What Does Doing Nothing Bring Us?

I was sitting down last night and asking myself this question. It was one of those self reflection self talks that I do from time to time. I know that I’m not alone on this one. But, it was time to really ask some serious questions.

As I have already stated, I’m sure all of us has asked ourselves this question before. But, the real question is why do we keep asking ourselves this question when we already know the answer? Well…most of the time it is the fear of doing something different. I know that I’m bad at it as well. So, I’m not perfect. But, I do know that the more I ask that question to myself the more I start to just get sick of it. That in turn will trigger some action.

I don’t know how many of you can relate to this. But, I know my biggest reason for not wanting to take action is pure laziness. Yep…laziness! I just don’t feel like doing anything. Nothing. Zilch. Nada! But, I also pay the price for doing absolutely nothing...overwhelm! So, I have decided that in times when I don’t feel like doing anything, that I do something even when I don’t want to.

For instance, if I want to read 10 pages of a book and don’t feel like it, I make the decision to read a paragraph. Now we all know that reading a paragraph is not the same as reading 10 pages. But, it can be the catalyst to keep me reading further. That initial action of reading a paragraph could possibly end up with me reading all 10 pages. Or, definitely more than if I did nothing.

Another example would be doing the laundry. I know that we all don’t look forward to doing it. But, it has to be done. One of the ways for me to get started is to sort the clothes. But, when I do that, I sort them where I know that if I left them there, it would get on my nerves (I’m somewhat of a neat freak). Just the clothes sitting on my floor in neat piles would make me at least start a load because I know that it will just pile up. It’s got to get done, why not do a load or two right?

I wrote all this to simply say that when you have those times when you really don’t want to do anything, do something instead. A small step towards a goal or task is definitely better than doing absolutely nothing! We either pay now or pay later! That’s just how it goes!

People Who Quit On Their Dreams!

I was doing some hard thinking after having a conversation with a person last week. They informed me that they were going to quit something they started because it was just too hard for them to continue. That was something that took me aback. The reason why they started to begin with was to change their family's life. But now...they're quitting. So...this is a little bit of my opinion on the subject of quitting.

My mentors have taught me that success comes through a series of failures. To double your rate of success is by doubling your rate of failure. I have also read that successful people do the simple easy things that are also easy not to do.

This is all to say that it is so interesting to me to hear people say they want this and that or have the lifestyle of successful people. But, not willing to put in the work and effort to get there. To see people quit on their dreams is really sad. But, the reality is that nothing that is worth having never comes easy. There is a price to pay to get to any level of success. Whether it's in education, spiritual, finances or relationships. In order for anything to work, you have to put time and effort into it. You can't expect to lose weight if you're only exercising once a week. You can't expect to become more educated by reading one book a year. You can't expect a relationship to grow if you don't give it the appropriate amount of time. You can't expect anything to grow if you don't put in the effort. But yet, so many people give up when they don't see instant results.

Well...just like seeds that are planted, you have to allow time to pass in order for it to grow into a harvest. So...when I hear of people giving up on their dreams because it's too hard or they don't have the time, it's bull! It's that exact mentality that is keeping them where they are at now. Because they don't want to get out of their comfort zone to grow, they will remain at the same place. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. The difference is how we utilize those 24 hours. One person reads a personal development book while another watches "American Idol". One person associates with positive people while another associates with people that complain all the time. One person takes time to do something to help them grow while another spends time doing something that doesn't help them grow at all. To be successful, you have to be persistent and consistent. There is no other way!

The big question is if the quitters have kids. How can they tell their kids to go for their dreams while at the same time they give up on theirs? How do they expect their kids to believe that dreams are possible when they see that their parent or parents quit on theirs? In my opinion, that is being a hypocrite! I just know that when I look my son in the eyes, I can say that he doesn't have a quitter for a dad. He has a dad that goes for his dreams which shows him that he can go for his! It is because of my son that I go for my dreams and make a better life for him! He's my motivation!

P.S. - A good book to read to further understand what I've been talking about is "The Slight Edge: Secrets To A Successful Life" by Jeff Olson. After reading that, you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about.

The Battle Within

Interesting title huh? I know that it would catch my attention if I saw it. Definitely commands attention. The title is appropriate for what I’m about to write about. So, strap on your seat belt and enjoy the ride.

Every single one of us is going through or has gone through this at some point in our life. Sometimes several times! And, as you may have guess from the title, it’s the battle within us. That battle can be numerous things. It could be anger, depression, doubt, fear, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence. Or, it can be something like substance abuse. In short, it’s that battle or struggle we have within that throws us off balance or doesn’t put us in the right state of mind.

Why did I choose to speak about this today? Well…because it’s something that I’ve had to deal with myself for the last year. 2012 was one of the most challenging years of my life. But, like anything else, with the bad comes the good and vice-versa. I’m not going to get into too much detail other than to say that I was not in a good place financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It all began with finding out my mom was diagnosed was stomach cancer.

It was at that time, that the battle within for me really started to manifest. Sure, I’ve been through some challenges before. But, this was the first time in my life that it seemed like I was being approached by a category 5 hurricane. I can see it coming but there wasn’t much I was able to do about it.

What were these battles? The battle was questions like this: Why is my life like this? What am I not doing better? Why is this happening to my mom? Why do I feel paralyzed? Why wasn’t I there more for my mom before now? What example am I setting for my son? What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve all this?

Well…I’m sure that by now most of you are saying the same thing in your head…stop beating up on yourself. From a logical standpoint, we both know that it does no good. All it does is reinforce the negative thoughts and feelings. So…I totally agree. But, as we all know, that in the midst of feeling or thinking like this, it’s easy to spiral out of control. I’ve been there and seen it happening.

This is the point when I say that it’s ok to feel like that from time to time. Without darkness, there can be no light. Without evil, there can be no good. Without bitter, there can be no sweet. I’m pretty sure that you get the picture by now. One can’t exist without the other. It’s the balance of life. So, feel the feelings. Acknowledge the feelings. But, don’t be consumed by the feelings! Learn to recognize that battle and struggle on the onset. Then you’ll be more equipped to deal with it. We all go through it at some point. It’s as natural as the rising of the sun. Just don’t bet yourself up over it.