What in the world do I have to be blue about? I have my health. My family has theirs. I can pay my bills, afford a tree, AND have enough money to send my daughter on a field trip with her class to the East Coast for a week next year. I have a job, a new car and a family who loves me. So what is it that's got me so knotted up?
It's probably those darn 2009 goals that I didn't accomplish. Almost every major goal I created for the year has been lost, taxed away into a powdery nothingness. But it wasn't because I didn't put any effort. Which makes the short coming that much more heartbreaking. Whaa whaa - poor me.... While I'm throwing a mental pity party a friend of mine reached out to me for help, her situation a mile worst than mine. I find no comfort in comparing the goodness of my life to the bleakness of hers, but I am reminded that in all our struggle - perceived great or small, that we sometimes we just have to get up, put one foot in front of the other and keep moving. This is the advice I give to all my close friends in their darker moments and now I'm taking my own advice.
This ought to help. A last tid bit from my favorite newsletter Early To Rise (ETR):
How to Find the Lighter Side of Life
By Bob Cox
Whether you are trying to build a business... lose 20 pounds... learn French... or get that promotion you've been eyeing, you're working hard to achieve something that's meaningful to you. You take your goal very seriously. And you should. You should work hard and be punctilious.
But there's one other thing you need to do: You need to lighten up.
I'm not suggesting that you should laugh and shrug off any problems that come up. I'm just saying that you should be a little more flexible in the way you deal with them.
A few years ago, I got caught up in my desire to complete a particular project on time and on budget. It's a worthy goal. But that mission dominated my mind to such an extent that my team members did not enjoy working with me. And the project wasn't getting done.
After enough negative feedback, I realized that I was the problem. I recognized that I wasn't saving the planet or doing brain surgery. I needed to step back and lighten up.
Once I did, we all started to enjoy the work. The lighter side of me brought tons of creative input and ideas to the table. The others started contributing too. They felt more comfortable. With renewed vigor, we finished on time and on budget.
My sense of accomplishment was sweeter because of the camaraderie. And things kept getting better after that initial success. The entire team was looking forward to our next goal, because the experience of working together had been so rewarding.
It's a surprising and powerful revelation: You can make any process more productive and enjoyable when you lighten up on yourself and others.
