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General

Pushing Boundaries with March Madness

by joi on March 16, 2010

in Articles, General, Positive Thought, Self Help

When I named my first self improvement blog, I chose Out of Bounds because I’m in love with the idea of pushing boundaries.  The concept was, and is, to never allow yourself to be trapped in a restricted area – confined by boundaries set by anyone, including yourself.  Of course it’s a lot easier to say, “Go as far as you think you possibly can and then go further” than it is to actually do it.  Sadly, it is very easy to create these boundaries for yourself.  It’s easy to say, “I’ve gone as far as I possibly can – so leave me alone. Leave me comfortable. Hand me a Coke while you’re up.”

But, really, just how wonderful is stagnation?  How comfortable is it to cease to grow? If you ask me, few things are sadder than the individual with a world of potential who won’t get out of their own way. They take a look around and see boundaries that have been set either by others or their own insecurities and laziness.  Then, instead of summoning up enough fight to push the boundaries back – they go back to the couch.  How much are they missing out on?  What are they robbing themselves, and possibly the rest of the world, of?

Unless gumption finds them on the couch and taps them on the shoulder, we may never know.

In the world of sports, this sort of comfy cozy thinking seals athletes’ fates again and again.  You know the inspirational quote, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Apparently, many more people are flirting with insanity than we ever thought possible.

Here’s one scenario: An NCAA basketball program sits down to make out a schedule for the coming year.  The coach and athletic director, who of course value their  job, take caution when scheduling other teams.  They often opt for more cupcakes than they do serious competition.   After all, wins are all that matter to them at that moment.   Then, along comes March and they find themselves again on the “bubble” for being selected into the highly coveted NCAA Tournament.  The experts play the familiar song of “a weak schedule” and how important it is to have a strong schedule.  Every.  Year.

The coaches and the athletic directors KNOW they have to play stronger teams to stand a chance of making the dance.  Yet, somehow they keep setting their own boundaries – then waiting on a miracle in March.  They make one of the worst mistakes in the world – leaving their fate in someone else’s hands.  Whenever possible, we should move Heaven and earth to control our own fate and make our own way… yes, even if that means pushing the boundaries back and taking chances.  Never leave your fate up to someone else. Stay behind the wheel of your own car.

Taking on challenges is like playing stronger teams – it makes you stronger, and isn’t that the whole idea?

Of course (sticking with NCAA basketball – partly because I eat, sleep, and breath it… I’m from Kentucky, it’s a birthright) the kids aren’t always completely blameless, either.  How about the games they throw away because they lose focus?  Sure it’s tough to have laser focus during final exams week or the holidays – but sometimes you have to dig deep and if you can’t find the strength – create it.

My own beloved UK Wildcats lost focus earlier in the season.  They achieved the coveted #1 ranking, got a call from President Obama (for raising an incredible amount of money for Haiti), were lead by candidates for player of the year, freshman of the year, and coach of the year, and were the last undefeated team in the country.  Distractions, much? They went to South Carolina to play a team who (on paper), while comprised of talented kids with a lot of heart, in no way, shape, or form, should have beaten UK.  No way. No way. No way.

But they did.

The South Carolina kids, coaches, and fans had a look of sheer determination and focus in their eyes and in their play.

Our guys lost focus for one game and – in the end – it could have cost them (months later) a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.  At the time, the tourney was the farthest thing from their minds.  If the President had just called me, I’m pretty sure it would be far from my mind as well!  This lack of focus wound up drawing boundaries for them – locking them out of the #1 spot in the rankings.

They had to fight like crazy the rest of the year – especially in the SEC Tournament – to keep their top seed hopes alive.  Thanks to a team who was fighting for their NCAA life (Mississippi State), we could have easily lost our number one seed.

Although no one really wants to think about it (because it makes the head throb and the heart sink), if UK had kept their focus in South Carolina, they could have finished the year ranked #1 and gotten the very top seed.

When we lose focus, even for 40 minutes – we create our own boundaries.

