Decide 2 Matter

Choices Choices Choices

Do you remember when you were in grade school and you just didn't want to go to school that day? At that time, you didn't have a choice.  You wen to school that day. Well, unless you are 13 and reading this, you likely do not have to go to school today. When we were younger, although we had some choices, the majority of them were made for us by our parents. At that time, we were learning the made up rules on living in this culture. Here are the typical rules most of us learned.

• Go to school
• Go to college
• Finish college
• Get job
• Get Married
• Buy House
• Have 2.5 kids
• Retire
• Take care of aging parents
• Be taken care of by your kids when you age
• Shuffle off this mortal coil

Now, in this day and age, we are able to make many more choices than what was offered to us.And, we don't have to live our lives by those guidelines. However, many of us unconsciously agree upon these made up rules on what we should do with our lives.

To help you see that there are so many choices, you need to educate yourself on what's available. Here are some simple and fun things you can do to spice up your life. (It's your choice!)

Exercise.

1. Try a new restaurant this week (Thai food, Mexican, Chinese, something other than burgers)
2. Check out the Religious Tolerance website to learn about another religion
3. Go to our local library and walk down the aisles randomly. Pick out a book on a random subject and take it home
4. Check out your local community college to see what they offer. Continuing Education or Personal Enrichment courses are usually short and cheap. Try something new!
5. Volunteer to help out at a local shelter. Imagine life through these people's eyes.
6. Get in your car, fill up the tank, pick a direction and DRIVE!
7. Visit some of the places in your own town that tourists frequent.
8. Watch programs about other cultures.
9. Be willing to learn something new.

Many of us get stuck in the same old rut. One of the best ways to do that is realize all the choices you have. And the best way to do that is to educate yourself. Get involved! Enjoy life and realize you have tons of choices, choices, choices!

Try Try Again

This morning on the history channel, I watched a program about important inventions and discoveries that shaped the face of society today. They went over the wheel, the discovery of electricity, the telegraph, all the way up to the transistor - what birthed this wonderful computer I'm typing on today. What amazes me about these scientists is how hard and long they worked on their discoveries before they were discovered. This brought to mind the concept to try, try again.

How often do you just give up on something after one try? Ralph Waldo Emerson said this -

The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it - so fine that we often are on the line and do not know it.

When I taught myself how to write music, I programmed a note, listened to it, and programmed another. Sometimes what I did sounded awful. However, after hours and days and weeks of persistence, I managed to write a song. Eventually I got accepted into a great college based on what I taught and wrote myself.

Now it has been 6 years since I wrote music. The new software I'm using, Reason, is quite different from the old free software I had before. Unfortunately my old software doesn't work on my Mac. So, each night, I try and try again to put together a piece of music.

At first I got frustrated, but now that I have the basics of a song, I'll be trying again: to learn the software, to better perfect the melody, to add effects. If I give up, no one will hear my music. Another quote that I refuse to live up to is this:

"Most people die with the music still in them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Since I wish to have a music CD of my original work out in the next few years, I will try, try again. If I give up now, I may never know of the success I could have, the people I might touch with my music. Here are some things to ask yourself.

• How often have you given up right before you were about to succeed?
• Is there something you've been trying to accomplish that never seems work just right for you?
• How much of yourself are you willing to put into what you are trying to do?

Just think, every successful person has failed numerous times. Had they not picked themselves up again and tried one more time, we wouldn't know their names, use their inventions, or drive their cars. I'll leave you with this final quote and ask you this: what have you been trying? Might you try again?

'Far better it is to dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure?than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.' ? Theodore Roosevelt

Be Real

I'm sure many of us have heard the expression "Get Real!". Usually this is referring to one of our dreams that we'd like to accomplish. Or we've just explained how something is working out positively when everyone else thinks it should fail.

Being Real meaning just not "getting it", but living life fully from your own perspective. Here's what I mean.

Everything around you was first produced by someone's imagining of it. The world as we know it is silently confirmed and agreed upon by everyone in it. The very thoughts we think make something "real".

