Do you remember a time when you felt “bulletproof”?
Superman was impervious, and Wonder Woman had those awesome bracelets, but the average person (or superhero) needs to find a realistic way to avoid those small but potentially deadly projectiles. The first – and best – course of action is obviously to just avoid getting shot at in the first place. Barring that option, however, the next best thing to do is to duck, dodge, or otherwise evade the bullets that life will inevitably throw at you.
— Aaron Potts
Sometimes it’s really difficult to summon up the gumption to forge ahead with goals which, in morning’s light seemed achievable, but which now, after a frustrating day of stumbling effort, suddenly seem impossible to achieve. That’s when I have to dig deep… and, in the words of Corey Adler Leidersdorff, “Go back to the time when everything was possible… remember when you were bulletproof, when the world was full of promise.”
Surprisingly, I do remember feeling bulletproof – surely that sense of invincibility was an illusion. Yet it carried me ’round sharp corners and through tight spaces. Call it chutzpah or call it naiveté – whatever it was, it pulled me through before I had a chance to get discouraged.
Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy and your joy shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
— Helen Keller
Not so this day. This day started in a burst of arrogance and high spirits – Continue reading » Dodging Bullets

When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of “shoulds,” free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn’t right, we will have peaceful hearts.
— Anonymous
I have reached the conclusion that part of the reason that we get discouraged is that we believe that we’re supposed to be different than we are. One of my resolutions for Lent is that I will listen to audio books by one of the Christian writers that I like for 15 minutes each day. This usually works out pretty well because I walk the dog for 30-40 minutes each day and I can easily choose to listen to something for 15 minutes – IF I PICK Continue reading » Deciding What Is “Enough”

This post is part of the Everything Home Blog Carnival.
Ready to throw in the towel? Wait.
Recently I bragged that I was DIYn’ (Do-It-Yourself) and feeling good about it. Well… that was then – when I was on a nice, happy high. Now I’m at a new low…
You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes, make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success – on the far side of failure.
— Thomas John Watson, Sr.
Yeah, that would be me… making all the mistakes I can find as I try to fix a small but significant problem here at my writing desk. You see, I broke my keyboard drawer and for a couple of weeks I’ve been working (unsuccessfully) at replacing it.
On the Far Side of Failure
First there was the crazy-making search for a new keyboard drawer that would fit in the space available. I’m two iterations deep in that… I’ve already Continue reading » On the Far Side of Failure – DIY Revisited

Answer: a bite at a time
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
— Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes we think too much. Admittedly we often hear stories that make us wonder if some people ever think, but our predisposition to plan leaves us walking a fine line between thinking, planning and worrying.
In his book, Every Day Deserves a Chance, Max Lucado explains the secret to success in any long-term endeavor.
You last the long race by running short ones. Don’t swim 2.4 miles; just swim to the buoy. Rather than bike 112 miles, ride 10, take a break, and bike 10 more. Never tackle more than the challenge ahead. [emphasis mine]
When we face challenges, we often talk ourselves out of even trying because we project into the future. We don’t take it buoy-by-buoy or block-by-block or even day-by-day. We look at the expanse of time in front of us and think, Continue reading » How Do You Eat An Elephant?

When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of “shoulds,” free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn’t right, we will have peaceful hearts.
— Anonymous
I have reached the conclusion that part of the reason that we get discouraged is that we believe that we’re supposed to be different than we are. One of my resolutions for Lent is that I will listen to audio books by one of the Christian writers that I like for 15 minutes each day. This usually works out pretty well because I walk the dog for 30-40 minutes each day and I can easily choose to listen to something for 15 minutes – IF I PICK Continue reading » Deciding What Is “Enough”

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