Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Take a break

With 90 blogs written, I have decided to stop writing for a while. Good luck to everyone and I hope my writings were well recieved

Monday, March 9, 2009

Winning


Winning isn’t about a final score or a trophy, it’s about overcoming your fears and the obstacles put in front of you, while trying to achieve a goal. Don’t put all of your focus on the end results while ignoring your efforts. It’s the effort that makes us winners. It’s fighting through the tough times and pushing ourselves when we think we can’t go anymore, that is the true test of whether or not we are winners. Both of my daughters played in a soccer tournament this weekend. Although neither one of their teams made it to the finals, both of my daughters were winners. They never gave up, when giving up would have been easy. They kept running, when their bodies were telling them to stop. They went up against bigger opponents and did not let their fears stop them from challenging. They gave everything they had and as a result, left the field as winners. They both are winners as players, winners as individuals and most importantly winners in life.
I hope what they did this weekend will translate into what they do in life.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I want to "Pump You Up"


I learned a long time ago that people have the unique ability to pump other people up. In Spanish this can also be known as “Dandole Cranque.” We are all different and therefore have different expectations. What bothers me, may not bother you. Sometimes others are more bothered by something than we ourselves are but in their frustration of the situation, they try to convince us that we should be bothered as well.
I once had someone convince me that I was not only entitled to a raise but that if I did not get one, I should threaten to quit. I was young and impressionable so I went into work the next day and demanded a raise. The following day, I was out of a job and confused as to what had happened. The very same person who had egged me on was asking, “What are you going to do now?” I wanted to kill them. I learned that week, what a mistake I had made and eventually returned to work, with my tail between my legs and managed to get my job back. I learned a valuable lesson and have never forgotten it. Only I know all the facts of my situations. Only I will be left to deal with the consequences of my decisions. Listen to what others say and feel about the situation but don't allow them to "Pump You Up." Go with what you know. Let YOUR compass, be your guide.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Advice


I have always told my children that when someone offers them advice, they need to ask themselves one question. What does that person stand to gain, from the advice they are giving you? If the answer is nothing, then it’s probably excellent advice. If the answer is a lot, then in turn, it is probably very bad advice. The level of bias in ones advice will always influence the quality of the advice.
Believe or not, sometimes a complete stranger will give you the best advice.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Too Proud


We are all too proud these days. I see people throwing away life, long relationships because they would rather be right and not “give in,” then to keep the relationship. There is some sort of strange stigma that exists. What is the big deal in apologizing? Why are we all too proud to apologize when we are wrong? What are we trying to prove? We ruin friendships in a futile need to be right. We ask, “why should I have to be the one to ________?”. We lose sight of what is truly important and focus on proving points that are barely remembered down the road. Let me be the first to say:
I make mistakes all the time.
I am stubborn.
I can be selfish
I see things my way and can be difficult to convince differently.
I am wrong on many occasions.
I can learn from you.
Isn’t it funny that as I write these things, I feel the need to write little disclaimers next to each one. It’s hard to admit these things about ourselves but you can’t grow, if you don’t see that you need water.
If nothing else, always remember, being right can be very lonely

Monday, March 2, 2009

"Hey, How are You?


How many times a day, do we ask something like this? How many times do we recognize what we are asking, and really care about the response? Sometimes I am asked this question and before the other person has even heard the answer, they are beginning a new conversation. What message do you send to someone when you ask a question and don’t even take interest in the response? In the old days, as a result of transportation and the distances traveled, people would go days, weeks even months without seeing each other. When they finally were able to see one another they would ask something like, “Hey, how are you.” When they asked this, they meant it. They waited for a response and took interest. Today we see each other much more frequently and as a result, the question is less meaningful. If you’re going to ask the question, then mean it. If not, then try something different. Maybe one of these:
“Good morning”
“Hey, nice to see you again”
Maybe ask them about an interest they have. Something you know they were involved in from the last time you saw them. “How was your son’s baseball practice last night?”
Whatever it is you decide to say or ask, listen to yourself when you say or ask it, and mean it. If you don’t care about the answer, then you’re better off just saying hello.