Limiting fear

Fear drains the energy of the human soul.  Fear kills great ideas.  Fear subdues an active imagination.  Fears sinks risk taking.  Fear stops progress.

Perhaps you have seen fear and perhaps you have experienced fear.  What did fear stop you from doing?

If fear was not a part of your life right now what would you do?

Maybe you work for an employer that rules with fear rather than with encouragement and support.   You might feel like the only way to survive is to do what it asked rather than expose your true talents and gifts.   Instead of being energized everyday at the possibilities the day could bring,  fear slips in and robs  your potential.

Have you identified your fears?

What can be done to reduce fear and perhaps eventually purge fear from your life?

If you knew you could not fail what would you be doing now?

master your attitude

Perhaps you have heard of Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos Cookies.   Wally used the word Watermelon to help him navigate the turbulent waters of life.   The Watermelo Credo can be a starting point in generating an attitude that is positive.

The Watermelon Credo

W – Whatever you believe creates your reality. 

A – Attitude is the magic word.  

T – Together everyone achieves more.  

E – Enthusiasm is the wellspring of life. 

R – Respect yourself, as well as other. 

M – Make commitments, not excuses. 

E – Everyday can be a fun day. 

L – Love is the answer.  

O – One day at a time. 

N – Never give up or become a victim.

 Watermelon Credo  or a picture of the credo

Every letter in the word Watermelon represents an attitude and a choice we get to make each time we face a hurdle or barrier in our daily walk.   What can you do to take the edge off of a difficult day?

What can you add to the credo to make it your very own?

 

 

maximize your strengths

You can increase your level of satisfaction in life when you maximize your strengths, those things that come naturally to you or things that you have a strong passion for.  

Something that you are not very good at or that you don’t have an intense desire for might be considered a weakness.  You can practice and work on the skills to get better but the energy you have to put into reaching a high level of proficiency will drain your enthusiasm quickly.

The energy you have to put in towards maximizing your strengths will be small and the results will be much more quickly visible.

Marcus Buckingham, the author of “GO put your strengths to work” writes that “you will grow the most in the areas of your greatest strengths.”

If you were able to use your strengths daily and were able to maximize those strengths you would achieve a high degree of self-satisfaction in your life.  If you were able to consistently use your strengths imagine how significantly that could change your life.

Imagine doing the things you were truly gifted at – and using those gifts to make a difference.

Imagine being energized, engaged, enthusiastic, enamored, effusive, and enabled by doing what you are really good at.

If you don’t know what your gifts, talents and strengths are you need to spend a few moments asking yourself – what things do I do that puts an intense smile in my heart.  If I do what I am really good at does time just fly away?   If you can spend hours doing something that others think “you’re crazy” you just might be working on a strength.    When your life blossoms because you are doing what you love to do you are living in a strength.

Do you know your strengths?   Are you focused on building that strength daily?  If you’re not, when are you going to start?

If you are spending time chasing weaknesses hoping to make them  stronger … you might be missing out on what is really important to your happiness.

living leadership

Are you a leader?   We all are just in different capacities.

What do you want to lead?   Take a look ….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuuTlQ0FzEU

What great ideas do you have hidden deeply within you?

are you playing to your strengths?

Marcus Buckingham of “Strengthsfinder” fame has produced a short movie that helps explain why we should focus on our strengths.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNt7wCS2Yh8

What do you think?

Try this one too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOXjkdUInLQ&feature=response_watch

become all that you can be

“Let each become all that he was created capable of being; expand, if possible, to his full growth ….”   Thomas Carlyle

Have you found your purpose?   Where are you living out your gifts and talents?   Are you able to be all that you are intended to be?

Write down your gifts.

Write down how you are using your gifts?

If you are using your gifts are they bringing you joy?

it’s your life

Image from http://www.wordle.net

intention meets action

•SIntention meets action

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”  Mary Anne Radmacher

How valuable a quote is that written by Mary Anne Radmacher.   Living with intention is important but taking action on the intention is what will yield real results.

Intention + Action = A full life.

