Take Time Slow Down Be Positive. Not always easy but read this...

In our busy lives we are working, balancing a family, friends, and usually a long list of other things. Many times we forget to take care of one very important person. YOU! I am just as guilty of this as everyone else. Why does it seem that when we look at another person their problems seem to have easy answers but our own problems have extreme complexity. I have a theory on this. Looking from the outside in we can approach someones problem with a cool head. Analyze the situation and give real and simple answers. Now the other person may not take the suggestions or just say "Its not that simple"

In a way they are right, and in a way they are wrong. They are right because chances are you looking in from the outside have over looked a few things. They are wrong because they often are looking for excuses why things wont work, and while the solution may not be perfect its a start, and you have to start somewhere.

I have an idea that may make problems a little more easy to deal with. What if we try to look at our problem from the outside. Apply your own personal problem to someone else. Say to yourself. "If John or Mary had this problem how would I help them? What kind of advice would I give?" For this to work you really have to work hard at stepping out of your mind and separating the problem like it was not your own. The hard part is after you come up with a plan of action you have to follow it.

No More Excuses.
When things are down and nothing is going right it is easier to make excuses rather than make solutions. I have done this so many times. You know the phrases. "This will never work!" Im wasting my time!" Or of course "Whats the point?" There are many more similar phrases but you get the point. All of these phrases are negative. You have to take the positive side of things. I am not saying be an idiot like my house burned down YAY! Just take something positive away from a negative situation. You can usually learn something when you make a mistake. Learning something is always positive. Even if you make the same mistake twice , maybe you made the mistake a second time under different circumstances. again another learning experience.

GO SLOW.
This one I really am bad at but I am trying to get better. I am always so busy that I am rushing all day and night. My wife says even when Im sleeping I seem like Im in a rush moving around all crazy. When you go slow and just take your time things work out so much better. The other day at work we were ahead of schedule for the days jobs. It was such a great feeling that we were a head on time not behind. Running behind usually is my fault. It stems from a lack of planning. The lack of planning comes from rushing. Trying to quote a job find parts estimate labor time in a matter of minutes. I have got really good at this over the years all except the time factor. Labor will quote 2 hours. Why do I say the job will take two hours. I should say 4 hours to allow for part delivery snags in the job etc. I checked out why I do this and when I take the time to really analyze each job we get much better results and then we stay ahead of schedule. FYI for those of you that dont know I own an auto repair shop. I am working hard now to really slow down my thinking and plan better. Just being on time makes me stress. Being behind makes me really really stress. On the opposite side being ahead of schedule makes me feel almost high, wonderful. When I go slower I can plan better and really take the time to get the whole picture. I think that applies to many parts of life. Take in the whole picture and the answers will be there for you.

Well I hope this post helps some of you to slow down. Also remember you are important. There is only one of you. Give yourself the respect you deserve. Take care of your self. When you need a break, give your self one. After all YOU DESERVE IT.