Wild thing, you make my heart sing . . . .

.......and that's because wild things live lives of pure action. In his book, Reinventing Yourself, Steve Chandler writes......

Today, the more I remember to live like a wild thing, taking action instead of brooding on my sad self, the faster self-pity drops away. Chronic sadness seems to become a thing of the past. Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue. And fatigue, paradoxically, is almost always a result of living a life of too little action. The more action I build into my life, the better I sleep, and the less self-pity I feel. The better I sleep, the more energy I have. The more energy I have, the more will I have for taking action. And the more action I take, the happier I feel. The happier I feel, the better my relationships. The better my relationships, the better I sleep. It's the cycle of self-reinvention. 

From the book

Reinventing Yourself

by Steve Chandler

"Sometimes you just gotta give yourself 

what you wish someone else would give you."

Dr. Phil McGraw

Photo via flickr

by Anirudh Koul 

Taking responsibility . . . .

One of the saddest epitaphs for many who choose to lead mediocre lives will be that when they die it will be as though they never lived. But what's sadder yet is that when the sweat of their death bed wakes them up to the fact that they've missed their life, they'll be haunted by the classic lament of life's biggest underachievers: "I could have, I should have, if only I would have."

Stop complaining that life isn't fair and begin taking responsibility for your own life. Focus on the things you CAN control, which are your decisions. Understand that one of the best days of your life is the day that you renounce excuses, grow up, and become a man or woman of responsibility and accountability. 

Get clearer about what you want and then resolve to pay the price to achieve it; deciding up front that you'll ditch the excuses and hold yourself accountable for results. Each day you have two choices: performance or excuses. Choose well, it becomes your legacy.

-Dave Anderson


"You are not responsible for 
the programming you picked up in childhood.
However, as an adult, 
you are one hundred percent responsible 
for fixing it. 
-Ken Keyes, Jr. 

Graphic by

Jay Roeder

Children want limits . . . .

"You don't have to be the world's strongest man 

to earn the respect of a child or a teenager, 

but you have to be strong enough 

to stand your ground against an onslaught of resistance."

-S. Truett Cathy

Children all around us are growing up without strong positive guidance from their parents, who are busy, distracted, absent, or choose to be buddies instead of parents to their children. You see them in your neighborhood, your classroom, your troop, your team, or your family.

These children cannot build themselves into responsible adults. They cannot teach themselves respect, trust, generosity, or common sense. They need for you to teach them. They need for you to reach out to them in love - to love them into a sense of belonging. They need for you to be available to talk - to be a friend. They need your firm instruction. They need honest encouragement and to be reminded of their strengths and opportunities. 

How many families have you seen that are ruled by the child? By age five, some children already dictate to their parents what they will do. They know their parents would rather give in to their demands than deal with a tantrum. I've seen dozens of children through the years who never understood respect for authority. Their parents rarely enforced discipline at home until the children were completely out of control. Their inconsistent message only amplified the problem. Be so consistent with your discipline that you're boring! 

"Children want limits,

and they want to be able

to respect the adults

who set those limits."

From the book

It's Better To Build Boys Than Mend Men

-by S. Truett Cathy

Keep your eyes peeled . . . .

How would paradise look to you? Would there be lots of smiles and laughter, abundance and plenty, kindness and thanksgiving, peace and goodwill, health and harmony, love and joy? Would there be a worry in sight? Did you notice that all of those elements, every singe one of them, exist on earth, here and now? Moreover, is there a single thing in that list that hasn't, at one point or another, existed in your life and times? There's no denying it; at some point in your life you've touched paradise. And chances are just as good, if you keep your eyes peeled as this week unfolds, you'll notice that you're there right now.

This is as good as it gets. 

You make the difference.

Via Mike Dooley


Photo by
Joanna Blusiewicz

Are you always running late? . . . .

You know you need to be somewhere in an hour, but you always end up losing track of time, often because you think you can squeeze in one more thing before you leave. It never fails. It took you longer than you thought it would, traffic's bad, and now you're late. Aaargh! It's such a common stressor! 

It is always my intention to be on time; early as a matter of fact, but it doesn't always work out that way. It helps when I put myself in the shoes of the person I'm meeting. I imagine how they feel, sitting there waiting for me. I know their time is just as important as mine, so I don't want to seem disrespectful. Not to mention that it may look as if you're completely unorganized. If you're habitually late, it can even make you look selfish, and can begin to damage your relationships. Now, with the luxury of texting, do we feel like we're off the hook if we can send a quick note saying we're on our way? It's true that it can relieve a little bit of anxiousness, but for me, I can still feel my heart rate begin to rise when I can't be there on time.

