretty much is an adventure trip where you encounter challenges and storms.  However, every now and again, we get to the top of another mountain and are amazed by the view. 

Detours can lead to the discovery of new opportunities… new sceneries… new horizons… that are much better than our pre-determined, boring, route.  Yes, we make mistakes and take wrong turn-offs or misread the maps of life, but nothing is ever a waste when you look back at the road travelled.  It’s a matter of perspective.

Count your blessings

“Count your blessings and your problems….If your problems outnumber your blessings, Count Again…  Chances are the things that you take for granted were not added up…”  ~ Unknown

Complaining is our new national sport.  We complain without really thinking about the subject of our complaint.  “Oh, I don’t feel like work today… I’m so tired.”  We complain because everyone else complains.  “The petrol price…”  We complain because it makes us feel better.  “If only…”  We complain... because we can… 

If we were to count our blessings before we complain, we might have second thoughts.  No matter how bad our circumstances, somewhere in the world, maybe closer than we would like to know, there is someone who is worse off than ourselves.

People matter

Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?”  ― Max Lucado

Is this quote from Max Lucado an eye-opener to you?  Maybe you realise now that you have been working and working and working, not realising that you are neglecting your husband/wife, your children, your animals.  Maybe you have been working long hours and studying to ensure you are qualified for the next promotion, and this is how you have been living your life for the past 10+ years.  Maybe you are so focussed on making provision for the future that you don’t realise that the future might consist only of yourself, because you don’t have any relationship with those who you are doing it for. 

The top of the ladder is often a very lonely place.   I’m not saying that we should not have any ambition or that we should not strive to better our circumstances or that one should not make provision for retirement.  It is all about balance.  Work hard and play hard – equally.

You are strong

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have…~ Unknown”

Do you feel as if you have reached the end of the rope?  Do you feel helpless… hopeless…defeated.  Do you feel as if you have tried everything, given it your all, and nothing works?

You are not alone.  Many of us can identify with how you feel.  We’ve all been there at some stage of our lives.  Human beings are magic creatures.  Somehow we pull through.  Somehow we survive and manage, despite the odds. 

Look back at previous tough times you went through and remember that you have come out stronger and better.  You can survive this storm too.  Being strong might be the only straw you can hang on to currently… hold on tight.  You can make it.  You are stronger than you think.  Don’t ever give up on YOU.

Running away

“Running away from a problem, only increases the distance from the solution…  The easiest way to escape from the problem is to solve it…” ~ Unknown

On a daily basis we encounter problems.  Some of them we can solve easily and quickly.  Others are more difficult to solve.  Maybe we are afraid of the outcome.  Maybe we are afraid of the individual.  Maybe we don’t like confrontation.  Maybe we are so hurt that we just don’t know how to deal with it.

Unfortunately ignoring a problem does not make it go away.  Sooner or later we have to face it and solve it.  Sometimes it is good to walk away and try again at a later stage. 

However a lot of problems arise in our heads due to our own assumptions and conclusions.  Instead of talking to the other party about the problem, we have conversations with ourselves.  The noise in our heads is often our biggest enemy.

Solve the problem.  Do not run away from it.  Give the other person a chance.  Be reasonable, calm, logic and approachable… even when you feel you are right.

I owe, I owe...

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.  ~Henry David Thoreau

In the Corporate World, we are driven by achievement, performance, promotion.   Companies are driven by profits and shareholders expect returns.  For the go-getters, there are opportunities.

When you earn more, you buy more.  When you own more, you owe more and before you know it, you are singing:  I owe, I owe... and off to work I go.

You end up giving more and more... more of your time... more of your principles... more of your life.   How much life are you exchanging currently?

Adjust your sails

You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails... Jimmy Dean

Sailing into the wind is a sailing expression that refers to a sail boat's ability to move forward despite being headed into the wind. (Wikipedia)

Many a sailor’s boat has capsized and that is how they learn to adjust their sails and use the wind to their advantage.  Sailing into the wind also takes longer than sailing straight to your destination; however you will still get to your destination.  Not adjusting your sails, will not bring different results. 

In many instances one doesn’t have control over what happens to you.  You cannot force someone to stay in a relationship, but you can find happiness again... You cannot change the past, but you can do things different in the future... You cannot control the petrol price or the value of the rand, but you can change your means of transport or your spending habits...  You cannot stop the re-structure, but you can see it as an opportunity...  You cannot change how people behave towards you, but you can change how you feel about it...

