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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.

Categories
Exodus motivation

Opportunities and the Impossible

Most of us would like an opportunity. But very few of us want an impossible situation. We see a problem and we are tempted to throw up our hands and give up. But what if that annoying situation is the opportunity we’ve been looking for?

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

Charles R. Swindoll

Today I started reading in the Book of Exodus. It looked like the Israelites were in an impossible situation. Moses even believed it was the case. He tried to solve the situation forty years later. Instead, he murdered an Egyptian and fled for his life. Now he was safe while his fellow Hebrews continued to suffer under Pharaoh.

Then God shows up and gives Moses an impossible assignment. Moses tries to convince The LORD he has the wrong guy. Moses even pleads to just send someone else. God wasn’t having any of it.

But the LORD didn’t sugarcoat the assignment either. He tells Moses that he knows Pharaoh will not relent without great pressure. Any opportunity is like that. There will be opposition and we will wonder at times if it is worth it.

That is why comfort is so appealing. We like to think someone else will do it, sit back, and let others duke it out. After all, it is always much easier to do nothing and complain than to do something that could change the situation.

Are we ready to come face to face with opportunities and the impossible? Or are we going to sit back and complain about the world? One option makes us and the world better. The other just makes us comfortable in our bitterness.

Categories
motivation

Why it is so important to shake things up

It caught me off guard when I saw it that Saturday morning. I was running through a cemetary because, well because Greenville Union Cemetary is the best place to run in Greenville, Ohio. It’s peaceful, there’s a long paved road and not much activity on it. The residents don’t seem to mind, either.

I was peacefully running along when I saw it in the morning sun. The tombstone stood right in front of me and was shouting a message to me.

Tombstone with the last name: Stuck

Someone was stuck, and it was me! I had attempted to revive my business that had suffered two cross-country moves. I was looking for a job that matched my skills. Nothing seemed to be working. As I stared at the message from the beyond, one thing became clear.

It was time to shake things up or stay stuck!

I didn’t feel like spending the rest of my life in the cemetery. So the only logical step was to shake things up.

That day, I changed my strategy and eventually found a job that I have loved. It has allowed me to use my graphic design skills in a management position. With the benefit of hindsight, I say the discomfort was worth it.

Looking back, I am thankful for that time. It was not because I was struggling that makes it great, but because my wife and I decided a couple of years before that to take some risks. We could have chosen to coast by for the rest of our lives and be comfortable. Instead, we took some steps by faith and shook things up.

There are many who are comfortable in their discomfort. They have settled into a situation they don’t particularly like, but feel it’s better than trying something new. It doesn’t have to be that way! No matter your age, you can try something new. It’s much better to shake things up than to be stuck and feel like you are biding your time in a figurative cemetery.

Categories
holiday

Candy Just For Being You!

Cartoon of a boy dressed as a jack o lantern and a hairy monster. The boy says, "At least this time of year, you get candy just for being you!"This weekend, kids and monsters will either go “bump” or “burp” in the night. Hairy monsters do not have to fear the manic clippers of the local hair stylist. Children will go from door to door seeking sugary rewards for dressing up like their favorite licensed character.

Monsters will have the added benefit of fitting right in. What better way to play up to your gift set? I hope everyone will have a safe, happy weekend. Even if you’re a monster, be sure to wear light clothing. The reflective vests are even better!