Approach each day with more than just that day in mind.  Think of the big picture, what you’re working toward.  Don’t think about who you are, where you are, or what you’re doing, think about who you want to be, where you want to go, and what you want to be doing.   At the first of each season, and before each game, if the players and coaches all remembered that they were playing for top positions in the NCAA tournament (or even an invitation to the dance), they’d be SO much better off.

Thinking about it in March is too late.

  • If you want a promotion or a raise next year – it’s something you have to keep in mind each and every day.  You can’t wait for next year to roll around, then hope you did enough.  You have to think about it every single day and make sure you do enough!  Don’t let laziness or lack of focus create boundaries.
  • If you want to lose weight – you can’t slack off.  You have to commit yourself to the task each and every day – yes, even on weekends.  You know the smart decisions, just make them and make them and keep making them until you get to where you want to be.  Don’t set deep-fried or sugar-coated boundaries for yourself and don’t let laziness or a lack of focus fence you in.
  • If you want to grow your home business and make more money (who doesn’t?!), you can’t just think about it once or twice a week.  You can’t just focus your attention on it when the bills are due.  It’s something you have to focus on and commit to every day – 24/7.

When we lose focus, things that shouldn’t in any way defeat us sneak up on us.  Whether they’re Gamecocks or other forces of evil!

Stay focused and keep pushing yourself to go further, do more, and be more.  This is the only way to keep pushing the boundaries AWAY from you and to keep growing.  The alternative?  The boundaries won’t just close in on you – they’ll collapse on you and you won’t have anywhere to go…. or grow.  Keep pushing the boundaries.  Keep pushing the boundaries.  Keep pushing the boundaries.  Out of bounds is where the sweetest music is.

Dance on!

Mickey Mantle: The Man Behind the Legend

by joi on February 24, 2010

in Articles, General, Positive Thought

After I hit a home run I had a habit of running the bases with my head down. I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases. – Mickey Mantle

If there’s a better illustration of character, than the quote above gives, I’d love to see it.  In an era where most athletes love nothing more than gloating and showboating, Mickey Mantle could teach everyone a thing or two (or a gazillion) about what it really means to have character as well as talent.  After all, the talent will fade eventually whereas character never has to go anywhere.

As we lead up to Baseball season (I’m as big a baseball fan as you’ll ever find – whether it’s my St. Louis Cardinals or any random team, if there’s a baseball game on tv or the radio, you’ll know where to find me), I thought it’d be fun to look at a different baseball player each week and learn a little more about them.  I’ve pulled out some fantastic quotes and stories from some of these men and I know you’ll enjoy them, whether you’re a baseball fan or not.  (If you aren’t a baseball fan, please don’t tell me.  I… I… don’t want to see you like that.)

Mickey Mantle:  The Man Behind the Legend

Mickey Mantle was born in 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma – a small town put on the map by the baseball giant.  Mickey’s parents were Elvin Charles Mantle and Lovell Mantle. Mickey’s dad, a huge baseball fan, named his son after Mickey Cochrane, a Hall of Fame catcher for the, then, Philadelphia Athletics.

Mickey Mantle always spoke very highly and lovingly of his father, calling him the bravest man he ever knew. “No boy ever loved his father more,” he said. Tragically, his father died of cancer in 1952 at the ridiculously young age of 39.  To compound the tragedy, he died just as his son’s amazing career was just getting started.

“A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide.” – Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle was called up to the majors on April 7, 1951.   How’s this for high praise? – Joe DiMaggio, in his final season, called Mantle, “the greatest prospect I can remember.”

After a bit of a slump, Mantle was sent down to the Yankees’ top farm team, the Kansas City Blues. Possibly due to frustrations and putting too much pressure on himself, Mickey struggled and became so overwhelmed that he was ready to throw in the proverbial towel.   He even called his father one day and told him, “I don’t think I can play baseball anymore.”  Like any good father would, his dad drove up to Kansas City that very day. When he arrived, Mickey remembered that he said, “I thought I raised a man. I see I raised a coward instead. You can come back to Oklahoma and work the mines with me.”

The mines never saw the younger Mantle.

