Life In-Between

"They pay you just enough to keep you from quitting and you work just hard enough to keep from getting fired." Many of us have been or are currently in this situation with our job. This saying also  works for a lot of situations in life. Maybe it's a relationship with family or friends, your job, or maybe your self image. We get stuck in a life that is in-between what we consider our rock bottom and our potential. We only put in just enough work to maintain the things, relationships, careers, and our self image. We get stuck in a comfort zone. Why do we go through life worried about failing and all that we can do to prevent it from happening and yet we ignore our potential to become more. Sure, going above and beyond what we feel are our limits means taking a risk, but the rewards far out weight the risks. We wouldn't throw ourselves into poverty or a damaging relationship and yet we continually throw ourselves out of the running to live a more fulfilled and happier life. What improvements would you like to see in your life? A new job or career, better relationships, better self esteem? What is holding you back from obtaining it? 


As parents, we try to raise our children to become upstanding adult in this world community. We teach them how to act in public, have manners, our religious views, get good grades in school, and the list goes on and on. In the midst of all that we try to teach our children, we quietly live our lives in-between. Our children learn more from our actions than our words. So what kind of example are we setting about a comfort zone? What kind of world would this be if we began to live our lives outside our comfort zone and show our children how to do the same? We all say that we want the best for our children and yet they see us complacent. 

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big

But I Don't Wanna

Change is a critical element in our existence as human beings. Bottom line is, if we don't change certain aspects of our life, we will cause ourselves and those around us great pain. 

I believe that there are two kinds of change, the have to kind and the need to kind. Both of then elicit different kinds of responses from our body, mind, and spirit. When we have to, it is usually a response out of instinct to prevent us from pain or to better our current situation. If we do this, this will happen now. We change the position of our hand on a hot stove because it causes pain, we will change lanes during rush hour traffic to prevent from getting in an accident, or we will not change jobs and continue to be miserable in the one we have.

The change of need is more difficult to make, even though it will have lasting effects on our life and probably those closest to us. These are the kinds of changes that we procrastinate or probably will never make. We just continue to go through life with the discomfort that not making these changes has caused. We stay in damaging relationships, we continue to work a job that we despise, or we keep doing our unhealthy habits. These types of changes are so difficult because of the fear of the unknown on the other side of the decision. What will our life look and feel like if we make these kinds of changes?


Lasting change causes us to stretch beyond our comfort zone and become something different from what we are used to being. Don't let fear and procrastination control your life any longer. Become daring enough to make the changes that you need to make and go through the struggles to become the person that you need to become. You have all that you need to start that process within you, but only you can take the first step. 


We quickly act on the decisions that we have to make not to lose but we procrastinate actions on the decisions to win.

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big

You Gave Up That Right

So, I am going to start off this blog with a warning. This will not be my usual motivational type post, but more of an in your face reality check about how I view problems in our lives. If your feeling get hurt easily, you might want to stop now. If you continue to read, I hope that this sheds some light on your perception of your problems in life.

You have given up your right to bitch about the problems in your life if you have decided to ignore it and do nothing to correct it. I hear people bitch and moan about how bad things are in their life and how they wished they were better and yet they are doing nothing to correct it or make it better. Let me share a couple of true stories with you:


I know this guy, who a year into his marriage found out that his wife had cheated on him before they were married. This guy understood, once he had taken some time to analyze the situation, that he only had two options. Option one, divorce and move on with his life. Option two, forgive the woman that he loved dearly and never throw it in her face what she had done. Selecting option two meant that they would have to work on their relationship and not just ignore the problems. The guy chose option two and from what I can tell, they have a great relationship.


I know another couple who have struggled financially throughout their marriage. One of the root causes has been a credit card in her hands. She has a tendency to buy stuff that is not really needed or at times went shopping to deal with her depression. This has been a major point of contention in their relationship and she stills complains about their financial situation but doesn't do anything to correct the problem. 


Here is my point, it is an utter waste of time and energy, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, to complain about your situation if you're not going to do anything about it. If you choose to keep your problem, then you only have you to blame for it so stop complaining and live with it. On the other hand, if you choose to deal with it, instead of complaining about it, put that energy into fixing the problem and move on with making your life better. 

When I learned to move my efforts and concerns to the things in my own personal life that I can control, life changed for me. I am a much happier person with little to no stress. Sure, issues still arise, but I understand that I can either do what I can to correct them or live with it. Either way, I have given up my right to bitch about them.


Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big

Coulda...Shoulda...Woulda

Michael Jordan was know for his talent on the basketball court, George Washington for his ability to lead, Thomas Edison for his inventions, and Mother Teresa for her compassion. This list could go on and on, spanning centuries, and areas in which these people have excelled. But no matter who you chose, they all have one thing in common, the abilities and talents that they possessed would have all been useless if they had not applied them. They all faced struggles and successes in their lives while applying their talents, but it never stopped them. They were willing to make sacrifices to reach their potential in life because they loved what they were doing. They were passionate about it!

What in your life are you passionate about that you aren't doing? What "coulda, shoulda, or woulda" do you think about when it's quiet and only your thoughts are there to keep you company? What opportunities in life are you depriving yourself of by not pursuing the talents that you were born to perform? Not only does pursuing your passions in life change your life, it also changes the lives of those around you. Conversely, not pursuing your passions in life, holds you back from being truly happy, healthy, and living a life full of the experiences that you were meant to have. 

It's never to late or to soon to start pursing your passion in life. Sure it might be a little harder because of certain habits that you have created in your life, or because of the mediocrity that you have settled for, but what is happiness really worth to you? I can tell you from experience, that after spending twenty years in a career, choosing to pursue my passion was a difficult decision. I knew what it was going to take to make it become a reality and I knew how far out of my comfort zone I would have to get. But the past twelve months have been the best investment that I have ever made. It has changed my life and I can see the changes in those around me. Make the decision, take the action, and don't look back.

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big