Someone has asked the question, and today I’m pondering it.
Why do most people over estimate what they can accomplish in one year and under-estimate what they can accomplish in 10 years?
What do you think?
KK
Why?
Reply
Category Archives: Life
It’s Just a Drop in the Bucket
How many times is the question asked, “What does it matter”? It’s just a drop in the bucket; meaningless. Every day we make 
thousands of declarations, I do, I don’t, I will, I can’t, yes, no, maybe. Each of these little words leads to an action or no action, but all of them move us forward. Put these declarations in a string and the results are decisions that pave the journey of life. Meaningless – no decision is completely meaningless and all lead to experiences that make and mold who we are. What impact will my decisions really have, I am one individual?
Recently, I was watching the Discovery Channel with my son. The show talked about water molecules. Water drops tend to reach and adhere to each other. So two drops of water close enough on a plate or counter will join and become a bigger drop. If you fill a cup to the rim the water molecules are clinging to each other and will sit on the very edge of the cup until some other action forces them over the edge.
This bucket was set under a dripping facet – one drip at a time and a few hours later the bucket was full. One drip barely made t
he bucket wet, but in a short time there is enough to wash.
Choices and decisions may seem like nothing, but they all lead to something. Where are you going?
All the best,
KK
Motivated by Fear
Fear gets a bad rap. Fear shouldn’t be a primary emotion or state of being; but it does have value. There is respectable fear of those in authority; or the awareness that comes from the fear of walking down a dark street at night. What about the fear that motivates?
In 2010 when I was unemployed, the fear of letting a depressin
g situation overtake me got me out of bed every morning and kept me from going back to bed when I was home alone. When my jeans get a little tight, the fear of “out-growing” them motivates me to eat a little healthier so as to not gain unwanted weight.
The Bible says that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Godly wisdom birthed from fear leads to knowledge and life according to several passages. Something so unwanted as the emotion of fear can lead to a greater understanding of ourselves and our great and powerful God.
Fear has a dark side. Fear can be paralyzing. In those frozen moments it takes character, fortitude and faith to look beyond the fear to what happens when it is overcome.
Think about it.
All the best,
KK
There is Hope
There were several ideas I worked on for this week but nothing that excited me. Today, January 29th, it was a windy, cloudy, humid, balmy 67 degrees and so I strolled the yard to see how th
e garden was wintering.
There among the dead remnants of last summer’s colorful splendor, I found hope for the coming spring. It seems the tulips have peeked out to check out the situation for further growth. The site brought immediate encouragement that in spite of the crazy weather — up and down temperatures — the renewal of spring will come.
So, my friend, take a deep breath and relax, the gray blustery, non-snowy winter will serve it’s purpose and move on at the insistence of spring’s arrival.
All the best,
KK
Password Protected
Passwords, UUUGGGHHH! Having had accounts hacked, I completely understand their necessity, but it’s getting a little out of hand now that we have to have an application on our phones to keep all of our passwords under one password. Do you remember the security questions that protect your passwords? Do you try to be cleaver with passwords and security questions only to outsmart yourself? You can’t remember the password or the answer to the question because you aren’t in the same snarky mood you were
in the day you set up the account.
Well, I won’t tell you the secret to my password creation, but I will confess to having my application that holds all of my passwords implode when I failed to enter my password correctly. Is it the dog’s birthday, or my cousin’s best friend’s address, or was it my favorite color when I was in the second grade. I can’t remember and these buttons are so close together, I even put the wrong password in wrong. It got me so flustered that I kept getting it wrong and then I got THE MESSAGE. All of your passwords have been ERASED, please start over. Oh, doody! Fine, so I begin again with the most commonly used passwords. Ironically, I remember these without having to look them up, why are they in the password keeper? Nonetheless, I begin again determined that the keeper of my passwords isn’t going to get the best of me.
Your thoughts on passwords.
All the best,
KK
Have you done it yet?
Welcome to the end of the first week of January. Last week you started the month and the year with high-hopes and lofty resolutions. Now that things are settling down to normal and the kids are headed back to school, it’s time to solidify those resolutions into goals that you can work toward accomplishing in the next 358 days.
With clear and realistic thinking, sit down and write your goals for 2013. You’ve heard that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step; writing your goal down is the first step. Your goal becomes real when you see it staring back at you from the page. It becomes your destination and map for a new journey this year. Then take the second step and write under the goal the first five action items to accomplishing your goal.
For example, one of my goals is to read at least 12 books this year and at least two of them need to be new authors and genres for me. So under the goal I number lines one through twelve. Now I just go to work filling in the blanks. I know a book a month doesn’t seem like much, but realistically I have little time in my day to read, so I know it’s attainable given my work and family obligations. Last year, I would have read more, but one of the books I chose was painfully slow. But I finished it and am glad I stuck with it.
Can’t think of anything you would like to accomplish this year? Ask yourself a couple of questions: if I could do one thing to improve my situation, financially, physically, mentally or emotionally, what would it be? What do you need to do to accomplish this?
If it helps and you want someone to hold you accountable, share your goals with a trusted friend and give them permission to ask you throughout the year about how you are doing toward your goal. Having gone through this exercise every year for the past 20 plus years, setting goals has become a part of my psyche, I’m pretty good at holding myself accountable; ok except for exercise goals, these I stink at.