Mickey immediately broke out of his slump and after 40 games, he was called back to New York.  For good.

The great number 7 was retired by the New York Yankees in Mickey Mantle’s honor and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974, as soon as he was eligible.

“I hated to bat against (Don) Drysdale. After he hit you he’d come around, look at the bruise on your arm and say, ‘Do you want me to sign it?’” – Mickey Mantle

Unfortunately, even great baseball players have their demons and Mickey’s was alcoholism.  He sought treatment and got the upper hand on the demon.  Sportscaster Pat Summerall was one of the main people who urged him to go to The Betty Ford Clinic.

Mickey Mantle spoke with great, deep-seeded remorse and heartache about his alcoholism in a 1994 Sports Illustrated story. He said that he was telling the same old stories, and realizing how much of them involved himself and others being drunk, and he decided they weren’t funny anymore.

“It was all I lived for, to play baseball.” – Mickey Mantle

He acknowledged that alcohol had caused him to often be hurtful or neglectful to his family, friends, and fans, and that he wanted to make things right.

Mickey Mantle became a born-again Christian thanks, in part, to his former teammate Bobby Richardson, an ordained Baptist minister who shared his faith with him.

Mickey died in Dallas on August 13, 1995.  During the first Yankee home game after his death, Eddie Layton played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on the organ because Mickey had once told him it was his favorite song.

In his eulogy, sportscaster Bob Costas described Mickey Mantle  as “a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic.” He added: “In the last year of his life, Mickey Mantle, always so hard on himself, finally came to accept and appreciate the distinction between a role model and a hero. The first, he often was not. The second, he always will be. And, in the end, people got it.”

“Somebody once asked me if I ever went up to the plate trying to hit a home run. I said, ‘Sure, every time.’” – Mickey Mantle

See Also: Quotes by Mickey Mantle

Quotes About Habits

by joi on February 22, 2010

in Daily Quote, General

Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. – St. Augustine

The second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half. – Feodor Dostoevski

The best way to break a bad habit is to drop it. – Leo Aikma

New habits make new horizons. – Grenville Kleiser

Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. – Mark Twain

Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables. – Spanish Proverb

More Quotes About Habits

The Looking Glass: Thursday Throwback Woefully Late

by joi on February 8, 2010

in General, Positive Thought, Relationships, Self Help, Thursday Throwback

The Looking Glass by King Vidor appears in the a wonderful collection of articles from the 1940s and ’50s called Words to Live By.  It’s one of the best and sums up what I have found to be one of the greatest truths in all of the world:  We are the artists of our own life.  The majority of the strokes come from our own hand… for better or worse!

The Looking Glass

by King Vidor, Producer and Director

“The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.” – William Makepeace Thackeray

I had to live a long time before I found the courage to admit to myself that we – all of us – make our own world.

The realization came to me in a very simple way.  Though I am a Californian, I make frequent trips to New York, and I had decided that all New York cab drivers were impatient, bad-tempered or hated their jobs.  And hotel employees and railroad personnel were the same.  I found them all difficult to get along with.

Then one day in New York, I came upon the words from Thackeray quoted above.  The very same day when a cabbie and I were snarling at one another, this thought occurred to me:  “Could this whole situation be the result of my own thinking and outlook?“

I began to live Thackeray’s idea and soon it became a part of me.  The result:  On my next trip East, I encountered not one unpleasant taxi driver, elevator operator, or employee!  Had New York changed or had I?  The answer was clear.

To abandon excuses for one’s own shortcoming is like journeying to a distant land where everything is new and strange.  Here you can’t continue to blame someone or something else for failures or difficulties; you have to assume the responsibility for them yourself.  Of course, outside pressures do influence our lives, but they don’t control them. To assume they do is sheer evasion – it’s so easy to say, “It’s not my fault!“

Since that day in New York I’ve come to believe that this idea is the basis of all human relationships.  It doesn’t matter whether it is your neighbors,  your mother-in-law or the people of a foreign nation.  The quickest way to correct the other fellow’s attitude is to correct your own.

