Just Because It's Summer, It Doesn't Mean You Should Be Lazy
Summer has the most mysterious way of getting you lazy. But, to break the spell, I am going to get up off my butt and really tackle what I want to do.
The summer heat makes me feel like a cat; I am ready to melt in the sun and take a long nap. I feel free from school and have no tied down responsibilities. However, I do feel a need to feed my passion and really plan ahead what I need to do so I won't worry about it later. It can be difficult to be productive, but by maintaining a schedule and keeping a list of goals in mind, I can find the time to accomplish what I want done. Then, before I know it, summer is over. To maintain being productive, I follow my own list and try to keep it up.
Getting chores done: In a family of six people, the house is hardly spotless. Essentially, it's a jungle at my house and I am the Tarzan that knows how to work my way around the place. Every summer, I pick several areas of the house to focus on, and then I try to maintain that area in an orderly fashion. These chores take up a lot of time, sometimes several days to a week. Eventually, I will focus on another area and follow the same process.
Exercising: This is one of the hardest things to do in the summer, I don't get up early enough to beat the heat and by the evening, I am with friends having a glass of wine and have no obligation to work up a good sweat. To avoid this monstrosity of laziness, I out a timer on my phone. Whether it's the late evening when the sun is down or I had a good nights rest to wake up in the morning, I force myself to get up and get in a good run. It's not comfortable, I know, but the payoff is that I feel more accomplished that I got outside and did something.
Being Creative: Yep, even in this category, I get pretty lazy. I do have bursts of creativity in painting in drawing but I am not consistent. It's all about brainstorming, digesting the creativity and then spitting it back out in consecutive order. Doing this process out of order messes me up, I spiral out of control and lose interest in what I want to do. So, in order to really dive into my creativity, I screenshot a picture or painting that looks intriguing to me.
Going on Adventures: It's all about starting out the planning that really gets me going. Planning out a trip can be fun but then I look at my checking account and cry on the inside. To really prepare for such a feat, it's all about saving!!! I can't always treat myself to a Starbucks drink or buy the cute sweater. I don't have to go to go overseas or go on a plane to go anywhere. A road trip or being a happy camper can be fun. Of course, it's all about the attitude. To really enjoy an adventure, I want to have a positive attitude and keep an open heart and an open mind.
To really tackle these goals and tasks, I cannot afford to be lazy and let the days pass by into days and then into weeks. I really need to tackle these goals and maintain them. It really is amazing how bored I can become and then do absolutely nothing. I want to avoid that and not feel like I have wasted my time. Of course, there is always a time and place to relax and enjoy the sun.
5 Respectful And Empowering Ways To Handle Rejection
Not everyone will like you, but not everyone has to.
You work hard, you do the right thing, and the inevitable happens. Someone comes along and begins to give you a backhanded compliment, or if you have the misfortune, a backhanded comment. You are left with a bad taste in your mouth and your day starts to turn sour. When people belittle you and your efforts, here are five respectful and empowering ways to sweeten those moments of rejection.
1. Never give someone a reason to not like you.
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People will say what they want and think what they want, no matter the subject or person of choice. It will not matter who you are or what you do, someone or another manages to pay you their two cents. You have to remember, you did not give them reasons to justify their words or actions towards you. These people who exhibit unwarranted thoughts about you are just another drop in the ocean. They do not define your good intentions or self-worth. They are not for you and you need not place any investigation or worry into the mystery of why they do not like you. You do not have to reason with them any further. Simply look forward to the people who care to be curious and open-minded about you.
2. Kill them with kindness.
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The dead push up daisies, but you plant the seed. Some people will smile proudly knowing they have said something cruel or disheartening to get a rise out of you but look at this as an opportunity. Every moment is a chance for you to choose how you react. Ten percent of life is what happens to you, it is out of your control. Ninety percent of life is what you do about it. Use your words to encourage, not discourage, civil discourse. Say what matters and say it with an honest purpose. State your case and let them respond how they will; you cannot control others, but you can control yourself. Be a good example others have yet to show themselves.
3. Turn the "No's" into a "Yes."
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The poet Sylvia Plath had this to say about rejection: "I love my rejection slips. They show me I try." She was talking about the process of writing literary submissions for publication, but her attitude still stands. This is the mindset it takes to find the success you want out of life. Despite all the people that deny you and your work, there are people that see potential and promise in you. It does not matter how many people say "No" to you. What does matter is the number of times you can get back to work and look forward to that one "Yes." You are working for the "Yes's" in your life. Forget the dream-killers and eye-rollers, they lack the hope and drive you have in what you do. They do not do what you do and do not do it like you do. For every "No" there is a "Yes."
4. Let your work speak for you.
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Sometimes no matter how endearing your elevator pitch sounds or how carefully crafted your resume is, people still find fault where there might not even be any. Your accomplishments are your own and that is something to take pride in. Of course, the right amount of pride separates you from the rest and for the better. Pride and confidence must not become virtues or vices that exceed who you are. The work you put out is an extension of who you are and no one can take that away from you. Work speaks for itself and yourself best, so focus on your goals and let your results stand in for your words people did not value. Your best is rarely seen at the moment of inspiration, usually after the final stroke of the brush has wet the canvas. It is your goal to show that stalwart work ethic in good times and in bad.
5. Your process will protect you.
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Keep working. Rule out the distractions and the doubts, the fears, and the flippant fools. Know that your process will save you in trying times. Work against all odds. At some point, things turn even and add up, but you have to be dedicated and diligent. Your sights are seen only through your eyes and your need is to show others what you see. Until then, your skill, your talent, will be honed with consistency. Show up to your work even when you have not been hit with inspiration. The Kodak moment will present itself through your process. Due diligence is the price of success. Eyes on the prize and nose to the grindstone. No one knows your work better than you.
Be the trampoline that bends the will of gravity-like rejection long enough until you can fly.