“If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.” That was the standard reply I always heard from a friend of mine whenever one of us – or anyone we knew, for that matter – was dealing with a really difficult problem or an especially challenging issue, in business or in life. And it was a good reminder, not only that it takes hard work, discipline, and perseverance to reach our goals, but that the result will be worth the effort when we get there. [...]
One of the things I find most rewarding and gratifying about writing is when someone tells me that something I’ve written has helped them or inspired them or changed their life in some way. It’s also rewarding when something I write leads to a discovery of my own that helps me or inspires me or changes my life in some way. It happened again a few days ago, as I was journaling about different projects I’m working on that seem to be going nowhere at [...]
It’s New Year’s Resolution time, and I’ve been thinking about what change or improvement in myself I most want to make this year. It’s a tough choice, as I’ve got a lot of material to work with. Should I focus on getting rid of the extra pounds that I invariably add on over the holidays? Or tackle unfinished projects from the recent – or ancient – past? I could work at developing a good habit in some area of my life, or getting rid of [...]
A few months ago, I attended a speech contest in which one of the contestants spoke about dreaming small. She said early on that that’s what her parents always encouraged her to do. At first I thought it was a set-up for a punch line, or that she’d be talking about how she had to overcome a “think small” mindset in order to dream big and achieve great things. And since I teach, preach, and coach people about dreaming big and achieving their dreams, this [...]
“Betty, I’m ready to get out of my own way.” The words were music to my ears, even though I got them by way of a Facebook post. They were from a former coaching client of mine, and she’s someone I’ve been urging for a long time now to visit Toastmasters. She’s written two children’s books, started her own company, and is eager to get out in the world to do readings and presentations, and to promote her books and her business. Anyone who is [...]
I just accomplished a goal I set for myself almost a year and a half ago, and I feel pretty good about it. The goal isn’t an end in itself, it’s more of a milestone. Still, it’s pretty significant, and I’m going to take a little time to simply enjoy and celebrate the fact that I did it. The goal was to spend a week in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at my church. Not all at once, of course, but an hour at a time. [...]
It happened again last week. And, just as it has in the past, it caught me completely off-guard. I was at 5:15 Mass on Ash Wednesday, and hoping that my stomach wouldn’t start growling during the quiet parts of the Mass. This was a possibility not only because it was getting close to dinner time, but because I had followed the Lenten restrictions for Ash Wednesday, which are to abstain from eating meat, to refrain from eating between meals, and to have only one full [...]
“I focus easily and naturally on what is important and rewarding to me, and let go gently and comfortably of what is not. I am accomplishing my goals and fulfilling my dreams.” Whether you would call that an affirmation, a mantra, positive thinking, or wishful thinking, it’s something I’ve been saying to myself several times a day for a few months now. And the reason I’m telling you about it is that it relates so strongly to what I wrote last week. My column last [...]
91.25 hours. Over the course of a year, that’s how much time you would spend on something if you devoted just 15 minutes a day to it. I mention this because my New Year’s Resolution last year was to spend 15 minutes a day decluttering. That might mean whittling down a stack of papers on the kitchen counter one day, cleaning out an overstuffed dresser drawer on another, and tackling an overloaded bookshelf in my office on a third. As I look back on the [...]
I read an entertaining column in the weekend magazine of the StarTribune last Sunday, by a woman who was enjoying her new “toy:” a clip-on gadget that’s today’s version of a pedometer. Not only did it keep track of how many steps she took in a day, but it registered how many of those steps were going up and down stairs. She was excited about the fact that it was motivating her to do things she hadn’t been doing before, such as parking far away [...]