| |
| |
|
Inspirational Information |
|
|
|
Is the Life Youre Living the Life You Want?
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a rabbi was walking to the synagogue. A Russian soldier stopped him and asked, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The rabbi answered, "How much do they pay you for doing this job?" The soldier replied, "Twenty kopeks." The rabbi then said, "I'll pay you twenty-five to ask me those same two questions every day." Ask yourself those two questions "Who am I? What am I doing?" One of the best ways to live your life with intention is to listen to yourself deeply. Living each day with intention can be energizing and fulfilling. Too often we find ourselves waiting for some outside influence to come along and give our lives meaning. What kind of choices do I need to be making now to live out the life I want to live? It's easy to get to the point where your work (or your business) is running you, rather than your work (or business) actually serving what you genuinely want for your life as a whole. Another question you might ask yourself is, "How can I design my business to serve my life and not just have my life serve the company?" I imagine that we all have been moved by a friend's death or illness to re-think our own lives and decide that we need to be more intentional about moving from the life we live to the kind of life we want to live. So we make resolutions and plans? and then something happens that we have no control over. (My hunch is that many of us re-evaluated after the events of September 11, 2001.) We get attached to life happening exactly as we have planned. The challenge, though, is how to become more comfortable with the both/and way of living our lives. Most of us have been taught that choices we make must be either/or choices. And yet, it's by embracing the paradox that we can begin to live as comfortably in the not-knowing as in the knowing. The poet, David Whyte, describes this as being able to contain both the "Ah!" of discovery and revelation, and also the "Argh!" of driving to work through slow traffic on a gray Monday morning. It's like recognizing the grief of losing a client while simultaneously experiencing the joy of gaining a new client. It means allowing ourselves to experience the richness of the both/and. It's about making plans and at the same time not growing so attached to them that we overlook opportunities placed in front of us-opportunities that are much greater than we could have imagined in our planning. Or about making plans and becoming so attached to them that we are devastated when they don't unfold as we have imagined. This is a way to approach what life hands us in our personal lives, as well as our business lives. I have a friend who is a good example of living one's life with intention. She has made choices that have taken her out of the hurry and scurry to a very simple life in the country. Her choices have been simple, and yet the process was not without pain and grief. When she was very young, she'd made her "life list." Knowing what she wanted her life to look like, she married her best friend. It wasn't on their "life list" to have him die at the age of 29. Recovering from the blow, however, she eventually re-grouped, made necessary and appropriate adjustments and constructed a new "life list." She never stopped living intentionally; she accepted life's realities and re-directed her intentions. That is the essence of adaptation; and adaptation is the essence of growth. In her book, The Female Advantage, Sally Helgeson focuses on the strategies and organization theories of four successful leaders. These women know how to plan strategically and, at the same time, not get so attached to those plans that they miss emerging opportunities and threats that necessitate changing those plans. They are flexible enough to notice opportunities and respond to threats in a timely way. They trust that the opportunities which come their way will unlock their futures. They understand that the future cannot be reduced to a simple matter of objectives, nor achieved by the mere application of will. Living your life with intention won't be the same as your co-worker or friend might do it. I keep thinking I'm eventually going to get there. It's constantly being demonstrated, though, that it's a never-ending process. It's about being authentic; having a consistency between our words and our actions; between who we say we are and how we live. Having said that, though, we are all "inauthentic" from time to time. We have to be thoughtful in certain situations. For example, if speaking your mind to someone with the power to fire you could result in your getting fired, and if you are not prepared to suffer the consequences of speaking your mind, you might decide not to say anything. That doesn't mean you're not being authentic. It means you're being intentional about your choices at this particular time. SUGGESTIONS FOR LIVING INTENTIONALLY ? Listen deeply to yourself; work on developing self-awareness. ? Ask yourself "What are my choices, and what are the trade-offs?" ? Take action, and trust yourself. ? Find support; have a coach, a group or family to talk with. I started this piece thinking and writing about paradox and making choices, and I find myself back at the beginning. We all have made choices for which we are responsible-choices that may have hurt ourselves or someone else, though we didn't know we were making flawed choices at the time. So even though we may not make decisions perfectly, it is somehow refreshing to realize that we don't really know who we are in every situation, and we can have only so much control. Living intentionally does not spare us from mistakes or suffering; however it does mean that we have been actively engaged in making our lives more fulfilling. Julane Borth is co-founder of EWF International®, an Oklahoma based firm providing personal advisory boards for women business owners and executives. EWF International franchises are available throughout the Southwest. julane@ewfinternational.com http://www.ewfinternational.