Michael

Rushing through life seems to be the norm of our modern society. It also can be the one of the causes of anxiety, stress, being tired, not sleeping well and low levels of happiness.

We drive fast to get to our destination. We drive even faster to get home. Our boss at work expects things ASAP. We want more now. We rush through errands. We blast through our vacations. It never seems to be fast enough.

It’s time to slow down. Bring the pace of your life way down. At least do this on a daily basis. Your emotional, physical and mental health will improve by slowing down.

Here are 10 ideas:

1. Take a leisurely walk in a park.
2. Meditate
3. Eat a multi-course meal that takes a couple of hours.
4. Watch a slower paced movie. Maybe a comed.
5. Read
6. Go for a boat ride
7. Take an afternoon nap in a hammock
8. Practice yoga
9. Hang out on the beach
10. Take a leisurely drive through the countryside. No speeding or fast driving allowed.

Give yourself the gife of “slowing down.” The benefits are extraordinary.

Michael

Many people like to think that they’ll find balance AFTER they find success. But in reality, achieving balance IS success. – Brian Koslow

Success. It all means something different to each of us. For me, if I feel balanced in my life, then I feel successful. I’ve been through periods where some areas are great and other areas are out of whack. But, lately the many parts of my life seem to be settling out or settling down.

In other words, more areas of my life feel fulfilled. None seem to be lacking that much. It’s a great feeling as it feels much more relaxed throughout the day.

I think it is a combination of things that have helped.

• I make sure that I don’t focus solely on one area of my life and sacrifice another. For example, I don’t only work at my job and forget about my many hobbies and passions in life.
• I work on feeling as good as I possibly can at every moment of the day. That takes a little bit of diligence, but it has become second nature after awhile.
• I try to enjoy whatever I’m doing at the time which means I work on focusing on the task at hand and put in 100%.
• I laugh a lot at a variety of things. In fact, I always find something to laugh at including myself.
• I’ve cultivated a very good group of friends.
• I plan less and follow my heart more.
• I’ve learned to chill out a lot!

These are the things I do to keep balance and stay somewhat sane. Do I do them 100% of the time? No, but that’s okay because life is good and is getting better all the time.

Michael

Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working 24 hours a day for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force. – Tom Blandi

The fundamental belief I have lived by for over a decade is that your attitude is a major key to living a happier life. Learning to control you attitude gives you a sense of freedom that no other practice can do.

If you can learn how to control your reactions to the events happening throughout your life, then you’ll find that those events do not control you. This includes people, places and things. Anything that has a potential effect on you because of a negative reaction you give back has control over your level of happiness and emotional well-being. When we have a poor attitude, we lose our power. It’s not a permanent loss, because as soon as you adjust your attitude, you get your power back.

Life throws a lot at us. We always have the choice of how we respond. Some people, though, find it more comforting to put the responsibility for their happiness in the hands of other people, things or events. They find it too hard to accept their responsibility; not necessarily in what is happening but definitely in how they respond.

I try now to always look at what is going on around me from the perspective of my response. I strive to look for the reaction that makes me feel better (without blaming external forces) and gives me the sense of freedom I’m looking for. Many times it is a struggle. I think mostly due to the fact of me having a long time habit of blaming other things for my bumps in the road of life.

Every situation is different and all you can do is just keeping trying and keep working at it. It takes practice like anything else.

All I know is that it feels much better to be happier than grumpy all the time.

Michael

Today marks the 730th day since Erica and I met. It seems like a lot when written that way. It also seems like it hasn’t been that long and at the same time it seems like we have known each other for a very long time. Funny, isn’t it?

She is an amazing person and I’ve had a great time hanging out with her. We love to travel together and get along quite well on our many trips. Since we are both well-traveled it really helps and also adds to the enjoyment of the trip itself. We share many interests and love to explore new things, taste new foods and experience different cultures.

As in any relationship, ups and downs are experienced, but it’s how you deal with them that makes the difference. People are constantly growing and changing which means relationships must adapt or adjust to those changes. There’s no right or wrong.

Bottom line, we are both having fun and I don’t see an end to that.

Erica, here’s to a great 2 years. I can’t wait to see what new things we will discover together in the future.

Michael

I’m going make my world a better place.
I’m going keep that smile on my face.
I’m gonna teach myself how to understand.
I’m gonna make myself a better man. – Keb’ Mo’ (from the song Better Man)

I really love this song from Keb’ Mo’. It has such a positive message that it’s hard not to feel good after listening to it.

When he says “my world”, he doesn’t mean directly “the world.” Effectively, though, by making ourselves better, we are making the world better. But, it starts with the selfish act of making our own world a better place. It’s about keeping our happiness level high with smiles and laughter. It’s about learning and understanding what makes us “tick.” From that we learn about the world’s diversity plus the different views and perspectives we all have.

When you wake up in the morning, start your day off by thinking how can I make myself better. Just pick one thing to focus on during your day. Tomorrow can be something else. Before you know it, you’ve made significant and positive changes in your life. You can now affect positive change in others around you just by the example of your life. No other work would be required.

It’s not hard to change the world if our expectation is to change ourselves first.

