Jun 2010
Who Have You Impacted Today?
24 June 10 Filed in: Empowerment
As
the story of the Starfish goes . . . (by Loren
Eisley)
A violent storm battered the beach and left behind hundreds of starfish washed up on the shore. There were starfish as far as you could see. A boy walked down the beach and began throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one at a time. Soon a man walked up and asked, "What are you doing? You'll never get all these starfish back into the sea! You're wasting your time!"
The boy turned and bent down, picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned to look at the man and said, "It mattered to that one."
Today, whose life have you touched? Whose soul have you impacted? Be grateful that you have given so compassionately and generously.
Who has impacted you? Which person came into your life, and wonderfully threw you back into your ocean where you could have a chance to survive and thrive? Thank that person for the gift that she or he has given you.
A violent storm battered the beach and left behind hundreds of starfish washed up on the shore. There were starfish as far as you could see. A boy walked down the beach and began throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one at a time. Soon a man walked up and asked, "What are you doing? You'll never get all these starfish back into the sea! You're wasting your time!"
The boy turned and bent down, picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned to look at the man and said, "It mattered to that one."
Today, whose life have you touched? Whose soul have you impacted? Be grateful that you have given so compassionately and generously.
Who has impacted you? Which person came into your life, and wonderfully threw you back into your ocean where you could have a chance to survive and thrive? Thank that person for the gift that she or he has given you.
Vulnerable.
20 June 10 Filed in: Mental
Health |
Empowerment
Vulnerable. Most of us
avoid this feeling. We prefer to be comfortable and
surrounded with people and places that are known to
use. The familiar does have its benefits. However, in
order for us to reach a greater potential, we need to
journey outside of our comforts and be vulnerable.
Yes, that does mean that we might be subject to being
scared or we could inadvertently put ourselves in
harm's way. Yet it also means that we could learn
some news about ourself, such as a greater capacity
for something. For example, hiking a mountain might
make me vulnerable to a variety of physical problems
(e.g., sprained ankle, broken limb, altitude
sickness) and it also places me in
positive
"risk" for feeling an
amazing set of accomplishments (e.g., pride in making
it to the top of the mountain, awe in what the body
is capable of doing, breaking down previously-held
assumptions related to sleeping on a mountain in a
tent and sleeping bag!). When we plan for a change
and the change has a desired outcome, feeling
vulnerable is nearly inevitable. Certainly you can
take strides to reduce feeling too overwhelmed by
involving trusted persons and planning methodical
steps (not too large, not too little) in your change.
Yet in order for the change to happen, it is not
possible to avoid the feeling of vulnerability. See
what you can do to make a change and embrace the
daring side of you, and navigate that vulnerability
with style!
Practice is Essential.
13 June 10 Filed in: Empowerment
| Mental
Health
It is likely that you
have heard someone (perhaps an annoying teacher or
parent!) say, "Practice Makes Perfect!" And it is
also likely that you may have rolled your eyes when
you heard that for the tenth or one-hundredth time.
For the sake of an exercise, let's focus not on
making things "perfect" but making them better. One
of the most effective means to make significant and
long-lasting changes in life is to make repeated
attempts at that change. When you were younger, you
didn't learn how to ride a bike or jump rope by doing
it once - - you learned how to master these fun
skills by doing them repeatedly. [I add the caveat
that when we were kids, we likely enjoyed learning
how to ride a bike or jump rope so it didn't seem
like work at the time.] The reality is that
practice is
essential when we are interested in learning a
new skill and having that skill become part of our
life. Take a look at what you are interested in
learning at this point in your life, and see if you
can carve away a little bit of time on a regular
(weekly, if not daily) basis to practice . . . and
then evaluate how far you have come over the course
of a month!