Less Than the Best...

When we continuously give a sub par effort at anything in life we slowly but surely get farther away from our true best.  If we have never had to bring out our best in anything, when the time comes to do so we tend to fall woefully short of what we are capable of doing.  This not only hurts our self-image, but I believe it even damages the essence/soul of who we are as people.  This leads to a shying away from real challenges, a plethora of excuses, and a sour attitude because we really don't think much of ourselves. 
Improvement is about doing something over and over, readjusting, then repeating the act again.  And yes, failure is a part of improvement.  If you want to get better at jumping rope--jump rope often.  It also helps to have a little coaching along the way from someone who knows how to do it.  This is where teachers come in.  They are the ones who can coach you into your best.  It's up to you to accept the coaching/criticism and move forward. 

Do you know how to give your best?

Seek the Silence

Sometimes it's difficult to get quiet time nowadays.  We listen to headphones, send emails, text, surf the web, talk on the phone etc...  We never seem to stop and enjoy the silence.  I am referring to total silence with no interruptions!  I am of the persuasion that the best thoughts and ideas come from the silence.  When I think of my own life, I seem to have my most creative thoughts when I have those rare moments of quiet.
That's why I try to spend at least five minutes each night in complete silence.  I just try and pay attention to the thoughts running in my own head.  I learn a lot about myself doing this.  I've discovered that I often think about the same things--family and work.  When I get past the first couple minutes of the silence my mind starts to calm down and then ideas seem to come.

I challenge all of us to enjoy the silence in our lives and use it to talk to us.