Be still and listen to what your heart says.

 Today lets look at the words "should and shouldn’t”.

The idea of looking at what is right in your world is made harder by the stereotypes that we impose on others and ourselves.  As we try to move forward, we may be faced with those who will give us advice. The advice is well meant, but comes down to people trying to dictate to you what you should or shouldn't do with your life.

We have a  position available where I work as a result of the person who was in the position moving to a new location. The young person who is now in the position is very good at the job. We need someone, she has the skill sets, but not the training for the position. To keep the position, she has to take further training. Human Resources is putting a great deal of pressure on her to take the training, however she is resisting because the timing is not right for her now.  I suggest that she should listen to her heart and make her decisions .

When you are deciding to do or not do something, one of the process that may occur is that at first you might hear a faint or not so faint voice in your head saying: “you’re too old,” or “that’s too risky” or “you can’t do that.”


Trust me: this is not your heart speaking!


Don’t be swayed by what others think your life is supposed to look like. Don’t think for a moment that this stage of your life has to be lived by anyone else’s standards.


Be wary of any internal or external advice that begins with: “You should” or “You shouldn't"


Be brave enough and confident enough to listen to your heart. You may or may not have regrets later, but you will have another story to pass on to your grandchildren.

Focus on what is right in your life.

There has been a lot of negative news lately, Pensions are under attack, in its rush to serve Chinas need for oil, our environment in BC is under threat by our Federal government, the unemployment rate has just gone up, and the amount of new jobs created was under the estimates of the economists.

The governments claim to that they are the best hope Canadians have for economic stability seems to be in question. Phew, too much negativity so with all of the negatives swirling around us at this time, I want to focus on the positives in our life.

We all know of people in our lives that embody the power of focusing on what is right. Let me tell you about Jennifer. Her life was pretty normal, with her share of ups and downs, that is--until a few years ago. Jennifer quit her job, moved to another Province, completed her college education and was just ready to launch a new career when she was diagnosed with MS. Shocked by the news, she took immediate action with determination not to let it stop her. She took the next step, got professional license, and started a new career.

After a couple of years, the MS was compromising her ability to walk, so she opted for surgery, with the hopeful intention that the surgery would allow her to keep walking. Something went wrong and the surgery left her paralyzed from the chest down. As you might imagine, Jennifer got very depressed.

Within the next year something shifted within Jennifer. She decided she was going to have a life worth living regardless of the obstacles. Today, she is a strong presence within the MS community. Her generosity and talents make a difference for others. And her attitude and commitment make a big difference for herself.

Here is a way to start to focus on the positives in your life:

Commit to asking yourself at least twice a day: What’s going right? Write down what is going right and then share it with someone else. Do this for at least 30 days and see what happens.

Ask others what is going right in their life. Notice what happens when you ask others what’s going right for them. You may have a surprisingly different conversation.

Begin now training your thoughts to focus on what is right about your life. Start by answering these questions, and then everyday for the next month focus on one or more of these questions. You may be surprised how your outlook on life changes over the next month.

What are 3 things going right in my work?

What are 3 things going right in my relationships?

What are 3 things going right in my spiritual life?

What 3 things are going right with my financial life?

What 3 things are going right with my health?

What 3 things are going right with my social life?

 

Remember that Happiness IS an inside job.

Take charge of your life.

In order to live your second adulthood (or childhood in my case:-) with freedom purpose and passion, stop and take a look at yourself as well as your physical, emotional, and spiritual environment.

This checklist may help serve as a guide to get you started. It is not exhaustive but is meant to be a beginning point.

Do you have a will? Do you have detailed instructions about what arrangements you want when you die?

Do you have a living will and a designated person as medical power of attorney?

Are your important documents such as your driver’s license, passport, will, up to date? Do you have copies of each of these stored in a safe place?

Do you have a secure place to store important documents?

Does at least one other person know where this is and have access to them?

How is your health? When was your last physical and eye examination? What do you need to start doing to either improve your health or maintain good health?

Is your living space cluttered? Ask yourself: is this item really important to me? Do I use it or enjoy it regularly?

Clear out, clean out and make space for the life you are living now.

Is your vehicle in good running order? Do you have emergency road side service, a working spare tire, thermal blanket, bottled water, jumper cables, snow chains, first aide kit?

Do you have adequate health, home, and life insurance?

If you’ve put off taking care of any important aspect of your life—now is the time to take action! Make a plan and get started—one step at a time. Don’t leave the important things to chance. Unfortunately, we’ve all heard stories of people who waited too long to see their doctor, to make an amend, or record their family history.

What are you putting off accomplishing that you know is important and would increase your peace of mind and overall well-being?

Commit to being happy

John worked in a large corporation for thirty years and took early retirement at age 54. For a few years he enjoyed traveling. Then John decided to fulfill a long held dream of turning his hobby of furniture crafting into a business. He expanded his home workshop and started his second career. However, his business was successful but John was not  happy. He liked creating and his sense of accomplishment but the isolation was depressing.

What John wanted was to learn how to love his situation. He was grateful for the opportunity to have his own successful business and felt somewhat guilty for not being happy. John was missing the balance that is important to life. When he was younger he threw himself into his work, and he was successful, but he was not happy. When he retired, John found he loved creating and building, and created a successful business doing just that. Yet he was not happy.

Commit to being happy, but to do that self reflection is needed, as well as self understanding. John did not know himself as well as he thought. John needed to share his passion. Once John realized this he was able to take the time to rekindle his love for his partner and to bring that person into the emotional side of his life. Understanding your own needs, then reaching out to those you love is one of the first steps to a commitment to being happy.