Body & Soul
This is a guest post.
We’ll never have enough time.
Paradoxically, understanding that concept allows us the potential to wisely utilize the time we have!
Using time to overcome life’s challenges is a topic I cover extensively in my book, THE POWER OF ADVERSITY: Tough Times Can Make You Stronger, Wiser, and Better. I know from personal experience that the advice I share with you here is incredibly effective.
Transforming time from an adversary into an ally has helped me develop the positive mindset to be able to dust myself off from early business failures and build my company, Weatherchem, into the leader in my industry. Understanding time has also allowed me to put aside self-pity and rise above the adversity in my personal life, helping me overcome serious and chronic physical illnesses, and severe emotional conflict.
You too can grasp hold of the reins of time, making it work for you as opposed to against you as you confront your troubles. All that’s needed is for you to accept a single life-changing realization:
Time is truly the only resource you have to expend against adversity.
After all, even if you throw money at a problem, all you’re really doing is buying yourself extra time by having others tackle your troubles on your behalf.
Let’s start with the assumption that we each have some recreation we enjoy doing “to pass the time.” I like to swim. You may enjoy playing golf or tennis… bowling…. or basketball…
In all these activities we instinctively understand that win, lose or draw, playing the game is where the real fun is. Our time spent doing our chosen activity pleasures us in myriad ways.
Now what would happen, do you think, if you approached your adversity – whatever it may be – as if it were your favorite form of recreation? As if it were a rather difficult shot on the 17th hole… or a particularly adept tennis opponent?
Do you think you could “pass the time” tinkering with your adversity the way you might tinker with your golf swing?
Let me put it another way: Do you think you could take the mind-set and skill-sets you’ve developed through time, and put them to work against the adversity you’re confronting… the same way you might, let’s say, apply your accumulated golf ability to improving your long game? Is it worth trying?
Remember, whether your problem is a lousy golf swing or, say, unemployment, all problems are solved the same way…
First, you take the time to get creative and come up with a possible solution. Second, you take the time to be innovative and throw your ideas against the wall to see what sticks, keeping in mind that there’s no such thing as a mistake if you learn from your actions.
Granted, there is an immense difference in rebuilding your golf swing and rebuilding your career – but ultimately both are rebuilt through the process of trial and error – over time.
Written by Al Weatherhead
Al Weatherhead is the author of The Power Of Adversity and chairman and CEO of Weatherchem, a private manufacturer of plastic closures for food, spice, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.
Life is full of miracles.
Many times the miracles are performed by ordinary people and not by divine intervention or a higher power.
You too can make miracles happen. Here are four ways you can do the “impossible,” accomplish amazing feats, change lives, and perform miracles.
1. Know that one person’s miracle is another person’s goal
Doing the “impossible” sometimes seems like performing miracles to the onlooker, but to the doer it’s not miracle work. It’s hard work; work that requires patience, persistence, and different thinking.
One person views it as a miracle that somehow falls into place and another person views it as a goal that they put into place.
2. Don’t expect to impress everyone
Just as some people will be blown away at what you’re able to accomplish, others will just yawn at you. They won’t understand the magnitude of what you’ve done or maybe they just don’t care.
Don’t look to impress anyone but yourself with what you can do.
3. Refuse to accept someone else’s failure as fact
Before we take on a difficult task we usually look to others who attempted similar feats. We’re looking for indications about how hard it’s going to be for ourselves and we’re mostly looking for inspiration to push us.
Often though, we don’t find much hope. Instead of inspiration we find a vast wasteland covered in the broken dreams of those who tried but didn’t succeed and gave up.
However, just because so many failed before you doesn’t mean that it’s the truth and your destiny. You can be the pioneer who drudges through that wasteland no matter how long it takes.
4. Find solace in difficultly
When do miracles happen? During good or bad times?
When things are going great these achievements and events aren’t considered miracles because they aren’t very amazing and they’re not really needed.
Miracles only happen during difficult times when hope seems lost. So find comfort for your mind and soul in the adversity you’re dealt. It’s during these rough patches when miracles are created and thrive.
This is a guest post.
I believe everyone living or has lived has been gifted with wisdom to solve one problem or another; wisdom needed to go beyond our limitations; wisdom to make the right choices to allow the right people into our lives; wisdom to discern and watch over our young ones, protecting them from any form of harm, the list goes on and on……Most of the people I coach have come to a crossroad in certain areas of their lives where they have needed a bout of wisdom to direct them to the next phase, direction, junction etc.
This wisdom that we so earnestly and some times desperately seek comes from the experiences we have encountered and dealt with in life’s issues.
Most people tend to shy away from problems, what they fail to realize is that the so called problems, are sent our way to make us more experienced in life’s issues. You can view these experiences as trials and tests to show us the stuff we are made of. It’s only when we have solved the problem or dealt with the issue that we can be the voice of wisdom to others and to solve the next problem that may find its way to our doorstep.
For those of you who know the story of Solomon; he was portrayed as the wisest man on earth. If you look back in history, he was able to solve a problem between two prostitutes who came to him about a child, it was his wisdom that discovered the real mother to the child. We know that God blessed him with the gift of wisdom to judge the people he was king to, his wisdom brought him wealth unimaginable and that can still happen today.
Problems should be viewed as blessings, because when they are solved what lasts with us is the gift of wisdom; and that in itself can never be taken away.
Some of my clients don’t understand why they have so much problems to deal with, the questions I ask them is what can they learn from the problem? How do they think the problem can be solved? Why has the problem found it’s way to them instead of someone else? In answering some of these questions lies within the wisdom to solve their problem and that also means having to accept the reality of the problem to be able to solve it. Personally, I believe the problems you have and solve, the more experience you gain and ultimately what you do with the experience becomes the gift of wisdom.
