Positive Intent

 What does the most famous, successful, wealthy person you can think of have in common with the newspaper delivery person or the maid at the hotel you stayed at for your last vacation? They are very likely plagued by negative self-talk. People who are successful often tell themselves they are “phonies” or they aren’t successful enough or that the bottom is going to fall out at any point.

 The folks who read my blogs or know anything about me know that I am a huge country music fan. I was listening to the radio recently and heard a song by Big and Rich, “That’s Why I Pray”. If you don’t know this song, the repeating lyrics say:
 

The hardest job I have ever had is that of parent. I don’t want my children to learn from my mistakes, and I don’t want them to make the same mistakes that I do. But I do realize that they are watching me at all times. They are learning about how to treat people, how to be in relationships, about work ethics and a host of other life approaches just by watching what I am doing every day. Now I realize that it’s not all about me and my children are also learning from others, but as their mom I know that how I act is very important in their development.

It’s 2013 – a new year. Over the Christmas holidays I love listening to the music – I am still playing many of my favorites. One of the all-time most inspiring songs for me is John Lennon’s “So This is Christmas”. The lyrics have the line, “So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun.” Every single time I hear those words, I stop to think, “What have I done?” Have I been kinder? Have I been more compassionate? Have I shown more patience toward others?

 Life is busy. There is always too much to do and not enough time to do it in. We plan for the things we want, but often life intervenes and we don’t end up doing things we’d like to do. One of the things that I see missing too often is the time we are willing to take to help another person out. We spend our time on things we feel we have to do, but taking time for others can fall by the wayside.
 

In the time and personal management workshops that I run, I often use this quote by Thomas Edison: “There is time for everything.” It doesn’t seem possible, does it? Doesn’t every day seem to end long before we need it to? I have friends who are down to 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night because that seems to be the only way to get everything done that needs to be done. People work longer hours, and have so many more personal commitments.