Detroit Automakers A Relic Of The Past
Celebrity Fires Consume the Media
To Battle Stations
Failure To Blow Election Stuns Democratic Party Faithful Mourn End To Losing Tradition
Looking Past Palin
The Earth’s Not Flat and It’s Not Warming
A Force For Good -- But Not At State
Palin Saboteurs Want to Kill Her Career Now
As GM Goes, So Goes The GOP
A Kinder Gentler DC
Quantum Of Nonsense
Obama's School Choice
And They're Off
They Shilled For Obama
The Tricky Obamas-Clintons Relationship
Leaving Home
From Victim To Victor In Black America
They Gave All, For . . . This?
'No' To Obama'S Experimental Government
The Same Old Change
New Books
Palin's Next Career Move
Leaders Duck And Hide While Wall Street Steals From Us
Can Obama Pull Off A Historic Presidential Double Play?
A Bridge We Need
Trusting Paulson
The Secret Of Happiness
Hope And Vision
'Keynsian Moment' Needed To Fight 'Great Recession'
A Lemon Of A Bailout
For Obama, A Game Of High-Stakes Fiscal Poker
No One Should Be Railin' Or Bailin' On Palin
Believing Your Own ... Um, Propaganda
Post-Election Potpourri
The Insane Rage Of The Same-Sex Marriage Mob
Sarah Palin Is Not The Future Of The GOP
Walking On Sunshine
Hillary Appointment: The Audacity Of Broken Promises
GOP Needs Night Of The Long Knives
Obama's Washington
The New World Financial Order
A Bomb Thrower Vs. Obama Bashers
Let'S Hope Gop Will Give Us SomeThing To Vote For Rather Than Against
Is Gay The New Black?
DiscriminaTion Still Lives
The Truth about Government
The Republican Party is a Grass-Roots Party
Welcome To The Wired White House
Note To Gop: Get Serious About Women Candidates
Revenge Of The Boxes
Cold War Hawks Nesting With Obama
Let Them Eat Spam
Choices Have Consequences -- Unless You're Joe Lieberman
Dean: Dems 'Big Tent' Party Now
Don't Bail Out the Big 3 -- Interview With Dan Ikenson
Business Unusual
Blind Defense of Koran Abrogates Reality
Some Of My Best Friends Are…
In Detroit, Failure's a Done Deal
Evil Concealed By Money
The Clinton Gamble



Martha Randolph Carr
Martha's Big Adventure - A Blueprint to Build
Your Dream
Martha Randolph Carr 8/21/2008
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Martha's Big Adventure - A Blueprint to Build Your Dream

By Martha Randolph Carr

Sometimes, complaining is actually a very useful tool but only if we catch ourselves in the act. That can have a lot to do with who we choose to pour out our laments to and just how difficult that poor soul has found it to gently tell us to grow up and do something about it. Many listeners don't know how to say, stop, to those who are making their day miserable with verbal pollution. However, each time someone does they've not only honored themselves, they've given the whiner a chance to step back and look at what they're doing. Awareness is the first big step toward positive change but if we're too busy digging around in what's gone wrong, it can be tough to figure out how to make it right. Occasionally, a well placed snap-out-of-it will get us started.

Fortunately, I was recently caught complaining by someone who didn't try to rescue me, which can become a permanent job, or jump in with a laundry list of how she'd been done wrong. Instead, she switched my focus or in poker terms, called my bluff.

I was going on about not having a clear enough focus in my career and noticing how others appeared to be sliding forward effortlessly
on a very nice, narrow path. Everything they were doing was headed toward a few specific targets. I was basically doing too much and getting fewer results, which was really adding to my frustration.

The suggestion was made to come up with a personal mission statement of a few sentences that encapsulated how I see myself. I was to follow that with every category that matters to me such as health, romance, finances, or career and then put down on paper their current status. Next step is to put down where I would like to see each category in one year, three years and five years.

Her next statement was the most important part and not one I often hear from how-to experts. With each goal or dream I was to write down what small steps I was willing to take today in order to head toward the realized picture in the future. The key words here are willing and toward rather than those tired words, should and results.

The first new word points out that there are choices to be made and kindness toward self is a necessary ingredient. The second keeps us in the present moment with a reminder that the journey is actually the whole point. There is no destination. We'll be working on our life projects until life actually ends.

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The Idea
By Angel Boligan - Cagle Cartoons, El Universal, Mexico City * Posted 4/14/2005 12:00:00 AM
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The Idea
© Copyright 2005  Angel Boligan - All Rights Reserved.
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