| Save your energy for changing the things you can control." Many everyday events are unavoidable and beyond our power to control. Things like taxes you can complain about, but that doesn't make them go away. Traffic jams happen, especially, it seems, when you're running late. Bad haircuts are a part of life and happen to all of us. It's better to accept with grace, as part of the journey, the things you cannot control. When tempted to control the uncontrollable, remember, the only thing you know you can always control is your response. For example, in a traffic jam you can choose to honk your horn and scream, or you can choose to turn on the radio, listen to music, and calmly wait for traffic to clear. When you stop stewing over uncontrollable situations, you keep the vital energy you need to maintain a healthier, happier and in-balance you. ©Jane Powell  A DECISION I MUST MAKE EVERY DAY Gretchen Alexander is sightless. But she refuses to allow her blindness to limit her life activities. She enjoys archery, golf, softball, sailing and water-skiing, as well as a number of other activities that those of us who are sighted have yet to learn. She also speaks to groups about living life fully. When speaking to a group of high school students, she was once asked if there was anything she wouldn't try. "I've decided to never skydive," she answered. "It would scare the heck out of my dog." Why do some people rise above their problems and live life fully, while others become defeated? Merle Shain explains it this way: "There are only two ways to approach life, as a victim or as a gallant fighter. And every day the decision is ours." Or put another way, we can believe we're helpless or we can believe we're powerful and capable. And every day we reaffirm our belief. Another person who knew what it was like to live sightless, not to mention soundless, was Helen Keller. She famously pointed out that "although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of suffering." Does that sound someone who believes she is helpless, or like someone who believes she is capable? I love the perspective of a shop owner in Nottingham, England. He posted this notice in the window of his coat store: "We have been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since. We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of coal nationalization, coat rationing, government control and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next." Though he lifts up a myriad of hardships they've endured, they somehow figured out how to stay in business. Does that sound like someone who believes he is helpless... Or capable? When discouraged some people will give up, give in or give out far too early. They blame their problems on difficult situations, unreasonable people or their own inabilities. When discouraged other people will push back that first impulse to quit, push down their initial fear, push through feelings of helplessness and push ahead. They're less likely to find something to blame and more likely to find a way through. For me, it's an important decision about whether I want to live my life fully and with courage or whether I will be forever defeated by harsh circumstances. It's a decision about believing I am powerful enough and capable enough. And it's a decision I must make every day of my life. Steve Goodier  Act on your dreams Your most treasured dreams are far too valuable to be hidden away. Instead, put them into action so that they become real and vibrant contributions to your world. Every moment will be filled with some activity or another. So fill as many of those moments as you can today with positive action. You're always moving in some direction or another. So move steadily in the direction of those things you value and treasure most. It can be all too easy to get caught up in the empty distractions that continually come your way. But do you really want to waste your time and energy on them when there is so much more you can be doing? Pick the most positive, valuable, magnificent thing you can imagine and put it into action. Let it fill your thoughts and fill your moments. When each action, no matter what it may be, is taken as a step toward what you treasure most, the power of joy and purpose will fill your efforts. Put your dreams into action, and put your own special value into life. Ralph Marston   |
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