Friend of Fear

A close friend of fear is doubt, self-doubt. Second-guessing yourself all the time will do little to move the ball down the field towards a goal, any goal. It can be overcome. Do it in little steps. Think of the smallest accomplishment as a step in the right direction. I got up, got ready and went to work. Not a huge deal. But I did it! Build on that. Enough small accomplishments can lay a foundation for making the bigger stuff happen.

Another key part is simply feeling good. If I'm not feeling well and or hurting that simple goal of going to work is going to be much harder. I think it all kind of starts from with in. Feeling good about myself, taking care of my self and staying healthy are essential to getting anything done or helping others.

Speaking of helping others, that's also a great way to make myself feel better. If I'm having a bad day, getting someone else to smile or feel better turns my day around in a snap. Try it. It will work. And no, it does not require moving mountains, a simple complement will do. You can never go wrong letting other people know they are cared about and valued.

Put away the fear and doubt stuff. The weather is getting nice. Get out there and get to it!  

Trust Issues

Hey All,

Let's talk a minute about trust issues. Believe me when I say they are closely related to fears we talked about recently. You know the type, those who think everyone is out to screw them over, take advantage of them or has some kind of hidden agenda. They can be difficult to be around as they try to unload all that negativity. Two things. Don't be one of these people. Get them out of your life. Yes, we need to be skeptical and protect ourselves. Just do not carry it to the extreme.  Most of the time no one is trying to screw you over. Rather, they like you, are just trying to get through the day. They have their own worries and problems to deal with. Give others a chance to do the right thing and more often than not, they will. If this is not true for you, look both inward and who you are around. See what changes need to be made. Going through life as a negative downer type is no fun, a real joy killer. Life is just to short.  Here's a recent example from my personal experience.

I just had to get out of the house. So I decided to take a cruse (car trip) to the mountains. I was feeling good and decided to keep on keeping on. Instead of running out all my gas, I decided to stop. So, I go an and put it on my debit card. I ask the guy behind the counter if I need to get change, do I need to come back in? "No," he says, "we will credit your card." A random guy helps pump my gas and sure enough, I paid too much. The random guy asks the cashier the same thing and gets the same answer. I thought little else about it for the rest of the trip. The next day, I check my bank. No change. "I've been scammed," I thought. Okay, lesson learned. Cost me six bucks but lesson learned. It did not add up. I had two receipts clearly showing the difference. How did the cashier know I lived fifty miles away and would not come back all fired up demanding to speak to a manager? Was the random guy in on it? That did not add up either. Nobody likes to be duped. I had decided to let it go and take my six dollar lesson to heart. But it still bothered me. A day or two later I checked my bank account again and of course it was right! The charge had been corrected! My faith in humanity had been restored.

I must say I felt a little foolish for my doubt. Nothing added up. What happed was I got gas on a weekend day when the banks are doing little to nothing. It only seemed I had been cheated. I know this can and does happen. That's why I was willing to take my loss as a lesson. I still think, given the chance, people will do the right thing. I never allowed my doubt to get the best of me or ruin what was otherwise an awesome day.           

Good Health

None of what I post here matters if we don't take good care of ourselves. Nothing is more valuable than good health. What good is all the money in the world if you do not feel well enough to enjoy it? If you are at all like me, your health is not perfect. Maybe you are a little too heavy, don't exercise enough and don't eat healthy. Along with getting busy with work, family and the daily grind, it is easy to forget the most important thing-- taking good care of ourselves. It is easier and quicker to hit the drive through at McNasty than go home and make a proper dinner (a touch of meat, with lots of fruit and vegetables). When I was young, the effects of a tasty junk food meal seemed minimal. But the reality is this "food product" is like fine sandpaper wearing down your good health. It seems no big deal at first. But take another look two years, five years or ten years later and witness what paramedics call a "train wreck." This is someone with diabetes, high blood pressure (heart disease), weak immune systems, joint and back problems and so on and so on. This person's only source of happiness is the next McNasty fix. And even that is not what it once was. All they can talk about is their endless health problems, doctors appointments and up coming procedures. We all know people in this boat. It s just a part of American culture. My own health never got quite this bad. It was headed in the wrong direction.

A so-so diet and a very sedentary job conspired to try and kill me. I'm already handicapped and a substantial weight gain did me no favors. I found myself being pushed along in a wheelchair all too often for distances that should have been easily managed. Walking and doing normal stuff became harder and harder. Then one day at work, my left arm became numb. I was smart enough to know not to ignore this. Thinking it was just a pinched nerve I drove myself to a doc in the box close by. The next thing I know I'm in an ambulance being rushed to the hospital. I had some kind of "event" Later on I came to believe this was a small heart attack (if there is such a thing). A three year trip through a medical mystery tour had begun. I'd feel dizzy and off balance almost every day. I just passed out three to five times for no known reason. I wore a heart monitor two or three times for three week stretches, nothing. Finally, i was diagnosed with third degree heart block. No, this was not caused by too many trips to McNasty (or was it?). It is not a blockage of arteries in the heart but rather the signals that tell the heart to beat being blocked. There is more to it than this but you get the idea. The problem was fixed with a pacemaker I named Pacman. What caused the signal to be blocked was, most likely, a small heart attack. So I was told. Slowly, I began to make changes.  

