January 11, 2010

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/01/your-happiness-project-dont-let-the-perfect-be-the-enemy-of-the-good.html

Awesome link folks! You should read it.

My favorite part:
"Satisficers are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria are met. That doesn’t mean they’ll settle for mediocrity; their criteria can be very high, but as soon as they find the pasta sauce or the business card that has the qualities they want, they’re satisfied. Maximizers want to make the optimal decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they can’t make a decision until after they’ve examined every option, to make the best possible choice. Studies suggest that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers; maximizers spend a lot more time and energy to reach a decision, and they’re often anxious about whether they did, in fact, make the best choice."

Please "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

January 10, 2010 - a cool quote

"You are educated when you have the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence."

-Robert Frost

January 9, 2010 - Change is the Essence of Life

"Be willing to surrender who you are for who you could become!"

I often have to come back to this quote a lot in my life...

Learning and evolution take constant practice.

January 8, 2010

I've got a feeling, Sue, that 2010 is going to be your kind of year. That you'll be happier than you've ever been, laughing harder, smiling wider, standing taller, walking lighter, dancing crazier, hugging longer, living grander, loving louder, and if you want, selling the pictures to a tabloid to raise money for your new charity.

Can you feel it, too?

The Universe :)

January 7, 2010 - a short poem

With the good comes the bad
the happy, the sad
with the end there was a beginning
with losing the winning
smiling and tears
hopes and fears
through times of doubt,
you can sort things out
to pass the test,
just try your best
life's a journey
succeed in the quest!

- unknown

January 7, 2010 - Why not?

"It's not a bad thing for a person to ask 'why'.

'Why' is the ultimate question of learning.

However, there comes a time in every man's life when he must put aside all of the unanswered 'why' questions and believe in something. This faith could be placed in something he does not completely understand, and it may even be something that does not appear worthy of his faith. But the important thing is that the faith is placed.

It is fruitless to sit and ask questions your whole life, waiting for the perfect answers before you make a single move. I tell you, even if those answers were right in front of your face, you would not have the capacity to understand them."

- Chris Strake

January 2010 - Tested

"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be."

January 2010

2010 will be my year for leading some trad!!! At least, that is my goal.

January 5, 2010 - A great Message from The Universe

It's not unreturned love, from a certain someone, that hurts, Sue.
It's just that sometimes the "thing" you're focusing on, keeps you from feeling all the love that others are sending you.
Especially me, me, me

- The Universe

In other words, Sue, the more it seems that "love" hurts, the more you can be sure it's something else.

January 4, 2010 - Learning

"After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand & changing a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning & company doesn't mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts & presents aren't promises. And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up & your eyes ahead... & you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans & futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. So you plant your own garden instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure, that you really are strong & that you really do have worth... and with every goodbye, you learn..."

January 3, 2010 - New Year's Resolution!

I keep asking myself, how did i get here and where did everything go? How did everything get to this point? Why did I let it?


2010:

I was in my hot yoga class tonight, and we had a nice talk about setting new years resolutions. It will take some time for me, I suppose. I broke mine on the very night of NYE...before, during and after the clock struck midnight.

Everything I believe in has just gone off the deep end in 2009.

I don't want to go astray again. I want to be held accountable for my actions and my resolutions for this upcoming year.

I wanted to be more accountable for myself this year, which also means not just being an owner of the choices I make, but also meaning taking better care of myself. Putting myself first more...not putting myself in situations where it leads me to be to unlofty.

I wanted to be more magnanimous this year!

Anyways, no more self loathing for me. I'm done!

I want to take better care of myself this year. In order to take care of someone else, first, you have to be able to care for yourself.

I want some Zen in my two thousand ten!

April 2009 - December 2009

I decided not to really blog about this time of my life...for various reasons. I dare not to really return there.

However, I made a ton of new friends over the summer of 2009!

Many climbing trips from Table Rock, The New River Gorge (multiple trips), Ship Rock in NC, Pilot Mountain, Stone Mountain and a vacation trip to New Orleans.

I have tons of photos and tons of memories. :)

And I learned a lot of things about myself....what I really want and need. I learned that too many people out there are looking for perfection, and most want the unavailable. I also learned it is not great putting certain loved ones on a pedestal. You become in love with an idea and not reality. You finally see imperfections.........that is when you know if you truly love. When you can look beyond all of the imperfections. I am not perfect, neither is anyone else for that matter....but I do know that i'm a damn good catch!!!

I know what I want now and what I need. I'm ready for 2010!!!

April 2009 - Charleston Bridge Run

This year was my first time doing the bridge run. The Charleston Bridge Run (Cooper River Bridge Run) is a 10K race/run/walk. It promotes physical fitness and living a healthier lifestyle. I am really inspired by people who live healthier lifestyles and who are into physical fitness. I'm more inspired by those badasses out there that use their physical strengths to help others as well. Use it for some good!!!

