Category: Encouragement

Encouragement, Goals, Inspiration

FOCUS

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

fo·​cus (noun): directed attention : emphasis; direction sense; a state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding

fo·​cus (verb): to cause to be concentrated

My word for 2021 is FOCUS.  I chose this word because I have a lot of fantastic things rolling around in my mind that need to get out. I chose this word because I have things I want to take off of my To-Do lists and accomplish . . . finally. I chose this word because I have a tendency to multi-task, oftentimes unsuccessfully, and can get distracted easily.

Continue reading “FOCUS” →
Encouragement, Inspiration

Christmas and #lovechallenge2017

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

2017 was a year full of events in our lives. Some events we loved, some we just liked and some we could have lived without. We lost some people dear to us and we welcomed new people into our lives.

As a result of these events, we are each a different person than who we were on January 1, 2017. How so? Because all the events we experienced changed us into the person who is reading this message.

Hopefully, the events made you stronger, more courageous, wiser than you were before they happened. If they did, you experienced personal growth. If they didn’t, I invite you to revisit event and reassess them and their effect on you. Now that time has passed, I bet you see them in a different light.

We are all busy running here and there doing holiday stuff. Continue reading “Christmas and #lovechallenge2017” →

Encouragement

Live Your Joy Now

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

I received this message the other day from a very good friend. It really touched me because as humans, we tend to see the negative and the lack in our lives faster than anything else. This message reminded me to stop and see the joy and richness that is, in fact, in my life right now so I thought I would share this with you:

 

Don’t wait for life to be perfect, or fret and complain that it is not. Live it as it comes, doing all you can, thankful for each day, enthusiastic about making it count.

Happiness does not suddenly appear when you get what you want. Happiness is a state of being that empowers you to create what you choose.

Rather than harboring resentment about what you lack, be resourceful with all you have. Feel your miraculous ability to make a difference, and put it to work.

If all your dreams had already come true, you’d have nothing to look forward to. If everything was perfect, you’d have no way to make a positive difference.

Expect great things, but don’t let joy be held hostage by your expectations. Live your joy now, with the way things are, as imperfect as they may be.

Despite its flaws, this time, this place is your opportunity to live with richness and fulfillment. Stop wishing for it to have been different, and start living at your highest and best right now.

© 2017 Ralph S. Marston, Jr.

 

Encouragement, Motivation

Never Give Up

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

Never give up. Never give up on your dreams. Never give up on yourself. We hear that all the time. But what does “never give up” really mean? What does it look like? What does it feel like?

To never give up is painful.

To never give up is being misunderstood by others.

To never give up is being lonely.

To never give up is not being supported by those close to you.

To never give up is loosing friends.

To never give up is unpaid debt and unpaid bills.

To never give up is doubts, fears and anxiety.

BUT

To never give up smashes doubts, fears and anxiety.

To never give up supplies character.

To never give up supplies integrity.

To never give up builds your bank account so “unpaid” is exterminated.

To never give up supplies new friends and colleagues who encourage, support and celebrate you.

To never give up is realized goals and dreams.

To never give up supplies peace of mind.

To never give up supplies courage.

To never give up delivers a “can do” mind set.

Never give up. It’s worth it.

never-give-up-1

Encouragement

What Every Spectacular Failure Has in Common

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

The  link to this blog post showed up in my email the other day, mainly because I subscribed to the newsletter. I read the post and it resonated with so much with me that I wanted to share it with you. You see, I’m going through a period in my life where I’m being held accountable. I don’t like it. I’m very uncomfortable but I know it’s necessary for me to grow as a person.  This blog post gave me another perspective on accountability and I hope it will do the same for you. Here is it:

What Every Spectacular Failure Has in Common

By Andy Andrews

My office has been described as pretty weird.

Whatever you’re picturing, that’s not it—I guarantee you. Yes, I have two desks, chairs, computer monitors, and the usual office items. But what makes my office unique is every wall surrounding the entire room is full of bookshelves. And on these shelves are thousands of different items. Yes, thousands.

But there’s one spot, on a section of wall to your right when you first walk in, that is particularly important. This part of the wall is devoted entirely to the people who have had a big influence on my life. It’s a collection of family, mentors, and friends who continue to remind me of what’s important. Continue reading “What Every Spectacular Failure Has in Common” →

Encouragement, Motivation

Get Out and Stay Out!

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

I recently expanded my coaching business to help people produce clear and persuasive writings with professional editing and proofreading services. (Professional Editing and Proofreading Services) I was recently editing the client’s work wherein she talked about a very familiar story. She explained the significance of the story in such a way that I jumped out of my chair and experienced a huge, A-HA, WOW moment! I was so excited! She raised a point in the story that I knew but for some reason, didn’t fully realize. The magnitude of that point just overwhelmed me. You are probably asking, “What was the story?” Here it is: Continue reading “Get Out and Stay Out!” →

Encouragement, Inspiration

April Showers

My Journey to Me-The Discovery

When we hear the words “April showers”, we think of pleasant gentle rains that refresh everything and everybody. Sometimes, however, these showers turn into storms full of thunder and lightning. Everyone runs for cover. Life is like that. Sometimes we have situations or inconveniences that just trip us up a little. Oops! But at other times, we have storms – major upheavals and unplanned disruptions that stop us cold in our tracks. There is no cover for us to run to. And in life, we can’t avoid storms.

Just like there is a reason behind nature’s storm, e.g., atmospheric pressures, there is a reason behind our personal storms. Sometimes we have storms because of something we did or didn’t do but, more often than not, we don’t know why we are in the storm. The unexplained storm is the most frustrating because we can’t find the reason for the storm and, no matter what actions we take, the storm doesn’t stop. I’m in an unexplained storm right now so I understand completely how it feels.

When we are in an unexplained storm, it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to spiral down into fear and hopelessness. But your job is to weather the unexplained storm. How do you weather such a storm? Here are three things not to do: Continue reading “April Showers” →