Intention is about setting goals and creating plans and without action is nothing more than a plan and a goal.

A full life doesn’t always mean a life filled with only joy, it does mean that your life is crafted by you.  If your life is crafted and built to achieve your deepest longings that in one sense is a measure of success.

Create an intention map.  What areas of your life do you want to do better in?   What areas do you think are lacking attention?   Score each area from 1-10 (1 = Low, 10 = High).

Family, Relationships, Career, Finance, Health, Service, Friends, Self

Is your life in balance?   What do you intend to do about it?

ervice

are you able?

Are you ABLE?

John Piper wrote a book called “Don’t waste your life”.     We only have once chance to make everyday excellent and that happens when we engage in the activities of the day.   

ABLE

Attitude:  What is your attitude?  positive, optimistic, future facing, journey, risk accepting, happy, joyful, grateful, …

Belief:  Do you have confidence in your abilities?  Do you have the opportunity to use your talents and gifts most of the time?   Do you believe in yourself?

Learning:  Are you making a daily effort to learn more?  Perhaps it is learning about your strengths, your job or other tangible components of your life.   What are you learning that helps you become all that you were designed to be?

Engagement:  Are you actively participating in building the life you were intended to live?

 

No matter what happens in the circumstances of our lives we have exactly one chance to do the right thing.    How often have you read the story where the right thing to do was not the popular thing to do?   How often have you read about a sequence of events that turned tragic because the right thing wasn’t done? 

In many cases the right thing might be managing our attitude when life’s events are not favorable.   Our attitude sets the stage for everything else in our day.    Our attitude sets the stage for everything in our life.

Our attitude can be learned.   We can train ourselves to have the kind of attitude that creates opportunities rather than drowns them.   Attitude is a choice, a moment by moment choice but a choice nonetheless. 

“Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.”   Robert Collier

Belief in yourself is the first step in creating a remarkable life.    For some people the words of others shaped their self-belief, either for the good or for the bad.  In many cases those words were not words of truth that helped the person grow and discover their possibilities, they were words that tried to injure and defeat. 

Everyone has skills and talents they can use.  Some people fear to use their talents because of the criticism that might follow.   

Restoring self-belief takes work, time and effort.   Start small and build your confidence in little steps.   Then after a few steps look at the progress you have made.  Celebrate the progress.  Believe that you can do more – you can.

“The wisest mind has something yet to learn.”  George Santayana (1863 – 1952)

Take the time to learn something new.   Learn something new daily, about yourself, about your world, about your work but learn something new daily. 

The world is changing far too quickly to neglect or put off learning.  Challenge yourself and challenge others make learning fun and beneficial.

Maya Angelou wrote, “love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it”

Engage fully in the life you are living.   Do life with intention.  Live life in full.  When you are engaged in life you are changing the circumstances around you.   You are creating possibilities for yourself.

Are you ABLE?

design your future

What are you driven to do?   What ideas, concepts, dreams or thoughts just cause an increase in the flow of adrenaline in your heart?

We all have something that we are really good at.  Many times the dream is undiscovered or lying undercover waiting for it to be unwrapped and released.   All too often those dreams are not being realized because there is no courage to go with the dream.

A dream without action is more like a cloud.  A few wisps floating in the air and the moment you realize that something should be done the opportunity is gone.  A dream has to be worked on, beat on, sweat on, believed in, churned, refined, and lived.   When you live your dream you will live life.

Years and years ago I had a dream.   The dream was locked into the heart and mind and nothing was going to deter that dream from being realized.   The opportunity would not have existed if no action was taken.   The opportunity had to be created and that meant sacrificing one thing to get another.    The dream was fulfilled.    In the space of time that it took to execute on the dream I had the chance to talk to people and they said, “I wish I were younger and then I could have done that.”    

Living a dream takes courage, it takes action, and it takes commitment.

What are you committed to?

Do you have a dream that you are longing for?

Do you have the courage to live your dream?

What steps would you have to take to begin living your dream?

 

Anais Nin

“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.”