Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’
Are you a road menace?
January 8th, 2010
Are you a menace to society? If you didn’t get enough sleep last night but still got behind the wheel this morning, the answer is yes.
According to a recent study sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), nearly two million people have had accidents or near misses due to driving while drowsy. More than half those polled said they’d driven while overly tired during the year and nearly 30 percent said they did so at least once a month.
Yikes!
Fire up your smoldering brain
January 4th, 2010
It’s the start of a new year and in my head I keep hearing that oh-so-energetic Michael Bublé
It’s a new dawn!
It’s a new day!
It’s a new life!
Then I mentally roll over and hit the snooze button.
As much as I want to launch into this year firing on all thrusters, something seems to be holding me back. In my case, that something is a reluctance to admit the holidays—and my vacation—are over and it’s time to put nose back to grindstone.
But what about you?
TAGS: dull, fatigue, inspiration, lethargic, motivation, Self-Improvement, spark, success, tiredness | 
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Resolving to succeed
December 30th, 2009
We’ve again reached that time of year when most people start thinking about all the things they want to change in their lives. For me, January 1 isn’t that significant. Hardly a week goes by that I’m not resolving to change or fix or start or stop something. New Year’s Day is the same with perhaps a little more enthusiasm because it’s not just a new day, week, or month, but a whole new year. But anyone can make resolutions. The challenge is to keep them.
Keep resolutions manageable
December 29th, 2009
“One singular sensation.” It’s the opening line of the song “One,” from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line
Yep, that’s right. One.
Sound underwhelming? Think about it. How many resolutions did you come up with last year? Five? Ten? Twenty? And how many did you keep? Uh-huh. Now you get the point.
3 reasons you fail
December 29th, 2009
As you get ready to embark on a new year of mountain-moving, maybe this would be a good time to think about the successes and failures of the passing year. If it seems you’re still facing the same towering peak you were staring at this time last December and haven’t made much of a dent the past 12 months, maybe you should ask yourself a few questions:
Do I really want to move this mountain?
Is moving this mountain in my best interest?
Is it within my power to move this mountain? Is the choice mine and mine alone?
Unpredictable outcomes
December 26th, 2009
Financially speaking, this has been a difficult year for many people around the world. Some of us keep hearing recovery is imminent–and things may be looking up for our friends–but our ship is still anchored in the distance, a long way from shore.
Although we understand the world’s economic woes have nothing to do with us, we can’t help feeling like we’ve screwed up somehow. If we’d only had the good sense to turn left instead of right, we wouldn’t be struggling so much. But we need to accept that, even when we make reasonable decisions, circumstances may conspire put mountains in our path. It’s a lesson Andre-Francois Raffray learned all too well.
The joy of togetherness?
December 23rd, 2009
The best gift for me during the holiday season is the opportunity to spend time with my extended family. And I feel doubly blessed when I listen to some of my friends discuss the trials and tribulations of being with their families—particularly the delicate task of trying to bring together the families of both spouses. I actually like my family. Not only that, I like my brother’s in-laws, too. I even like my sister-in-law’s dog.
Gifts from the heart
December 16th, 2009
When you think back on the favorite gifts you’ve received in your life, chances are the most memorable aren’t the grandest or costliest, but the ones that came from the heart when you needed a lift. Maybe you remember the day you were recovering from surgery and a friend stopped by with a home-cooked meal or an offer to clean your house. Or perhaps you remember how you were taking the bus to work every day when someone offered you the keys to an old clunker of a used car. Then again, maybe the best gift was just a hug on a day when the world seemed too dark and too lonely.
Surviving workplace parties
December 15th, 2009
When I started out, I used to take on temp administrative jobs to help make ends meet. Once I worked for a bank that seemed very proper on the outside. But every year, the prim bankers dropped their conservative personas for one weekend while they attended the office holiday party
They gathered at a hotel near the beach, sans spouses and significant others, partied all night, then stayed in rooms booked for them by their employer. The tales of debauchery arising from this annual weekend were legendary. It’s hard for me to imagine how some of those people could look each other in the eye over a conference table the rest of the year. When they began sharing their stories and telling me I just had to be around for the festivities … well, let’s say I was glad my assignment ended in November.
Cheap options to exchanging gifts
December 14th, 2009
When my brother and I were kids—in the pre-Internet days—our mom used to hand us a catalog from some department store, turn to the toy section, and ask us to show her what we hoped Santa would bring. It’s a tradition we continue as adults. My brother, sister-in-law, and I create Internet wish lists
That’s the nice thing about gift-giving among family members. We can be honest about our likes and dislikes. I’m not embarrassed to e-mail my sister-in-law and say, “Do not get me any pink football jerseys.” Ewww. But we can’t be quite so blunt with friends—which is why regifting