Tag: positivity

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motivation

What Motivates You?

What motivates you?

What gets you going each day? Is it the news? Is it a feeling that you have to perform? Maybe you’re motivated because the rent is due. Perhaps it is just money. That can be an issue when you’re asked to volunteer for something! What motivates you?

Some of us may want to make the world a better place. Others are in survival mode and think this world is a lost cause. Some see possibility today. Others fear the new year will just be a repeat of the previous two. After all, we thought 2021 would be better than 2020, right?

How we see the world determines how we act. I have found the following verse to be a better way.

“ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

Hebrews 10:24 (NLT) via BibleGateway.com

If we want the world to change, we can begin in our own sphere of influence.

  • Check on a neighbor today to see how they’re doing
  • Write an encouraging text to a family member or friend
  • Smile even if you have to wear a mask
  • Find the silver-lining in a situation
  • Offer a solution to a problem instead of complaining

What motivates you? We can take responsibility today and end 2021 on a high note. After all, it may help us start 2022 off on the right foot.

Categories
motivation

Stuffers and Gushers

Cartoon of a girl and a boy with a bottle for a head. The girl says, "Why do you bottle-up your emotions like that?"

When I drew this cartoon several years ago, I knew whether I was a stuffer or a gusher. It is a reminder to me there is a downside to always being positive, even when we suffer hardship.

What are stuffers and gushers?

  • A stuffer doesn’t express their emotions
    • They may think it isn’t socially acceptable
    • She may be embarrassed by their emotions
    • He may have been punished for being angry or having a fit
    • It may even be part of their personality
    • So they stuff emotions until they can’t hold it in anymore
  • Gushers freely express themselves
    • He may easily cry
    • She may be expressive and love to act out
    • They may have been encouraged in the past to let it all out
    • So they let everyone know how they are feeling

I admire gushers. However, I admit to being a stuffer. Frequently, stuffers marry gushers. I have and it’s been a good thing for me. Because of this, my wife has been there when I’ve had a hard time expressing emotions. Therefore, I have rarely had to play the guessing game of What-is-she-thinking-this-time? She could very well have uttered the phrase the girl in my cartoon says.

Most of my blog posts have a positive tone to them. But I realize not every situation calls for positivity. There are times when denying our emotions can be harmful.

Therefore, we need to acknowledge our emotions. Not all of our days are going to be sunny with roses and unicorns. We need to balance our reality with positivity. Yes, we’re going to have challenging times. There is a time and place for everything.

“For everything, there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven…

A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance…

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4–5 (NLT)

In conclusion, we need to acknowledge and express our emotions when it’s appropriate. It will keep us from stuffing it until we have to let our emotions out in inopportune times. It can also help us stay positive while acknowledging the reality of our circumstances.

Cartoon of a girl and a boy with a bottle for a head. The girl says, "Why do you bottle-up your emotions like that?"
Categories
motivation

If Life is a Marathon, Why do we Coast?

Cartoon of two racers. One of them is wearing motor racing gear. The other says, "I get the feeling one of us is wearing the wrong racing gear."

One of the many lessons I learned from running a marathon is that training matters. If you want to finish the race, blowing off long runs and failing to put the mileage in will cost you pain and the likelihood you won’t finish what you came to do.

If life is a marathon, then why do we coast? Why do we get comfortable and lazy? Keep pushing yourself! Do the work to stay competitive in the race of life.

  • Learn something new every day
  • Keep your eyes open to new opportunities
  • Take some risks that might not work but could pay off generously
    • Do something that requires faith
  • Keep your head in the game
    • Be positive
    • Be encouraging
    • Ask what if to possibilities, not what if to past regrets and mistakes
    • Look at every challenge as an opportunity
    • Embrace change

No one has ever fully arrived until they take their last breath. And if you are a person of faith, like me, the race is only beginning at that point as well.

Categories
Leadership motivation Sketch notes

How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins | Sketch Notes

Page 1 of sketch notes on "How to Lead When You're Not in Charge," by Clay Scroggins
Page 2 of sketch notes on "How to Lead When You're Not in Charge," by Clay Scroggins

At yesterday’s Orange Conference, I heard Clay Scroggins give a great talk on leading yourself. The big takeaway I got from this talk is the importance of balancing positivity with a critical thinking. It is important to think critically in order to make things better while keeping a positive spirit. it is a balance, much like balancing between an aggressive and passive approach in leadership. Neither extreme is helpful.