Be yourself, everyone else is taken
There’s a wonderful opportunity in front of you to live your best life.
A chance to utilise your skills to make the world a better place.
The exciting prospect of leaving a positive, indelible mark on everyone who comes into your life.
You can help to bring peace to a divided world.
The days that are given to us are incredibly valuable and sometimes we forget that.
So we squander them.
We develop negative mindsets and then influence the people around us with them.
We continue with the same old habits, making the same old mistakes.
Our wheels spin in the same old rut that we’ve been stuck in day after day after day.
At a train station in the city there are some very wide stairs, with about 30 steps to the top.
Next to the stairs is a narrow escalator.
When I walked past earlier this evening, there was a long line to the escalator as people squeezed on for the gentle ride to the top.
But there were very few people taking the stairs and there was a lot of space between the commuters.
They all had a choice.
What if, instead of taking calls all day, you have lots of conversations?
Instead of teaching a room full of rowdy kids, you’re equipping future generations of leaders and citizens?
Instead of packing boxes of meat, you’re providing meals for families?
Instead of counting numbers, you’re counting success stories?
According to writer, Henry James,
Three things in human life are important.
The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind
And the third is to be kind.
In these challenging times, we need to remember this more than ever.
I’m grateful for my kids, but I wish they would keep their rooms tidier.
I’m grateful for my job, but I wish it paid better.
I’m grateful for my health, but I wish my knee wasn’t as sore.
Too many times we try to count our blessings, but add a little statement at the end that finds a way to take the gloss off.
We so often make decisions based on the age old question, “What’s the worst that can happen?”
She could say no.
I’ll be embarrassed because I can’t do the job or finish the course.
It will be a waste of money.
I may dislike vegetarian Nepalese food.
But what if we changed the question to, “What’s the best that can happen?”
An eagle high in the sky has a different perspective from a blackbird scratching around in the leaves on the ground.
He can see more opportunities.
And he can respond quicker to where they are.
There’s less clutter, less to worry about.
He soars serenely, whilst the little blackbird forages in a frenzy.
How are you feeling at the moment about life?
There’s a door to your mind.
It can allow positive or negative thoughts in.
It can open wide for new ideas or slam shut on them.
It can welcome laughter or complaints.
It can make way for encouragement or criticism.
Up and coming musicians are discovered when they play in public.
Not when they think about it.
Rookie athletes are discovered when they try out on the pitch.
Not when they hide in the stands.
Inventors are discovered when someone gets their hands on their work.
Not when they have an idea.
