A New Approach in 2010: Adapt and Thrive

It’s been a tumultuous couple of months since my “perm” job ended. I’d been suffering lately from that malady, so common to the financially displaced that I am “just not making progress.” I took a little time yesterday and this morning to take stock of where I’m making some progress, and it was worth doing.

Question to readers: “When was the last time you took a few moments to identify the areas where you’ve been making progress? What did you discover?” Comment on your discoveries.

Spending: I’ve reduced my spending in pretty much all areas, including food and fuel. I haven’t been doing without, just being more efficient and avoiding wasteful habits. I’ve almost stopped using my credit cards, and use either debit or cash. I drive less, and when I do drive I try to accomplish a few things at once. I walk to the nearby gym, even in bad weather. Shopping closer to nature at the grocery store had been healthier and cheaper. It’s helping my wallet and my well-being.

Health: I slip here and there, but the trips to the gym are more regular. I still have work to do, but I have to remember that I wasn’t exercising at all a year ago. My weight has only dropped a little, but my general fitness is improved in areas like cardio, strength and flexibility. I track my visits to the gym. I’ve been cooking a lot more, and also healthier. My diet is more balanced now, with a big reduction in carb intake, a large increase in steamed vegetables and whole grains and the move away from anything with refined flour or sugars. I don’t keep beer in the house now. I’m on the right track.

Wealth: Could be better, but I am holding my own for now. My main clients have rolled back on their training needs, but I am still booking some work. I may need to ramp up the photography business to make up for it. I’m working on that. I’ve made some strides toward branding my businesses: teaching, writing and photography. My logo is done, and the next step is to get back with my web designer to re-launch Creativist.com. More to come on this, hopefully soon.

Attitude: I struggle from time to time, but the core of who I am is strong. I know what to do, and I know how to do it. When necessary, I’ve been strongly focused on the work and haven’t caved into the desire to take it easy. I don’t dwell on the negative. When I catch myself indulging in negative self-talk, I consciously and immediately turn it around, do something different, scan through some motivational material or meditate on what it bothering me. In conversation with strangers, I focus on the positive and don’t participate in negativity about the economy, government, etc… I take a proactive approach to managing my attitude every day.

TIWIKE: It feels like you don’t create the circumstances in your life. That’s both true and not. There are some things that are truly out of your control, for example a layoff, accidental injuries, etc… But how you react to circumstances is completely within your control. Your reaction is based on your attitude, which is also completely within your control. You can manage your attitude, and therefore; your life.

Rather than adding too much more of my own ideas around attitude, I decided to include a pretty long quote of the day. It’s a great one from Charles Swindoll, and I‘ve re-read it several times. I hope you enjoy it.

Question to readers: Do you have a favorite quote about attitude? Send it in as a comment!

Resources:  Here’s a small collection of quotes about Attitude. It isn’t where the Swindoll quote came from.
http://www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html

Quote of the day: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Charles R Swindoll