Don't Leak

(A video version)

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Do you ever leak?  What a funny question.  By that, I mean do you ever leak enthusiasm?  Do you ever lose your enthusiasm, especially after a failure? 

I suppose we all do at one time or another. 

You see – sometimes we leak – we leak energy and ideas and the ability to see the possibilities of our future after a fall.  We can easily get into a mental funk and get down on ourselves, or feel we are a total flop.  That is when we need to stop the leaks and rebuild our energy and idea tank.

Mr. Churchill says it well:

Boy did this guy have a few problems. Check this out. 

-In ’32 he was defeated for state legislature

-In ’33 he failed in business

-In ’35 his sweetheart died

-In ’36 he had a nervous breakdown

-In ’38 he was defeated for Speaker

-In ’43 he was defeated for nomination to

  Congress

-In ’48 he lost re-nomination

-In ’49 he was rejected for land officer

-In ’54 he was defeated for US Senator

-In ’56 he was defeated for nomination for VP

-In ’58 he was again defeated for US Senator

And in 1860, the man who signed his name A. Lincoln was elected the 16^th President of the United States. 

I once met Paul Meyer, founder of Success Motivation Institute.  He told a group of us once that he had started over 130 companies in his lifetime.  Sixty-five of those had failed.  The man was unstoppable. He found a way to stop the leak of enthusiasm and self-confidence. He plugged the holes and kept going. 

The great question is this – What does it take to stay encouraged?

Here’s my formula:

~Analyze what went wrong and what you can do differently

~Read and listen to great thought gurus that you like and trust

~Spend some quality time in thinking with no distractions

~Hold forth two affirmations – I approve of myself and I believe in myself

One of the great quotes in my files is this:

So what if you leak.

Patch up, sit up, fill up – repeat, repeat, repeat!

And then do the thing you intended to do with fresh eyes.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Wholeness Meets Perfection

(Enjoy the video version 

of today's post if you wish) 

What do wholeness and perfection have to do with one another?  Probably not much. 

We pursue perfection in all its many colors and varieties, sizes and shapes.  We chase it, we plan for it, we scheme for it, and the beat goes on.

And do we find it?  Is perfection really attainable?  And once we achieve our visualized version of perfection are we then a whole and complete human being? 

Probably not for long.

Oops.  I fell.  The fall could have been a physical stumble or a moral one; it could have been an oversight or an outright lie.  What happens to “PERFECTION” then?

As human beings we need to consider this, and perhaps give ourselves some slack.  This quote helps me immensely.

“Wholeness does not mean perfection;

it means embracing brokenness

as an integral part of life.”

~Parker Palmer

In all my years of living, I may have put in ten minutes of perfection.  Yes, ten minutes.  Well, maybe eight hours if you count while I sleep, and that is on a good night. 

But the idea is this … we know we are broken people.  Perhaps it is what we do with our brokenness that is the determining factor.  Maybe it is the dawning of the age of “embracing our brokenness.” 

Perhaps we are reaching a point in our thinking when we say “I have not been perfect and I will never be perfect, yet I still accept myself.”  “I may never get it ‘right’ but I like how I try and try and try again.  As long as I have a will to try, I think I can embrace every circumstance in my life, and that means my broken side as well.”

This is what is on my mind today.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

"I AM" You Say

Whatever it is that you say you are, it is so.  This is an age-old axiom that still rings true today. 

The power words “I AM” are not much as a stand-alone pairing, for it is what follows that matters.

I AM – strong

I AM – a writer

I AM – confident in my skill set

I AM – losing weight

I AM – exercising faithfully

I AM – following my plan for my life

What are you?

Who are you?

Some people go around with the mantra …

Oh I could never do …

Oh I can’t forgive …

Oh I would be so embarrassed if I …

Oh what if they laugh at me

Oh its already been done a thousand times before

~The good news is this – even if it has already been done, it has never been done by you.

~So what if they laugh.  Do it anyway.

~Embarrassment?  You probably won’t die from it.  Go ahead.  It will give you a good laugh after you accomplish whatever it is you wanted to do or become in the first place.

~Forgiveness is one of the sweetest pills to swallow, after the fact.  You would be amazed at how it improves life.

~Is fear keeping you from trying the “nevers” in your life?  Join the club and do it anyway.

You are as capable as the people doing whatever it is you want to do.  It just boils down to belief. 

What do you believe about yourself?

What are your action “I AM” statements?

Do them!

Become them!

Perhaps then you can say with confidence – I DID!

“I took a deep breath 

and listened to the old bray 

of my heart; I am, I am, I am.”

—Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time