Tag: positive attitude

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motivation

When is it time to quit?

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." Napoleon Hill

Is it time to quit when things just seem too hard? Is it time to quit when everyone around us has given up? What about when all the reports and social media say it’s time to quit?

  • We love a good story where the hero doesn’t give up even when all seems lost.
  • We revel in the feel-good tale of a pet that is found when most thought the critter was no more.
  • Who doesn’t like to see someone who has overcome the odds?

There is always a chance that an effort is futile. We may not always get what we want. But those who refuse to quit will reap rewards even if the odds are against them and the battle is a foregone conclusion.

We can find a good cause and change the world for the better when we refuse to quit. But when we do it…

Resolve only reaps rewards when we treat others the way we want to be treated. That includes any perceived enemies.

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to give up. "Napoleon Hill
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motivation

The Cost of Negativity

Quote: "Negativity can keep us out of the Promised Land and cost us forty years." Mark Batterson

We all go through wilderness experiences. Everybody has gone through one in 2020. The pandemic has made that a virtual guarantee. Today’s quote by Mark Batterson reminds me we don’t have to stay there.

When things get rough, do you let negativity creep in? Do you feel a sense of entitlement and believe you are too good to have bad times? Perhaps you let despair make you believe that things will never change.

Don’t let negativity keep you in the wilderness! Yes, we all face hard times. There are events, circumstances, and people we’d all like to change. Start believing and claiming the positive by faith.

  • Things will change for the better eventually
  • You can walk by faith instead of fear
  • Temporary setbacks need not define you
  • Speak positive and encouraging words
  • The solution will come

Nobody wants to stay in the wilderness. Don’t let negativity keep you there.

 

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

Why it Never Makes Sense to Give Up

Soccer stadium

American football tackleWe turned off the TV at the half. We would have loved to watch it until the end, but we had church tomorrow and the boss needs to be in the children’s area bright and early.

Ohio State hadn’t scored until the the final minutes of the first half. Then Wisconsin scored again. It was 7-21 in favor of the Wisconsin Badgers when we shut off the TV. It looked like the Buckeye’s fate was sealed.

But when we woke up this morning, we discovered that wasn’t the case. The Buckeyes came back and won 34-21. They didn’t let the Badgers score in the second half and the offense made a major push.

Ohio State could have given up at halftime.

  • They could have said this was a bad day and accept fate
  • They could have convinced themselves Wisconsin was the better team last night
  • They could have let the score determine their outcome. After all, Ohio State was shutout. They couldn’t score in the first half until the final minutes.

But the coaches and team must have had other ideas. They regrouped and played a totally different game in the second half. That is the mark of true winners.

It may appear to make sense to give up.

  • Things are stacked against us
  • We can’t seem to score, let alone win
  • That business seems destined to fail
  • It may appear your health will never improve so why bother?
  • It may seem you can never make enough to pay your bills.

But it never makes sense to give up! As long as you are in the game, you can readjust, you can plan for the future. You can thank God for what you have, where you are and where you are going.

  • Always strive
  • Always persevere
  • Always keep in the game
  • Never give up!
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.