Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
10 May 2008
The Return
Tax time for most is a dreaded time of year. Scrounging up paperwork, records... figuring out the totals... did the one get carried... do I get a refund or do I owe. For me, I never like this time of year, not because of the fear of owing... (just the hassle of gathering all of the needed figures and records). Having a look back at a years worth of transactions can uncover a lot of truth and emotion. 2007 was a rough year overall and the transactions show it. Why I don't like this time of year is I can file away the figures but I cannot file away the emotions. I wish... I wish... I wish... someday,... maybe?
08 July 2007
Yes Or No?
When to Say "Yes" and When to Say "No"
By Michael Masterson
I make a lot of commitments that unnecessarily add stress to my life. Why I find it so difficult to say "no," I can't say. But it's something I'm teaching myself to do.
The first step is to figure out when to say "yes" and when to say "no." Here's what I've come up with...
1. Say "yes" - often but not always - to two people: your spouse and your business partner.
2. Say "no" - as often as you possibly can - to everyone who asks you for help. This would include:
your lazy colleague
your shiftless friend
your spoiled children/grandchildren
your most self-centered customers
anyone who isn't willing to give back
Here's something else you can do to lighten your load and maintain your forward momentum:
Write a list of 20 things - people, situations, responsibilities - that cause you stress.
Reduce that list to 10.
Reduce it again to three.
Now pick one of those three - and stop doing it.
If you are like me, the thing that is creating the most stress in your life right now is something you are doing to help out someone who doesn't deserve it. And if you're like me, you feel guilty about even thinking about stopping.
Do yourself a favor. Call him up right now and tell him very definitively that you are going to stop doing it at the end of this day/week/month/year. Offer a simple explanation. Don't feel the need to elaborate. If he objects, say "I'm sorry that this will be inconvenient for you. I am sure you will be fine in the end. But the decision has been made."
And stick to it.
Try it. You'll be amazed at how good it makes you feel. Do that and don't take on another responsibility for at least 24 hours.
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
Not too bad advice. I am on track with agreeing with his statement on saying yes often but not always to your wife, which is something I have always tried to do but sometimes it is harder to do than others and ends up in discord... something for another post, in my head.
On his line about making a list of the 20 things, then reducing it, then again... I just don't see how that works. There have got to be certain circumstances where that is not possible to 'reduce the stress', particularily if it involves family or friends. I know I have some things beening done around me that are causing me stress and I would love for them to be stopped and have even tried to put an end to them -to no such luck, the things are still going on and I am still being stressed about them (along with other things). Maybe he is talking about something different. Not saying it cannot be done, just not sure how it can work.
By Michael Masterson
I make a lot of commitments that unnecessarily add stress to my life. Why I find it so difficult to say "no," I can't say. But it's something I'm teaching myself to do.
The first step is to figure out when to say "yes" and when to say "no." Here's what I've come up with...
1. Say "yes" - often but not always - to two people: your spouse and your business partner.
2. Say "no" - as often as you possibly can - to everyone who asks you for help. This would include:
your lazy colleague
your shiftless friend
your spoiled children/grandchildren
your most self-centered customers
anyone who isn't willing to give back
Here's something else you can do to lighten your load and maintain your forward momentum:
Write a list of 20 things - people, situations, responsibilities - that cause you stress.
Reduce that list to 10.
Reduce it again to three.
Now pick one of those three - and stop doing it.
If you are like me, the thing that is creating the most stress in your life right now is something you are doing to help out someone who doesn't deserve it. And if you're like me, you feel guilty about even thinking about stopping.
Do yourself a favor. Call him up right now and tell him very definitively that you are going to stop doing it at the end of this day/week/month/year. Offer a simple explanation. Don't feel the need to elaborate. If he objects, say "I'm sorry that this will be inconvenient for you. I am sure you will be fine in the end. But the decision has been made."
And stick to it.
Try it. You'll be amazed at how good it makes you feel. Do that and don't take on another responsibility for at least 24 hours.
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
Not too bad advice. I am on track with agreeing with his statement on saying yes often but not always to your wife, which is something I have always tried to do but sometimes it is harder to do than others and ends up in discord... something for another post, in my head.
On his line about making a list of the 20 things, then reducing it, then again... I just don't see how that works. There have got to be certain circumstances where that is not possible to 'reduce the stress', particularily if it involves family or friends. I know I have some things beening done around me that are causing me stress and I would love for them to be stopped and have even tried to put an end to them -to no such luck, the things are still going on and I am still being stressed about them (along with other things). Maybe he is talking about something different. Not saying it cannot be done, just not sure how it can work.
30 June 2007
What Are You Working For?
A job is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Most people have only one problem in mind, and it's short term. It's the bills at the end of the month. Money now runs their lives. They have created a pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay bills. You say you are different than everyone else? Are you saying, "I'm not interested in money."? Then why are you working at a job for eight (or more!) hours a day? There is a denial of truth- if you weren't interested in money, then why are you working?
Most of the time life does not talk to you. It just sort of pushes you around. Each push is life saying, 'Wake up. There is something I want you to learn.'. If you learn life's lessons, you will do well. If not, life will just continue to push you around. People do two things. Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss, or their job, or their husband or wife or common law partner. They do not know it's life that's pushing. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. If you learn the lesson then you will grow into a wise, wealthy and happy person. If you don't you will spend your life blaming a job, low pay or your boss for your problems. You'll live life hoping for that big break that will solve all your money problems.
Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you. If you're that kind of person, you'll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for some event that never happens. Then, you die a boring, old person. You'll have lots of friends who really like you (facebook???) because you were such a nice hard-working person. You spent a life playing it safe, doing the right things. But the truth is, you let life push you into submission. You chose to play it safe.
What will you do?
Most of the time life does not talk to you. It just sort of pushes you around. Each push is life saying, 'Wake up. There is something I want you to learn.'. If you learn life's lessons, you will do well. If not, life will just continue to push you around. People do two things. Some just let life push them around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss, or their job, or their husband or wife or common law partner. They do not know it's life that's pushing. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people, it means they need and want to learn something. If you learn the lesson then you will grow into a wise, wealthy and happy person. If you don't you will spend your life blaming a job, low pay or your boss for your problems. You'll live life hoping for that big break that will solve all your money problems.
Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you. If you're that kind of person, you'll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for some event that never happens. Then, you die a boring, old person. You'll have lots of friends who really like you (facebook???) because you were such a nice hard-working person. You spent a life playing it safe, doing the right things. But the truth is, you let life push you into submission. You chose to play it safe.
What will you do?
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