The anger you feel might not be real.
The four “primary colors” of emotions are:
- Sad
- Mad
- Glad
- Afraid
Virtually all other feelings come from some combination of those.
Success is in the Present; Failure is in the Future
When you don’t think you can accomplish your goal, it’s because you’re looking too far down the road.
You’re thinking of all the things that could go wrong and of all the obstacles you must overcome, none of which exist if you can focus on the immediate.
When you’re overwhelmed and you’re afraid you won’t be able to achieve your goal, focus on what you can do right this minute.
Make it small enough that you’ll actually do it. [Read more…]
Check Your Body Language Regularly
If you’re not smiling, make an attempt to do so.
Negative moods are caused by “stuck thoughts.” When that happens, get up for a few minutes and change your environment. Spend some time walking or call a friend or just breathe deeply. Change your focus – even if it’s only for a short time.
You’ll notice that your mood lifts almost immediately.
[Read more…]
Stay in the Present
You are where you plant your feet.
When we get sad, we are focusing on the past. When we get frightened, we are focusing on the future.
To be happy, we must focus on the present; after all, it’s all we really have.
The Ceremony
From its dawn through the mid-twentieth century, 90 percent of all gloves sold in the United States were manufactured in Gloversville, New York; making it one of the most appropriately named cities on the continent.
Originally known as “Stump City” because of all the trees that had been cut down it was incorporated in 1890. Having spent three weeks there, I can tell you firsthand that the sidewalks have probably not been repaired since that date. In many places, taking a walk was akin to scaling miniature cement mountains, circumventing canyons, crevices, and summits that substituted for a walkway.
Yet, it surpassed Augusta, Maine’s sidewalks, which were non-existent.
Trying to navigate the roadway to the shopping center, a distance of about one half mile, was analogous to open field running in a war zone. One scouts oncoming traffic waiting for a break, upon a clear patch, dash hurriedly down the road to the next safe haven, pause again for traffic, and repeat the process. (If more communities had decent sidewalks, it sure would help solve our obesity problem. However, that’s another topic.)
In the previous 94 days, I traveled 18,594.6 miles (give or take), from Anchorage to Augusta, Rutland to Redding.
While on the road, I visited a 20-foot tall chocolate fountain in Alaska. I resisted the urge to climb in, but succumbed to sampling real honest-to-goodness Vermont-made maple syrup while in Burlington. If you have not this pleasure, imagine the taste of a warm sunrise lightly brushed with natural honey gliding over your tongue, evaporating into airy nothingness.