Adjust your sails... constantly

Life is not a rehearsal

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” ― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Life is not a rehearsal, its reality TV at its best, with no script whatsoever.  One doesn’t receive an itenary when you are born.  Hopefully you are in a position to make decisions, but curve balls are thrown your way and sometimes you really don’t have control of which way things end up going. 

Stuck in a rut?

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Do you live or do you exist?  Every morning you wake up, follow the same routine and go to work, drive the same road to work, work in the same office, with the same people, drive the same road home, watch the same TV programmes, go to bed around the same time... and tomorrow you do it all over again...

It is so easy to fall into a rut.  Do something today or over the weekend that will take your breath away.  Instead of going directly home, arrange to meet your loved ones somewhere to watch the sun set. 

Take responsibility

 “Peak performance begins with you taking complete responsibility for your life and everything that happens to you.” Brian Tracy

Denying responsibility starts at a very young age.  Small children will blatantly lie or point the finger at a sibling instead of admitting guilt.  In all fairness, who wants to be the cause of your own punishment?  Unfortunately this behaviour pulls through to adulthood. 

Only you will know whether you are avoiding responsibility; maybe even blaming others for what went wrong in your life.  Admittedly, it is easier to blame someone else than to accept responsibility, but does that make you feel good about yourself?  

 Denial is robbing you of success. 

To be vulnerable

“Sometimes I think we waste our words and we waste our moments, and we do not take the time to say the things that are in our hearts when we have the chance…”  ~ Clay, One Tree Hill

Nobody should die with regrets.  We complicate matters with our own thoughts, perceptions or conclusions, rather than saying what is in our hearts.  Often it’s due to a major misunderstanding or because we allowed pride to jeopardise our happiness.  It’s ok to be vulnerable.

Charming gardeners

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~ Marcel Proust

Most of us are taking life just too serious when you consider that we’re not going to get out of it alive.  Relax… make other’s happy… become a charming gardener of souls.

Made for loving

“We were made for loving…  If we do not love, we will be like plants without water…”  ~ Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Every human being long to be loved; some just don’t know how to display it.  One of the positives of the young generation is that they taught us to hug.  Lately everyone hugs, and hardly anyone shy away.  A hug is welcoming and says “you’re special and it’s great to see you”.

Admitted there are people who don’t like it if you invade their space, but I’m sure even they have a yearning to be loved albeit in a different way.

What are your values?

“It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are…”  ~ Roy Disney

Do you stand firm in your beliefs?  Will you disagree with the majority because of your values or do you change your values according to what will make you popular?

It is not easy to live out your values, but people respect those who stand and fall for what they believe in. 

Values are not nice-to-haves; they are the foundation of mankind.  Remove the values and the structure crumbles.

Not to choose

Not to choose is also a choice – Anonymous

Life starts with a choice every morning – to open your eyes or not.  Throughout the day you are faced with choices, most of which you make subconsciously… one sugar… coffee… pink shirt… 

There are times that we think it would be better to do nothing… for the sake of peace.  Even this is a choice.  Even if you allow the other person to choose, it is a choice.

Choose wisely and accept the responsibility of your choices.

The eyes are blind, look with the heart

"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart..." ¬ Antoine de Saint

According to a prominent entrepreneur, there is no place for emotion in business.  If you want loyalty, buy yourself a dog.

Maybe that is why so many businesses are suffering during the current economic climate?  When you look with the heart, you see human beings with dreams and desires.  When you look with the eyes, you see profits and shareholders.

When you see figures black on white, it is easy to reduce staff numbers.  When you look with the heart you see people who will stick with you even after the storm subsided.

God's gift to you

“Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God…” ~ Leo Buscaglia

Some of us have many talents, but we don’t use them.  Others have received less talents, maybe only one, but they use it to its fullest.  In some instances, we don’t even know that we have a talent until we have an opportunity to discover it.  Be it as it may, we have all received at least one talent. 

What we do with our talent(s) is what makes a difference.

Dress rehearsals

“If only life was a dress rehearsal and we had time for do-overs…” ~ Greys Anatomy…

We are human and we make mistakes.  Unfortunately, life doesn’t come with a manual.  Even if it does come with a manual, many of us would probably not read it.

Every action has a reaction, they say.  My actions will impact someone else.  No action, might also impact someone else. 

Therefore we should consider our actions carefully.  Will my action, or lack of action, have a positive or negative impact on someone else? 

A sad summary

“The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” ~ Unknown

One day I’m going to go to Mauritius…  One day I’m going to skydive…  One day I’m going to buy myself… 

One day is not a day of the week, neither a day of the month.  Do it now.  At the very least, set a timeframe to your dreams.  If you don’t it may become the saddest summary of your life.

