Give Yourself Reasons Why You Can

Negative thoughts and negative talks affect our brain and our ability to perform even simple tasks.

Giving in to the reasons why you can’t is a form of a self-imposed stress. Instead of giving yourself reasons why you can’t, give yourself reasons why you can.

For most of us it is very easy to spend our energy in comparing ourselves to others and common standards.

Image: Free Digital Photos

For a change, acknowledge your uniqueness and abilities. Nurture what is best in you. Go and fulfill your dream.

Here is a popular short story of Monty Roberts. You may have already read or heard about this story, still it is good to read it again as it can teach or remind us of valuable life lessons.

A Nightmare on Tech Street

The Wizard. The word has become a sobriquet for techies or tech people.



Webopedia has three definitions for the word and and all of them technology related. It has become synonymous to a person who is an outstanding programmer. The system administrator for a chat room. Or a utility in an application or computer program that directs you through different steps to accomplish a task.

Though the term was flattering as it is true in a sense - tech people can make the usual burdensome tasks into a magically easy way through the use of technology. Well, actually there's no magic. Programmers do the task in their logical steps.

Since, business systems has been with us for quite a time now, most businesses has come to rely on them. As their dependence grows, their expectations of the system and their programmers grow disproportionately.

How? Business mindset of budgeting is a major consideration. Always. And the IT Department is not immune to it. They expect more but they would not allocate enough (so how could you operate on a shoestring budget?).

As technology ages there come tools and methodologies that evolve, and they expect us to know everything and be updated with these new methods and tools. We may be wizards but one thing certain is we are not omniscient.

I may sound bitter or doubtful of my profession, no I'm not. That's one of the challenges we face. Voila! We usually get over those kinks in our programs so why can we not get over the kinks in our lives?

What You Choose Is What Matters

Saturday night and there was nothing much to do at home. Left with grown up kids at home who have their own things to do, I was left with no choice but to decide how I would spend my night away.

At first I seem can't decide what to do, either watch a movie or read a book. I opted for the first. After a hard day's work I needed the rest and respite. Yes, Saturday and I was still working. I have a project to do and meet deadlines on the work I have set out for myself.

I needed something light, I thought... something really entertaining. The list of videos I have contains some heavy stuff, luckily I found something - Kung Fu Panda 2.

It was really a nice sequel to the original with the story revolving how the identity of Po came about. Where he came from and how he end up being a son of a goose up to the point he understood what happened to his real parents. The realization of what his life is meant to be.

There is a  moral lesson I picked up from the movie. It may be made for children and the young ones, but thinking deeper, it really have some moral teachings you can pick up.

"Your story may not have a happy beginning, but what matters is the rest of your story." This is a very strong statement. The choice always falls on our shoulder how we intend to finish each stories in our life. In every day we live we can choose how we end up our day - winning or losing.

Every instance of our day is a story on its own that keeps on adding to the big picture that is our life. Always there is a chance and the hope to attain a happy ending, in spite of a sad beginning.

"Your story may not have a happy beginning, but what matters is the rest of your story." How you choose the ending of your story is what really matters.

--()--

Image: courtesy of digitalart

An Advent Reflection

I decided to update this blog to give it a more profound meaning as I believe this reflection is very appropriate for Advent , the season of expectations. Updated today 08 December 2011.

Image courtesy of Koratmember of freedigitalphotos.net

Expectation is one of our most profound habit in life. Whether we accept it or not, we always expect something to be given back to us - loyalty from our friends, a bonus or a promotion as reward from our work, complete obedience from our children. In everything we do expect something that must be in accord with what we want whether it is reasonable or otherwise.

In my morning prayer today, I read a book of a selection of homilies given by Fr. Johnny Go in his book 50 Something. I found a very apt reflection for this season of Advent. In the Gospel of St. Matthew 11, we were being invited to reflect and learn about St. John the Baptist's own expectation of the Lord. As Fr. Go said, "They were reasonable expectations especially with what he had done for the Lord. But as it turns out, even prophets don't always get what they expect."

The beauty of this reading is not on what was written but on what was not written - the message intended by the author of the gospel.

There are two main things to consider: First, John the Baptist had openly declared Jesus as the Lamb of God when he saw him approaching the river where he was preaching. Second, he even told his disciples that the one more worthy of him is Jesus whom two of his followers, Andrew and John, accepted and had followed Jesus as a result. This is also what he preaches and he is very clear on his mission - that he's only to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

If John the Baptist is so convicted of his mission and he knows who Jesus was, then why does he have to send messengers to ask Jesus "Are you the One who is to come or do we have to wait for another?" Such a strange question from a man who is very sure of what he preached.

Or then, maybe, what John sent Jesus was a very subtle message of what he expects from the Lord to do for him since he is languishing in prison at the time. Does he expects that the Lord will set him free? We all know that this is not what happened. His expectation was not what he got. God has other plans for him, which, maybe he had not understood at the time.

In the world we live in, always things will not turn out the way we always expect it to be. Even with people whom we relate to. We must not expect too much but try to learn to appreciate whatever or however things may turn out to be. Most often our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be answered.

As an old saying goes, "Let go and let God." Even without understanding.

--()--

Reading: Matthew 11:2-11
Fr. Johnny Go's Website: www.jcgosj.com 

Image: FreeDigitalPhoto.net

A Chance Each Day

Each morning when we wake up, a CHANCE is given to us...

a "CHANCE" to enjoy life to its fullest...

a "CHANCE" to correct the mistake of yesterdays...

a "CHANCE" to forgive...

a "CHANCE" to ask for forgiveness...

and a "CHANCE" to love and to be loved.

Don't miss every chance that we receive every morning as we wake up. It's God's way of loving us.

The Power of Words

Words are our God-given tools with which we have the power either to hurt or to heal; to destroy or to build.

Positive Attitude is Everything

It's a hard day... but with a positive attitude?