“Your garden is beautiful,” I told her. “People tell me that,” she replied. “But I think they’re just being nice. When I look at it, I see areas that need more mulch and it’s definitely overdue for a weeding.”
Her front yard was a riot of colour from all the flowers in bloom. The peonies alone were spectacular!
This woman was focusing on a few flaws and missed the colourful display everyone else saw.
I realized that most of us, myself included, do the same with our lives. It is difficult for us to accept a compliment because we are always thinking of our less than perfect aspects. We try desperately to hide the weeds in our lives. “Don’t look too closely,” we think.
Another friend and I had recently had a discussion about the need to celebrate our accomplishments rather than focus on what didn’t go according to plan.
In essence, we tend to neglect the flowers and tend to the weeds. There is something very wrong with this picture.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to let our weeds grow strong and tall. They need to be kept under control, just not at the expense of enjoying life’s fragrant blooms.
I’ve had a productive couple of days and choose to celebrate by spending time with a cold drink and a good book. What are you doing to cultivate the garden of your life?
Tag: accomplishments
Celebrate
In a few short days, 2017 will come to a close. Before you start making plans for next year, there is something important you should do.
Give yourself the gift of reviewing what you accomplished this year.
Most of us look ahead at the next hurdle to get over, rather than looking back at how far we have come.
The baby steps that seemed insignificant at the time add up to a huge leap over the course of time.
Too often I fail to appreciate the accomplishments. It’s important to celebrate all my little victories instead of focusing on what didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped.
Even navigating through a difficult situation is something to be proud of.
Did you embark on a program to improve your health? Make a move toward healing a broken relationship? Did you learn something new? Work on restoring balance to your life? Congratulations! The first step is always the hardest and you took it. If your plans didn’t turn out as you hoped they would remember you made the effort once and can do it again.
Be proud of what you have accomplished. Pat yourself on the back for the effort put forth.
Celebrate the milestones, both small and large and let them propel you forward. Know that past experiences are stepping stones to a bigger and brighter future.
We are all works in progress, so please join me in celebrating the progress made this year.
“Wherever you get to is better than where you started. To stay on the road is a massive achievement.” Anthony Joshua
Good Days vs. Bad Days
A few groans were heard as the instructor introduced a difficult new exercise. She responded with, “If you want to have more good days than bad days, you need to do things that challenge you.”
She went on to tell us that improving our core strength would promote better balance which would, in turn, help to prevent injury from falls. It would also keep us healthier and that alone would make the difference between good and bad days.
My mind took in the physical benefits before it quickly moved on to other aspects of my life where this declaration is also true. The thought was simple but also quite profound. When I do things that challenge me, I’ll have more good days than bad.
I need to remember this when I’m tempted to take the easy route rather than stretch myself to see what I can achieve. By thinking I can’t do something just because I’ve never done it before, I am actually ensuring more bad days than good. Instead of having the thrill of new accomplishments, my life will become boring and routine.
My goal is to create the best life possible. In order to do so, I will need to be open to new possibilities and keep challenging myself. My life will become more fulfilled and I can then look forward to having many more good days than bad ones.
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Joshua J. Marine
“We don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we face challenges.” unknown