Essential, Random and Frivolous Thoughts of a Cabinet Maker

What an incredible blessing of life we have on this earth

The gift of the sunrise, the dark pink sky as it slowly illuminates to pale blue

The breath in our lungs and the faint smells of the morning bloom

The sounds of the world awakening and shuffling their feet

Beautiful faces of anticipation, hope and joy passing us by

The exchanging of ideas, encouragement and knowledge

Gestures of kindness and respect as the fervor to act grows

Individuals expressing their ideas as they expand their minds

The connection with others and the trust that forms within

Laughter and Love

A day of complete emotions

A betterment of one person and a betterment of all

The Blessing of life

Personal growth coach Darren Hardy would tell you that if someone asks you to do something and your response is not “Hell Yeah!” then you should probably pass.

The idea of attacking our day with such energy and fervor gets me pumped up.

I’m not sure I know when the last time I used that phrasing when my wife asked whether I wanted to go to that birthday party on Saturday. But, I also think it’s a great way to get our minds right when we show up to do the things that we may not be so excited to do. Like, workout or that conversation we’ve been putting off or even an email that we know needs to be written.

Maybe I should look at what I’m choosing to do. Maybe I should be arriving at my tasks, appointments and meetings with a little more enthusiasm. Maybe I need to get my head in the proper place in order to kill it when I show up at my desk. What do you think?

Hell Yeah!

I’ve always liked the idea of doing the “right” thing because I have a choice of doing anything. What I mean is that we have an infinite amount of choices in our day in everything we do and it feels significant to me in my life to chose the strongest choice, especially when others expect the opposite.

It’s almost like I can feel my shield of integrity grow in strength. Is that conceded?

Said another way from Oskar Schindler, “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.”

The power to make the right choice. That’s powerful.

No doubt, it’s challenging these days to sit quietly without distraction. But, this is exactly what we need in order to slow down, reflect and let our imaginations run a bit wild in the empty fields of our minds.

Giving space to ourselves – both physically and mentally is one way of unplugging from the hamster wheel of life and letting the powers that be know who’s really in charge.

Sometimes these moments can be harder than others to find and/or carve out for ourselves, but I would argue they are essential to our healthy evolvement.

This can come in many different forms and we can choose what suits our personalities. There are no wrong answers. It could be a walk in nature or around a quiet neighborhood, a warm bath, a run, sitting in meditation or staring out at the blue sky from a park bench. The important part is to schedule the time for your mind to wander without distraction and noise.

You never know what your brilliant mind may come up with.

Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

But, this is exactly what I intend to do in my life on an on-going basis.

There is nothing more unattractive than someone who is stuck in their ways, views and bias’s without considering a new or alternative idea. There is always another way of doing things that yes, actually may be better than your own approach. Don’t take it from me, take it from some of the greatest minds of our time that have re-thought how to approach even the most basic of principles and flipped them on their heads; Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela and Elon Musk.

I was blessed to see this close up as a child from a family member and learned early on this was not how I wanted to move through my own life.

The question is: how do we set up a system to question our own beliefs, strategies and methods?

We do our best to come from a place of objectivity and observe and consider how we view ourselves. Still distorted? Ask a trusted friend, close family member or spouse what their take is of how you view the world. If you don’t like what you hear, it’s probably because it’s true.

If we’re unable to objectively assess our own behavior, then you have bigger problems. If we can, then you’re well on your way as the first step to change is awareness.