We live in a busy society....that's no secret, but I'm thinking we're just overbooked! Instead of scheduling 10 things a day.....try 8. Remind yourself of the reality of just how much you can truly get done.......productively. Allow more "in-between" space when scheduling your day. Assume everything will take longer than planned, because most likely, it will. Give it a try. You may even be early for a change! You'll be able to catch your breath, and that's always an awesome feeling!

"How did it get so late so soon?"

-Dr. Seuss

What is it about New Year's resolutions that cause people to discard them so quickly? Is it because they feel it's just another promise they make to themselves that they know will be broken by the time March rolls around? It's so self-defeating to think of them that way! I came across a quote recently that said, "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." Oh my goodness, that is SO true for SO many. I've already noticed that the gym isn't quite as busy as it was on January 2nd! But it doesn't have to be that way! I have a sign that I keep in my sight that says, "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." I love that! That is such a huge motivator for me because I KNOW that "that future" will be here before I know it! You have to at least BEGIN to do something differently if you want change in your life. How can your life be better a year from now if you don't even get started? Doing nothing is the easy route. Do you come home tired every night and end up on the sofa? Don't do that! Starting today, don't do that! As someone who exercises a minimum of 5 days a week, I too am often tired when I begin my workout, but I promise, it doesn't take long before I am feeling so much better, completely energized, and mentally stimulated. Require more of yourself! This much I know.......nobody's going to do it for you. Be accountable for the decisions you make every day. Dr. Phil McGraw says....."Starting now, begin each and every day of your life with the question: 'What can I do today to make my life better?' Ask it, answer it, and then do it, every day."

If you continue to do what you've always done,

you will continue to have what you've always had.

If you do different,

you will have different.

Happy Friday!

Have an awesome weekend! 

So.....

what are you waiting for?

Self-imposed deadlines . . . .

Last evening I was going over my to-do list for the week and it was a little daunting. Doable, but daunting. Believe it or not, for me, the best part about having a list like this is having a deadline. I love and need deadlines, or I procrastinate. There is no doubt that I am the type of person who will put off today what I know can be done tomorrow. If it can wait, it waits. However, give me a deadline and I'm on it. . . . with pleasure, actually. I am at my best under pressure. So just tell me when you need it, and you got it. It is shocking to me how much can be completed when you think it needs to be "turned in."  But give me all day to do an assignment that can wait, and it'll take me 3 days to do it. So it's good for me to set self-imposed deadlines. 

• Bed needs to be made by 8:00.
• Dishwasher emptied by 8:20.
• Daily workout must be done by 9:45.
• Dry cleaning picked up by 11:20.
• All mail opened, and either shredded or organized by 12:15.
• Bills paid and office organized by 1:30.
• Online Christmas orders placed by 2:15.
• Laundry is due at 3:00.
• That shirt......ironed by 3:45.

Actually, I know that sounds weird, and realistically I don't spend every moment watching the clock, but I think you get my point. I love the pleasure of completed tasks. Leaving things undone is a stressor for me, so in order to put things behind me, I need the pressure of a deadline. And.... did I tell you? I also self-impose rewards! Get 'er done Con., and you get to soak in a hot bubble bath, or pour yourself a glass of wine, or even better.......both! 

"The ultimate inspiration is the deadline."

-Nolan Bushnell

There is nothing like reaching the end of the day and enjoying that feeling of completed tasks. It's amazing how much better that hot bath feels when you can not only let your body relax, but your mind as well. 

Happy Monday!

 I hope you have a productive week!

The blame game . . . .

We've all heard this one, right?......"When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself." Unfortunately, there will always be times when other people and/or circumstances  contribute to our problems, but it is up to us to OWN the problem, rise to the occasion, and take responsibility for our own happiness. When something doesn't meet our expectations, many of us operate with the assumption, "When in doubt, it must be someone else's fault." Stop playing the "blame game" and create the life you want for yourself. When you stop blaming others for anything and everything in your life, it doesn't mean that you don't hold people accountable for their actions, but that you hold yourself accountable for your own happiness, and especially for your reactions to other people and the circumstances around you. When the house is a mess, rather than assuming you're the only person doing your part, clean it up! When you're over budget, figure out where you can spend less money. Most important, when you're unhappy, remind yourself that only you can make yourself happy. Blaming others takes an enormous amount of mental energy. It's a "drag-me-down" mindset that creates stress and disease. Blaming makes you feel powerless over your own life because your happiness depends on the actions and behavior of others, which you cannot control. When it's all said and done, we are the reason for our successes and failures. It's time for us to take responsibility for our own life. When you stop blaming others, you will regain your sense of personal power. You will see yourself as a choice maker. Life is a great deal more fun and much easier to manage when we stop blaming others.

"A man may fall many times, 

but he won't be a failure until he says someone pushed him."

-Elmer G. Letterman