Posts Tagged ‘Self-Improvement’

So … we’re two weeks into the new year. How’s it going?

That well? Uh-oh.

How many times have you planned to launch into a new project at work, make a serious commitment to your personal goals, renew a relationship with friends or family members, start losing weight, lay the foundation for starting your own business? You get off on the right foot with a lot of positive thinking and excited optimism.

Then reality sets in.

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You know things have reached a sad state in your life when you realize you’re envious of a saucy little miniature Daschund.

Oh, I know. I’m not the first to write about a dog’s life. But those who came before were lamenting how nice it would be to lie in the sun with no responsibilities.

For me, it’s all about the chew toy.

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Have you ever cared for a colicky baby? Here’s what they do:

They cry.

No, they don’t cry that sweet delicate whaaa that inspires people to stick something called a “binky” in their little mouths, dry their tears, and coo over how precious they are.

They … holler!

That’s right. From the depths of those tiny bodies comes a hellish, shrieking, sirenlike wail … a deafening sound that can drive sane people to asylums, previously happy couples to divorce court, and family pets to surrender themselves to local shelters.

Remember that scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds when all the children ran screaming from flocks of attacking crows? That’s nothing compared to the stampedes inspired by the cries of colicky infants.

But you can’t blame the babies. All they know is they’re experiencing acute abdominal pain and they want someone to make it stop. So they wail … and wail … and wail.

And then there are colicky adults. No, I’m not talking about adults experiencing abdominal pain. I’m referring to adults experiencing emotional pain … only instead of wailing for someone to make it stop, they hold in their misery. But if they think their silent screams won’t cause trouble, they’re kidding themselves.

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Screwed up much in life?

Welcome to the club.

Sometimes the biggest mountains we have to move are the consequences of our own mistakes. We assume whatever we’ve done is so HUGE there’s no getting past it. Maybe we’ve gone bankrupt, destroyed a marriage, ruined our credit rating, damaged our reputation, alienated our children, wrecked our health, or committed a crime and wound up in prison. And we can’t imagine how we could ever put the Humpty Dumpty of our lives together again.

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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!

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It’s been one of those days.

Do you often find yourself saying that? I do. But when those words roll off my tongue, it usually has less to do with the amount of work, or the wild activity in my schedule, than the worry pecking at my brain.

When I’m fretting about business issues or family matters or household problems or health concerns, it seems to drain so much more of my energy and enthusiasm—and productivity than I spend on my usual work load.

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It’s the start of a new year and in my head I keep hearing that oh-so-energetic Michael Bublé number:

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?

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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.

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“One singular sensation.” It’s the opening line of the song “One,” from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line. It’s also a good thing to keep in mind when crafting your New Year’s resolutions.

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.

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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?

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