HOW FAST ARE YOU TRYING TO GO? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 79

Are you an impatient type?  When you were a child were you always anxiously awaiting the first day of school, the first day of summer vacation, your birthday, Halloween, Hanukkah, or Christmas?  I was like that when I was growing up and even after I had children of my own.  Then something happened in my life which caused me to be so anxious about what might happen in the future that I found I was making myself physically sick with anxiety.

Friends and even my family doctor gave me all sorts of advice and helpful quotes trying to lessen my anxiety about the future.  The two which I found most helpful were:

Don't worry about the morrow as today has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:34

Life is going to come only one day at a time so learn to take it that way; remember that much if not most of what you worry about will never happen.

Today's message is:

DAY BY DAY

ARE YOU STUCK? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 21

Patience has never been one of my virtues.  When I moved to California many years ago I quickly decided to go to work early and leave work late just to avoid the gridlock on the Los Angeles freeways.  Bumper-to- bumper traffic does not agree with me.  Even if I am able to drive only 5 miles per hour I am okay, but having to stop and stay and move only a few yards makes me want to scream.  Continual forward motion, however slow, pacifies me enough to tolerate driving on California freeways.  That impatience carries over into other areas of my life.

Are you too patient?  Are you willing to remain stuck?  It matters not what your occupation is, what your life challenges are, what your goals are, what your dreams are, or what your financial status is.  A Chinese proverb says, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."   So get busy and take that first step toward making your life the way you want it to be and keep moving.

Today's message is:

Move forward!

"SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE"

In order to change your life with words, there are so many choices.  As I write the daily blog posts I am not trying to share the words in order of importance.  Each reader will find one word more helpful than another because each life has different facets to be changed.  I believe that all the words I plan to share with you can and will be helpful to you in large and small ways.

All of my life I have been impatient.  As a child I could not wait for birthdays, holidays, dances, the first day of school, and the first day of summer vacation.  I drove my dear mother crazy always asking how many more days or how many more hours until the awaited event would happen.  I was the child in the family car asking, "Are we there yet?"

In life and in my career I never thought that patience was a virtue so I ended up working way too many hours  for too many years wanting to get everything completed so I could move on to the next challenge.  In retrospect I realize I did not savor life's special moments because I was always in a hurry.  I adore my children, but I was always eager for them to move into the next phase of childhood...........walking, talking, potty training, starting school, graduating college.  Now they are grown up, and many times I wish I could relive some of those earlier days and years.  Lucky for me my impatience did not damage my relationships with my children, family, friends, or co-workers when it so easily could have.

As I have gotten older I have also become wiser.  I now live by the philosophy that life is going to come only one day at a time so I must enjoy it one day at a time.  Living life that way removes a great deal of stress and anxiety, and it allows me time to enjoy my interests and develop new ones.

Lack of patience can be interpreted by others as rude, indifferent, and hurtful.  Patience can improve your life and your relationships.   More often than not impatience does more harm than good to you as well as to other people.  Remember the moral of the story of The Tortoise and The Hare..............slow and steady wins the race.

Today's message is:

Be Patient