If we can change our perception of problems, perhaps rename them as processes, experiences or even challenges, then we can embrace them when they appear and positively handle them to disappear, and the result will be wisdom used for the next phase of a situation in life.
Your story will then be what you now do with the experience that has happened to you and how you handled it.
There in lies success and achievement.
Written by Jacqueline Nwokeji-Ani
Jacqueline Nwokeji-Ani is an Author, Career Coach, Leadership Consultant and Social Entrepreneur. You can contact her at info@shammahcorporation.com
This is a guest post.
Sometimes there are reasons for hope but we just can’t see them. Maybe we’re too busy, rushing by simple joys and pleasures. Or we look for hope in the old familiar places but brush right by new ones where we might not think to look.
Here are some exercises to practice if you want to find hope in some unexpected places. Each exercise will bolster your appreciation for life’s wonders – and result in much more hope in your life. And guess what? They can actually be fun.
Exercise 1 – One picture a day
For the period of a week, a month, or even a year take one picture a day of the people and things that make life ‘go round’ for you. Take a snapshot of the people who help you every day – the mechanic who keeps your car going or the day-care provider who loves your child, even folks you see every day like your mail carrier or the cashier at the grocery store who always asks about your family. Use that camera phone to look for beauty in the natural world – the flaming maple tree on your street, the red tomatoes coming up in a garden or the dog that always welcomes you home with tail wagging enthusiasm. Take a photo of things that help make your life work; your car; good winter coat; your canoe or kayak, bicycle or skis, stereo, piano, guitar, books, great food.
Exercise 2 – Pay attention to the best qualities in people
Notice people’s faithfulness to each other, whether as friends, siblings, spouses, or business colleagues. Who hangs in there for others in the long haul? Look for people who exhibit generosity and kindness like the nurse at a doctor’s office who goes out of her way to escort an elderly patient to the car, a child who shares his valuable toys or parents who make sacrifices for their children. Find someone who has made a huge change in their life that no one expected. Maybe you know a recovering addict who found sobriety or a student who struggled in school but made a breakthrough with academics. Maybe you even know someone who spent time in jail but has lived a healthy life ever since. Even ordinary looking people around you have waged battles and come out the other side a better person.
Exercise 3 – Each day for one month, practice savoring life with your senses.
Cultivate wonder, curiosity, amazement and a willingness to be surprised by using ALL your senses. On Monday, pay attention to smells and your remarkable nose. On Tuesday, focus on sounds and your amazing ears. On Wednesday focus on sight and the miracle of your eyes. On Thursday notice everything that touches your skin whether it’s sunlight, a breeze or the hand of someone who cares about you. On Friday use your sense of taste to enjoy the most delicious food! Each day focusing on a particular taste will help you enjoy the simple pleasures
Exercise 4 – Make a list of all that you have survived.
You know many people – family, work colleagues, friends or any other members of your personal network – that have survived some challenging times. Make a list of these people. I think you’ll be amazed at the way people find equilibrium and exhibit resilience no matter what life has thrown at them. Seeing others’ experiences of endurance can give you something to lean on in the future – more hope!
Exercise 5 – Remember there are a lot of things that are RIGHT in the world.
Too often the news stories are filled with sad or disturbing events. Take some time to notice stories in the media, whether it’s on paper, on TV or radio, or online, about things that are good in this world. I think you’ll find a lot more positives out there than you might imagine. There’s hope!
Written by Julie Neraas
Julie Neraas is the author of Apprenticed to Hope A Sourcebook for Difficult Times.
She is an ordained minister, spiritual director and associate professor at Hamline University and speaks regularly about hope; where it can guide you, how it can sustain you and what meaning it can bring to your life.
For more information visit www.julieneraas.com.
Article photo by Yandle
If you want to succeed, you’ve got to believe; and most importantly in yourself.
However, so often you are your own worst enemy. You berate yourself, nitpick every little failure (while ignoring your successes), and you doubt your skills and potential.
All of this keeps you from trying and taking the necessary risks to success. And it becomes deadly because despite all external factors, it all comes down to you. You make or break your successes.
But on the flip-side this is an encouraging thought. If you can strengthen your belief in yourself, there is no doubt that you will succeed.
To help you strengthen your belief in yourself, here are 5 ways to get you started.
1. Go with your gut
No matter who you are, making a decision that can completely change your life is completely scary. You can never know what crossroad is the right choice to take until it’s too late to turn back.
I recently wrote an article about this topic and I realized that, “The best road to take is the road that forces you to believe in yourself and forces you to keep hope close and tests your hope and belief along the way.”
“What if my gut is wrong?”
Well yes, it will certainly happen; you’re going to make a decision that will be wrong. But what it won’t be, is stupid, as long as you learn from it and it pushed you to believe in yourself.
2. Write down what makes you unique
You probably already know what makes you unique compared to the other 6 billion people in the world but still write it all down. Writing it out and reading it will make it so much stronger and more powerful.
3. Recall the adversities you’ve endured
You are a little bruised up by the adversities you’ve been through but you’ve survived right? This means you’ve got the strength so you should believe in yourself. You’ve got what it takes.
If you haven’t experienced any adversity in your life then it’s time to take some risks and make a lot of gut decisions. If you haven’t been through tough times, you haven’t lived yet.
4. Claim ownership of your dreams and life
No one is going to hand you your dreams and no one has the right to take them away from you. So you better take full ownership of them and your life.
Your dreams aren’t going to be achieved without you or without you believing in yourself.
5. Strengthen your belief that things will work out
Even if you don’t always make the best decisions, you can always start over. Every day grants you that opportunity if you want to take it. Again, it’s all up to you.
How have you strengthened your belief in yourself and your potential? Please share it the comments below and help us all think, learn, and strengthen.
