Now and Then
If you compare your situation now to a few years ago, is there nothing new? Can you see that you are better off financially, with employment, or in your relationships?
Will you say your progress has been minimal or substantial? Has anything changed to account for that answer? Did you try to make changes in your ability to have better relationships, to improve your earning potential, or improve your ability to manage your personal finances?
You should stop to consider these questions. In order to understand your situation and put yourself in a position to make positive changes, you need to reflect and write down your observations and considerations for ways to make improvements.
Strong or Weak?
As I learned to garden, I observed whether a plant was strong or weak. If it looked weak, I could assume it needed water and food. The next day it looked stronger.
Your mind is like a garden. If you feel or think poorly, then, you need more food for thought. Feed your mind and you will be richly rewarded with more confidence, more understanding, and be able to see more opportunities to enrich your life.
Your willingness to reflect and observe what needs to change can be a motivator for making positive changes in your habits and actions. It takes conscious discipline to develop good habits which can lead to positive changes in your life.
That effort will make you stronger and willing to take the needed action to improve on your weaknesses.
Daily and Weekly
Any effort you make needs to be consistent to be effective. Getting excited about something to work on needs your focus to become reality.
We all have the capacity to learn new things and add to our skills by way of study and practice. It will take time and repetition to make new habits and develop new skills. Again, consistent effort and setting time aside for study and practice is at the core of making positive things happen in your life. This is a growing process.
We are not born with all the skills we need to succeed. There is a lot to learn. The timetable for learning depends on you. The sooner you start learning the skills you need, the longer you will be able to enjoy the accumulated benefits.
Look Ahead to Not Fall Behind
We can get distracted from learning when things seem to be going well and we get tired of not having some fun. Taking breaks is important and that time gives our minds a chance to rest and contemplate what we have read versus what we have observed. The key is to not rest too long.
I must admit that while making plans daily is a good practice, there will be interruptions to your plans that will need your attention, your help, and you must value who else is involved.
Deadlines made by others can cause stress. However, when deadlines made by you cause you stress and stress on your loved ones, you should reconsider the value of that deadline.
You need long-range goals to keep you looking ahead and considering the steps and changes that need to be made. Then, as you make your daily and weekly plans, you can include those revelations for books to read, classes to take, blogs to read, and speakers to listen to.
Ignore or Explore
You may have heard or read something similar to what I am saying. The question is, did you ignore or explore what they were talking about?
The facts are what the facts are. There is nothing new. The problem is that there are a lot of facts and most of us are acquainted with or exposed to very few of them in our regular activities. That is why an effort to learn is very important.
We have libraries for gaining knowledge and THE FACTS that are available to all who seek them out. Thanks to Andrew Carnegie, who saw the need for public libraries, they are available in most every town in America. Have you taken advantage of the available facts at the library? Do you not care to learn what you need to make your personal life, your relationship with others, your working career more satisfying?
It is time to explore, NOT ignore!
Report Your News
In a year from now, how do you want to report to yourself, your family, the world on what you have done to add to your knowledge, your understanding of the world around you?
Will your report on how many books you read show a variety of subjects related to all aspects of your life?
Will your report on skills learned to improve your job performance show what, why, and how you were able to impress your boss, get a raise, or find a better income opportunity?
Will your report show that you learned new methods to be a better steward with your income? Will it report on how you increased your savings and made new investments?
Or will your report show that you chose to ignore and NOT explore?
Your Fault or Mine?
You might decide that I have not made a good point in my argument. You might say this does not concern you because everything is going well for you. And, if that is the case, I wish you well and hope things keep going well for you.
If not, you may be saying that I should have told you this sooner so you would not have gone off course so much. Are you saying your mistakes, your lack of effort is MY fault?
Regardless of how your life has gone so far, you can make positive changes. The key point to note is that nothing will change until YOU change!
Conditions are the environment we live in. How we react to our environment will determine how successful we can be. And, by success I mean the satisfaction we experience with ourselves, our family, and our means of making a living.
Success does not always translate to wealth. However, finding work that satisfies us can lead to doing it well, which can lead to more pay!
Money management skills can be learned. Then, when you apply them, you can budget your way to financial freedom. No debt, no worries. Learning to save enough money to cover all your potential emergencies can take a lot of stress out of your future.
Nothing New to Report
Yes, I am only reporting things that are facts available to all who want to seek them out. They are not new but they are useful.
Will you ignore or explore?
Your future is in your hands. Will you put a book in them to help you learn about better prospects for your future? And be able to report something new?