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Motivation Cartoons

It’s a good day to get out of your comfort zone.

Whether the day is sunny, stormy, or just overcast, this day — and every day — is a good time to get out of your comfort zone.

Sketch of a weatherman saying it's a great day to get out of your comfort zone!"

I’ve thought a lot about comfort zones when I left everything I knew in Indiana and moved across the country to Arizona. The Spear family had many opportunities in 2015 to get out of their comfort zones.

And that’s a good thing. Like this Lifehacker post about the science of breaking out of your comfort zone shows, amazing results happen when you disrupt your routine and break out of your comfort zone.

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Endurance Race Cartoon

Anybody who knows me, knows I love to run. I’ve tried to get others involved in my love, to no avail. An incident with my wife and a very hot and humid morning inspired this endurance race cartoon.

Endurance Race Cartoon: A woman says, "Run the race with perseverance, Honey! We haven't left our driveway yet!"

My timing was horrible! she wanted to try running and I was excited to have her along as a running partner. Unfortunately, the heat index was well above ninety degrees on a hot and humid, July morning. It was not the best day to introduce someone to the love of distance running. We made it! but we have never run together again. And I can’t say I blame her!

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motivation Motivation Cartoons

Winning, Accomplishment, and Gratitude

When it comes to competition, I haven’t been one to want to get on the podium for everyone to see. Oh, I love to win! I just haven’t been the guy who feels the need to rub it in the other person’s face.

There are things I want to accomplish, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in the past as well as today. Gratitude is a way for me to see how much I really am winning. It can be the same for you.

Whenever you can take a moment to be thankful for your family and friends, you are winning. Whenever you see you have reasons to be thankful for food and shelter, it’s a form of victory. Celebrate that you are able to read and think. Be thankful for another day of life. These are all the reasons why you are winning today. Can you just hear Santana singing, I’m Winning just now? Maybe that’s just me.

We may not be the star athlete like the kid in my cartoon. We may find frustrations at school or work that make us wonder when was the last time you could take a victory lap. But every day we can get up and get out there in the world is a reason to celebrate. Just don’t lord it over everybody!

Cartoon of three kids at an Olympic podium. One says, "Do we have to do this every time you win something?"
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Attitude Motivation Cartoons

When Life Pitches you a Curveball

sketch of a baseball doing a lool de loop 

I didn’t expect to be in Ohio/Indiana until Christmas day. But life throws you a few curveballs throughout the innings we call decades. There’s a few too many metaphors in that last sentence, isn’t there? I’m not even a rabid baseball fan (However, I did love the way this year’s World Series ended. Good job, Royals!). 

Last Friday, we thought we were going to lose a loved one. Today, things have improved greatly for him. It has made this Thanksgiving so much more meaningful. However, we have also been reminded that time is finite and we can’t take every day for granted.

Through the last several months, I’ve learned there are a few ways to cope when life throws you a curveball.

  • Be flexible: we are far less in control than any of us would like to admit. Changes will happen that you can’t predict or plan for. When unexpected blessings or trials come, be flexible enough to move with the situation.
  • Count your blessings: No matter how dire things may seem, there is always something to be thankful for. Whether it’s family, the ability to move, or even another day to experience life, there is some reason to have gratitude.
  • Plan for what you CAN do: It is good to talk with loved ones about what to do in an emergency or a challenge. Have insurance. Think about what to do in a scanario. It is also good to have a winter coat waiting for you when you fly from Arziona to Ohio. Is that too specific? Choose your own scenario. 

We will all face some unexpected challenges. Through those situations, be an overcomer. Don’t let those curveballs strike you out! I’m rooting for you! 

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Motivation Cartoons

Keep failing and keep enduring!

Cartoon of a jogging couple
Run the race with perseverance | kevin@kevinspear.com

There was an article in my morning newspaper about an Anderson University professor who gets to participate in Google X lab.

AU professor invited to secret Google X lab » Local News » The Herald Bulletin.

Professor Scott Kennedy talked about the point of research is to fail sometimes. Not only is that the point of research, but it’s also the point of getting anywhere in life. Professor Kennedy says,

I am always telling my students that the point of research is to fail sometimes, to mess up and learn from what happened, what didn’t happen and what didn’t work. You can’t be afraid to try something.

This goes perfectly with the lesson I will be teaching the kids in large group this morning. It’s about endurance: sticking with what you started even when things get tough. Here is the verse for the month:

Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

Whether it’s science, business, parenting or doing good, we will eventually succeed if we do these things:

  • Keep our eye on the goal
  • Work on them daily
  • Change our tactics or steps when they aren’t working so we can keep moving towards the goal

Go ahead and fail today. If we keep at it and work towards the goal, we will reap that reward in the end.

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