Michael

I learned…that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back–that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a One Way Street. – Agatha Christi

We try to go back . We attempt to live in the past. We feel guilty for past mistakes. We long for the simpler times. We reminisce about how good things used to be. All these things take our focus away from right now.

To live means to move forward. To enjoy life means to sift and choose through the constant flow of “stuff” that comes our way. Happiness comes from the thoughts we think right now and the choices we make. As life isn’t static, this process is a continuous adjustment.

When we focus on the past, we miss the subltleties of the present moment. We miss the opportunites to adjust and therefore manage our level of happiness.

We can’t go back. We can only try to stubbornly stand stationary or we can let life take us forward. The past isn’t fun. Staying stationary is painful. Moving forward is relief.

Michael

All of us focus more on what people do and how they act instead of what they say. A number of people seem to make a habit of saying one thing and doing another. We have all had experiences of this with our parents, our teachers, our loved ones, our bosses and our governments. The very people who practice this seem to be hyper sensitive to having that done to them.

I don’t want to focus on the hypocrisy that exists in the world. Frankly, it’s not important how someone else acts or speaks. In fact, it’s very irrelevant.

What is important is how we choose to act. Do we mean what we say? Do we practice what we preach? Do we say one thing and do another? Everyone, especially children, are learning from our actions and behaviors. Most of us only give a little bit of credence to what others say. So, what we do and how we act becomes paramount in developing our own personal integrity. This is what people will see and remember about you.

But, we should act with integrity because it’s the right thing to do and not because of what others will think of us. Think of it like the giving of an anonymous gift.  You are doing it for the right reasons and not for the recognition of the act.

If we could all work diligently on setting a positive example of how to live in the world, collectively the effect would be significant. Our children would benefit greatly which would quickly translate to the future.

So, next time you are thinking or saying one thing and doing another, try to take a step back and evaluate what is happening. A small correction is all that may be needed.

Michael

One of the reasons I’m in Austin is to attend our annual family reunion. We typically hold this event sometime around the fourth of July. This year we had 17 of us but it can swell to over 35 if most everyone can show up.

I always enjoy coming to our family reunions as I don’t get to see many of our family during the year except for this one time. So, we typically spend a lot of time catching up on everything that has happened since we last saw each other.

But, mostly we laugh and laugh and laugh. We have many comedians in our group, so someone is always saying something funny and then the rest feeds off that. We can’t seem to help ourselves.

This year was packed full of activities: golfing, geocaching, eating, hiking, cave exploration, shopping, eating, swimming, playing guitar and more eating. Exploring the Inner Space Caverns was definitely a highlight.

I’m thankful for the family I have. There is never a moment where I feel alone. We all help each other if needed and enjoy each other’s company.

But, mostly I like the laughter. It’s a big selling point for me.

Have a great day!

Michael

Each of us is an impregnable fortress that can be laid waste only from within. – Timothy J. Flynn

Timothy Flynn makes an intriguing point. The only thing that can take us down a road of unhappiness, low self esteem, a lack of life fulfillment and general misery is ourselves. Nothing external can do the damage that we can do to ourselves from the inside.

That means our spouses, friends, work, the government, strangers, world events and etc. have very little if no real effect on us. How can that be you say? This person made me angry. Such and such happened and I don’t feel good. My boss is a real pain. My job is boring. And on and on and on.

In every situation, bar none, we have, at the very least, the ability to change how we react. How we choose to respond to events external to us determines whether we place the “blame” for our feelings on that external thing or whether we take responsibility ourselves. Once we decide the responsibility for how we feel resides in something outside of ourselves, we loose the power over our lives.

We are always in control of our attitude, reactions and what direction we want to go. Regardless of how it appears on the outside, we always have that level of control.

If you can start looking at your relation to the world in this way, your life becomes a bed of opportunity. You will feel like you are doing what you want to do. You will feel happier. Things will start to magically work out for you.

In other words, life becomes better and more fun.

That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Michael

I’m in Austin, Texas this week. While out with some co-workers last night, we were interrupted by the approach what the weatherman called a super cell. It was a massive, many miles wide, awe-inspiring thunderstorm. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a storm of this size. We left our “party” early and drove quickly south to arrive back at our hotel.

As we began to drive, the immensity of the oncoming storm was apparent. 180 degrees of the horizon and sky were covered with very dark clouds. The leading edge was very clear. It seemed to change direction towards us as we headed west and then south. The area within in the storm was a strange color of dark blue. Hard to describe but it wasn’t typical.

For over an hour, there was not one second that we didn’t see massive bolts of lightning careening wildly all around us. I love lightning storms but this was a little anxiety producing while being in an automobile. Every bolt lit up an area where the wind and clouds swirled in a seemingly determined way.

On our way south, trying to get clear of the storm, at least one tornado was spotted very close to our hotel. It felt good to arrive at a big building. It felt safer than being on the open road. Heavy rain, wind and hail quickly followed within minutes of getting inside.

I know how terrifying and potentially damaging these storms can be, but I have to say that watching nature unleashed in this way is quite exciting.

There is a certain beauty in the raw energy displayed.

Michael