Change and challenge
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Mining for gold
“I am a firm believer that every few years one needs to shake one’s life through a sieve, like a miner in the Yukon. The gold nuggets remain. The rest falls through like the soft earth it is.” ~Amy Poehler, Yes Please Fall signals the end of one year and prepares us for the beginning of another, making it the ideal time to launch a few healthy changes. This season, I’m making efforts to reduce or eliminate habits and behaviors that stress me out, slow me down, or otherwise impact my health — both physically and emotionally. Rather than dread the inevitability of aging, I want to move forward with…
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How we grow
“I think the place we grow in terms of self-efficacy and internal power is not when we are always happy, but when we’re doing emotionally painful things with courage and integrity.” ~Martha Beck Someone I know has been struggling with major depression for a while. Though I’d often wondered about her unpredictable moods, I didn’t realize the full extent of her pain until she shared her diagnosis recently. As she talked about moving past her emotional struggles and daily obstacles, I admired her courage and gained a greater understanding of her rocky journey toward wellness. As Martha Beck reminds us today, we do most of our growing when we’re pushing through…
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Changing with the seasons
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. The past is closed and limited; the future is open and free.” ~Deepak Chopra Most of us prefer to stay with what’s comfortable or familiar, even when we know there’s something better out there. Change demands courage — but if we’re fearful, we usually try to avoid it. This applies to everything from trying a different entree on a menu to breaking an unhealthy habit like chronic complaining. We shortchange ourselves when we’re resistant to change, or, as Einstein put it,…
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The keys to discovery
“When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” ~Alexander Graham Bell Have you ever been so stuck on a frustrating problem or project that you overlooked a potential opportunity elsewhere? Sometimes we have to accept the fact that something isn’t working — whether it’s a product that isn’t right for us, a career we’ve outgrown, or a relationship that’s not a good fit. Letting go of something after you’ve given it your best effort doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Great inventors like Alexander Graham Bell knew better…
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Good or bad luck?
“Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” ~Roald Amundsen Today’s quote is a handy piece of advice from the famed Norwegian polar explorer who led the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen understood that success isn’t a whim of fate or chance. It’s as foolish to rely on “good luck” as it is to blame all our missteps and failures on “bad luck.” If we anticipate the pros and cons, devise a plan, and map out our own course, we’re more…
