Daily Awareness

What story are you telling yourself and is it working for you?

If things aren't the way you want them to be it may not so much be the circumstances as much as your attitude about the situation that matters.

How often have you said, "If things would just change I would be happy." It could be the change of the job, the home, the city, the relationship, the dog, the whatever. The fact is, without an internal change it's very likely externals won't change. And even if they do change it would be difficult to notice due to a focus on what is wrong.

This blog post was prompted by a conversation in a forum I belong to. Someone posted about how unhappy they are, unfocused, how they can't stick with things for very long, didn't like their business, and on and on.

You get the idea. This person is just not happy.

A bittersweet Father's Day

Today is a day many people share time with family and more specifically, with their fathers. Called by many different names; dad, father, pops or daddy our father is often the man who has had the greatest impact in our life.

On this Father's Day I am filled with gratitude and overwhelm with memories I have of the man who left a permanent impression on my heart, mind and soul. Today is bittersweet in that this is the first Father's Day without my dad.

I am blessed and very fortunate to have had a father who was the best I could have asked for, wished for or wanted. God knew exactly what I needed in a father.

Was he perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But he was a good man with incredible values and standards of what a life should be.

If you could turn back the hands of time...

Would you do things differently if you could turn the clock back thirty years? How many of us would love the chance to make some changes in order to more fully honor who we are. Funny thing is, it's never too late.

Today while shopping at a sporting good store I met a young man at least 30 years my junior. He worked in the shoe department and was extremely helpful. 

My curiosity is such that I often inquire as to the length of one's employment, level of happiness with what are doing and what would they be doing if money were not an issue.

As it turns out, Bob (not his real name) had been with the company nearly a year. He was satisfied with his job but his passion was in art.

He proceeded to share how he had gone to school for art, but switched majors to criminal justice when he realized how competitive the field of art is - especially in the area he has the greatest interest.

Don't Let an Old Person Move Into Your Body!

Recently I had the opportunity to partake in several things I very much enjoy doing; time at the ocean, fine dining, reading, walking along the beach at sunrise and sunset, being completely playful and lots of great R&R.

I did this by taking a few days away from home. No computers, phones and anything business related were allowed on the trip. That was my main rule. The other rule, have a lot of fun enjoying each and every minute of each and every day.

Whenever I take time off I will grab 4 or 5 books to read. I normally start all of them, rarely completing any. This time, I decided to do things differently. I took only one book.

The day before I headed out to Bandon, Oregon the book "Don't Let an Old Person move into Your Body" arrived in my post box. After excitedly skimming through the pages of the newest book from Jim Donovan, I intuitively knew this would be the only book I would take with me. Why? Because I wanted to read it from front to back with no other books to vie for my attention.

What intrigued me most about what I was going to read were some of the stories of men and women in their 80's and 90's who refuse to let age stop them from living their dreams. Men and women who don't let the words, "I'm too old for that," to pass over their lips or enter their thought process.

Who do you stereotype?

Admit it, we all stereotype something. It could be a profession, a gender, or a culture. No matter how enlightened we believe ourselves to be, there are occasions we miss the mark.

According to one posting on Wikepedia "a stereotype is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. Generally speaking, stereotypes are not based on objective truth but rather subjective and sometimes unverifiable content-matter."

Unfortunately, many people stereotype others in a negative light rather than a positive one. One group that often gets a bad rap are auto mechanics. For as long as I can remember I've heard people say mechanics are rip offs, they will take advantage of you (especially if you are a woman), and tell you there are problems with your vehicle regardless if there are or not.

Sick of doctors? Find out what you CAN do!

If you've ever experienced watching yourself or a loved one go through the medical system, you know it can be a scary proposition. In today's "get 'em in and get 'em out" there is a lot that can go wrong.

Sadly, many people have not recognized the need to empower themselves when it comes to being their own advocate. In the case of many boomers we are finding it more and more necessary to advocate on behalf of one, or both, parents.

To think that a patient doesn't need an advocate is akin to the Ostrich with its head stuck in the sand. You may not notice there's a problem, but it's there nonetheless.

So what can be done?

Author Lorene Burkhart educates consumers from the patients perspective on how to make sure you get the best care possible.

In "Sick of Doctors? Then Do Something About It!" Ms. Burkhart gives you practical advice on how to handle the expected and the unexpected concerns in today's healthcare challenges.