This was also my first 10K, ever! I'm a beginner at most things. But I'm also an optimist, and I just want to LIVE LIFE at the fullest and get out there!

I ran most of this 6 miles. I think it was mostly the adrenaline that helped. :)

I'm a slow runner, and right now, I have to break down and power walk some of my runs. It doesn't matter to me though, I like interval training anyway! So, some of this race I did have to walk.

I finished my 6 miles in an hour and 20+ minutes. I thought that was pretty good for me!!! haha

:)

See ya next year Charleston!

April 9, 2009 - A Beautiful Loser, that's Me!

The source of optimism is our thoughts, not our personalities. Optimism is a choice!


The most powerful weapon against a mediocre life is practice.


And just like a fire, the human spirit needs to be lit again each day.


The kingdom of heaven is within us, not outside of us. The doors of perception are inside of our own minds, not out there. You can clean up your life and open up new doors. Yes, it takes practice, but you can do it.


Pessimism specializes in criticizing others and thinking that happiness depends on them changing. Happiness is within yourself! If you want it to be. You can learn to clean out EVERYTHING that muddies up your perception and stops you from seeing the infinite possibilities inside of you. You can invent someone really amazing...if you want to.


Personalities are not fun, vibrant things; they are what we crawl inside of to die.


Personalities are death masks. Freedom from this mask is found in excitement and enthusiasm. It is found in spirited self-creation.


Happiness comes from taking effective action upon the Universe.


If your personality can kidnap your current happiness, you are the problem...no one else! But that is good news, b/c if you are the problem, then you are also the solution!


Set yourself on fire!


Look for inspiration. If something or someone inspires me, it really means that they breathe life into my life.


I have failed at things many times, and because of that...I succeed. Losing is not the same thing as being defeated.


"Just because I'm losing doesn't mean I'm lost" - Coldplay


Never ask yourself what you FEEL like doing. Ask yourself what NEEDS to be done. Do what is necessary...by being in action.


Happiness comes to those who are busy doing what is needed. It follows the actions you take. It is not something you have to feel first.


Do what needs to be done!


Just the doing of what needs to be done...do it badly, do it slowly, do it fearfully, do it any way you can, BUT do it!"


God is alive. Magic is afoot. This I mean to whisper to my mind. This I mean to laugh within my mind. This I mean my mind to serve till service is but Magic moving through the world...and the mind itself is Magic coursing through the flesh, and flesh itself is Magic dancing on a clock, and time itself is the Magic Length of God." - Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers


Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler. This material was taken from the book ReInventing Yourself by Steve Chandler. I just wanted to share.

March 23, 2009

Have you ever noticed that when you just assume something that it can cause you or someone else a lot of drama or hurt, especially if you have assumed or thought something about someone that is wrong?

One of the Four Agreements is Don't Make Assumptions.

To ASSUME means you make an ASS out of U and ME. Do you really want that to happen?

We all have a tendency to make assumptions….about everything! If the cashier at the store is in a bad mood, we tend to get all pissed off thinking that she is pissed at us or being rude to us. But what if she just found out her dog died? We should not assume anything about her. If someone you tells you something, a secret/rumor, we should not assume it is true. If someone has different interests than you, you should not assume that they would not be interested in something that makes you happy, even though it may be totally different than what is going on in the other person's life.

The huge issue with assumptions is that we take them personally. We take them personally b/c we actually believe it is real or that it is the truth. If you do not assume things, then you wouldn't take everything so personally…and you wouldn't blame anyone for anything, and then your life would be so much more merrier. You could be an owner!!! An owner of your own emotions! An owner of your spirit.

Taking things personal isn't good at all. Not everything is about you, so stop assuming things and then you will stop taking things so personal as well.

Assuming things makes us suffer. It is better to ask questions, instead of assume. And just as that holds true in relationships, it holds true at work too, right? If you don't ask questions and you just assume things, you probably aren't going to get the job done right.

When you make assumptions, you are only asking for problems. In relationships, it leads to a lot of fights, a lot of difficulties, a lot of misunderstandings…

Another one of the Four Agreements is Don't Take Things Personal. It's hard to do, but if you try doing this, it really helps you live a better life...a happier one.

Taking things personal causes drama. Drama causes emotional poison. A lot of times we create our own drama. We gossip. We assume things about people... We take things personally. And we aren't impeccable with our word. (another one of the Four Agreements: Be Impeccable with Your Word)'

Ask questions, and you won't assume things. Make sure communication is clear. If you don't understand something, ask! Never assume you know everything there is to know about a given situation.' The odds are that you never will.

Everyone should read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

This material was taken from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I just wanted to share some of what I have read.