I don't remember who said this, but nothing is evil, lest thinking make it so.

Have you ever heard someone say "well, in the real world". I refrain from saying that there is only one real world, because there isn't. It's foolish to think that the way you see things is the way the entire world sees them. So, in order to get real and be real, you need to recognize that there are many different ways to see the world.

Be real. Live from your version of how the world is. Then, when someone says "get real" you can say "I am". What's important is how you see the world and how you are being in it. Don't let others sway your version of reality (unless you are a Debbie Downer - heh). Check it against how you see the world and against your personal experience. Then you can be true and real to yourself.

And, side note. If you do see the world as a scary and horrible place, then that is what you get. I firmly believe that the universee produces the experience we desire. So, when forming your own version of reality through your thoughts and actions, make sure the world you think of is the kind you want to live in. Most of us are doing this unconsciously, but make a choice to be real and create a better world - one that matters. Then, again, when someone says get real, you will know that you are.

Taking It Easy

Do you ever feel like you are in a hurry to make your move, take your stand, and to live your life to the fullest? Similar to my post about driving the speed limit, today I feel it's important to focus on slowing down and taking it easy.

Sometimes I get so excited to work on this website and my other creative ideas that I get swept away. As I ride that energy like surfer on a wave, the sharks of exhaustion swim happily by waiting for me to fall off my board. Of course the only real surfing I've ever done is surfing the net, but you get the idea. However, when I don't take real breaks I fall dangerously close to those big sharp teeth of exhaustion and burn out.

When we have unreal expectations on when we must accomplish our goals and live life to the fullest, we forget that it's okay to take it easy and live for right now. Each step is important on this journey we've decided to venture on. When you decide 2 matter, your health, sanity, relaxation, fun, and overall well being must matter, too.

Things to Consider

What have you done lately to relax?
Do you add that onto your to-do list?
Do you have a to-do list?
Are you taking it easy?

Take a break and take it easy.  Stop surfing and soak in the water or even lay on the beach. Your well being matters, too!

Eat Clean

When was the last time you had a salad? Or ate some fresh fruit? How often do you enjoy a slow cooked meal (sans microwave)?

With all the information floating around about what to eat and what not to eat, it's easy to get very confused about the foods we should have at our table.

The simplest way to figure out what to eat is to pay attention to your body and what it's telling you. My stomach has a few things to say....

• stop eating cookies for breakfast (but they are so yummy - and I'm house sitting, so there)
• drink more water - who cares about how many glasses you "need" per day, just drink it
• stay away from soda unless you like drinking chemicals
• eat cleaner foods - the less it's prepared, the better
• do NOT eat when you are NOT HUNGRY
• I repeat, do NOT EAT when you are NOT HUNGRY (but I want to eat the cookie now. NOW!)
• your craving will go away, but the queasy feeling you get after eating garbage (albeit tasty) will last for hours and hours
• spending hours in the bathroom is only allowed for fixing your hair
• pooping should not be an epic adventure filled with drama and pain with little reward
• eat more beans and you will lower your heat bill (but may destroy your social life)
• relax and let your body do the talking, it knows what's good for you
• and finally... if it tastes bad, but is good for you, don't eat it. it tastes bad for a reason

Wow, my stomach had a lot to say. What is yours telling you? :)

Resources

Dr. McDougall - Check out the Stars of his healthy eating program.

The Quick & Easy Cookbook by Dr. McDougall

The Mcdougall Program : 12 Days to Dynamic Health - by Dr. McDougall

The China Study : The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health by T. Colin Campbell

 

Positive Quote for Today

"All the discontented people I know are all trying to be something they are not, to do something they cannot do." - David Graydon.

Things to consider

• Is there something in your life you are struggling to do that just really isn't right for you?

• Are there areas in your life that need more work?
• Do you know what you are capable of doing?
• How much do you know about yourself?
• Is there anything you are denying yourself?
• What fun thing could you do today?

Write It All Down

Today's exercise is as follows.

