Speed bumps...

The speed bumps of life.

They can come out of nowhere and lurch you tremendously - if you're not careful...

Sometimes we see them coming as a bump, rising in front of us as we go down the path of life. We can prepare - slow down - take action - skirt around it. Even if we hit it, we can deal with the damage because we've prepared - at least a little.

The surprise speed bumps are the hardest, because they hit without warning: *BAM!* Then we have to regroup and recover, and the damage can be pretty extensive, both inside and out.

Even the speed bumps of life that we see coming affect us, and can affect us significantly IF we don't handle them well. Remember - they happen. We all hit them. All of us. So...

Here are 3 steps to consider moving through before you have time to build up emotions that can lead to negative consequences:

#1 STOP. You've hit a speed bump. Don't make the damage worse until you assess what is going on. 

#2 BREATHE. Inhale. Exhale. Remind yourself: I can deal with this. I will deal with this. I've dealt with speed bumps before and I will deal with this too. I can't stop the fact that it happened. I CAN and WILL deal with it appropriately.

#3 COUNT. Count to 10 if you're angry or upset. Count your blessings if you're hurt or disappointed. Either way: Are you breathing? One. Can you see? Two. Can you get up out of your seat? Three. You're alive, breathing, seeing, and able to move. That's so much more effective than the alternative. Is there at least one person you can lean on? Four - or even more as you think of those people who are there for you no matter what. You need them now. Then literally thank God for each of your blessings. He is the one who blesses with blessings - acknowledge that. Remember... He is in control. He really is! Remind yourself that He knows the beginning and end of all things and this is part of His plan. You will be better for this experience - you really will - as you deal with the consequences of this speed bump.

Okay. You've assessed the challenge. The speed bump was hit. You have the ability and self-confidence to deal with it. The sun WILL come out tomorrow - or the next day.

Smile.

Now...

Look for ways that you can learn from this challenge - and help others through a similar situation. Make the intentional decision that you will grow and come out better from this experience. Be strong and help others who may be affected. Be the one that is going to MAKE IT and MAKE IT STRONG.

Always... put facts behind and before the challenge. What happened? What is happening? What steps do I need to take? And, above all, bury emotions. Trust God. Breathe. Smile. And watch for the sun as it returns to the sky in your life.

Time can change anything

Once in a while my eyes land on an article that makes me stop right in my tracks, put everything aside, and think.

Many articles I read are really informative and enlightening. Many grow my knowledge base and horizons a bit larger and stretch my world a little fuller.

This one just made me think. Think about where I am, where I'm going, and what my impact is. This one made me think about my LIFE. My life right now. My life as I exit my youth and enter the realm of the mature.

"You only get one chance. Make sure you LIVE."

It's time to ask yourself some questions:

Inc. : 11 Life-Changing Questions You Must Ask Yourself

Do it while you have time to change the answers.

Lessons From the Ordinary

Everyday life. We go through it, and the funniest things stick with us.

Last Friday I visited a business for maybe the sixth time. One of their staff members saw me from the across the room. She smiled and waved to me. Sure, I recognized her. I smiled and waved back. Did she have to smile and wave? Absolutely not. But she took the opportunity to acknowledge me. I'm still smiling about that encounter.

This weekend I read an inspiring post by Micheal Hyatt - actually from a guest blogger, Skip Pritchard - about ordinary things that ordinary people do that bring joy to life. I've read it, and re-read it. And it continues to impact me in the same way. There are lessons all around us, every moment of every day. We can use our time to positively impact the lives of everyone around us in the most innocent ways by: acknowledging them positively, not ignoring anyone or praising others without praising them too (we ALL have merit), and remembering that...

We all have baggage. Let's help others carry theirs by smiling and extending a hand across the board. Playing favorites and taking people for granted isn't inspiring at all.

Here's the post from Micheal Hyatt's blog:

"Every year, I meet incredibly interesting people. You may think I’m thinking of famous people. Yes, famous people can certainly be interesting. Equally interesting, at least to me, are people I meet in everyday life.
For example,

• The barista at the coffee shop who remembers exactly what I want.

• The guy who waves me into the car wash with the slightest flick of his hand indicating where my tires should point.

• The newly-minted, hilarious college graduate who told me his future: two wives (he says his first marriage won’t work out), three kids, a dog, and a dead-end job.

