1.  Try something new for the holidays.  My wife asked if I wanted to go to the Central Park Zoo over the holiday season.  At first I was hesitant, but then  I thought about it and seeing Polar Bears during the holidays sounds pretty good afterall.

Its that time of year.

2.  Smile.  Its a reoccuring theme in my posts, but smiling is infectious and puts people at ease.  It seems like a no-brainer this time of year, but with everything you have going on, it can easily be forgotten.

3. Cherish the Season.  You only have so many holiday seasons in your lifetime so don’t waste the ones you have remaining.  Cherish this season and don’t wait till next year to bury the grudge, buy an extra gift or spread some cheer.  You will not regret it.

4.  Have some treats.  How about some eggnog?   It so sweet and creamy and you only see it for few weeks each year.  You can add some booze, relax and milk a cup of it for hours if you want to.  There are so many rare, special treats during the season, make sure you enjoy at least a few.

5.  Enjoy friends and family (even if they drive you nuts!).   Its those crazy characters at holiday gatherings that make each celebration unique.  This quote seems appropriate.  “Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”

Hopefully these simple reminders will add to you Holiday Cheer.  Season’s Greetings. 

Sparkit,

Rob

The key is to remember that you made the best decision you could at the time, given what you knew.  You could not have expected yourself to make a better decision.  So, if you made the best decision that you could, then you cannot feel bad about it.  If the results are beyond your control, sometimes they are not going to come out favorably.  This applies to many aspects of life, and you are going to make bad choices, just do the best you can and don’t look back.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”  - Alexander Graham Bell

Sparkit,

Rob

If someone else was willing to do your work for you, then you would let them right?  Well, taking advice from someone is like that.  If they’ve already done the work or gone through the pain to learn a valuable bit of experience and they are willing to share it with you then take heed.

I learned a long time ago to take advice from others.  It saves time and energy and if the advice comes from a credible source then all the better.  It can be as simple as learning a new shortcut home or a faster way to mow the lawn.  The key is to be humble enough to accept it and smart enough to use it.

“To accept good advice is but to increase one’s own ability” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sparkit,

Rob

When I rented a room from a friend of mine years ago, he would often ask if I wanted to go out socializing and partying with him.  I consistently said No and with each denial he would become further impressed.  The fact of the matter is that I really did not want to go out.  I was much happier chilling on the couch and watching whatever caught my interest on television.  He thought it was impressive that I would self-actualize, to say, I would do EXACTLY what I really wanted to do.  He would explain how this friend, or that friend, had called and convinced him to meet them out and how he would have preferred to do other things, but consistently gave into their requests.

Today’s Mental Weapon: Self-Actualization

A lot of the talk about self-actualization is about reaching one’s potential.  I’m more interested in the areas concerned with achieving the ability to make decisions that are in line with what you really want.

Doing what you really want to do on a consistent basis is not always easy to pull off.  There are all sorts of things to prevent you from doing this like Societal Pressure, Family Pressure and Financial Pressure.  None of these are easy to ignore and I’m not suggesting that you do.  They are actually important factors when deciding what you REALLY want to do.  Sometimes I think, “Well, I really don’t want to take out the trash, but I really do want to make my wife happy.”  So in actuality, I DO want to take out the trash albeit for an indirect reason.  Figuring out your priorities is key to being able to do what YOU want and doing it without any guilt (or at least less guilt).  The other great thing about self-actualizing is that most people will respect you for doing what you want and for being honest.

“Its not always about doing what you want to do.   Its about doing things you don’t want to do because you’re doing them with the people you love”.  – Jon Favreau in The Break-up (paraphrased)

Sparkit,

Rob

Perspective is a quirky thing and I love how it’s tackled in Gulliver’s Travels.  From one perspective you are important and valued and from another you are insignificant and nonessential.  Having perspective and understanding where you stand relative to the big scheme of life (the world) and the little scheme of life (your world) can really help you on a day to day basis. 

The fifth Secret of Life:  Relativity

Human beings’ time on this planet is ridiculously insignificant compared to how long the dinosaurs were around, even more so when you look at how long the earth has been around and we don’t even count when comparing to the universe.  My point is that depending upon your context, everything is relative and you need to have the proper perspective on things.   Unfortunately for most of us, no matter what we do in our lives, no matter what we accomplish or how much we give to society, in the great context of the world, it really isn’t going to matter.  Now, in the context of your own world, day to day things can matter a lot and can be important to those around you.  The key is to understand the balance between your two worlds.  Sometimes the daily grind can get to me and that’s when I think of things in the context of the Big Scheme of the world and realize that most of it doesn’t matter.  It really can be comforting and help you balance out the daily issues in your life.  It really is all relative.

“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.” –Albert Einstein

 Sparkit,

Rob

 (Part 5 of 5 in a series)