My diet improved. I made it a point to get up and move around more at work. I was able to ditch the wheelchair more and more. I started doing leg lifts. Just twenty a night to start and I added more as time went on. I got up to 120 a night. It just made me feel better. Still my diet is not perfect but it is so much better than before. I exercise fairly regularly now and walk around a lot more than I used to. I'm a work in in progress I guess you could say. I think we all are. The point to this story is you don't have to change everything over night. Start with one positive small step and build on it. There is no way you can help others and let your own health go. That's just a bad deal all the way around. It is never too late to start. I had an uncle quit smoking in his early sixties and he felt better within a day or two. He used to smoke three plus packs a day! Good health is essential for being a happy contributing member of the community. It can be done. You just have to commit to it. And start off small. The change will come. I need to get outside now.

Thanks for reading.            

Get To It

Get to it! Do something, even if it is wrong. Inaction breeds inaction. It's that old fear thing that all too often holds us back. Figure out what's the worst that can happen, weigh it against what is happening (or not happening) and against what you want to happen. What is the cost if inaction? Lost time? No improvement? Stagnation? Life getting worse? You don't know until you try!  The point is inaction is a killer, a killer of ideas, dreams, hopes and possibilities. Nothing will happen from nothing. All the daydreaming in the world will not do much better. I know this is a little vague but I hope you get the idea. Take the chance... 

Keep the Pedal Down

Keep moving forward, no limits. 

The express rout to the bottom is to stop learning and growing. Life is not fair. That's a truism if there ever was one. Bad things happen to good people. There is no way around it. Or is there? Well, nothing is certain in life. But there is one thing you can do to protect yourself. Learn. That's right, be learning new things all of the time. Study has a huge impact on our lives. Consider careers.

The person who took a job at eighteen and kept it for another twenty years without learning any new skills is in a bad place when that business closes down. They  do not have the tools to rebound and get ahead. Also, they face age discrimination. They were not a bad person and really did nothing wrong. But neither of these will pay the bills that do not stop. Don't wind up in this situation. Always be learning new things. We live in a cold and unforgiving system that could care less if you were a bad person or did nothing wrong. It is going to keep moving forward. The future makes no promises and living pay check to pay check doing the same thing every day is risky. It is easy to make excuses like I don't have enough time, money or I'm not smart enough. Routines are hard to break out of. Instead of the change happening to you. You make the change. This is life! Take control!          

Thanks for reading. Think it over and have a good weekend.  

On Fear

"Your deepest darkest fear comes true... And you realize you are still okay." -Unknown.

One of my biggest fears. Yeah, they still chase me in dreams from time to time.

A lot of us operate from a place of fear. We're all too often afraid to do what we want or love because of fear. Fear of failure, fear of looking bad, fear of the unknown etc etc always hold us back. We have to come to terms with our fears. I think this is done via learning. Why did I fail in the bast? Why do I care what so and so thinks? What if the worst case scenario come true? What can I do then? Take time and think it through. Once we know some answers, fears begin to fade. This can work in so many parts of our lives.

Get to know those people who look and dress different. Get to know people we disagree with. Get to know those who think different. We all share a common thing called humanity. A friend one told me, "...the things we are the most ashamed of are also the most universal." I think that's not only true but very powerful. No matter how bad it gets, somebody has been there before, somebody is there now and you are not alone. Reach out. Somebody will take your hand and help putt you through.

Dealing with fear is a universal topic. So what's your take?

       

The Problem

 

 

"The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem."

Captain Jack Sparrow

 

 

 

 

Perspective

Pale Blue Dot

Appreciation

Appreciation- never fail to let those around you you how much you value them. Be thankful for the smallest thing done for you. It may mean more than you know. Taking others for granted is an easy habit to fall into and it is a bad habit. Being appreciative and thankful are two things we cannot over do. Even if someone says you don't need to thank me, thank them anyway. Just keep it short and simple.

Nothing will sink your value in the eyes of others as fast as not saying and meaning thank you. Forgetting to do so is just not acceptable. Don't let it slide.

I'm not complaining about the weather. I'm thankful for it! Soon enough everyone will be complaining about how hot it is and how fall cannot get here quickly enough. Not me, man! I'm thankful for each day as it comes, perfect.

Ah yes, thank you for reading and sharing!

Make it a great week!