It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will. – Anne of Green Gables

This book series is a favorite of Annie’s as you can imagine, so it’s not surprising when a quote from the series makes it way onto the chalkboard in the kitchen (as this did recently).

What I liked most about the quote was “nearly always”.

It’s easy to dismiss the advice to choose a better attitude in life when you can think of “that one time when that wouldn’t work”.

But that’s a huge mistake because nearly always it does.

Most of the time it works out better when we decide to enjoy it.

Most of the time we can find more joy if we look for it.

Most of the time we can smile more if we choose to.

Not all the time, but nearly always.

Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of having a worse day (month, year, life) because you can think of that time when positive thinking wouldn’t work. Instead, focus on all the times (nearly always) when it will make life better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win. – John Paul Jones

A simple reminder this morning. You can’t win without taking a chance.

Is there something you need to take a chance on?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/xmav-XsIVK4

Apologies ahead of time if this isn’t the cleanest version…beware of the possibility of curse words and a bit of inappropriateness.

Why you always in a mood?

First time I heard this I fell into the temptation to be a little self-righteous – Yeah! Why are those other people always in a mood?!?

Then after a few times and a little self-reflection, I realized that I might be the person that’s “in a mood” more frequently than I should be.

Maybe I should be more careful about my moods. Maybe I should be more thoughtful and aware of how my mood affects those around me.

Maybe (just maybe) I shouldn’t let my moods dictate what I say and do.

Or maybe I just overanalyzed a catchy pop song…who knows.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge. – William Shakespeare

This quote reminded me of the story of a Nazi concentration camp survivor who came face to face with her captor and he asked her forgiveness.

This story was an extreme act of mercy and forgiveness that required a maturity beyond the reach of many.

Each day we have a chance to offer similar mercy to those around us.

To our spouse.

To our children.

To our co-workers.

To our friends.

To the waitress at the restaurant.

We can forego our rights and privileges and show mercy when it isn’t required.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Mercy – compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. Lao Tzu

Jim Rohn talks about how you can’t change your destination (where you’re going to end up) overnight, but you can change your direction (setting you on a path towards a new destination).

And a change in direction is so much easier to contemplate than a complete overhaul.

Think about your goals for the year.

Think about the direction they are taking you.

Do you need to make any adjustments?

What are some small changes in direction that will get you heading in the right direction?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it. – George Halas

What does that look like for you today?

Where are you holding back?

Find something small to give your best to today.

Have the best interaction you can with your spouse.

Make the best choice you can for lunch or dinner (or both).

Be present and thoughtful about doing your best.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu

Reading this quote I imagined a meandering creek or river, lazily taking its time moving water from one place to another.

This week, work to hurry less.

Take a deep breath.

Relax your body.

Take the time to do it right the first time.

Make it a great day.

Jake

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them. – Franz Kafka

And sometimes they come disguised as difficulties or suffering.

There is real, hard work to be done.

Whether it be relational, physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual….it is the cracking of the nuts that we should be hard at work on.

Whatever you are looking for right now – patience, discipline, insight, wisdom, experience, love, laughter – there is work to be done to get there.

God gives the opportunities to move closer to Him and each other through growth and experience. It is our part to take the steps forward.

Lucky for us, once we begin to step forward, so does God (and His steps are a lot bigger).

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday’s email reminded me of David Goggins and this email from a few years ago…

Sometimes the solution is just being willing to come back day after day after day. As the saying goes, success is right around the corner. Well, that corner you are talking about may have a very long ass hallway that requires a lot of navigation.

Very few people want to talk about their truth. A lot of us are looking for that four-lane highway. That highway makes the journey of life so much easier. A lot of us dream big but once we see the work involved, we often choose a different route.

Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the lightbulb. When asked how did it feel to fail 1,000 times, he replied “I didn’t fail 1,000 times, the lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

You must have that same mindset to succeed in life. You must be willing to return to the scene of the crime. A lot of us need proof that something is going to work before we are willing to commit. Resilience, grit, courage, perseverance, guts, etc.- these words are often used to motivate the unmotivated. A lot of us wonder how to develop these traits. You develop them by being willing to fail 1,000 times until you figure it out! Make it a habit to get up quickly!

In spite of the invention of the lightbulb, many of us are still in the dark about how facing the things that make us the most uncomfortable create the most growth.

Challenge uncertainty!

David Goggins

This was a recent post from David Goggins on the FaceBox.

I’ve been following him the last couple of months and his perspective is interesting.

Growth comes through being uncomfortable and suffering.

So if you want the most growth, you have to be the most uncomfortable.

David has done this in the physical realm (achieving some unbelievable things), but I also believe that it works in the rest of our lives as well.

Growth comes through challenging ourselves.

Make it a point to get a little uncomfortable in your life.

Make some changes.

Spur some growth.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was spring snowstorm day here in Central IL. Luckily Maggie’s track coach still had them practice outside.

I feel grateful to her coach for pushing the team into doing something hard.

It would have been much easier for the coach to call off practice or do an easy practice inside.

Instead, he chose the more difficult option for his team, for their benefit.

If we wish to grow and become someone better, we have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

We live in a day and age where we have to choose this. Our ancestors didn’t get many comfortable choices, life was full of difficulties. In general, those difficulties produced people of true character.

Today we have the option to be comfortable most of the time. We have to go out of our way to create difficulties if we wish to become people with substance and character.

That’s just what I think you should do.

Find something difficult to do today and do it.

Throw out the junk food.

Cut up that credit card with the balance.

Run a mile (or 10).

Walk around the block.

Cancel your cable subscription.

Sell your TV.

Sign up for a half marathon.

Do something that makes you uncomfortable – before the sun sets today.

Make it a great day.

Jake