One persons search for a meaningful life.

Two of the five most important values I am developing are health and appreciation. Health because without it, life becomes a struggle and dreams may be postponed. Appreciation because it counters fear and stress. Fear and stress pervade in our society and appreciation always reminds me of what is most important in my life. My values are lifetime.

I’ve worked for three of the biggest corporations in the world now and I have definitely required as much health and appreciation as possible. Corporations can be ravenous money making machines and teamed with government – downright scary.

Two of my goals or choices to support the health value are eating more vegetables daily (colourful = healthier), and performing back and neck stretches in the morning. I feel more appreciation by having written out a list of what I really appreciate in my life. I read the appreciation list when my stress and frustration levels rise. Appreciation is ultimately a form of love. It is an amazing stress deterrent.

Everyday my daily E-mail reminders pop up (I have weekly ones as well) and I input my colours. Lately I have been posting green. Green means I am doing great. That’s all I need to know. I take pride in my green boxes. And I am going to build on those green boxes. I am paying attention to myself, and giving myself great congratulations with those green boxes. Those green boxes actually speak for themselves. I have more health and more appreciation now.

I am doing great.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Follow your passion? Follow your strength?

I’ve read countless books and articles that exude the phrase, “Follow Your Passion.” In my case my passion is golf and a few years ago tennis. But realistically I will never make a living doing either. Therefore I had to give plenty of thought as to what my strengths were. And the trick is to realize my strengths, but I also had to make sure that my strengths were in harmony with my passions. Then I can marry my greatest strengths with realistic passions and turn it into a career. So over my careers I had to ask myself a few good questions.

What were the biggest accomplishments in my life?

What skills of mine allowed me to make those accomplishments happen?

I was strong in Inventory Control but that was certainly not a passion. But eventually I started using computers and that was another passion and certainly more interesting. Than I became an avid reader of self – improvement, physiology, business and sociology literature and that was definitely a strength for me, which I gladly combined with computers and hence this site was born.

I still play golf and tennis and dream about being a pro, but realistically I admire the pros on television.

Finding and realizing our strengths is a life long endeavour. And it could be anything from child rearing to skydiving.

So the key is to make sure you are in a career that you enjoy and makes use of your best skills. And if those best abilities are linked to a passion, you have it made. It is a life long discovery sometimes, and we may even switch careers a few times.

So think about what your passions are. Are they attainable? And think about what your true skills are? Now merge these together, and life has definitely becomes that more gratifying.

Live accordingly to your values.

Do you ever stop to give some significant thought as to what your core values are? Is your life overwhelming you and you have no time for essential personal reflection? Have you ever written your values out? It’s turning out to be an eye opening exercise for me. This is part of the site, so in order to use values, I must test my values (along with the whole value database that is provided).

I’ve noticed that love is not a core value for me. But shouldn’t it be? Shouldn’t it be for everybody? Wouldn’t the world be an excellent place? Because I have not listed love I wonder if I’m a bit cynical perhaps.

Let’s say that kindness is a core value for me. Let’s say that someone forgot to use his turning signal and I ended up yelling obscenities and chasing him through city streets. I’ve just allowed that person (and myself) to weaken my core value of kindness and reduce my own personal “power”. And it’s so easy to fall into that trap. A thousand different experiences may try to diminish your core values and if you allow them to, you’re not living up to your core values.

Of course the advertising companies try to convince us everyday that success is an important value and is gained through materialism. Not.

So really understanding my values will support me to live the life I truly believe in. And I will be true to me and only me. But which ones?

My first list would perhaps be health, freedom, beauty, appreciation and happiness.

It’s an incredibly fascinating exercise.

Life rewards action

Life rewards action

It does not matter how well you have planned it, how long you have planned it, how great an idea it is, or how wonderful a goal is. If you don’t DO anything, if you don’t TAKE any action, than nothing will happen. NOTHING. Time waits for no one. Only actions speak louder than words, thoughts or well wishes. You have to demonstrate to yourself that an action HAS been taken.

Life rewards action. It does not reward optimistic thoughts or paper plans.

Life rewards action.

Take action.

Now.

Don’t take your music to your grave.

Few companies practise family values. We are working 50 plus hour weeks. The stocks are in free fall. Bush continues to rattle his sword. Savings are falling. Debts are rising. Priests are touching. Africans are starving. Wow. Wow again.

So. You are either wrapped up in academia or already in a career. A career that hopefully leads to motivating responsibility and decent pay. But are you? Are you being you? Are you finding meaning? Are you expressing joy? Is your job cool? Is it faster-better-funner? Is that white picket fence going up, just like society recommends.

In our culture, we fickle humans are lucky to have so many choices (maybe too many). There is a vast landscape before us, littered with infinite possibilities. Writer, lawyer, doctor, actor, clerk, athlete, or bum. Each possibility, each career, can snare us and wrap us in a warm cocoon. What happens when that cocoon becomes cold and uninviting? Well now - we may have to actually think about our real passions? It may come as a soft voice tickling the back of your neck. Now you have to do something about that soft voice! Oh uh! Speak to it, listen to it, and follow it. It may lead you to another career. Another lover. Another philosophy. Another meaning for your life.

Being smart has nothing to do with it. Just take a risk. Use your common sense. Express your desires. Hold on to that soft voice like your life depends on it. It may.

The world will try to knock you flat. Our culture tries to mold you into a proper government abiding, consumer machine.

Listen to that soft voice.

It has no age.