One thing is true, if you write nothing down; set no goals, you are likely to be the exact same physically, mentally or emotionally as you are right this minute. Even if you don’t fully accomplish the goal you write down, any effort toward that goal is better than no effort at all. In the end, you will celebrate all the steps of your journey even if you didn’t reach your destination. That’s what 2014 will be about.
Let me know how it’s going,
KK
Saturday, January 21, 2012
“We always over estimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in five years.” – Source unknown
It’s Saturday, January 21st and most people who made New Year’s resolutions have given up. It’s been too cold or life got busy again getting back to the routine of work and school. Resolutions or goals are like running a marathon. Runners don’t bust off the line and burn all of their energy in the first mile; they plan their pace to accomplish the time they want across the finish line.
So, did you blast off on January 1st, 2nd, and 3rd? Below are few suggestions for reloading those goals and re-committing.
First, be realistic. Runners don’t just get up one morning and decide to win a race. They start with training and really having a passion for racing. Go back and review the resolution or goal you wrote down (you did write it down, or do I need to go back further on goal setting). Did you set too many goals or make too many resolutions? Maybe choose only one or two to really commit to. Do you have the ability and desire to accomplish the goal within the year? If either is in question, keep reading as we further look at reloading.
Second, give yourself a new start date. January 1st is a natural calendar start, but goals can be started anytime. If the first quarter of the year is very busy for you in one area of your life, you may need to set a start date further out. My goals are written by the end of the first week of January, but my start date isn’t until February 1st. This allows me a month to plan for them, pray over them and really commit to working toward accomplishing them.
Third, break the goal down into bite size chunks. Runners usually start out walking or running smaller races to train and get in shape. What are the steps to accomplishing your goal? Do you need to take a class? Do you need to plan for some activity toward that goal each week? Take the piece of paper you wrote the goal on (you did write it down, didn’t you) and under the goal write the steps to accomplishing it. Then go through and give each step a deadline. Are your deadlines doable with your other responsibilities? Add these deadlines to the calendar you live by; if it’s electronic then set reminders for yourself.
Fourth, keep your goal fresh. Set a date five or six months from your start to revisit the goal. Do you still want to accomplish this? How are you doing? Do you need to adjust your goal to better fit your time, ability and resources?
By writing your goals and making them work within your passion, lifestyle and resources, you are taking control. When you take charge of your goals and resolutions, you will accomplish more than if you give up before the end of the first month; and even more will be accomplished if you write the goal down. Every day is a new start, every week is a new beginning and every month is a fresh commitment.
See you at the finish line,
KK
Think about it…
Recently I noticed my indoor plants were dying. Some of these plants I have had for years. What was going on? Immediately checking their soil, they were dry as a bone. How could I have forgotten to water them? Then it occurred to me. I have spent the spring and summer focusing on our landscaping on the outside, I forgot to pay attention to the beautiful greenery that I had growing on the inside of our home. I had passed these plants every day, dusted around them every week (or so) and yet, their needs for nurture had been neglected. It took less than 10 minutes to water and feed all of my plants and within a couple of days they were looking better.
House plants create warmth and show life in a home. They are green and grow year round. Is there something wilting on the inside that you need to water and nurture? What would 10 minutes of taking care of your heart and soul mean to your week?
Think about it.
All the best,
KK
Is it Confidence or Arrogance?
What is the difference between being confident and being arrogant? Is it attitude or spirit?
Confidence by definition is full trust; belief in the reliability of a person or thing. Confidence either comes from something inside or something outside us. To be confident is having strong belief or full assurance. Where does the ability to be confident come from?
Confidence is built from many blocks of successes we have in our lives. A child learning to walk starts out wobbly and unsure, but with every successful step forward, the child stands straighter. The same holds true for each of our successes in life and career. As a parent, each time we handle something well with our child, our confidence builds. In our career, with each successful position or project our confidence builds and we move forward.
Arrogance by definition is a feeling of superiority or an offensive exhibition of it; presumptuous or overbearing conduct, statements, resulting from such a feeling. Like confidence, arrogance comes from within but the results can be much different. To be arrogant we are showing pretensions and superiority. There is little room for any of us to come across better than the next. Nobody knows everything, and everybody makes mistakes. True character is shown in how we handle those mistakes.
Let me encourage you to be confident that you will make mistakes. But don’t let those mistakes be masked by an arrogant spirit. Be real and if others don’t understand, then they may have an arrogance issue.
Let me also encourage you to be confident in the gifts and talents you have. Use them to show others they can be confident in you.
What do you think?
All the best,
KK
Ssshhh, listen
It’s obvious to me that everything happens for a reason; especially for the believer. Sometimes we don’t know the reason. But knowing our heavenly father and the order He created, I find it hard to think that believers who are really focused on Him are just ping-ponging through this world.
I think we are completely challenged by the distractions in life and often miss His still small voice. We are too busy doing and checking (voicemail, email, texts, etc.). We are distracted and don’t always hear God’s leading. James 1:19 says that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…and verse 22 continues this theme, “do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
While this passage gives us the push to do what the word says, the first thing it tells us is to be quick to listen. What would happen if we spent as much time or more after we talk to God just listening, truly be still and listen for the voice of our Creator? What would He say to you?
KK
KK's Candor 