Remember Why

What is life if we do not strive toward something? I can imagine nothing worse than simply going through the motions each day. I want each day to be an adventure, a window to new opportunities. The following quote says it best…

Don’t live the same day 75 years in a row and call it a life.

Each day, we follow a routine. Routine is great, and structure is necessarily for productivity. But I encourage you not to get so wound up in following a regimen that you lose sight of your goals.

Each day, you get up for work. Do you remember why you took this job, though?

Each day, you ride the public transportation system. Do you remember why you chose to commute?

Keeping your eye on the goal is key. As soon as you forget why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ve lost your purpose. Remind yourself daily.

When you forget what your motivation is, you begin to stop feeling an urgency to try, to strive, to push. This trying and striving and pushing is what makes us people who have drive. We cannot forget why we do what we do. The very moment we do, we begin to lose the spark. We as human need that spark to keep life exciting and interesting.

I think Michael Jordan summed this idea up pretty well in his short article called “I Can’t Accept Not Trying.”  (I encourage you to take five minutes and give it a read.)

Chanel your inner MJ today. Visualize where you want to be. Focus on getting there. 🙂

Hindsight is Always 20/20

Reflecting on our past experiences is healthy and beneficial in innumerable ways. But sometimes we choose to second guess our decisions and the ways we chose to handle situations. I think reflection is wonderful. But I also think that the moment reflection turns to regret, we enter dangerous territory.

As humans, we are not all-knowing beings. We have limited sight in our lives. We can try to forsee outcomes of each action we take in our lives, but sometimes things do not go according to our plans. Sometimes, when we look at our pasts, we begin thinking what if i had done X here, or not said X there, or had acted X way in that moment?

It has been my personal experience that regret is completely and utterly useless. Instead of constantly asking what if and feeling remorse over our decisions, let us try instead to learn from them. Turn those questions into statements. Next time I will do X here, or next time I will say X instead there, or next time I will act X way in that moment.

Feeling deep regret will simply make our hearts heavy. Everyone experiences tinges of what if’s in their lives. It is a perfectly natural and normal feeling. But I encourage you to consider renovating your way of thinking. Reflect. But please, do not regret. You have one life. Enjoy it, and learn from your past.

Conforming

Adolescents are constantly told to fit inside the mold. Think inside the box. Stick to the status quo. Be un-unique. Conform.

Let’s now think about what the world would be like if it encouraged exactly the opposite. Break the mold. Think outside the box. Challenge the status quo. Be unique. Don’t conform.

I kind of like what I see when I picture that kind of world. Of course we are all slightly different, but each day, society tells us to be more and more like one another. I think our unique traits and quirks make us interesting. I always find conversations with those who are dissimilar to me to be the most interesting conversations. I usually get more from those relationships, too.

How can we expect ourselves to grow and develop as intelligent, experienced people if we do not expose ourselves to people with different views and attitudes from our own? Coming into contact with people whose personalities vary from ours will challenge us. It will make us stop and think why do I think and feel what I do? If that won’t make you evaluate yourself and your views, helping sharpen your reasons for believing what you do, I’m not sure what will.

Now, this clip serves as an excellent example of conformity (and how we all do it!).

🙂

Take time today to celebrate our differences. It’s what keeps life interesting.

Balance

We’ve all heard about work-life balance. Before you start listening to what I have to say, watch this short video of Dave Caperton sharing his thoughts on the topic.

Dave explains the difference between good stress and bad stress, and why we ought not burn ourselves out in the workplace. I wholeheartedly agree with what he has to say on this issue. All of us have been under a heavy workload at some point in time. It really isn’t too fun! But he suggests that, instead of trying to balance our at-home stress and our at-work stress in two separate worlds, we avoid the bad stress altogether in both of these areas.

Another insightful man had some good thoughts on balancing, too.

Dr. Seuss has a point. Let’s try to integrate what he says with what Dave says. Dave says we ought to avoid distressful situations. Dr. Seuss says we should act with great care and with great tact in order to maintain balance in our lives. Would your life change if you decided to stop letting little annoyances not be so annoying to you anymore? Would you find yourself smiling a little bit more often? Maybe you wouldn’t bring your negative workplace experience home with you at the end of the day (because it wouldn’t be so negative anymore).

While life is indeed a balancing act, we ought not make it more difficult than it is. Be careful. Be tactful. Avoid stress. It takes practice, but it will pay off in the long run 🙂