• The lady at the bookstore who smiles when she sees me rearranging the shelves, putting my favorite authors’ books face-out.

Be Alert

Each one of the people crossing my path offers an opportunity to learn. I study people shuffling by at a busy store. There we go, I think, as I imagine where they are heading. People are incredibly fascinating.

Sure, some disappoint. You wonder why you work so hard at some friendships when it’s clearly a one-way path to nowhere. Then there’s family, some family members are truly biological—with blood coursing through their bodies to prove it. Others we adopt, friends who are so true we wouldn’t dream of letting them go.People teach us remarkable lessons if we are open to learning. Criticism we launch at someone else likely has its roots in our own shortcomings.

Slow Down

Today, as you rush through your day, look at those around you a little closer. Slow down just a bit—you don’t need to view the text message the minute it chimes. You don’t need to check Facebook and Twitter as if you’re looking for signs of life in a patient.

Just watch. Listen. Ask some questions.

See Beyond

If you can see beyond the obvious, you can learn some incredible lessons.You may discover that the barista prides herself on remembering your drink because she’s really good at it, and her father always told her she was stupid. She’s incredibly bright and works hard to overcome his harsh words. She absorbs your praise faster than your coffee does the cream.

Lessons: Everyone is hurting in some way. Everyone needs praise. Get comfortable with praising good work.

You may discover that the car wash guy is the lead singer in an up-and-coming band and has a real shot at making it. His backstage stories are better than a movie. And his writing is better than most professional writers.

Lessons: Everyone has a hidden talent. Take time to get to know your employees. Often the most needed skills are right in front of you.

You may learn that the college graduate was influenced by his parents’ painful divorce and his insight on relationships beats anything you’d read in a book.

Lessons: Age doesn’t equal wisdom. Learning from mistakes and the failures of others can benefit you more than you realize.

You may find that the bookstore lady is a book herself, full of knowledge you can tap into. She’s actually a retired business executive, filling time. She knows how to incorporate businesses, develop marketing plans, and lead strategic planning.

Lessons: Often what we see is just the surface. Take time to realize the full abilities of the people around you.

See these people are anything but ordinary. Everyone has something extraordinary that can change you. A different perspective, a unique experience, a gift. We’re all ordinary people, but we are all extraordinary in our own way."

- Skip Prichard

The value of... time...

Ramblings as I sit and consider…

Time - a resource that cannot be created or repeated; an invaluable source of blessings (or a curse); a cherished gift (“the present”) that gets more valuable as a person gets older.

Time is meant to be used wisely, even when it means studying one’s navel to refocus and refresh.

Time - an effective channel to obtain information, wise counsel, and for moving forward in life.  Time hurts, time heals, and can move too slowly or too quickly.

How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.

 ~ Zall's Second Law

Time is valuable: a source for compounding interest to create wealth, calming nerves, and for dealing with the challenges of life.  MUCH has been written about the "Value of Time"; typing those 3 words into Google provided: About 659,000,000 results. 

Wikipedia's explanation for the value of time comes in economic terms as an opportunity cost for decision-making and, when one reverses the order to read about time value, the discussion brings a storm of equations to calculate the financial repercussions of investing over time to achieve wealth - while their discussion of compound interest graphically illustrates the financial value of time as it relates to a$$et building. 

In Benjamin Franklin’s words: Time is money. Yes. It is.  

 And so much more.

Time is priceless.  It lives outside of a quantitative box as a qualitative entity to embrace and capture within its fluidity and with a positive, hopeful attitude of joy.  The future value of time comes from the he♥rt - not from a summation function.  An expectant heart looks at a positive value of time.  A disgruntled, disheartened, discouraged heart won’t value time, but will see it as an empty and bottomless pit that spirals downward for them.  The value of time = a choice.  A personal choice.  My choice. 

The internet is a plethora of research results, and among the results for “value of time” is an unknown source’s insights (which follow) that echo the fact that time = priceless.  Embrace time with a smile, enjoy it with enthusiasm, and experience excited expectation for what awaits ahead.  Find joy in your journey – each and every moment of it. 

Realize the value of time. Time in perspective.

Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.

What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank.  Its name is time.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance.  It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the records of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back.  There is no drawing against the tomorrow.
You must live in the present on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running.  Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have!  And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.

