Tag: perspective

Perspective, Momentum, and a Dry Erase Board

My recent blog posts have talked about Overcoming Self-doubt and Breaking the Negativity Cycle. Doing these things lead to a fresh start. It’s wiping the slate clean and beginning again with a new attitude and motivation to press on. That sounds great in theory, but it isn’t easy to accomplish. I relate to this in an unusual way: by looking at the large white dry erase board I have in my office.

Last year, when I revamped this blog, that white board was filled with blog post summaries, and ideas for the short videos I did at the time. I was having a blast and accomplishing so much with this renewed commitment to TalkingAmongFriends.com.

However, in August 2020, a family emergency hit that required my time and attention, and I quit posting on my blog. Then I posted sporadically, but had another dry spell in late spring and early summer of this year. It was frustrating because something I had been so excited about got pushed to the side.

Earlier this summer, the time came for me to refocus on this blog so I opened up the cabinet where my dry erase board is. On that board, there were all of last year’s ideas and accomplishments. It was a tangible symbol of my work. Until I stopped writing. Now, it almost seemed like my board was mocking me.

As I focus on writing again, I see that there are two ways of looking at that white board. One way would be the negative way, where the board showed my progress but also where it all stopped, and where I floundered for the rest of the year. You know, this is the board that mocks me.

However, in light of my recent blog posts, I need to look at that white board in a positive way: as in, “Look at all I accomplished last year!” I did so much. It should be cause for celebration not negativity!

It’s all about perspective. It’s either negativity for the year I didn’t complete, or it’s fighting the negativity cycle and self-doubt, and looking at the positive and the accomplishments.

I know myself well enough to know that the battle between discouragement and confidence will continue. However, by paying attention to how I view things, I truly want to let hope win, not fear, and not discouragement. I’m really good at beating up on myself about my lack of discipline, but in truth, last year’s white board proves that wrong. I did have the discipline. I had the desire and I was doing it! By looking at the positives, I know I can do it now.

It’s time to fill up the white board again, using all the different colored markers I can find!

How about you? How do you get back on track when you lose momentum? How would a change in perspective help? I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s encourage one another.

Blooming Where You’re Planted

I caught the end of the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus” recently. The movie released in 1995 and remains one of my top favorites of all time. The ending of the movie never fails to move me.

Mr. Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss, is a frustrated composer who finds fulfillment as a music teacher. Mr. Holland spends 30 years as a teacher, something he never wanted to be. But when the school system cuts the music program and he’s out of a job, he realizes that teaching is the thing he loves to do the most.

I could write several blogs about how life takes us in different directions than we dreamed, but that’s for another time. Today, my focus is the end of the movie.

(SPOILER ALERT) Mr. Holland is packing up his classroom, getting ready to leave the school for good. He believes that no one will miss him and that the last 30 years have been a waste. As he’s leaving his classroom, walking through the empty halls, he hears clapping and music coming from the school auditorium. As he enters the auditorium, it is filled to capacity with current and former students, and it turns out that they are all there for a farewell celebration for Mr. Holland.

The governor of the state was one of his former students, and she arrives to give a speech about how Mr. Holland may feel like most of his life as been misspent, but in reality, he has touched the lives of every person in that room.

Besides the wonderful tribute to teachers, this movie can teach a lesson for all of us. We never know what impact we’re making on other people. A lot of us yearn for something greater than our daily routine. However, we shouldn’t overlook the importance of what’s happening right where we are.

In the way we conduct ourselves everyday, working honestly and ethically, showing integrity and character can make a bigger impact than we realize. Just smiling and talking with the person ringing up your groceries in the checkout line can impact their day. Showing kindness wherever you go can make a difference.

Whenever we think we’re stuck in a dead end job or frustrated with the mundane of day-to-day life, we need to understand what influence we may be having on others. I hope it’s always a positive influence. Your attitude makes a big difference there.

With an attitude of gratitude and always showing kindness, you may influence and impact someone else’s life far beyond what you can ever imagine.

Be grateful for wherever you are. Remember to always “bloom where you’re planted.” You never know the impact you will make.

 

For a Limited Time

We’re surrounded on a daily basis with advertisements that say “Act Now,” only available “For a Limited Time.” The goal is to make the consumer believe they can’t live without the product or that your life will be enhanced if you have this product RIGHT NOW.
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All of that got to me thinking about our life here on earth. Most of the time we walk around with the attitude that we have plenty of time (at least I do). Even after two bouts with cancer, I still feel like I have a long life in front of me. And maybe I do. Only God knows how long I have here.

But most of us also know of someone we lost way too soon, whether it be to cancer, an accident or any other cause. Thinking about a life gone too soon makes all of us not want to take our own lives for granted or throw away the time we have to spend.

We are all on this earth “for a limited time.” So, what are you doing with your limited time?

There are days when I feel like I’m wasting time, throwing away those precious days. If we truly believe we are here for a limited time, then what’s stopping us from achieving our goals? Calling a friend? Telling a family member that you love them?

Our life is precious — let’s make it count, for our limited time.

A New Perspective on “One Word” for the Year

If you’re like me, you know several people who choose “one word” for the year and try to live by that word. I’ve done it myself. Many are talking about it now as we’re preparing to go into the new year.
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This has got me thinking (always a dangerous thing! :)) There’s a song out now that keeps echoing in my head:

“When you don’t know what to say, just say Jesus. There’s power in the name….”

Last year, my word was “shine.” I wanted to shine Christ through me and shine in all I did, I wanted to make sure my focus was on Him.

And every time I felt like I was failing, or when I was having a bad day, I would pray. And the first word out of my mouth was “Jesus.”

I had already picked out my word for 2015, which was “time.” You know, time for God, time for others, better time management at work. You get the idea. The thing is, none of that can be accomplished without Jesus first.

While it’s great to ponder whatever word is on your heart for the new year, or if you don’t utilize “one word”, let’s not forget to name the most important: Jesus. Nothing we want to accomplish in the new year can be done without Him.

So perhaps, every year, every month, every day, we already know what our “one word” should be: Jesus.

Wishing you many blessings for 2015.

Stay focused on the one who saved us.