I was practicing handstands the other day. I didn’t move all the furniture out of the way. Coming down, my foot hit the corner of a nightstand. Hard.
I’m sure the toenail will grow back.
The irony was not lost on me.
Yoga is all about creating space: space between the vertebrae, space in the heart and in the mind. The physical exercise creates room in bodies and meditation creates much needed gaps in thinking.
Space is good! It fosters a better posture – both literally and figuratively.
What are your beliefs about money? That you’ll never have enough? That only greedy people are rich?
Money is energy. You receive it in return for your work. If your work is valuable, you will receive currency. Focus on the giving and the rest will take care of itself.
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. –Winston Churchill
Funds (like people) escape those who squeeze too tightly. Do good work, serve people generously, and wealth will come.
Work like mad.
Give it your all.
And then deliver it, knowing it’s not perfect and never will be.
“I’m procrastinating,” my daughter said. She was just hanging out with me. With all her chores done, the last item on her list of “to dos” was to practice her violin.
“I don’t get it. You are so good at violin. You seem to enjoy it. Why do you always put it off?”
“I love playing. I don’t like practicing. It’s hard and it’s boring.”
“Well, it’s the practicing that makes us like listening to the playing.”
“You’re so mean,” she says as she opens her case.
How happy are you? Your age might be correlated to the level of your happiness. And acceptance might be the key to joy.
According to a study by Nielsen, people ages 18-21 are pretty happy, but the level of self-reported well-being goes on a decline until it hits rock bottom at age 50-53. This is due, in part, because people in this age bracket are preoccupied with money concerns: kids’ college tuition and their own retirement funds. But then, the level of contentment goes up on a steady trajectory for a high into the eighties. The reason?
As people age, they accept their aging. THIS is the key to contentment.
Perhaps we should all accept our present condition, no matter the age? Wouldn’t this naturally lead to more joy?
http://www.businessinsider.com/age-people-are-happiest-2016-5
One of the 5 ways to increase your grit is practice, practice, practice. By this, Angela Lee Duckworth means to practice deliberately. For example, let’s say you’re a musician. It might be tempting to play that piece that you know so well, the one everyone compliments you on. But you’re not going to get better by doing that. You need to practice that four octave scale you haven’t nailed yet. You need to go slowly, hit each not just right and start over when you get it wrong. Boring! Tedious! But so critical.
This is grit.
It’s hard and it’s boring and you need to do it every single day. You need to be consistent.
That is how you get better.
By the way, you can substitute anything for practicing violin: football, soccer, dance, writing, drawing, painting. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing extremely well.
‘Tis the season!
We receive holiday cards, mostly from friends and family but also the occasional acquaintance.
We received a card with one of “those” letters in them. You know what I mean, the ones that review the entire year for every family member in 8 very full paragraphs in 8pt font. Everything that happened was fantastic. Each family member is on his/her way to great success.
This card/letter came from a family with whom we don’t have a personal connection. We never speak on the phone, we never meet up. We are not even Facebook friends. They happen to be real estate agents in the community.
2016 is almost over. I’d like to see some authenticity happen in 2017.
Communications (email, phone, social media, etc.) are time-consuming, both for the sender and the recipient. Wouldn’t it be nice if every attempt at reaching out was genuine? Do you really care to forge a relationship with us? Then be real. Invite us for a meet up. Call. Even an email invitation is acceptable these days.
But please, don’t send a generic “personalized” letter and assume we care. Why should we?
Grit – the persevering drive to achieve one’s goals – is identified as one of the most powerful factors for success, even more than talent.
A big part of my job is to preserve perseverance in my students. As a mother, modeling and maintaining grit is central to my parenting style. We can raise talented, very smart children, but without resilience, they won’t create and maintain satisfying, successful careers and lives.
Perhaps you’ve found your own passion and you can relate. “I love writing/painting/coding/etc. but I often fail to complete a project. How can I develop grit?”
Angela Duckworth, a noted psychologist, author and recipient of the MacArthur Genius award for her work on grit, identified 5 research-based ways to increase your grit level:*
*Source: http://theweek.com/articles/624204/5-researchbacked-ways-increase-grit
My mother arrived in America in the late 1960s from a small town in rural South Korea. She knew a little English from school, but you can imagine going from the countryside in South Korea to a small apartment building in North Carolina is not exactly a smooth transition.
My sister, brother and I were born in quick succession following her immigration. We quickly grasped the many, many nuances of the English language, especially slang. Mom tried to understand it. But the words and gestures of profanity eluded her.
One day, my siblings and I were doing something that caused her displeasure: eating with our mouths full? Fighting with each other? Getting Bs? I don’t recall. But I do remember her suddenly raising her fist in an incomplete “f*** you” gesture (no middle finger) and yelling, “Fist up!” This created peals of laughter from us and, in her frustration, she gave chase. With a wooden spoon.
The chase was thrilling. Mom and that spoon could sting. But the sight of her in that apron, her face red with anger…it was too much.
As we ran around the house – us kids laughing at the sight of our indignant mother and the epic fail of her attempt to be obscene -she broke into laughter too. Soon, all four of us were in a puddle of giggle tears.
We carried on that day in a lighter state. Life is good. Grades are grades. People are people. Poor is poor. As long as we have each other, we can laugh.
e·qua·nim·i·ty
ˌekwəˈnimədē/
noun
As I study “The Greats” of yoga and meditation, I run across this word a lot. It’s central to the philosophy of yoga. Deep breaths. Space. Equanimity.
For me, it’s connected to the Tao, the Middle Way. No extremes. Don’t over react to either end of the spectrum. This way, you can be happy no matter what.
Beware. Once you decide to be more equanamous, you will be challenged left and right. Just remember, nothing is that serious. Take a deep breath. Allow s-p-a-c-e between your reaction and whatever it is that is happening.
Stay composed.
Kismet 