Still Waiting for You Stroke of Insight?

Shortly after sunset yesterday, I was walking back home from visiting my parents. It is a half-hour walk that involves traversing a vast plain grassland and a steep hike as I near my humble abode that is situated atop a hill.

Needless to say, this walk presents much-needed alone time that I gladly often use to
Just as Enya sang, it is on my way home that I remember all the good things... Oops, I digress.

You see, living alone as I do, I have all the freedom to do whatever I please. Even worse, I have the freedom to NOT do that which I ought. Other than the logical and inevitable consequences or my actions or lack of them, I rarely have anyone to first consult while making most decisions that affect my life.

That said, I was thinking about abandoning something that I had initially purposed to do. There'd really be no much harm in doing so, but I'd feel bad about not working towards a certain goal, for no good reason.
Eventually, I decided to not abandon this project, and I am glad to report that I embarked on the work this morning and have every intention of sticking to it till completion.

In the following TED Talk, Jill Bolte Taylor had a life-threatening misfortune out of which she learnt much and became a totally different and dedicated individual. This was her stroke of insight.




While exploring the right kind of bad, we referenced Jill Bolte Taylor's TED Talk and underscored the essence of what's uncalled for in life. The following words by William James were a pivotal part of that post in February 2011.

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

Further to the near-tragic incidence that heralded Jill's full engagement as an active voice for brain recovery, we still fail to accept what has happened and thereby do the needful in effecting change and realizing progress. The following song by the Soul Savers calls for a revival, and it inspired this post about cleaning our hands with dirty water. Check it out!



All in all, there is no need to wait for a life changing moment that will catapult us into making the necessary changes in our lives or living as we ought.
We need to appreciate that which we already have, start small, start now and persist and endure even as we dream BIG and work towards living our dreams.

Cheers to a thrilling Thursday!

Determination = Strong WILL + Stronger WON'T

On Tuesday this week, SavvyKenya [one of my favorite bloggers], shared some 17 Tips to boost one's productivity. Reading through the tips, I found the following tip quite interesting:

15. Keep a “Stop Doing List”.

Most of these lists usually contain things that one has to start doing, so I take notice the few times I come across something that one has to stop doing.
The aforementioned tip reminds me of Jim Collins's article about Resolutions. In this article, Jim Collins asserts that we no longer live disciplined lives, ours have instead become busy lives.
In such a situation, there is no time to pause and ask if whatever we are doing is indeed the right thing.

He therefore proposes that one come up with a stop doing list and make this the cornerstone of his/her New Year resolutions, be it for company, family or self.

For one to be able to stop doing something however, self control and restraint are paramount.
It all boils down to delaying gratification, with a view of doing the right thing, and thereby cultivating one's moral intelligence. We highlighted the same in an earlier post.



This is what Joachim de Posada was talking about in his famous 'Don't Eat the Marshmallow Yet' TED Talk above.

All in all, determination to me is more of a stronger WON'T than a strong WILL. It is harder to stop doing something one is already accustomed to than to embark on new things.
As I get ready to do a searching and fearless inventory of my life as I do every end month, I'll be keen to set aside those things I need to stop doing. I already have a list as we speak, only that a discussion of my personal life is beyond the scope of this blog and I cannot therefore share my list ;)
What about you? Anything you need to stop doing from now on?

Refusing to Stop Believing

Willpower

Back in the day, I strongly believed that determination was inspired by, and predicated on a strong will.

Willpower, as my High School deputy School Captain often said, was what "enables a bird to fly even with a broken wing. Willpower is what makes an athlete take a rebound shot after failing on the first attempt."

Saying NO

With time however, I have come to realize that determination also depends, sometimes to a larger extent, on an even stronger won't.
This is where the self-discipline component of willpower kicks in.

The ability to unrelentingly say NO to temptations, failure, discouragement, rejection and innumerable other negative reinforcements is an enduring hallmark of a strong character.

Value Systems

Ou actions are mostly informed by our belief and value systems. We often do what we believe is the right thing.

In this regard, we should never stop believing... so long as what we believe is indeed what is right and worthwhile.

Finally, we take time to wind up this post with words from Journey's wildly popular hit song: 'Don't Stop Believing'.

Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling

Watch the video below:

http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/sy-959746544/journey_dont_stop_believin_official_music_video.swf