Monthly Archives: June 2014

Everyone has choices. Your options may be different from mine, but the ability to choose remains the same. Excuses, comparisons and self-pity are options available to everyone. But not everyone chooses them. Don’t fault the one who responds positively. Why suggest that it is easier for them? Why criticize, blame or judge those who keep seeking the best of life? It takes great effort and sacrifice to continue to pursue what is good, healthy and meaningful. It is not easier for them. It is not luck, ability, personality circumstance or rose-colored fantasy. It is choice. You deceive yourself by diminishing their choices as though they were effortless, natural or easy.

You have options too. (Yes, you do) You simply may not like the options you have. Yours, just like mine, require sacrifice, effort, energy and risk. They will challenge you to change old habits, rethink perspectives, and consider new goals. But first, you must relinquish criticism and sarcasm while embracing humility. Positive choices force a victimized mindset to take responsibility for their own happiness. Unfortunately, many will disregard this truth no matter how eloquent the message or convincing the testimony. -PS©2014

Re-think your future in terms of ‘less’ not ‘more’. ‘More’ is what most people hope their future will hold. More stuff, more hours, more money, more status, more success and more connections.

Instead of asking, “What else can I add?” “What else can I have?” “What else can I do? “What else can I cram into this weekly agenda of mine?” Ask, “What can I eliminate?” “What can I give away, sell, or toss?” “What can I erase from my calendar? “How can I move through the days ahead without frantic, stress-filled, sleepless living?”

Remember, it’s the things you don’t have that require no organization or maintenance. It’s the commitments you gracefully refuse that require no stress, no fatigue and no resentment.

Choosing ‘less’, instead, means less clutter, less chaos, less fatigue, less worry, less stress, less commotion and less maintenance. ‘Less’holds the ‘more’ our weary lives long for but only when we’re willing to re-think our habits, release our grip and relinquish our fears from the familiar patterns and cultural trends we’ve grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, most will struggle more with this process of elimination than the enduring hamster wheel of ‘success’.