Try it.  It works.  And it adds immeasurable to the fun of meeting people and being alive.  -   by King Vidor

Several things about this wonderful article stand out to me.

  1. I love how King Vidor words it, “I began to live Thackeray’s idea..”  He doesn’t say “I read Thackeray’s words…” or even “I thought about Thackeray’s words….”  He says I began to LIVE Thackeray’s idea.  There’s the difference, right there!  If we merely READ inspirational, educational, or motivational teachings (whether they’re from the Bible, a favorite Self Help author, or wonderful quotes from outstanding men and women) – we aren’t changing and we aren’t growing.  We’re reading!  Big whoop, most people over the age of 6 can do the same.  However, most people won’t change and that’s where we can really gain ground and make a difference in our lives and world.
  2. I love that he points out that  outside influences and occurrences DO influence our lives but they don’t have to control them.  We are at the controls – always have been, always will be.
  3. I love that King Vidor didn’t have too much foolish pride to admit that he was headed off in the wrong direction before someone else (Thackeray) showed him a better way.  Too many people are so afraid of looking less that perfect – whether they’re politicians, authors, online marketers, salespeople, authors…. the list goes on.  It takes character to admit that you’ve made a mistake or came up short in some area.  It takes guts to share it with others.  Others can benefit from our mistakes, not allowing them the benefit to do so is thisclose to selfish.
  4. He’s as right as rain!  Your own attitude and disposition affect how you see the world and others.  If you are genuinely happy and positive, your outlook will be the same.  If you tend to think negative thoughts about 5 out of every 10 people that you see or meet, it’s way past time for a gut check.  The problem doesn’t lie with them.
  5. “Try it.  It works.  And it adds immeasurable to the fun of meeting people and being alive.” Shouldn’t being alive be MORE about fun and less about finding fault? Dang right it should!  Thackeray’s quote appears again below.  Are you going to read it, write it down, or live it out?

“The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.” – William Makepeace Thackeray

How to Deal With Stress Before It Deals With You

by joi on February 4, 2010

in Animal Protection, General, Health, Self Help

Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness. – Richard Carlson

Have you ever seen an individual in the throes of stress?  They look like they’re convinced they have it worse than anybody on earth and seem to be almost incapable of functioning.  Sometimes they lash out in a temper tantrum like a 5 year old that’s being forced to leave the McDonald’s playground or cry and/or sulk like one that never made it to the playground in the first place.    Other times, they internalize and cause themselves a whole host of health problems.

Irregardless of how the host reacts, stress is a most unwelcome guest.  Like all unwelcome guests, it boils down to two choices:

  1. Get rid of it.
  2. Learn to live with it.

If you’re one of those people who seem to stress out over every little thing, you truly need to learn some great coping techniques.  Not for the sake of everyone around you, but for your own.  Blowing up, internalizing, sulking, stressing – these are all things that are causing damage inside your body.  If you could somehow look inside and see what your inability to handle stress is doing, you’d find a way…. make a way… to cope.

When you feel stressed or on edge, picture the Blue-Footed Boobie! There’s no way you’re going to feel cranky or upset when you picture these guys or even just say their name out loud. I guarantee you’ll smile long before you explode or implode. Now, won’t that feel better?

I’m not judging and I’m not condemning.  I’m probably the least judgmental person you’ll ever encounter.  I get that everyone is different and I, honestly, love that fact.  I also have read enough, observed enough, and simply know through good old common sense that everyone reacts to things differently.  On any given day, three people can get a flat tire and each will react differently:

  1. One may cuss, pound the steering wheel, and search for the nearest person to blame – the road crew, the city, construction workers, the spouse (always a good one), God (yeah… He’s always home and has nothing better to do than pop tires), etc.  The blamers of life are real pills, aren’t they?  My oldest daughter and I watched a man outside of a coffee shop one day last week.  Something wasn’t quite right under the hood of his truck and he put on a display unlike anything I’ve seen in a while.  He hit the hood, he screamed at his mortified wife, he stomped, he kicked…  Some people were laughing at him, my daughter said he was “gross” and I just went back to my coffee hoping I never met him face to face.
  2. One may tear up and have a little “poor me, nothing ever goes right for me” cry.
  3. The third one might just say, “Wow, didn’t need that, but at least no one was hurt.  Oh well, if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, I’ve got it made.”