Stronger

“A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path…”  ~ Anonymous

Life happens.  We get hurt…  We are disappointed…  We have regrets…  We fail… We learn and grow stronger…  Eventually we are able to find our way amidst the trials and tribulations, beaten and battered, but stronger.

Don't hurt them

You cannot do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth…”  ~ Shira Tehrani

Do you live with a purpose or do you take every day as it comes?  Each and every day you have the opportunity to touch other people’s lives.  It is your choice whether it will be in a way that they will remember you or wish they have never met you. 

“If you don’t love them, could you at least not hurt them?” – Leo Buscaglia

Action!

“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action…”  ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Take action today.  Tell your loved-ones that you love them.  Sometimes people have to hear it.  Tell them that you miss them.  Tell them that you care and demonstrate it through your actions.

Your past actions might have caused sadness, now is a time to bring happiness.  Even if it means you have to take action by apologising.  Act today.

Demonstrate that you care

“You can really change the world if you care enough…”  ~ Marion Wright Edelman

Do we care enough?  We read about Rhino pouching and shake our heads…  We see gruesome pictures of baby seals being culled and close our eyes to the brutality.  We receive and forward mails about people that have been in accidents or suffer from illnesses…   We hear or read about terrorist bombings and wonder how on earth could anyone perform such a barbaric deed. We see fellow human beings on television suffering... 

Sadly, it's just another story which will soon be forgotten.  If we really care why is the world not becoming a better place?

Smile

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight…”  ~ Anonymous

Even the most austere person will be intrigued with a smile.  They might not smile back at you immediately, but it will certainly brighten up their day and make them think of something pleasant for a while. 

A smile is contagious.  Bless a stranger today with your smile.  

Complicated questions

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”  ~ Dr. Seuss quotes

Our biggest asset, the mind, can also become our biggest enemy.  Questioning complicate matters.  While we are questioning, we are thinking of what if scenarios that may never happen.  Keep it simple.

Beyond impossible

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible..." ¬ Arthur C Ward

Aron Ralston had an engineering degree and a good job.  A regular mountaineer, he also had a dream of climbing Colorado’s ‘fourteeners’ i.e. peaks over 14000 feet.  At the age of 28 (2003), he resigned and pursued mountaineering.  One day while hiking in Utah, descending a slot canyon, a suspended boulder from which he was climbing down became dislodged, crushing his right hand and forearm, pinning him against the canyon wall.  As he did not tell anyone of his hiking plans, he knew no one would be searching for him. 

He rationed his water supply and for three days tried to free himself.  His self-control was beyond comprehension; only allowing himself one scream per day.  Then he realised that he would have to amputate his arm to rescue himself. 
It took him another two days and 7 hours, after several practise runs, to break the bone and cut through his arm with a multi-tool that also had a 2-inch knife.  Thereafter he still had to rappel down a 20m cliff and walk 7 miles to his vehicle! 

Aron was saved and his life story is captured in a book ‘Between a rock and a hard place’.  His heroic survival is also the subject of the film 127 hours.  In 2005 he became the first person to climb all 53 of Colorado’s ‘fourteeners’, with only one arm.  Aron Ralston is a living example of sheer determination, a man who went beyond impossible.

Two kinds of people

There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. Indira Gandhi

The sadness in this quote stems from the truth that emanates from it.  Most people want to be successful, but few want to work for it. 

Maybe you are reminded daily of someone who took credit that was due to you.  Allow the above quote to motivate you.  Be part of the first group of hard workers as there is definitely less competition there.  The credit that is due to you will one day be bestowed upon you when you expect it the least.

Continuous hard work

Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.  Hamilton Holt

Getting to the top without hard work, will always make you feel like a failure. 

There is no short-cut to the top.  Continuous hard work has never killed anyone. 

When you eventually reach the highest possible position, you can look back and feel proud of it that you were no passenger; you earned your way to the top.  How difficult it was, will be forgotten soon.

Be wise for others

It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves - Francois De La Rochefoucauld

Ever caught yourself giving advice to all and sundry?  Why is it so easy to solve others’ problems, but your own seem to be insurmountable?  No it is not because your problems are bigger.  It is because you can be more objective because of the distance between you and another person’s problem.

Next time you face a problem that knows no boundaries, step away from it. Look at it from a distance, as if it is someone else’s problem.  You will be surprised how the solution comes to mind.

Paint a picture

“The future is my canvas. Now I have to paint the right picture." -  Bryan C. Tschuor

Given the same colours and material, would we have the same picture? 

