Thriving...in Spite of It

Rome wasn't invented in a day, they say, but I'm sure the builders had a very specific vision in mind, as ambitious and passionate as they were... Today, I'm really tired, and it's hard to think about all of my tasks being teleported from  the "gotta get this done" place in my world, to the ever-elusive "completed" column.  How do we stay motivated, when there seems to be no end in sight? A little car repair shop in my hometown has a motivational sign out front that says "Keep your eye upon the doughnut and not the hole." Oops, I did it again -- brought up doughnuts :| so sorry.... Try to focus on the analogy, for a moment, instead of wondering what kind of glaze is drizzled on top, or if its topped with crunchy nuts or yummy party-in-your-mouth sprinkles, or maybe it's a gourmet doughnut with pumpkin or bacon....sorry, there I go, again... Focusing on the solution instead of the problem is, invariably, the key factor in many a g...

It would seem that determining what is attainable would be a paradox—finding the balance between practicality and spirituality, drawing the ultra-fine line between prudence and faith…where does one begin and the other end? I’m reminded of the interns in the office, teetering on the edge between college life and career days, leaning toward childhood or adulthood through a variety of situations...In some moments, so wise, and, in others, in need of a nanny (a really stern one who would send them to bed without supper). God must see us the same way, sometimes. To define what is attainable for YOU, you need to know yourself, and spend enough time alone with God to begin to understand your purpose. Until you know Him, you will never know who you are. When I think of the abilities that set different levels of attainability for us all, I am reminded of two people in very different situations: First, the unambitious, snarky third servant in Jesus’ parable of the talents, whose maste...

If you're too young to remember this song, don't whip out the Wikipedia or YouTube search just yet--I'll spare you the song, dance and plethora of ambiguities and irrelevant hyperlinks by boiling it down for you. It's simply about pushing yourself to achieve the seemingly unattainable. This week, as we talk about ATTAINABLE goals, it's important that we distinguish the impossible from the improbable, so you wont' fall into the chasm that lies between them like a lanky model stumbling off her stilettos into the runway-side audience (aka stylish mosh pit fail). Sherlock Holmes once said, "When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable , must be the truth." Now, if you can't follow me through Sherlockian philisophy, I'll have to disregard your opinion altogether, so I hope you'll tag along with me on this line of reasoning. The difference between impossible and improbable is clearly calculated based on facts, rat...

SMART Goals are Specific, first of all. I hope we have adequately covered that, via the "pick your battles wisely" philosophy. We mulled over priorities, meandered around realities, and meditated on possibilities...all in the spirit of choosing three essential goals for the year. Next, it is absolutely crucial that that we make our goals (outcomes) measurable. Without being measured, there is no definition of success (or failure, but we do not intend to be pessimistic so soon). You must know where this is going. If something is going to be measured, that brings some serious accountability into the equation---scary, huh? I don't know about you, but my blood pressure has a somewhat Pavlovian response that word--in the worst way...It makes you think about horrific things, such as report cards, the President's fitness test, and oh, yes, that dreaded but inevitable moment when the medical assistant in your doctor's office smiles and says, "now if you will just ...

How the weeks fly by! It's Friday, already, and here we are, dizzied by the sight of our to-do lists...so many boxes, still unchecked! Where do you begin? It seems that your desk needs tidying up, your closet needs cleaning, or perhaps the fridge needs to be cleaned out. Rather than face the mountain of tasks we should be doing, we plunge into a frenzy of something I call " productive procrastination. " If it requires explanation, perhaps it's not one of your unfortunate inclinations, as it is mine. For clarification, however, allow me to define the phrase: exerting your efforts in otherwise non-urgent, comparatively mindless tasks, rather than the more urgent ones requiring your full attention. It's something we all do, once in a awhile--something I've done from an early age. The phenomenon (as I choose to categorize it, since it seems to take on an energy and behavior all its own) presents itself whenever feel unequal to the priority tasks at hand. For w...

How can you be specific about your goals when they are just a bunch of vague, foggy, wishes, hopes and dreams? It's time to take that pie-in-the-sky endeavor down from its celestial pedestal and see if it tastes as good as it looks from afar. (Forgive me for bringing up desserts so early in your diet-shackled day)...Is it really, truly unachievable, or that your perception because you don't currently have the means or mechanisms to reach it? If there is a yellow-brick road to your dream, I promise you that underneath lies a foundation of solid research. It's the best preparation for turning those dreams into reality. Would we have ever reached the moon, or even this continent, without it? As brilliant and passionate as the explorers of Earth and space were, without their tedious hours buried in books at a drafting table, we would probably all still be back in the old world, and certainly never beyond it, thinking the Earth was flat and all of space was unattainable.  ...

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry  about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?   Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life [ e ] ?"  These are the words of Jesus himself, from  Matthew 6:25-26.   I have a good reason for beginning exactly right here, with this passage. Bear with me. This cute little bird (above) showed up, chirping his adorable little fuzzy head off, in my yard one day. He had evidently tried to venture from his nest a little too soon, and found himself in an unfortunate predicament----very much like the endless stream of mama's boys standing on the defendant's side of the courtroom on Judge Judy, mooching off women because they are too little to fly yet.....