Better than you ever imagined.

“It is going to be better than you ever imagined.”

I do not remember when I first heard this statement. I know I was young. Life was not always a piece of cake with ice cream on the side. It is a thought that has always stayed with me and always resonated. It brought me strength. When things were tough when my mom was sick it made me think about days when life might be better. At times I thought, well it cannot get any worse, so it can only get better. Whether you believe in God, a higher power, or the universe, there is a design to our lives that we do not always have control over. When we let go and let the design take shape and happen as it is meant to, we open ourselves up to allow for “better than you ever imagined.”

When I have had trying work situations and it was hard to see to the end of a long tunnel, it brought me hope. Hope. We all have to have it. We can have it on the darkest days, and it can be with us when life is good. Hope leaves us in a place that brings our imagination to what could be, to what is possible. When you are in a tough relationship and it seems like maybe settling is an option, think about how taking a stand for yourself means that the result of your life will be better than you can ever imagine. It does not mean it will happen the next day or the next month, but standing strong for yourself can only result in amazing things.

It has in my life. Many times when I have thought why was I put in this situation? Why me? I have been so good, honest, and did the right thing, why do I get the shitty end of the deal? What I have learned is that sometimes it is not about the hand of cards you were dealt, the person that passed on in your life, the job you lost, the friend who treated you poorly. It is about how you handle that challenge, how you do or do not let it affect you. That is how you grow, and how we open ourselves up to the strength and lessons we learn. And, many times once we work through our hurt, pain, or sadness what we receive on the other end is better than we can ever imagine.

What do you think?

Make their day, make my day…

Posted by random olio

Have you ever thought about starting your day by thinking about how you might make someone else’s day? We go through our day going from meeting to meeting, or down a checklist of the many items we need to accomplish. Often we do not have time to think about getting lunch, let alone think about someone else and the full day we have ahead of us.

What would it look like, feel like, be like if you thought about how you might make another individual you encounter have a better day? What would you do? Instead of jumping right into your computer, emails, and meetings, might you ask a co-worker about their weekend? I often think that we get to work and start out on a hamster wheel, only to get out at 5, get into our car and drive home. Other days we might actually get out of our hamster wheel and truly focus and interact with others. On the days we get out of the hamster wheel, break routine, and engage and connect with those we see everyday we might just find that we see a glimmer of how we can be present for others.

I wonder if we started our day thinking of others, if the mood and focus would be different. We might rush less, breathe more, and appreciate our surroundings that much more. We could find that by thinking of others more, they think of us more. Like a boomerang effect of good will.

Are you with me?

Shift

Posted by random olio

I felt off last night. Do you ever have those days when things do not feel right, you feel out of sorts, but for the life of you, you cannot figure out why? Sometimes when I am in that space, I can get cranky, and other times I just feel quiet and introspective. As I was stretching after my run, I pondered if something had happened in my day that might have led me to feel this way. No dice. Nothing came to me clearly. How was I going to get out of my funk? I had gone for a run which usually helped. No luck.

As I continued to stretch the thought came to me, maybe your funk has to do with what you are not focusing on. Hmm. Interesting concept. I then remembered the different conversations I had, ones about specific internal work politics, which can sometimes irk me. I could review all that junk with you, but I will not bore you with the details. What was cool about this post-run/stretch was that when I shifted my thoughts to what I had not been focusing on, I realized I was not directing my thoughts to the right parts of my day.

When I enter that window where I can see my thought shifting the word that always comes to me is: gratitude. It is always that instant ah-ha moment that reminds me I have been mulling over the crappy stuff. If I were to reflect on my day I would say that I was grateful to catch up on a ton of work that I had not had the opportunity to sit and focus on for days. Sometimes it is the smallest of things that can start us down the path to move us from grump to a smile.

If only every day, we could have the clarity of thought to flip a coin and look at the other side. We can have that clarity, but do we do it? Now I cannot tell you that after all that I felt 100%. Instead I think I started the shift internally. Sometimes you have to see how to change course, call it a day, sleep well, and start fresh the next day.

Happy holiday weekend to you!

Bless You.

Posted by random olio

Not in the way you might think. You did not just sneeze. You gave entirely of yourself. You gave the gifts that you have to bestow on the world. You might be a rock star listener, problem solver, or delegator. Maybe you have a way of speaking your mind, with a poised bluntness. Whatever your gift, we each have our own unique way to share our impact with the world.

It is an idea that I have been thinking about for the past few weeks and months. That we are all put into situations where we can deliver our best selves with our unique gifts. There are times when we have a decision we have to make. We mull over our options, weigh the pros and cons, and in the end, if we ultimately focus on how we can best bless in each situation we are telling the universe that we are open and willing to use our strengths in ways we might not be able to imagine.

Yes, some might call that how we can best bless. It is not meant to sound religious, but as I ponder the word “bless” I struggle to find a better word. Call it what you like, but in the end if we are leading and living through our strengths, we enrich our life and those that we interact with on a daily basis. The blessing in the end is reciprocal.

You might be in a situation where you feel like the work you are doing stretches you but there are parts of your job that you would rather not have to deal with on a daily basis. If you change your thought and change the direction of your moments to ones that think in line with where you can best give of yourself, you reap gifts you cannot even imagine. You might end up connecting with a colleague and ending up with a life long friend. You might find your best work leads you to a different job, or that you are actually very happy right where you have been working, you just did not see it before.

Utilizing our gifts and strengths, and being open to share these gifts in ways where we can add value, and make our surroundings a better place is how we bless the world around us. It brings out the best in others and most importantly ourselves. Bring it. Bless in all you do.