Windridge Reflections

The article below by Jim Rohn clearly defines the attitudes, motivation, and actions I want to focus on - Enjoy! “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down. ” Mary Pickford Cultivating Your Enterprising Nature by Jim Rohn Enterprising people are those people disciplined and dedicated enough to seize opportunities that present themselves ... regardless of the current situation, struggles, or obstacles. Think of a few people you know who are enterprising. Think of people in the news, in your office, in your neighborhood, who manage to succeed regardless of the obstacles. What do these people have in common? They're probably always on the go, developing a plan, following a plan, reworking the plan until it fits. They're probably resourceful, never letting anything get in the way. They probably don't understand the word no when it applies to their visions of th...

A friend and I were talking about depression a few days ago. You know, that draining, gnawing, energy zapping feeling that nothing is going right and you are seemingly powerlessness to change any of your circumstances or mindset. And the most depressing part—you can’t put your finger on “why.” In the course of our conversation, I commented that I have so many things to be grateful for…starting with the smallest, I am breathing after all! Then this morning I ran across this, “If we pull down the shades in every room in a house, that house will be in darkness, and is likely to become damp and unhealthy as well, no matter how brightly the sun may be shining outside.” — Emmet Fox I don’t know about you, but I do not want to live my life in a dark, damp, dusty, musty house. It’s time to pull open the shades, let the sun light warm this house, and find strength in all that is good. There is too much of life out there to be lived! *If you suffer with severe depression, seek profe...

What Happens When Life Zigs…and You Zag? What do you do when you have “one of those days?” You know the kind, we all have them. You feel yucky, drained, with no motivation and all your prior enthusiasm, brilliant ideas, etc., have vanished into thin air and you are reduced to hoping you can put one foot in front of the other until it’s time to go to bed. And then the prayer is that blessed sleep will provide a reprieve from the constant feelings of failure and opportunities lost or wasted away. I recently had “one of those days.” What I’ve learned over time is when they hit, if I step back and do as little as I possible, you know get the main things done, but don’t take on the big things, I will come out of the “funk” much quicker. I liken it to falling off a horse; if you roll with the fall (downward spiral) instead of fighting or bracing yourself against it, you’ll hit the ground with less force and thus be able to pick yourself up more quickly—as in tomorrow. Her...

“Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping–into the future." Steve Miller / Steve McCarty Have you ever thought to yourself, “I only have an hour, oh well, not enough time to begin …..” I have, so has my closest friend... and apparently we are not alone! “Sometimes people think that because their time is broken up and they have no long, uninterrupted swatches of time for working, they may as well not begin. My advice? Pretend that you will never have such time again. Tell yourself that all of your days will be as crowded and as pell-mell as those you have had lately, and then figure out how to work in them.   You have heard the bromide “if you want something done, ask someone busy to do it.” That holds water.... Limited time can increase our focus, making us make the most of the time that we have got.” Julia Cameron Live What projects are you putting off because you think you don't have enough time to start? Image: istockphoto

“The past is huge. The future is huge as well. What remains for me, what is given, is to do the small tasks of the day.” —Julia Cameron Breathing space…that is what today feels like and I need to remember, when I’m in the thick of “busy-ness,” that there will always be a space, a time to refresh and reflect if I will only slow down for a moment to notice and appreciate it (without fretting about the future). Sometimes these “pauses” can be uncomfortable, a feeling of “what happened – where did everyone go?” can rob me of the peace that comes from simply taking a deep breath and completing the small tasks of my day. The joy of catching up on the little things, personal correspondence that has been pushed to the side, appreciating the morning light as a new day dawns, and knowing that now is the time to reflect and dream before the next onslaught of “places to go and people to meet” overtakes me. And so for this hour at least, and maybe for this day, I pause. The day may progress int...

