Coffee With Dad

Years ago I read a book that really stuck with me.  The premise of the book is everything that happens to you is your fault. Now, that may sound kind of harsh. However when you dig deeper into that you realize that understanding what that really means is a tremendous positive toward moving you forward on your journey toward being your true self.

Gratitude can be one of THE most important habits that you can develop. And if you focus not on the outcome of the gratitude habit but at the process, wonderful things happen. Being grateful for what you have now is the best way to live in the moment. But enjoying the process of gratitude takes it from a noun to a verb and this truly sets you life in motion.

All that we have is a gift. And when we consider the quote from runner Steve Prefontaine, “to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice your gift.”  So what is the gift? Today we explore what this means and how it should change our attitude about the simple things we receive each day, including giving our best at work.

We’ve all made them. New Year’s resolutions. And chances are we’ve probably not followed through on some of them. And the reasons why can be varied. But nearly all of them have one thing in common - it’s not having a clear idea of who we want to be. In today’s podcast we talk about some things to be aware of that will help us become who we want to be. And who knows? We actually keep those resolutions and become the person we want to be!

How often have you heard the saying, don’t sweat the small stuff? Do you do that, or do you go after the small stuff? The idea with that is you don’t get stressed out about the little things that happen to you in life. Then there are the little things you do in life that are small things. I would like to invite you today to consider the thought that – you should sweat the small stuff. I will explain why in this episode.  

What forms our opinion of ourselves? This is a pretty tough question and one we don’t often take the time to consider. It starts with things in-grained deep inside us, the things we tell ourselves and have told ourselves during the course of  our lives. And it shows itself to our friends in how we handle those weaknesses inside us, sometimes with self-deprecating humor which can end up doing more damage than good. So what do we do? We need to realize that we all have the ability to grow- at any time, all the time. Avoid the fixed mindset and embrace the ability we all have to change our lives one good decision at a time.

Why does it seem that we typically place a higher value on other’s ideas, thoughts and feedback rather than our own? Have you ever had a circumstance where the slight critical opinion from others tends to ruin your day? Why can’t we stand up to derogatory comments from others without having it ruin our day? There are ways that you can. It begins with a look at yourself and understanding that there are things about ourselves that we need to value. It’s a fine line between a healthy self-image and being arrogant but you can walk that line with a few strategies that we talk about today.

Training is what we do to attain the goal that we set in front of us. It requires effort and perseverance, the two main attributes of training. When you think about it, everything you do in life is training for something, at school, at work and in our relationship. What I hope you take away from this episode is that the most important point to training, may not be what you think it is. Thanks for tuning in!

Ever wonder why two people can see the same thing or have the same experience and yet it affects them so differently? It all has to do with perspective. When we realize that our perspective on life events is not the same as our sibling, friend, neighbor or spouse we are well on the way to navigating some of the puzzling and frustrating episodes of life. And there’s one important key to doing this well - we talk about that today.

What are the things that move you forward and make you more productive?  It is often small changes, compounded over time that make a huge difference. Perhaps at the top of the list is how you spend your time. Today I’ll tell you about a couple of small things that I have removed from my life that has provided huge gains in other areas that help me move forward.