A Better Life, Every Day

3 Words for 2010

On New Years Day, one of my favorite bloggers to follow, Chris Brogan, once again shared his "3 Words" for the year.  He then uses these three words to guide him throughout the year.  I thought this was a great idea, so I decided to come up with my own three words for 2010:

Health

I need to focus on my health, both physical and mental, more this year than I have in the past.  I want to focus on being more positive this year.  Too often, I have let little things bother me more than I should.  I also need to take better care of myself with more exercise and better eating habits.  I also plan on listening to what my doctors tell me and stop taking life for granted.  I also want to expand this focus on health to my family as well.  I want to set good examples for my stepdaughters to mimic.  Every day I amazed at the impact that I have on them and the way they look up to me.

Persistence

I want to be more persistent in most things that I do.  I am a perfectionist, sometimes in the worst way, and when things don't go perfectly according to my plan, I move on to something else.  This year I will keep plugging away at the things that I truly want to do.  I will accept the fact that not everything will go perfectly, and that very good is good enough.  I will not let negative people or obstacles knock me off course because this year I will make things happen.

Promise

I recently started reading The Promise Doctrine by Craig & Jason Womack and it has really made me think about the promises that I make with myself and to other people.  I need to ensure that I am keeping these promises no matter what, which goes right along with persistence.  Doing what I say I am going to do when I say I am going to have it done needs to be something that I do consistently.

Promise has a second meaning here as well.  It is the potential that others show, and I want to be more aware of that as I interact with others throughout the year.  I want to not only recognize the potential of others, but I also want to help them reach that potential.

This is going to be an amazing year for me and I am looking forward to discovering what life has in store for me in the coming months.  I believe that using the three words above to guide me throughout the year will help lead me to where I want to be by this time next year. 

I would love to hear what your three words are for the year, so please share in the comments section!

Photo courtesy of:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/ / CC BY 2.0

Today I Stepped Out of My Comfort Zone...And I Liked It!

I recently joined the Toastmasters group at work.  In fact, last week was my first week as an official member, and I think that being a part of this group is going to help me greatly.  I have had a tendency of being very shy in groups of people, and the thought of speaking in front of people is downright frightening to me. 

During last week's meeting, I sat next to the person in charge of the Table Topics (a 1-2 minute impromptu speech), and he said to me, "You're going to volunteer for the Table Topics, right?"  What choice did I have?  I figured, "it's my first meeting, who is going to hold it against me if I screw up?"  When asked for volunteers, I raised my hand, went up to the front of the room, and delivered my short speech.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be!  In fact, I was so encouraged, I volunteered to take part in the Table Topics speech contest to be held this week.

As the days went by, I thought to myself, "What the hell were you thinking?  You can't go up and speak as part of this contest!"  My nerves were eased by the fact that the speech was supposed to be a humorous speech.  Being a clown (not literally), I felt I could give a comedic performance for a little over a minute.  At this point, I was feeling a little better about my decision.  Who knew that feeling could disappear so quickly?

At the meeting, it was announced that the Table Topics would not be humorous.  What, not humorous?  How could that be?  My nerves started to fray, my heart started to pound, and I began to sweat.  I thought about backing out, but how would that look?  I would have to step outside my comfort zone and give my speech.  As someone who has lived quite happily inside his comfort zone for years, I knew this would not be easy, and it wasn't!

When the Contest Master gave me the word "Sunshine" to speak about, my mind went blank.  Thankfully I recovered, and the words just started flowing out of my mouth.  It was such a weird feeling, but it was working.  Then I got stuck!  I had no idea where I was going to take the speech from that point.  I paused, looked away from the audience, and delivered a line that had everyone in the room laughing.  It was such an incredible feeling!  I had done it!  My speech was done, and I was able to inject some humor into it.

At the end of the meeting, the judges announced the winners of the speech contest, and I had won!  Now I have the opportunity to compete in a larger contest in the area on Thursday.  This will present an even bigger challenge, but because of stepping out of my comfort zone today, I believe I can do it.

What incredible thing could you accomplish today if you stepped out of your comfort zone?

3 Important and Universal Life Lessons From Kung Fu Panda

A little over a week ago, we took the girls to see Kung Fu Panda.  Not only did we see a great movie, but there were at least three important and universal life lessons that can be learned from it.

There are no accidents - There is a reason behind everything that happens in our lives.  The decisions we make and the actions we take today will determine what happens to us in the future.  That is why worrying and getting upset about things that are out of your control are such a waste of time.  Make your future a great one by doing the things today that will make it great.  This may mean making the tough choice or doing the difficult today for a better tomorrow.

There is no secret ingredient - Too often we go through life waiting for great things to happen to us, but what we need to be doing is going out and making great things happen for us.  Waiting for the secret ingredient that will never come is not a way to a better life.  Realize that you must do what is necessary to have a great life, and then go out and do it!

You must believe - Believing in yourself and the things that you are capable of is the foundation to all great successes.  It is one of the most important things you can do in order to lead a better life.  Everyone of us has amazing talents, and having a belief in yourself and your abilities is a must!  A conversation from another movie, The Empire Strikes Back, makes this point perfectly:

Luke: "I don't believe it!"
Yoda: "And that is why you fail"

Also, show someone else that you believe in him or her.  The confidence you will give that person will help them do amazing things too.  The simple act of believing in someone can trigger events that will lead to great accomplishments.

I will be teaching these lessons to my girls from this day forward.  I want them to believe in themselves, and I will aid that along by showing them that I believe in them.  I will teach them that there is no secret ingredient, so go out make things happen for themselves.  They will also learn that there are no accidents; the decisions and action of today will determine their tomorrows.

For some similar thoughts, Dumb Little Man has a post of five life lessons learned from Kung Fu Panda.