1. Go to the store, preferably someplace with a good stationery selection.
2. Pick up a small notebook, something small enough to put in your pocket or in a purse.
3. Write on the inside cover Important Thoughts and Ideas
4. Or you could write other such things.
   
   1. Story Ideas
   2. Things I'm Thankful For
   3. Project Ideas
   4. Interesting Things I've Heard
   5. Ways I Amuse Myself
   6. Ways the World Amazes Me
   7. Miracles

But the one thing you must do if you decide 2 matter is this.

Keep the notebook with you everywhere you go. Have it handy!

By keeping the notebook with you, you are secretly affirming that you have something important to say. You are honoring your voice and your ideas by giving them a place to live: in that little notebook. So, when you get home, you can....

1. Transfer them to a new notebook - a big one
2. Transfer them to your computer
3. Put them into a folder labeled "good ideas"
4. Get working on something you never would have done before
5. Notice how clever you really are
6. Start paying more attention to the little things

The possibilities are endless. Once that creative part of you has an outlet, you won't have to wait long before it starts making itself heard. Now you are just prepared to Write It All Down.

Resources

Write It Down Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser

The Speed Limit

How fast do you drive? Do you go the speed limit? Are you driving a little slower? A little faster?

I have a 30+ minute commute (on a good day) and I spend 99% of that commute on the highway. Lately, I've found myself going slightly over the speed limit so that I arrive on time. When I'm stuck behind the slow driver, I get frantic and/or angry. When traffic builds up, I'm even more worked up. I end up getting to work very early, yet I'm not always in a good mood when I arrive there.

Just recently I tried driving the speed limit. (What a concept.) For those of you speed demons out there, let me explain why this is so beneficial.

1. You don't have to worry about weaving in and out of traffic.
2. The slow guy in front of you doesn't get your blood pressure up.
3. You still get to work on time.
4. You actually enjoy the drive.
5. You can take it easy while you drive.
6. You are safer when you drive slower and have more time to react.
7. You waste less gas (correct me if I'm wrong).
8. You get to watch all the other speedy drives zoom by in a hurry.
9. You won't risk a speeding ticket.
10. You can accept traffic build up if you aren't rushing.

What are you missing? Give it a try! Leave a little bit earlier for work or wherever you are going to. Take some nice music with you. Or, even listen to an audio book. You could also talk to yourself and/or enjoy the quiet.

When you start your day rushing, it usually means the rest your day a little bit faster. Start all your drives with patience and go the speed limit and see how you feel. It might just make a difference in your day!

Things to Consider

• Where am I going in my life?
• Do I have to rush to get there?
• Isn't it all about the journey, not the destination?
• Why not enjoy the journey and slow down?!

I would love to hear from those of you who have tried this.

All made up

Has it ever occured to you that we are making all of this up? All of it?

Most of our tastes, worldviews, even the food we like to eat is all based on some of the following things.

• who we popped out of (go mom!)
• what soil we landed on
• what language we speak
• if we grew up with cable (I didn't have it!)
• if our parents had a college education
• the town we lived (or live) in today
• where we work
• the food we eat (foods can have a drug like effect on your body, thus affecting your mind)
• the religion we were taught
• the schools we went to

Those are just some of the things I can think of that have affected me over the years. What has affected you?

The reason I'm bringing this up is because it's often difficult to change who we are if we don't know where we've come from. Start examining your beliefs, your thought patterns, and the "history" you've been telling yourself and everyone around you.

Look at who you are. Do you like what you see? You can change, but you have to start from where you are right now.

100 things

Today's exercise is to list 100 things you like about yourself.

It's hard to decide 2 matter if you aren't too happy with yourself. If this exercise is hard for you, think about what your best friend likes about you. Or even what your dog likes about you. Or what your mom likes about you.

Start your list now.

...

When are you finished, circle the one thing on your list that stands out. Then either write that one thing down on a piece of paper, frame it, or tape it to the wall, or put it on the fridge.

Let me know what you come up with.