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That’s Just Too Bad!

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As some of you may know, I post a daily status update on my Facebook page which is aimed at being inspirational, encouraging and a call to action.  I was interested to see this week that one status update in particular was viewed more often than others, and so I’ve decided to expand upon it in today’s blog.

Here’s the update:

SU21

Or you can click through to it on Facebook here.

There are a few themes running through this update, so let’s take a look of them in turn.  I’ve also included a link to earlier blog posts for each area which you can click for an alternative view or wider discussion. [Read more…] about That’s Just Too Bad!

The Quote Series: Why It’s Good To Be Self-Disciplined

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cakeThe word ‘discipline’ can have many negative connotations.  We can associate it with being restricted in some way or being prevented from doing that which we want to do, it can also be associated with corporal punishment and therefore with pain.  Is it any wonder then that today’s society is perceived as lacking the discipline of our forebears?

Nowadays we are perceived as a generation of people who, through lack of discipline or knowledge or peer and/or media pressure seek instant gratification, forgoing the foresight to assess the results of our current actions on our future selves.

Maybe our society, in an effort to ‘be all things to all men’ has become too liberal, or maybe we’ve just forgotten the benefits of a disciplined life and the long term advantages this can have for us, or, by contrast, the difficulties which await us in the future should we choose to live an un-disciplined life now.

Below I’ve picked out a few quotes which delve into the subject of discipline, with an emphasis on why it’s so important.  A key concept to remember though is that discipline isn’t something we ‘do’ to other people.  Instead, the emphasis is on self-discipline, which, in time sends out a clear message to those around us about our values and underlies our personal integrity.  It is also likely that our self-discipline will ‘rub off’ on those around us, especially our children who, of course, learn from our actions. [Read more…] about The Quote Series: Why It’s Good To Be Self-Disciplined

Labels and Definitions: Do They Serve You Well?

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windowDo you know who you are and fully recognise the real person who lurks inside?

Think about this for a moment and ask yourself ‘do my actions reflect the person I really am?’

I was thinking about this view because we are so fond of putting labels on ourselves, whether they are good or bad, and wondered to what extent we live up (or down) to these definitions.  I was also thinking about the old adage that ‘actions speak louder than words’ and I am sure there have been times when you’ve witnessed a disparity in what somebody says and what he then does.  But of course, we can be, and sometimes are, all guilty of this trait.

I wonder why this is?  Is it because we want to impress someone or maybe we want to be liked or to fit in?  Or maybe we just don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do, in which case, it wouldn’t be self-evident that we were in fact not acting consistently with the person we believe ourselves to be.

Placing labels on ourselves is normal and obviously helpful in allowing us to define who we believe we are to other people.  But let’s just have a look at the idea of definitions. [Read more…] about Labels and Definitions: Do They Serve You Well?

When Life Sends You Lemons….

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suffolk sunriseI’ve been away from my blog for quite some time, and it was a surprise to realise that it has in fact been seven weeks since my last post.  I hope you will forgive me for this quiet period.

I’ve thought long and hard about whether I should write about my reasons for being away and it seems to me that there’s a lesson or two contained in the difficult weeks I’ve experienced and it would somehow be unfair to my readers to gloss over them as if they hadn’t happened.  So here it is…

Way back at the beginning of August, I was involved in a car accident.  Luckily, I experienced no physical injury, although the after effects of dealing with the emotional issues has been an uncomfortable journey.  I guess this would have been enough to deal with at the time, but another blow was about to come when three weeks later my husband had a sudden and completely unexpected heart attack.  Before I go any further, let me just reassure you that he is making an excellent recovery, but of course, at the time, this was a huge shock for me and my family.

In the immediate aftermath of this event, my focus became laser-like, concentrated on the care of my husband and children and everything else was pushed to the periphery of my mind.  But over time, and with a good recovery and prognosis, my mind came back to the importance of picking up my goals and keeping with the journey.

One of the things that Jim Rohn taught me a long time ago through his books and audio programs is that “What happens happens to us all”.  Sometimes this can be a hard pill to swallow; after all, some people experience far more appalling experiences than others, while other people seem to sail through life without a care in the world. [Read more…] about When Life Sends You Lemons….

Are You Looking for Peaceful Moments?

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streamDo you lead a frenetic life and crave those peaceful moments that allow you to drift away?  Or is your life calm and pretty much running as you would like?  Most people, I guess, will be living somewhere between these two extremes and will experience periods of calm countered by periods of relative chaos!

Picture this:  it’s been a stressful day in work – as well as dealing with your so called day job, you’ve dealt with panicky clients on the phone, your boss has had you running around putting out fires, plus you’ve had to take multiple phone calls from home as your children are on half term.  By the end of the day you’re completely frazzled and want nothing more than a chilled glass of wine and a hot bath! [Read more…] about Are You Looking for Peaceful Moments?

Ratchet It Up!

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ratchetYears ago I worked with someone who frequently used the phrase “ratchet it up!”.  I remember one particular meeting when we were discussing new skills, knowledge and methods his team would need to learn and adopt in order to successfully install and implement a new set of software programs which would, if used properly, revolutionise the way his team currently did their work.

During the discussion Bill (not his real name), kept reminding us that it wasn’t just the importance of the new software that needed to be discussed, but also the need to “ratchet up the skills of his team”!

He was completely right of course.  As the old adage goes, ‘garbage in, garbage out’ – if his team weren’t appropriately trained and re-skilled, then the new software would be as useless as if it had never been introduced in the first place.

But the real message from this little story is my appreciation for Bill’s foresight.   Too often, when new processes, software, skills etc are required it’s often assumed that people will acquire the knowledge through a process of osmosis, and to some degree this view may be correct; but often, even though we may pick up new skills ‘on the job’ this only allows us to learn to the extent that our co-workers have the required knowledge or it relies on our dedication in being prepared to pick up the relevant book.

Unfortunately though, this situation will leave us in the classic situation whereby we fail to realise what we don’t know!  It’s a challenge because if we don’t know that we don’t know, why would we go looking?!  And yet, even if we were the best at what we did, we still wouldn’t know all there was to know about our particular field of interest. [Read more…] about Ratchet It Up!