Don’t You Do It!

Don’t you do it!

You’ve gotta love squirrels, or not. Actually, I do. In fact, I’ve always wished that they would let you pick them up and hold them because, obviously they are just so darn cute. My opinion, of course! 

Well last week I witnessed the almost demise of one of these not so bright adorable rodents. 

I was leaving the gym ready to take a left onto a neighborhood street when I spied the little guy. He was dancing around the sidewalk trying to get up the nerve to cross the road. 

Now what I knew, and apparently he did not, was that there was traffic freely flowing on both sides of the street. As I watched him, I found myself trying to will his return to the large tree behind him using only my mind. 

“No, little guy!”

“Don’t you do it!”

“Go back to your tree!!!!!”

I’m not sure why I thought this approach had any chance of working, but a girl can always hope. 

Predictably, he didn’t listen to a word I said, and made a quick dash out into the road.  A road by the way, that at that moment was looking a lot like the Daytona 500.

I watched as he made his way under an oncoming car, waiting to see his dead little body lying pitifully in the street after the car passed.

But the squirrel gods were with him that day, and he bounced off the tire, and somehow fell back toward the sidewalk all the while avoiding the adjacent tire in his mad dash to safety. 

How was it possible? That squirrel was going to live to see another day!

He ran lickity-split back up the tree, all the while I’m sure, with his heart racing in his little squirrel chest. 

I wish I could be assured that he learned his lesson, but alas I fear not. 

Unfortunately, this must be nature’s way of keeping the squirrel population in check. 😢

Choices

Choices. 

“...you make your choices and your choices make you.”

Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect

Darren Hardy in his book The Compound Effect devotes an entire chapter in his book to the importance of choices, both those we make and those we don’t. 

He writes about how the choices we make can set “the trajectory” of our life. 

I spent a little time thinking about different choices I had made in my life, and how they had set me on the path that I am on today. I also wondered what would have happened if I had changed just one choice?

This phenomenon is known as The Butterfly Effect. Simply choosing one thing different may change everything. 

When I graduated from college I was offered a teaching position in McKinney, Texas. School had already started, and I was quite depressed that I did not have a job yet. As much as I wanted to accept the position it really made no sense. It was too far to commute, and with my meager beginning teacher salary there was no way I could have paid the bills. 

Little did I realize that seven years later I would be introduced to Chuck by one of the teachers I taught with in Cedar Hill. If I had never taken that position we would never have met. I think about how my two grandsons would not be here today if I had made a different choice. 

Each day I have a series of choices to make. Often I don’t give many of them much thought, as they have just become my routine, but is that necessarily a good thing? 

Chuck and I have a habit of plopping down in front of the tv after dinner. We made a different choice the other night after I started reading The Compound Effect. What if we read for 30 minutes after dinner? Even if we only read one book a month, that would end up being twelve more books than we would have read before. 

I can’t help but think that thirty minutes of reading will probably benefit us more than another thirty minutes of television. 

Think about some of the choices you make. Is there another choice you could make that over time will pay off in a healthier way? Slow and steady wins the race. 

Humble

Humble.

Being humble seems to fly in the face of our current culture. I recently picked up a popular book that had caught my eye. I was curious what all the hype was about. 

At first I was quite taken in by all the upbeat, motivating sentiment at how I could take charge of my life, and accomplish my wildest dreams. 

It wasn’t until I came to the chapter about how the author chose not to be too involved in her children’s lives in order to accomplish all HER wildest dreams that I began to have second thoughts. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I was a working mother, and I’m not trying to pit career over motherhood, but at the same time I always knew which of the two was the higher calling. 

It’s very trendy today to be brave, and to step out of your comfort zone in order to do it all. Honestly, I’ve encouraged others through my blog to not limit the possibilities, but today when this Bible verse popped up on my i pad it really spoke to my heart. 

“Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”

1 Peter 5:6

Interestingly the definition of humble is “having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.”

This really does seem antithetical to what we are taught today. 