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Inspirational - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Magical Wreaths Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle ("Let the circle be unbroken ?" as the song lyric goes) and also the idea of circulating love, wealth and prosperity for yourself and neighbours. What If? What If? What if I can't? What If I can? What I should be thinking Is it in God's plan?What if I couldn't? What if I could? Then I start to wonder If I really should?What if I wouldn't? What if I would? What would I do, If others really understood?What if, I am beautiful, Just as I am. That a scale means nothing, When talking to a human. Who are you? I have a question for you.Who are you?This may be a simply enough question but before you attempt to answer this question let us go on a voyage of personal self discovery which will allow you to find an acceptable answer. Change Your Landscape by Seeing with New Eyes A Story (Source Unknown) - One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. Discovering The Art of Bending Your Mindset And Manifesting Your Multiple Intelligences Discovering the Art of Bending Your Mindset and Manifesting your Multiple Intelligences in selling.Doctor's cant' sell Real Estate! What's your mindset? A number of people related this statement to me when I first decided to get into sellingreal estate over 20 years ago. The Finer, and Finest, Things in Life In America, we have a saying: The finer things in life. These are the things that most people talk about when they are speaking of thing of high quality. From the Hint of a Rainbow to... The grey sky of morning contained an ominous quality. The clouds were so thick they were almost tangible. Work In Progress: 10 Benefits of Not Knowing It All 1. You can relax and enjoy your life more if you don't expect yourself to have all the skills, knowledge, and wisdom to carry you forward into the future. Living on Purpose: One Rock at a Time I just got back from Colorado where I spent a week relaxing, re-energizing and revisiting the key values in my life. The lodge where I stayed is called Peaceful Valley, and it has a chapel on the premises. The Power of A.S.K.ing Have you ever had the opportunity to follow-up on a sales lead? Recently, I had such an opportunity to reconnect with an organization that I had been trying to secure as a client. Due to some new events and after multiple unreturned phone calls, I decided to ask for the decision maker within the department. Keep On Believing It has been said that a man is what he eats. Someone else said that a man is what he reads. Crossing The Line Of Fear Oh, this is a great topic! I remember when I was younger and in school, fear stopped me from asking out a girl I wanted to date. I can remember all the thoughts of different things I wanted to say and how I would ask her out. Be a Star in Your Own Life Do you have the charactertics to be star in their own life? What characteristics below do you have or don't have already? Give each item a rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being you have this charactertics 100%.1. The Power of Inspiration INSPIRATION can be a powerful thing. It can keep you going when all around you cries out "quit!" It is even more powerful than motivation,as motivation gives you your basic reasons to keepgoing--it tells you why you want to do what you do, because motivation is based on goals. Time for Sunshine Having spring around makes you feel different after such a long winter journey. How well do you feel when you have a little bit of sunshine in your life? What effect does it do have on our psyche? The power of sunshine brings us a lot of comfort, optimism, self-confidence and of course a smile. Does Introspection Assist in Self Progression? Why would we need to examine our lives? What benefit does it yield? Isn't it just rehashing the past?All of these questions have merit and I will examine each in this article.Self progression has a strong tie to one's willingness to be able to reflect on pertinent decisions. Inspirations: Even More Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far Some people live in and talk about the past so much it's as if they are "planning for the past."The "I'm an adult victim/survivor of (fill in the blank)" culture does a great disservice to the possibility of change. The Fighting Father This man is an Anglican priest but with a difference. You would not want to offend him put it that way. One Woman's Story of How Her Smile Increased Her Confidence For one who takes pride in being involved with different community organizations, possessing a high level of confidence is essential. Especially when that involvement includes speaking to large and small groups requesting donations for numerous non-profit organizations. The Four Emotions that Can Lead to Life Change Emotions are the most powerful forces inside us. Under the power of emotions, human beings can perform the most heroic (as well as barbaric) acts.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