One brush stroke (day) after another, one colour (experiences) mixed with another, different media (opportunities), different ideas (outcomes)… 

Every day you add another dimension to your picture.  Do you have a colourful aesthetically pleasing picture or is the canvas pretty blank? 

Watch...

Watch your thoughts, for they become words,

Watch your words, for they become action,

Watch your actions, for they become habits,

Watch your habits, for they become character,

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Unknown

What motivates you?

“The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand beekeeper who loved to climb mountains. 

He became the first person to summit Mount Everest as part of John Hunt’s 9^th British expedition.  All but two of the climbers who had come this far were forced to turn back due to exhaustion at the high altitude.  For them it was impossible; however Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a native Nepalese, continued the final assault to the summit.  At 11h30, the morning of 29 May 1953, they finally reached the summit, at 29028 feet above sea level, the highest spot on earth.  They only spent 15 minutes on the summit.

Politics, severe weather conditions with heavy snow and freezing conditions, storming winds, people… they were only motivators to catapult him to success.

Bumblebees

”That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

(Received via email)

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.  It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.  It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. 

In many ways, we are like the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! 

That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem...

Live each day as if your life had just begun – Johann Wolfgang von Goeth

People

“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

And he should know…

Don't be so serious

To succeed in life, you need three things:  a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone – Reba McEntire

Don’t take life so serious, you’re not going to get out of it alive.

Are you happy?

The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms;  and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course - Michelangelo

Nobody should depend on others for their own happiness.  People might let you down… circumstances can change… in the end the only person whom you can depend on is yourself.

Life is like a camera

´Life is like a camera...  Just focus on the important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t turn out, just take another shot…’  ~ Unknown

Often we blame ourselves for what we said or did.  We play it over and over again in our minds and regret the moment. 

Reality is that we cannot change what has happened, but we can do it differently the next time.  A photo can look totally different if it is taken from a different angle.  Focus, capture, learn and try again.

P R I D E

P – Personal

R – Responsibility

I -  In

D – Delivering

E – Excellence

Kings and Pawns

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box - Italian Proverb

Over centuries people, in different countries, fought for equality.  However, would there ever really be equality?

Everywhere we go, there are hierarchies i.e. kings and pawns.  At school we have a headmaster, teachers, children… Matriculants have more status than grade eights…  In the military we have different ranks…At work we have bosses and workers…

But when the game is over, the king and the pawn goes into the same box.

Monuments

I made my life my monument - Ben Johnson

Monuments are erected for people who made their mark in life… for people who lived or died for what they believe in… for people who made a lot of sacrifices… for people who took the first step into the unknown… for people who others look up to… for people who others admire…

Why wait for one day to be commemorated?  Make your life your monument.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy – Leo Buscaglia

We’ve all been there, in the valley of despair.  Tunnel vision causes us to see nothing but the problem.  For most of us, it is difficult to continue smiling and acting as if nothing is wrong.   For some it may even lead to depression.  Maybe you are facing such a time today and don’t feel very joyful.

The difficulties that we are facing on a daily basis, often robs us of the joy that we should experience.  Challenges, trials, tribulations… they are difficult to avoid.  How we respond to them will result in us having a great or miserable day.  The problem will not go away, but you can still project happiness.

Do it today

”Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” - Benjamin Franklin

 Procrastination is the thief of time, as the proverb goes.  Every second that passes, is a second nearer to the day that we will die.  As the clock ticks, each tick becomes history, a second never to be repeated.

Admitting there are some things that one find hard to do, they still have to be done sooner or later.  Putting it off is not helping anyone.  Tackle the bull by its horns and do those things that you don’t like doing first.

Be whatever you want to be – Donna Levine

There is inside you
All of the potential
To be whatever you want to be;
All of the energy
To do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
Doing what you want to do,
And each day, take one step
Towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
Hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
That you are the person you dreamed of,
Doing what you wanted to do,
Simply because you had the courage
To believe in your potential
And to hold on to your dream.

Logic

 ”Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” - Albert Einstein

In a world of facts and figures, imagination is treated like a stepchild.  Yet, logic confines our imagination.  Logic ensures existence; Innovation separates the leaders from the followers.

If we only depend on what makes sense…

Open the eyes of your heart

”Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” - John F. Kennedy

 Mother Teresa, christened as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was teaching at St Mary’s High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she witnessed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that she left the school and devoted her life to working with the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. 

Initially she had no funds, she depended on volunteers, but her selfless work did not go unnoticed and eventually she had many organizations providing financial support.

Not all of us are destined to be Mother Teresa, but we can’t just turn a blind eye either.  There are people in need around us.  Some of them are visible, but many are too proud to admit they require assistance.  Open the eyes of your heart.