HOW DO YOU RESIST IT? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 139

Most of my life I have known that I have a very short attention span.  When I was growing up no one knew anything about ADHD, and I doubt I would have been diagnosed with it.  I was able to behave myself in school and in Brownies/Girl Scouts, and Choir practice.  I loved being busy, and fortunately in school there were enough subjects to hold my interest and homework was not as voluminous as it seems to be for today's children.  My career was great because I was promoted 11 times in the 20 years I worked for one company.  I found I was very good at cleaning up other people's messes, making their departments run very smoothly, and selecting good people for job openings.  Just as I would get things going very well I would be offered another promotion because I was very results oriented.  I never was bored in my jobs and went on to a new one before boredom could occur.

In my personal life I was interested in many hobbies and started many things that I never finished. I found I would get bored with the project before it was completed.  I did not discipline myself to finish one project before allowing myself to start another one.  I would blame this on not having enough time because of my jobs or because of my children needing more of my time.  Then the children grew up and did not need me anymore so my excuse became lack of time due to more demanding positions.

The first red flag appeared when my older sister was getting married, and I was going to crochet an afghan for the new couple.  I started it and tried numerous times to get back to it.  She is now married for the third time, and her husband is 94 and she is 79.  They have been married 35 years, and she still has never received a finished afghan from me.  I married, had children, moved a number of times, divorced my husband, and still never finished the afghan.  In fact, it somehow got stored in the attic of a brand new house and mice came in out of the cold winter and chewed much of the yarn.  It then went into the garbage.

I am sorry to admit that I have numerous UFO's (unfinished objects) in bags, boxes, closets, and even the garage.  Every week I tell myself that this should be the week that I finish at least one item.  I do manage to take one out of a bag or box, but somehow it ends up still unfinished on one of the beds in my guest room (which is currently covered with many projects).  I do plan to finish them, but my attention span is short so it may take awhile to get them finished.

I would love to hear from any of you as to how you

RESIST BOREDOM

NOW OR LATER? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 114

I have learned this lesson very late in life, and I wish I had learned it when I was very young.  Instead of enjoying each day for itself, I used to always be looking forward and waiting for a future date.  You know those things we tell ourselves to justify postponing things we really want to do or need to do.  We say we will do it/them when we have enough money, when the children are older, when life is not so busy, or when we have enough time.

By putting things off we often miss opportunities, damage friendships, wait to repair relationships until it is too late, and prevent ourselves from knowing the joy that each day can bring.  We postpone our joy until some future date, and because life is fragile we truly never know if we will be around when that future date arrives.

Today's message is:

ENJOY THIS NOW!

IMPORTANT QUESTION - CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 97

Too often we get so busy with daily living, impossible to-do lists, raising children, and working long hours that we end up putting ourselves last.  That does not mean we are suffering from a martyr complex, but it does mean that we need to re-order our priorities.  Not only do we need to schedule time for ourselves on our calendars, but we need to take time to stop and think.

I used to be one of those people who did not take time for myself, and I was at the point of being totally burned out without realizing it.  Then one day my boss's brother asked me, "Are you happy?"  It was a question I never had asked myself or given any thought to the answer.  The real answer hit me like a bucket of cold water thrown at me.  I was definitely not happy, and I realized that the unhappiness was coloring every aspect of my life.  I recognized that my unhappiness had to be negatively affecting all of my subordinates whom I was fond of and who were all too loyal and kind to tell tell me.

Within the next week I submitted my resignation giving ample notice. My boss tried very hard to persuade me to stay, to take a leave of absence if I needed it, but I knew that I needed a complete change.  I had no idea what I was going to do next or what I wanted to do.  Financially I could ill afford to not work.  Having started working at a very young age, I had always had a job so waking up in the morning not having to be anywhere was a new and sort of scary experience.  Some days I found myself second-guessing my decision to resign, but then those feelings would pass.

During the next six months I did free-lance work for three different non-profits, a sector in which I had never been employed.  At the beginning of the new year I accepted a full-time position at one of them and enjoyed the next four years there.  It was interesting work, and I had no subordinates which was a relief after having previously had as many as 250 employees with whom to be concerned.  I was thoroughly happy both at work and outside of work.

I chose to retire after that position.  I moved to the desert, and soon after I launched an Internet business selling handmade clothing and accessories for babies and toddlers.  None of these things would have happened had that young man not asked me if I was happy.  Now I ask myself that question periodically, and I am still very happy.

So do yourself a favor, and from time to time

ASK:  AM I HAPPY?

DO YOU LIVE IN THE PRESENT? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY

In today's world people are so very busy with long to-do lists that never seem to be completed.  Lots of people think that multitasking means they are more efficient and accomplishing more than people who do one thing at a time.  However, recent studies have shown that multitasking does not allow you to accomplish more or to do a better job.  Instead these studies have indicated that doing one thing at a time allows you to do it well and either complete the task or at least complete it to the point that you can (some projects are broken down into smaller steps to be done over a period of time).

Doing one thing at a time allows you to live in the moment and to experience and enjoy whatever you are doing.  Business tasks, domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning, and spending time with family and friends will all be more enjoyable if you focus on the present moments in life.  You will find you experience things in ways you either have never done before or which over time you have forgotten.

Today's message is:

EXPERIENCE FULLY!