What I found reassuring, though, was that in His perfect timing, if you allow it, you will accomplish the things you were put on this earth to do, all with an air of humility. 

Opinions

Opinions. 

“A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.”

I’ve realized that so much in life is just somebody’s opinion, mine included. 

I don’t always understand other’s opinions, and sometimes I find myself acting overly defensive about mine. 

I used to think that opinions had more to do with the flavor of ice cream, and not so much about religion or politics, but I found myself determined to find the right flavor of both of these as well. 

I have come to understand that we are influenced by our upbringing and our experiences, and our opinions are based on these. We all come with our own set of biases.

As I watch both sides of an opinion be quick to express hatred for the other it makes me sad. I wonder if it has to continue or could things be different?

Sometimes I think that we have just gotten so big that it’s hard to find common ground anymore. 

In the future, though I don’t want to be so quick to defend my opinion as “right.” I do, however, want to extend the effort required to base my opinion on facts and knowledge as often as possible- except, perhaps, when it comes to my favorite flavor of ice cream!

Consistency

Consistency.

“Consistency compounds.”

John C. Maxwell

I was listening to a podcast the other morning while walking at the gym, when author and motivational speaker John Maxwell said something that caught my ear. 

“Consistency compounds.”

Yes!!!  He couldn’t be more right.  Something that you consistently do will show up either way, good or bad. 

Just like how compounding interest can greatly effect your 401K, almost anything you commit to doing consistently can also grow exponentially.

According to the authors of The Twelve Week Year, Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington;

“It’s not enough to have the intention of changing; you have to act on that intention for things to get better-and not just once, but consistently.”

 Now as much as we might wish that there was some sort of magic wand that would help us get what we desire, the reality is that hard work, perseverance, self-discipline and consistency are really the only way to achieve this. 

Although changing your actions may be what is needed to reach your dreams, this according to Morgan and Lennington will only result in “incremental improvements.”

Rather, shifting your thinking is the better way to go. Knowing your natural tendencies, and the reason behind what you are wanting to achieve can help you to reach your goals. 

Why do you want something? Be specific, and remind yourself of this frequently.

I’ll end with another quote from Morgan and Lennington;

“Consistent action on the critical tasks needed to reach your goal is the key to getting what you want in life.”

Start compounding your heart’s desire through the consistency of your actions. 

Monet

Monet. 

Chuck and I were fortunate the other day to be able to view the Monet: The Late Years exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth. 

As Monet grew older he suffered with cataracts which affected his vision. I can only imagine how devastating that was to him. 

In response to his limited vision he began painting on much larger canvases, and redefined his artwork. Near the end of his life, as he still continued to paint into his eighties, he redefined his painting style once again. 

Several lessons can be learned here:

Never give up doing something you love. 

Redefine yourself as needed adjusting for any impositions brought on by aging. 

Don’t allow a hardship to completely hold you back. 

Interestingly Monet described his abilities as such; 

“Beyond painting and gardening, I am good for nothing.”

What an understatement considering the breadth of his work over an eighty year period, and the beauty of his beloved gardens at Giverny.

We all have something that we are naturally good at, and we should develop and redefine if needed those talents, so we can share them with the world. 

The Downside of Comfort

The downside of comfort.

If I were to ask you how comfortable you are with your life, what would you say?

What if I told you that there might be a way to help you achieve your dreams, except that it would require you to sacrifice one thing?

What would that one thing be, and would it be worth it?

Would it surprise you to know that that one thing is comfort?

According to the authors of The 12 Week Year, Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington:

“The number one thing that you will have to sacrifice to be great, to achieve what you are capable of, and to execute your plans, is your comfort.” 

As I thought about it, I realized that I live a pretty comfortable life overall. As I thought about it some more, I wondered if I was not fulfilling my potential because I clung to being comfortable?

Would it be worth it to risk comfort in exchange for something potentially meaningful?

Morgan and Lennington also state:

“Without a compelling reason to choose otherwise, most people will take comfortable action over uncomfortable ones.”

I wonder if I have a “compelling reason”?

Do you?