One person isn’t OVER ALL any better, smarter, or cooler than the other two.   Each simply copes differently.  The thing is, when we get to the place where we’re able to cope with stress like the individual in the third example, we’ll enjoy life more, we’ll function better, our health will be better, our relationships will be sweeter and we won’t be spectacles for others to laugh at, call gross, or wish we’d never even seen in the first place.

One of the best ways to deal with stress is to identify your triggers.  The man in front of the coffee shop obviously couldn’t cope with adversity.  (Good luck with life, buddy!)   I also wonder if a little bit of feeling helpless had something to do with his performance.  After all, if he knew what to do, wouldn’t he have been doing it rather than acting a fool?  The lashing out at his wife was probably somewhat of a defensive reaction to keep from showcasing that he didn’t know what to do.  (Pick up the phone… call someone who does…)

We can’t all know everything and there is no shame in simply smiling and saying, “I know as much about this as I do the mating habits of the blue footed boobie.“  There never has been and there never will be any shame in admitting that you’re human.  Some of my best friends are human.

Other people are triggered, seemingly, when they think the world isn’t doing enough for them or giving them enough.  Ah, the selfish crowd.  God love their little hearts, they honestly feel like everyone’s day should center around serving them, catering to them, and bowing down to their mightiness.  I guess it’s obvious why they’re so miserable – that’s just not going to happen. If you go around demanding respect and telling everyone why they should (or MUST!) respect, fear, and applaud you – you obviously don’t deserve any of the accolades.  If you did, they’d be yours.

My advice for these people is this:  Love yourself, feel proud of yourself, and pat yourself on the back all you want.  But, you must let others make up their own minds about you.  Don’t tell them how great you are, show them.  The world doesn’t owe you anything.  If this is your thinking, let me hasten to point out that you’ve got it all twisted…. You owe the world.  Start giving and you won’t have time to throw a pity party.  Also, while you’re at it, stop complaining that others aren’t doing enough for you.  If you want something done, do it. Try this on for a while:  Go out of your way to do things for other people.  Compliment them, smile at them, help them out whenever and however you can.  There’s a great old saying, What goes around comes around – maybe you’ve been living that out and what you’re receiving is what you’ve been giving… or, in this case, haven’t been giving.

Just a thought.

A third stress trigger is feeling overwhelmed – like life is just giving you too much at one time.  We’ve all been there and few of us ever want to go back.  The emotions, turmoil, and so forth that surrounded my mom’s sudden death in 2006 left me feeling like I was completely and totally spent.   If not for prayer and an outstanding family, I might still be in bed with the covers over my head.  I remember the day that I “got up.”  I hadn’t physically stayed in bed for days after losing my mom, but my spirit did.  Then, one day, I was in the back of the house and I heard my husband and our youngest daughter in the front of the house looking for something.  I knew that, not only wouldn’t they be able to find it, they’d make a mess trying.  I flipped a switch that I’d forgotten even existed and, literally, rejoined my family.

Sometimes we have to admit that we’ve “gone under.”  Make no mistake about it, we all do at one time or another – we feel overwhelmed and worn out.  The trick is not to stay there.  Remember Lao-Tzu’s words, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.“  If relationships, finances, work, or another potent opponent has you on the ropes…. or even if it has knocked you to the mat!… you have a choice to make:  Are you going to stay there or are you going to fight back?!?!

The answer to your triggers, your problems, your adversities, and your stress lies within your heart.  Find someplace quiet and sort things out.  Stop placing blame on anyone, beginning with yourself.  Blame is the most irrelevant and useless expense of energy I can think of.  Forge past blame, forge past self-pity, and forge past anger. Find the solution you need to either remove your personal stress from your life or determine how you’ll learn to live with it.

