Monday, June 18, 2012

JUMPING HURDLES?

This past week has been exasperating. My internet provider decided a nnetwork outage would be interesting and since a week ago, I have had spotty internet of a few minutes over each day at best. It's certainly not the end of the world, but as I sit at a local venue with aaccessible WI-FI knowing a new provider is showing up later today to give me back my online options, I realize that clitches, unexpected "accidents" and unforeseen events can never be truly eliminated and we need to have a plan for when we have to jump our hurdles.
Hurdles


For many people, the hurdle is like mine, a little inconvenience that puts more frustration into your day. While not tragic, it does present some obstacles that require a different strategy. In my case, I began to wonder what the world did when no internet was present but then neither were blogs, on-line products, email and video chat.

We get used to a certain type of experience and then expect  to continue uninterrupted. For many, their lives and dreams have been interrupted by a life changing event, divorce, job loss, loss of a loved one or any number of other events that disrupt the status quo and place an interesting unplanned hurdle maybe just before the finish line.

Life is always going to set up hurdles on our path, but some of our hurdles are caused by our own lack of discipline or effort in learning how to jump them. Maybe we fail to get enough information before moving forward with our plans or maybe we continue to promise ourselves we will "get started" tomorrow and when tomorrow arrives, we promise we will get started the next day. Sometimes our hurdles are due to not wanting to bite the bullet and do what it takes to get where we want to be or what we want to have. Nothing says "It's my fault" like failing to develop the skills or connections, and taking the necessary steps to arrive at your expected result. It's unlikely someone who wants to start a business or make a career change will find it achieved by wishful thinking. Failing to learn the ropes, understand what it takes to be successful in a specific area and make connections to succeed is like taking poison instead of medicine when you want to get better.

Several weeks ago, I promised myself I would buy a smart phone. Had I bought one then, I would have discovered it was less frustrating to be without internet service and less inconvenient than seeking hot spots. Yesterday, I stopped wishing for a track without obstacles and bought the phone and switched my internet provider. Hesitating to do something that made sense meant I wasn't prepared and suffered the consequences.

No, we can't control every obstacle in our path, but we should be controlling those we elect to put there by inaction, indecision, inattention or indifference.

Women's 100 m hurdles at the Atlanta Olympic Games
Women's 100 m hurdles at the Atlanta Olympic Games (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How about you? What are the hurdles in your run? Which ones can you address by deliberately making some choices which clear the field for a better shot at the finish line?

It's your race. What's stopping your victory?


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Monday, June 4, 2012

MY ADVICE? PLAY WITH FIRE





It's that time of year when advice tends to be given out as methodically as vaccinations at a boot camp. It’s time to give the graduates some advice.

I bet you remember getting all kinds of advice during your lifetime from:
"Don't go out without wearing clean underwear!" or "Never do anything you would be ashamed to have your parents find out." To "Cover your mouth when you cough." or "Learn how to laugh at yourself before laughing at someone else."

Some was simply common sense and some was obviously personal opinion but advice is something we will always be getting and often be giving.

I can think of at least three admonishments I received from others hoping to deter me from experiences they assumed would certainly be detrimental to me.

College Graduation
College Graduation (Photo credit: ajagendorf25)
 1. A business acquaintance of my parents told me going to college would be a waste of money as women seldom pursued their careers for long and usually just went to college to find a future husband.
2. A friend in college told me she worried my marrying my fiance would be a huge mistake because we were so opposite.
3. An acquaintance assured me I would be foolish to waste time thinking I could publish a book when I had never taken a course in journalism.

Well, I did "find" my husband in college and have had several decades of the best of my life with him while gainfully being employed in my field for over 25 years. And I did manage to get several books published in spite of the fact that I never took any of that advice.
I did however also receive wonderful advice from family and friends along the way admonishing me to “Do what I loved”, “Put God first”, “Be ethical and I would never have to second guess myself.” “Learn someone’s story before you think you know them,” and oh so much more.

One bit of advice I would pass on to graduates is to “Play with Fire” …Play with what inspires, motivates you and forces you to make a commitment and do your best. Play regularly with the ideas and dreams that consume you and continue to surface despite whatever job you do to keep food on the table. 

Don’t settle for what is when you have dreams of what can be. Set aside some time regularly to involve yourself in the fire that gets your spirit revitalized; the one that makes your time worth it. Play with the fire that makes you want to be a better person when you are involved with it and especially play with the fire that causes you to want to learn more about it.
English: A picture of fire



 And be selective about advice. It is as important to know when to disregard the well intentioned advice as when it is to heed it.  Sometimes we stop pursuing our dreams, abandon our goals or make up excuses about why we have not completed something we always wanted to do because we allowed the "voices in our head" to choose something for us we should have never delegated to anyone except maybe God.
Don’t make the mistake of giving up something your heart holds out for because someone else has determined it not in your best interest. Don't judge what you do with your life because someone else has given you advice based on their opinion. "Ear Candy" is often just something that should go in one side and out the other. Learn to be discerning about the comments from individuals and remember if you trust your plans to the Lord, you will successful.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed…Proverbs 16:3

What is the best advice you would give to this year’s graduates?
What was the best advice you never took?

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