Author: Jim Gohrick (Page 80 of 159)

Lord knows we all have a critic in our head that seems to never shut up. I know I do. However, I also know the best way to keep him/her at bay: By moving forward and engage our fears by squaring up our shoulders and moving forward.

This has a two-fold effect for us: First of all, it keeps us from remaining stagnate. Procrastination can be one of our worst enemies. Secondly, it keeps that nagging voice in our head quiet, even for just a brief period of time.

Eventually, we may begin to hear a very faint voice in the background. A different tone. Encouraging us. Supporting us. When my youngest son was around 4-5 years old, we had a seat that attached to my bike right in front of me and behind the handle bars. As we rode around the our hilly neighborhood, I would ask him to encourage me as we climbed the steepest of hills. He would say, “you can do it Dad, I believe in you.” This was exactly the words I needed to hear in order to get to the top.

This is the voice I long to hear in my head. And we will. As long as we continue to move forward.

Yes! It’s there in each and everyone of us. Maybe not in every moment, but’s it’s there.

Our brilliance resides within us like a perpetual flame – a pilot light – waiting to be ignited by our efforts and imagination. Ready to support our endeavors once we’ve committed to the – sometimes frightening – but all so gratifying process of creativity.

Just as we all have the capacity to breath the air we’re enveloped in with the use of our lungs and pump blood through our veins with our miraculous heart, we have the treasure of brilliance that lies within us ready to be used at any moment.

And the only price we must pay is to ask. To call upon ourselves to face the task at hand and begin. Merely begin.

Her name is brilliance and she lies within all of us.

Oh, how I love her company – oh how I love her presence. I will call upon her to pay me a visit when I’ve opened the door for her. When I’m deserving of her call.

I saw this quote in a small business the other day and it got me thinking:

What if I had the opportunity to meet myself for the first time? What would I think about me? Would I like me? Would I think I’m fake? Authentic? Would I trust me? Would I want to hang out with me? Do I give myself the appropriate amount of attention when having a conversation or does it look like I’m bored and/or distracted and want to move on.

I know what I’d want myself to be. I would like to be impressed with myself.

Maybe the one way of objectively assessing ourselves is by imagining meeting ourselves for the first time at a party and striking up a conversation. Maybe we can get to some true feedback on who we truly are as people – which may be very different than who we think we are.

I guess it would kind of be like watching yourself on the screen.

I think somedays I’d have no interest in meeting me and other days I’d probably get a kick out of myself and might even ask to go have some tea with myself.

Maybe.

“Everything in moderation” is a bit overstated no doubt. Maybe another way of saying it is, “Finding balance in our life.”

Most likely someone will say that you can have balance in your life if you just want to be mediocre in everything. Maybe. Maybe not.

Are we successful in life if we have an extremely profitable business making a six figure income but no private life, deep relationships or anyone to share it with because we work 12 hour days? Can we be happy if we’re not able to focus enough time on our health (mentally and physically) and taking care of our needs due to dysfunctional relationships all around us?

Life is a delicate balance. It takes a self-awareness to maintain the areas of our lives that need attention, repair and love. In the end, we are more likely to be happy when many facets of our lives are working – not just one.

Before social media and before the idea of “liking” something was tapping a heart emoji on a video or photo of someone we may not even know, we would like things we felt open to. We connected with something or a person. We took a chance and opened ourselves up.

When we choose to like a TV show, we “buy in” and give ourselves over. The same with saying out loud, “I like this person.” We are committing to a decision – we’re cutting off other options. We could always change our minds, but at that moment in time we made a commitment to ourselves and possibly another person in which we followed up with actions that support our declaration.

Nowadays, with so much cancel culture and judgement on and offline, we seem to straddle the line hoping to appease each and every perspective, person, group, faction and political party. It’s okay if someone else doesn’t agree with us. We’ll survive. They will too.

Make a decision to like a person and their company because they treat you with kindness and respect. Go out on a limb and choose to like green tea ice cream because you like the taste of it. Who cares what any one else thinks. It’s not about them anyway.

Just like it!