by Elisabet | Aug 13, 2010 | English Blog
Never give up! I don’t mean “be stupid and keep hitting your head against a brick wall”. No, what I mean is this – if something really matters to you, if you really want to achieve something and you think it’s possible, then keep going.
Hold on to your dreams, to your ambitions – be inspired by them, as often as you can.
I bet you’re the person who will keep going, aren’t you? You know that all success is preceded by temporary setbacks, that everything worth doing well is worth doing badly first. And you know that those setbacks are indeed temporary setbacks. You are able to keep going, trying something new, something different – be inspired by those setbacks. Yes, thank you setbacks!
Who cares for a straight road anyway?!
You are not deterred by “failure” – heck, you know it isn’t even failure – it’s just an indication of what to change in your next attempt.
You never give up, do you? Not if it’s important enough to you.
So keep going – focus on your dream and act in accordance,
Enjoy the journey!
Never give up.
by Elisabet | Jul 7, 2010 | English Blog
Do you ever procrastinate? Think that you should really do something, but you can’t be bothered, or you’re too tired or you think it can really wait? Don’t we all!
Don’t put things off though. All we have is today. I don’t mean that in a horrible, “doomsday” kind of way. I mean that the past is behind us, we can’t change that – the future is in front of us and we can’t control that (we can plan and prepare – and then prepare to have to be flexible because it will all change anyway!).
All we have is today. So live it today. Really take care of today. Make the most of your day. Don’t just cram it full of things, but live it with joy – enjoy the moment. Do the things that make you feel good.
I got the very sad message yesterday that a dear, dear relative had passed away and I am sad to think that I didn’t stay in touch enough. I kept thinking “I’ll do it tomorrow”.
So in her memory, I say – let’s take care of today, let’s really live today – not just pass the time. Gini – this is for you.
I love the lines below, first given to me by a person who attended a personal development programme I ran in Sussex about 10 years ago. Thank you – it continues to be an inspiration.
Look well to this day
For it is life
The very best of life.
In its brief course lie all
The realities and truths of existence,
The joy of growth, the splendour of action,
The glory of power.
For yesterday is but a memory.
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a memory of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore to this day.
Ancient Sanskrit Poem
by Elisabet | Jul 1, 2010 | English Blog
Don’t get complacent. Don’t get bored and too comfortable.
Fire and re-hire yourself once in a while.
We all get into a rut at times, we maybe get a bit disengaged, not quite giving it our best and frankly also not then having much fun. But when we really have to, we tend to be able to be outstanding, to put in that extra effort, to go that extra mile. And we feel so good when we do it, we feel the flow, we feel the power, we experience the possibilities.
So fire yourself. Maybe even today. Do an “appraisal” with yourself – give yourself the constructive feedback, ask yourself to see the possibilities. Heighten your senses by firing yourself and then re-hiring the new, re-energised you. The you that can make your day more enjoyable, your results better, your peace of mind greater.
So fire yourself today. I just did. And I re-hired myself too – and I love my new job!
by Elisabet | Apr 27, 2010 | English Blog
My adventure in South East Europe is over. There was a solution – of course.
After five days in Istanbul, we travelled by coach to Vienna, staying in Sofia on the way. And I was lucky to spend time with a great group of people who kept spirits high and made the most of the situation – most inspiring.
And then finally, from Vienna I was able to fly home. I don’t think it’s ever felt so good to get home!
I don’t take things for granted, or at least I try not to. Because “normality” (everything that you have and that happens on a regular basis) we tend to take for granted. It’s human nature, we all do it.
And when you don’t have it for a while, when you don’t know when or how you will get home, you appreciate it all the more.
So I’m making a note of what I am thankful for – my husband, my children, my family and friends, my health, my home, my garden (even though it needs a lot of work!) – yes, all the obvious things. But also little things like my bed, making my Nespresso in the morning, my Birkenstock, my walk to the station to get to work, cooking dinner, reading the morning paper, and much more.
And I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful and happy for. And how it SO outweighs any problems, concerns and worries.
What are you thankful for? And how can reminding yourself of this make you create the kind of day and future you want to have?
We create what we focus on – where are you putting your focus today?
by Elisabet | Mar 1, 2010 | English Blog
Every single person on this earth has their unique lens that they see the world through. It’s like we have our very own glasses that create our reality. And that reality can’t really be fully understood by anyone else. Just like we can’t understand anybody else’s.
Sure, we may think that we are empathetic and able to put ourselves in others’ shoes. But to be honest, we can never really understand – because our glasses are always there in the way.
What creates our lens, our glasses? Well, our upbringing, our culture, our beliefs, our parents and so on. Not even siblings (who may have had a lot in common) see the world the same way as each other. Even they have different glasses.
We are exposed to several million pieces of sensory data per second but only register about 7 of them! How can I know if I’ve registered the “right” 7 – well, I can’t of course. And consider how unlikely it is that someone else has registered the same 7 pieces of data.
Imagine how different everything must look to people based on what sensory input they’ve registered. It’s an absolute miracle that we can communicate with each other at all.
If we are truly going to be able to communicate and lead a relatively harmonious life on this earth – across cultural, national, religious and idealogical boundaries – then we need to realise that there are very few things are “right or wrong”.
If I can keep a flexible mindset, be open to the possibility of being wrong, not having all the answers, that everything changes at such a speed that we can’t take anything for granted…..
Then I think we can be humble enough to say – “you know what, I don’t fully understand your situation, but I accept you just the same, it’s OK, it’s OK to be different”.
