Life and Hiking

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Susan L. Farrell

My husband and I do quite a bit of hiking. We enjoy it. On almost every hike of more than a few miles, however, I reach a point where I wonder, “What the heck was I thinking?!”

When the trail gets tough (or tougher) and I get hot, tired, and hungry, it can be difficult to remember why I am doing it. Every time, though, we get to the end of the trail and there is a phenomenal view or other reward. There is also the satisfaction of reaching the end, of finishing the goal.

Life is like a hike. Life, like a trail, can get rough. If we persevere, however, and continue on whether we feel like it or not, we will be rewarded. It will be worth it.

Stop, Think, Act

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Susan L. Farrell

“Ready, aim, fire” is a popular term. Similar terms include, “lights, camera, action;” “on your mark, get set, go;” and “ready, set, go.”

I would like to add another term to the mix. “Stop, think, act.” If we did this more, I think we would make better decisions more of the time.

I know that too often I react rather than act. When I stop for a minute, think about the situation and the results I want, and then act, my actions are generally better and move me closer to my goals.

Unless it is an emergency, we generally do have time to stop and think before we take action. And when we remember that saying something is also a form of action, taking a minute or even a few seconds can be beneficial.

Is this something that could help you?

Past, Present, Future

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Susan L. Farrell

“Learn from the past. Live in the present. Plan for the future.”

I like this. I think it sums up very nicely what we need to do. (I couldn’t remember where I had read it so I searched it. What I found indicated that it is a quote by Audrey Farrell, author. As far as I know, she is not a relative.)

If we do this, learn from the past, live in the present, and plan for the future, we should do very well in our lives.

The Forest and the Trees

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Susan L. Farrell

Have you heard the phrase, “Can’t see the forest for the trees?” What this means is that when we focus exclusively on the pieces, we can’t see the whole. This can apply to situations, people, and even ourselves.

Almost every situation is going to have positive and negative aspects. If we only focus on the negative, we won’t see the positive aspects of the situation. On the other hand, if we only focus on the positive or only focus on what we want to see, we will miss the aspects that need further work or development. We can only learn everything possible from a situation if we can see the whole as well as the pieces. We can only improve or change a situation if we see everything.

The same applies to people. Everyone has good and not-so-good aspects. If we only focus on one, we won’t see the person in his or her entirety. Too often, we see what we want to see or what we expect to see, rather than everything that is there. It is important that we see all of the person.

We also do this with ourselves. We focus on certain aspects of ourselves and don’t pay enough attention to who we are as a total person. Believe it or not, we are more than what our body shape is. We are more than the mistake we made yesterday. We are also more than the roles and relationships that we have.

I encourage you to look at the forest that is every situation and every person (including you) and not just a few individual trees.