Tag: growth

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motivation

This is all Temporary

Cartoon of a boy doing his homework and a mom. The boy says, "I wouldn't have to do my homework if you'd just let me flee the state."

The other day, I read an Inc.com article entitled, 3 Phrases That Stop Anxious Thoughts. Let’s face it. If you keep up with the news at all, you’ll have some anxious thoughts! The first phrase stood out to me.

“This is temporary: This doesn’t just apply to the current pandemic and resulting economic turmoil — it’s true in nearly every anxiety-provoking situation.”

— Hilary Jacobs Hendel

We tend to forget this because the present dominates our thoughts and actions. But the longer we live, the more we realize how true this is.

Seven-Year-old Philosopher

I remember a school bus trip I had when I was seven-years-old. It was a dreary winter morning in Indiana. In January, it feels like clouds will never go away. I remember thinking, “Will I ever get out of second grade? Will I ever go anywhere outside my hometown?”

I smile when I think of that little second grader. The thought of growing up, going to college, meeting a lovely Ohio lady, marrying her, and having two great kids seemed impossible to him. It was just as likely to him that he would grow wings and fly. Homework was my biggest problem.

Yet to that little boy, his present reality seemed so overwhelming. He couldn’t see beyond his present situation. He had no concept that all of what he was experiencing was temporary.

Today is Temporary

There are plenty of reasons to have anxiety today. There is the COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions, and political polarization. Ironically, you may be reading this in the future and those issues aren’t at the forefront of the news cycle. Who knows what we’ll be discussing in the future! But whatever it is, whatever personal situation you are facing, it’s only temporary.

  • None of us can predict the future
  • What’s important today may be old news tomorrow
  • It’s just as likely things will be better for you tomorrow instead of the same or worse

There will always be a part of us that longs for the good old days of the past. For someone, today will be the good old days in twenty years. So if you are struggling today. Hold on and be patient. This is all temporary!

Categories
motivation

Growing Up and Learning to Laugh

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself.

Ethel Barrymore

The story of Moses and the Israelites have always intrigued me. Here is a story about a group of people that found their freedom through a series of miracles, yet they had the tendency to moan and groan. Their complaining turned a two-week trip into a forty-year camping ordeal. It was such an interesting story to me that I made a coloring and activity book out of it.

Things would have turned out much better if they had faith and realized how silly they were acting. Of course, that also means things will turn out better for me when I remember to do the same.

This cartoon stands out to me because when I wrote this, I had lived in the same place for years. My address was not more than fifty miles from my birthplace. I had never lived anywhere but Central Indiana until five years ago. Now I see myself in this cartoon and laugh at our adventures and misadventures over the last five years.

It’s not much fun to be around someone who either has forgotten to laugh at themselves or never learned to. I am thankful I have learned to laugh over the years.

Have you learned to laugh at yourself? Let us know in the comments below.

Cartoon of two biblical characters complaining

Categories
motivation

Making the Best Use of Pain

Cartoon of a boy on the ground in pain and another boy. One says, "They call it a medicine ball because if you catch it, you'll need pain killers."

Yesterday was painful. Without going into detail, there has been a lot going on in my life. There are challenges that call for change in an old, broken system. There are emails that have a ton of information but not the details necessary to get a job adequately finished. To top it off, one of my parents and several of my friends are going through health crises. Yes there has been a lot going on and much of it has been painful.

Our society tends to encourage us to numb the pain. They implore us to take this, or try that. It may work for a time or two, but only leaves a person a zombie that demands more of the “medicine.” It causes addiction, avoidance, and makes a person care less about themselves, their loved ones and the world around us.

There are people going through chronic pain, and I am not telling anyone in constant pain to just deal with it. What I am saying is that all of us face pain in one form or another on most days. How do we make the best of it?

  • Acknowledge pain instead of pretending it doesn’t exist
  • Allow yourself to grieve when the pain is a loss
  • If the pain is a situation, ask yourself what you can learn from it
  • If the pain is because of growth, ask yourself if this is natural and if it needs to be endured
  • If it is a slow pain of an ancient system, ask yourself what needs to change. What does this make possible?
  • If the pain is from a toxic situation or relationship, get help to determine if you need to leave it

Some pain is inevitable. We live in a broken world filled with broken people. Sure, we all need medicine to ease the pain once in a while. But consider if it is something to learn from, grieve or leave instead of denying or numbing the pain.

And if it is a medicine ball in a gym class, perhaps the best thing to do is let the pain producer pass you by instead of catching it.

Cartoon of a boy on the ground in pain and another boy. One says, "They call it a medicine ball because if you catch it, you'll need pain killers."
Categories
motivation

The Power of Change

Cartoon of a man an woman staring at a car. The man says, "I can't wash it now and destroy life! There's sprouts growing in the dirt."

A high standard of living presupposes an economy of innovation and change.

Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive

This sentence blew me away when I read it. How often do people resist change? Yet, the high standard of living we have enjoyed in North America and Europe over the years has demanded change.

And change will happen whether we resist it or not. We can fight it like the guy in my cartoon. We can rationalize that disturbing the flow of things will kill spontaneity. But if we are willing to let things lie, change will come in unpredictable ways and we won’t be ready for it.

Prosperity happens in our economy when we see change is coming and make adjustments to roll with it. We won’t get it right all the time. We may stumble and decide we need to go another way, but being willing to change with the times will reap dividends in the end.

Maybe the guy will change before he has a forest on his hood. Then again, maybe he will see the dirt and new growth differently and open the first mobile, urban garden. Hey! maybe the change required for him is to see car washing as an old habit that is due for a rework. All of a sudden, some creativity and what-if’s opens some opportunities for a new, high standard of living.

Cartoon of a man an woman staring at a car. The man says, "I can't wash it now and destroy life! There's sprouts growing in the dirt."
Categories
motivation

A New Year of Risk and Reward

Happy New Year! I am with the camp that says January 1, 2020, is the start of a new decade too. So there is even more reason to celebrate!

Have you made your new year resolutions? No? I’m not one to hype resolutions either. They can be too vague and there just isn’t enough planning involved. However, if you are prey, then I agree with the sheep in my cartoon. He really needs to put his resolution into action, and quickly!

Cartoon of a sheep and a wolf

Instead of making resolutions, I am going to spend the day working out my plan with my wife. We have never been more fired up than now. It is exciting to break out of a routine and dream of what is possible. Yes, we are willing to take risks by faith. After all, we are fooling ourselves if we think there is any risk-free life. I love this quote by General Douglas MacArthur.

There is no security in this life. There is only opportunity.

Douglas MacArthur in Instant Inspiration

Too many of us think we have security. We may not like the way things are, but they are secure. It’s been this way for a few decades, why rock the boat? Just hold on until retirement and endure the current situation. We may not realize that philosophy is just as risky as trying something different.

The reality is we don’t know what the next day will bring. I don’t know what is in store for me. So I might as well dream big, plan, and take some risks. Playing it safe assumes I know exactly what will happen in the future. I don’t. What I think is safe can crumble in an instant. This is coming from a guy who experienced two layoffs in his lifetime. My father took early retirement from a seemingly conservative, stable company rather than experience a layoff. A seemingly stable business can crumble overnight.

Yes, I don’t know what tomorrow may bring. So I might as well, dream, plan and take some risks for the new decade. The reward could be huge.

How about you?