Life is too precious and too wonderful to spend it stressed out and on edge.  Be happy.  Lighten up.  Dance.  Repeat.

Photo Credit: The picture of the beautiful Blue Footed Booby Birds is from Animal Corner.

To learn what you can do to protect the Blue Footed Booby Bird, visit the Adoption Center of the WWF.

If It Matters to You, Keep Track of It!

by joi on January 6, 2010

in Fitness, General, Health, Self Help

No, this isn’t a post about keeping up with your keys, cellphone, or reading glasses.   It is amazing how cellphones wander away from you though, isn’t it?  This is a post to introduce you to a really cool, innovative new website:  Tallyzoo.

Tallyzoo is all about keeping track of things that are important to you, whether these things are goals, weight loss, resolutions, habits, successes, dreams, hopes – the list goes on indefinitely… all the more reason to keep track of them! You could also use Tallyzoo to keep track of books you’ve read and books you want to read. If you’re one of the millions of people who read the Bible through each year (or if this is your first year doing so), you could keep a perfect tally of which Psalms you’ve read and which ones are left!

TallyZoo was actually launched about a week ago. The goal is to be the easiest way to track, visualize and share personal trends. The original idea behind the site was a place for people to track health and fitness goals and achievements. However, the site’s editors have been delighted to see individuals taking the site even further. More and more people are tracking a wide range of life goals and habits.

Human ingenuity. Nothing more beautiful.

Check out Tallyzoo to help organize and keep track of your thoughts, goals, and successes. You can even get an iPhone application!

Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life: The Whys and Hows

by joi on January 4, 2010

in General, Positive Thought, Self Help

One of the few magazines we subscribe to (and devour cover to cover) in our house is SUCCESS Magazine.  Each issue is chock-full of expert advice, covering subjects such as business, health, fitness, families, relationships, money, self improvement, and time management.  Without fail, I find myself jotting down notes, ideas, and motivational quotes.

If you’ve never read a copy, grab the current issue.  Trust me, you’ll soon be as hooked as we are.

Darren Hardy, Publisher of SUCCESS magazine, has something exceptional planned, starting tomorrow (Tuesday, January 5th).   He will be releasing a program titled Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life–Your Strategic Plan for Achieving Lifelong Goals.

Over 8 weeks Mr. Hardy will guide people through the development of a comprehensive life plan complete with all of his proprietary documents, worksheets, video and audio material–everything provided in his previous $1,500 single-day workshop!  The program and complete system with all the support materials will be given away for free.

The program kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday, January 5th, but anyone can join at any time.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?! And what brilliant timing.  January is synonymous with starting afresh and with pioneering new paths.  How perfect is it to have an experienced guide to lead the way?

How Abraham Lincoln Would Have Approached New Year’s Resolutions

by joi on December 31, 2009

in Daily Quote, General, Positive Thought, Self Help

“We must think anew, and act anew.” - Abraham Lincoln

Did anyone in history understand the importance of thinking and acting anew more than Abraham Lincoln? When President Lincoln wrote the words above, his beloved country was facing its darkest hour: The Civil War.  He wrote, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.  We must think anew, and act anew.”

2010 is on our doorstep.  In fact, as I’m typing these words, he’s making his way into many homes.  The type of house guest he’ll become is, to a large extent up to us.  If we are able to approach old problems with new solutions, he may be the finest house guest we’ve ever had.  However, if we keep doing that which isn’t quite good enough, he’ll be like the overbearing uncle that always wears out his welcome as he wears out our nerves.

Thinking and acting anew is pretty much what New Year’s Resolutions are all about.  When the man who is 40 pounds overweight sits down with his pen and paper and writes “Eat out less often….  Walk for 30 minutes each day…. No more fries!… etc.” he is, in fact, finding new approaches to 40 old problems.  In the period of time that he spends with his pen and paper, his mind searches for new actions that’ll solve his problem, new ideas that’ll lead him to a happier and healthier life.  If he just wrote “Lose weight” on his paper, he wouldn’t be making a resolution as much as he’d be making a wish.