And remember, time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.  That's why it's called the present.

Wow.  It's been almost a month since I've been here!  It's not that I've forgotten - no way.  It's just...

Sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of life, and the urgencies of the necessities overwhelm the normalcy of the typical.  LIFE.

It's been a blur.  In its wake, yet a new reality and a new normalcy.  For the good.  The best?  Coming.  We're making progress. 

A new opportunity came literally out of nowhere that capitalizes and expands a number of my own passions and is now part of my daily schedule - not routine - not yet - as I form new habits and disciplines.  Ever been in this place?  There's something that comes into your realm that you want and enjoy and is for the overall good but, to get it entrenched into your being you have to THINK and yes... schedule it in... 

I'm looking forward to the time when this new part of my daily life is indeed part of my daily habit and routine...  

...a new facet of my own persona to embrace, embellish, and enjoy.  It gives renewed hope as I pursue lifelong goals and a passion to serve my friends right here in my community.  Making my world a better place and helping others succeed is a lighter fluid that I enjoy pouring in and through the charcoal of my existance, and the spark to light a new fire has landed and is now being fanned.

All that and taking care of a bunch of loose ends for my 85-year-old mother-in-law combined with an early vacation out of state created a flash of time normally enjoyed as a couple of weeks.  No problem - it brought summer a bit faster!

I'm back.  I'm landing on my feet!  With a fresh outlook that comes from launching and pursuing a new, enjoyable adventure.

Ever get to the place where you're stuck, and getting stucker?  I was, but I've found some freshness and joy in a new role with a profound friend and mentor.  Ever feel trapped, with no door of release?  My hand was given a knob, and I turned it.  The door of release is swinging open.

It's a good way to launch the summer.  Busy, and GOOD.  More challenge = more life in my life.

Sometimes life has a bit too much life going on but time has ways of working those kinks out, especially for those with hope who are willing to work hard to make their goals a reality. 

Life is just TOO SHORT to be anything but... :)

A wise person once said... 

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it.  You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good.  So, love the people who treat you right; pray for the ones who don't.  Life is too short to be anything but content.  Falling down is a part of life; getting back up is living.

I love social media for all the profound insights that land in my lap... top.  Yes, there are a lot of messages and information to skim through, or save 'til later, but that statement made me 

That was posted by a friend as their Facebook profile statement with the words "~repost if you agree" at the end.  YEAH.  I like that quote.

~REPOST.  J

Life is too short to be anything but content.  

When I saw the quote, the last word of that sentence was happy. Life is too short to be anything but happy.   Not a bad goal at all.  Happy is a good thing.  I like happy.  I really like BEING happy! J  I want everyone around me to be happy! J  

While I enjoy being happy and enjoying the whole context of the word happy, being happy can also be so fleeting.  Life dishes out 'way too many surprises without notice, which are real happy-robbers.  It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster up the happy-hill to the top, then whoosh – down you go back into reality.   The whole context of happy just seems to move on too quickly - unfortunately.  The context of joy wasn't exactly the word that fit for me there either.  While joy is long-lasting, it too can be robbed quickly by well- and not-so-well-meaning folks around me.

So I go back to a personal goal of life that I wrote about in a previous blog. 

CONTENT.  

Whatever life throws at me, be it mud or whatever, I really want to rise above getting the muck of life stuck on me to a level that I can dwell at. For me, that level is contentment.  Contentment is a bit tougher to steal and easier to rest in once you’ve found it.

 Life is too short to be anything but content.   It sure is… J

So let's see how many dumb things I can do...

...before I get it right!

Ahhhh - I know.... life!  *ARGH!*

Discovering new Social Media tools is exciting, and learning to use them, one by one, is... *HUMBLING*...  

Do I hear a "*DOH!!*" echoing out there in cyberspace? 

How *HISS!!* frustrating it was to post a tweet, just to see it pop up as my LinkedIn statement - again - and again - and not know HOW to stop it!!  WRONG AUDIENCE!!!  *STOP!!!*

While this adventure into new horizons of Social Media is laden with potholes, speed bumps and land mines just waiting to explode, it's worth the hazards of the journey.  Fortunately, once they're hit and you figure out how to dodge them the next time, the trip gets more exciting - more scenic - and more enjoyable. J