Chronologically we’re at the end of the year but the beginning of the journey. Sarah Ban Breathnach One of my favorite weeks of the year is this week between Christmas and the New Year. For some reason it seems the perfect time to take a “time out” to pause and reflect. I’m spending this week thinking about the past year, successes and challenges, and then shifting my focus to the coming year and identifying what my theme for the New Year will be. Then on January 1st I will sit in quiet reflection and record all of my thoughts..... Perfect! If you don’t start, You won’t arrive… Anonymous Use the questions below to map your course for 2011 2010 For the past year what was your overall theme? What were your three biggest wins personally? What were your three biggest wins professionally? What were the three top lessons you learned? What was the one personal quality that you developed in 2010? List the ways this quality helped you both personally and professionally. 2011 Lo...

The Wish List is a writing exercise I picked up from Julia Cameron in her book Walking in This World . Cameron is an “artist’s writer” offering insights and encouragement for those who find their life’s work in artistic pursuits and endeavors. My thoughts are that all of us, no matter what industry or “lifestyle” we find ourselves in, are tied to artistic and creative endeavors. And that the greatest pursuit of all is creating our life! The following simple little exercise is one I use when I’m feeling a bit stuck on who I am, where I want to go and what the next steps may be. Number a blank sheet from 1 to 20. Writing (quickly) finish the phrase: “I wish” 20 times. Your wishes can range from the big things that you find difficult to wrap your mind around or the very small (almost imperceptible) things that are sometimes passed off in pursuit of bigger things. There is no right or wrong wish! What you will notice, once you have completed your list, is that there are several small, ye...

I’m currently re-reading (actually skimming) the book The Procrastinator’s Handbook – Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett . It’s not a book I have ever read straight through, but it’s one that I pick up from time to time and use as a refresher whenever I feel like I’m beginning to be pulled away from what matters most to me. Life can sometimes feel like a constant balancing act of fulfilling opportunities — or dare I say: “I want you to like me” moments — that compete for my time. When this happens I find it healthy to stop for a moment and ask myself, how much can I really take on, enjoy and handle well? Here’s a pop quiz from the book to help evaluate the tendency to over commit: Do I put off things important to my life because other people’s priorities always come first? YES / NO Do I commit to so many things that there’s not enough time to do any of them and I always feel overwhelmed? YES / NO Do I think I don’t need to do all the things others need to do to manage th...

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the one who will win." Roger Bannister (British athlete, first person in the world to run a mile in under 4 minutes) At my oldest daughter's wedding, the Pastor spoke of starting power and staying power . • Starting power is the newness, the excitement, the hopes, the anticipation of what is to come. • Staying power is the continual effort, the realization that relationships unfold over time and require diligent care and commitment to succeed. Are you in need of starting power or staying power ? At present I'm learning about staying power —"once the effort gets painful"—and as a former runner I know if I endure, I will reach my goal and claim the prize!

Peter Bregman starts out with “ An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day ” post like this: “Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked into my office in the morning with a vague sense of what I wanted to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned on my computer and checked my e-mail. Two hours later, after fighting several fires, solving other people's problems and dealing with whatever happened to be thrown at me through my computer and phone, I could hardly remember what I had set out to accomplish when I first turned on my computer.” I can relate too well to this as many of my days seem to silently and swiftly become pulled off my intended course. Sometimes it’s simply amazing to me where the time goes without me being aware of its passing or cognizant of what was accomplished! To help us all stay on course, here are Bregman’s three steps for keeping focus throughout the day. Step 1 (5 minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer , sit down with a blank piece...

Today, let your heart dance You will find no shortage of dance partners, as your feet join in. And your eyes. And your smile. And every part of your body and your feelings. Let your heart dance all day long.... UNKNOWN

Every year I choose two “themes for the year”... and I find it ironic that this year my two themes were Energy and Enthusiasm! I gotta tell you, seven months in and this year has not been filled with either energy or enthusiasm - more like hang-on-for-dear-life and don’t lose hope.... Thankfully Brian Tracy came to the rescue in his e-Newsletter just in the nick of time! He reminded me “why” these two traits are important for all of us right now, and how to re-connect with and even increase them! Most successful people can be characterized as having very high levels of energy. Since energy is the fuel with which everything is achieved, there seems to be a direct relationship between energy levels and levels of accomplishment. Physical Energy is Basic We have been led to believe that there is basically one kind of energy. We supposedly replenish this energy by sleeping at night, and during the day, we use it up again. It is as though we are machines powered by batteries, and...