RAK

Random Acts of Kindess

Wanna change the world?  Stop thinking about yourself for a moment and do something nice for someone today!  ) Whether it’s a kind word to someone, holding the door for someone, letting someone merge into the traffic, buying someone a cup of coffee….whatever it is, JUST DO SOMETHING and DO IT ON PURPOSE!!!

Why?  Well, first of all, it’s just nice and nice people are cool.  Besides that, doing something for someone and not expecting anything in return makes you feel good inside and blesses the person on the receiving end.  It’s a WIN-WIN! Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all put our pride aside and reached out to help someone?  We all face the same problems in life and we all could use a friendly gesture sometimes.  Do your part and you’ll see that one of these days, someone is going to do something nice for you and you’ll totally appreciate it!

Live Life on Purpose!

The best way to make friends…

…is to be one.  How do you want to be treated by potential friends?  When you answer that, do that for others.  If you want to be respected, be respectful.  If you want someone to keep your secrets, keep theirs.  Open your ears and not your mouth. 

I think there are a few stages of friendship: Acquaintances, Situation Friends, Plastic Friends and Real Friends.

Acquaintances are, of course, the people you see on occassion.  You make chit chat when you see each other, but it never really develops into anything new.

Situation friends are the one you see at work, church or other routine type settings.  Those friends are ones you might have a great time with, maybe even share some of your personal issues with, but you never really hang out outside of the fixed environment. 

Plastic friends are the ones that are only your friends when life is good, but they turn on you when things go bad.  They may like you and shmooze you for what they can get from you, like social status for example.

Then, there’s the real deal.  Your Real friends are there for you and you for them no matter what.  I’ve been blessed with some real keepers.  They’re the kind that even though we haven gotten a chance to keep in touch for a few months, when we talk or meet up, it’s like there was no lapse in time.  They are encouraging and inspirational.  They laugh with you when you’re being silly..and sometimes laugh AT you, but you don’t care because you know their just messin’ with you.

I encourage you to BE a good friend and you’ll find you’re never alone in life.

Organizing From the Inside Out (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series, the focus was on having a good attitude so you could set yourself up for success, not failure.  In this article, SELF-CONTROL is going to be our focus. 

 

What does it mean to have self-control?  Well, it simply means that you are willing to postpone instant gratification.  You’re probably wondering why anyone would want to do that!  We live in a society where we can use credit cards or take out a loan to get what we want right away, no need to wait until we have the cash in hand.  We get upset if we have to wait in line too long at a fast-food joint.  We want things done and we want them done now. 

 

When trying to get organized, this can present a real problem.  You may find yourself looking at the “project” and wishing you had a magic wand to wave so it could just be done.  Well, this is because you are focusing on the means rather than the end.  That means you are, for example, focusing on having to go through your piles of clutter one item at a time rather than how awesome the space is going to look when you’re done.  Have you ever stood around impatiently waiting for that pot of water to boil?  It seems like it takes forever!  But, if you busy yourself with preparing other parts of the meal, then before you know it, the water is boiling and you’re ready to cook.   This idea can be used in probably every area of your life. 

 

The main key to improving your self-control is seeing the big picture. Make a commitment to the big picture and then break it down into smaller parts that you can easily achieve.  Put it in writing, too, so you can see where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, just like a roadmap.  You wouldn’t set out for a trip across the country without knowing how to get there!  Also, imagine what it’s going to be like when your goal is reached!  That will help you stay motivated to keep pressing on. 

 

 Many of us already have great self-control in many areas of our lives.  We show up to work on time, pay bills on time, we keep our houses relatively clean, we take care of our families, we exercise regularly—the list could go on and on.  We all have the capacity  to do what we know we have to do, so we just have to tap into that and apply it to every area of our lives.

 

Practice! Practice! Practice! 

Change YOUR Attitude! (Part 1)

A positive attitude can do wonders for the disorganization in your life.  Without one, you will not be able to set your goals, let alone achieve them.  Negativity and a “failure” mentality set the groundwork for a disorganized and unhappy life.  But, how does one go about making such a change in attitude?  Become victorious rather than victimized.

 The reality of life is that you are responsible for YOU.  You get to make choices that affect how you feel about yourself, your family, friends, job, future-everything.  If you don’t like your life the way it is, do something to change it.  It’s ok to do that.  Your life is yours to do with what you want. 

 First, start appreciating yourself.  Growing up, we are all given labels, some nice like smart, funny or good looking, some more negative and unkind.  The negative ones always seem to be the ones people hold on to.  Well, the truth is, we are not what we’ve been labeled.  We are what we think we are and we can be who we want to be.  Nobody gets to choose that for us.  So, every day, look in the mirror and tell yourself aloud all the positive things you can about yourself.  There are more than you think.  You’re smart, you’re a hard worker, you’re a good spouse and/or parent, whatever you want.  They aren’t lies.  They’ve just been overshadowed by a negative self image, one that you are ready to get rid of.  The more you hear it, the more you’ll believe it.

 Now, start appreciating things around you.  When you are feeling bad about yourself, it’s hard too look around and appreciate the good things in life.  You feel victimized by the world and maybe wonder why everyone else seems to have it so good except you.  The truth is, it’s all in how you see life.  You’ve got a lot to be thankful for.  If you have trouble thinking of things to appreciate and be thankful for, start with the comfy bed you rolled out of this morning, or the warm shower you took, the car that gets you from point A to Point B, the clothes you’re wearing.  There’s just so much people take for granted, but if you take time to appreciate what you have, your outlook will change and you’ll soon notice that you have more and more and that you are a “have” not a “have not”.

 Commit a random act of kindness at least once a week.  Pay for someone’s cup of coffee, or let someone cut in front of you in traffic.  Hold the door for someone.  Do anything, just do it on purpose.  Doing something nice for someone else takes the focus off yourself and, honestly, makes you feel good. 

 Probably everyone has heard that saying “You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else.”  As cliché as that is, it is true.  Having a positive self image is key to getting everything else in your life to fall in place.