If you want your own New Year’s Resolutions to help guide you along the path to making your dreams come true, be specific.  Take specific problems and come up with specific solutions.

As one of the greatest Americans to ever live said, “We must think anew, and act anew.”

I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you the happiest and healthiest 2010 imaginable.  I hope you laugh daily, love deeply, and live life as it’s meant to be lived – out loud and with a smile on your face.  If you have big dreams, I hope you’ll never quit running toward them and if you have high hopes, I hope you never quit reaching for them.  God bless you and those you dearly love!  Happy New Year! – Joi

Behold: The Land of the Lost

by joi on December 17, 2009

in Articles, General, Self Help

Land of the Lost TV Show

I admit it: I’m a people watcher from way back. My mom said that, in the hospital nursery, all the other newborns were either sleeping or crying but I kept looking around. I kept an eye on the nurses, the parents, and the other babies. I guess I was just born to watch people with the utmost fascination.  Who needs to sleep, cry, or drink milk when they can try to get a handle on everyone else?

In a completely good-natured, innocent way, I sometimes “group” people into categories. There are the grumble guts (the ones with permanent scowls on their faces – I avoid them at all costs), the sweet seniors (love them), the jocks (you know, they’re the sort that wouldn’t just foul you on the b-ball court, they’d foul you hard), the sour seniors (grumble guts with years of practice under their belts), the Tree Huggers (they don’t just carry their own bags, they snarl at your plastic ones – they also seem to be waiting for the opportunity to lecture you on global warming, Polar Bears, seals, world hunger….) and many others – ranging from baby divas to the geek squad.  Of course there are some groups who are obvious: SuperMoms are the ones with 30 arms, the Cellphone Jokeys are the ones who are always riding a cellphone, Store Spinners (they take all day to shop and delight in each spin of the shopping cart) etc.   My daughters are baby divas (well-dressed, perfectly groomed, very young females) and my husband’s a geek-squad/jock/Cellphone Jockey.  Busy boy.  Me? I’m a SuperMom/Tree Hugger/Coffee Chugger/Store Spinner.  I’m also the driver you most want to avoid on the road.  One of those who never seems to know where she’s going until she’s about a mile past it.

Yesterday, I reported for jury duty and, lo and behold, I discovered a whole new breed of people:  The Land of the Lost.

I’ll get back to them in just a minute, but first a mini-rant.  Why do people panic over the mere proposition of jury duty?  It doesn’t last that long, it’s not that big of a deal, it isn’t hard, physical work, no one will pull a single tooth, and you sit more than you do anything else.  Yet people practically panic over the prospect.  I’ve heard of so many individuals who don’t even go – they act as though they never got the letter.  Why flirt with that kind of trouble?!  Even while there, people were trying to squirm out – even after the judge gave an excellent speech about civic duty and pointed out that he had served in Vietnam and suffered greatly all in the name of duty.

After hearing his speech, people still lined up trying to weasel out.

If you ever get a letter – just go. It’s not a big deal AT ALL.  It’s actuallyvery interesting.  You might discover a whole new breed of people, too.

Which, of course, brings us back to our beloved Land of the Lost.  There were over 100 of us there and this people watcher was in her element and on her game. So many people to observe and so little time.  There were lots of sweet seniors, a couple of  grumble guts and zero sour seniors (must’ve stayed home, miserable).  There was 1 cowboy, 5 Woodstock Holdouts, and several Honey-Dos, husbands who looked lost without their wives to show them where to sit.  There was a baby diva who was about 8 months pregnant – and she wore it beautifully.  She was brave enough to show.

There were enough Christmas Sweater Ladies to make a softball team, and they each smelled amazing.  Christmas Sweater Ladies are a tidy bunch and they have excellent perfume skills.

However…. a special group began to materialize in front of me.  It was as though I was a photographer for National Geographic – on assignment to photograph…oh, I dunno, let’s say polar bears… when a family of seals (a new species never seen, let alone photographed) comes flopping up.  Oh joy! How unexpected!

Hello, The Land of the Lost.

There were several individuals who seemed so completely out of their element that getting onto the elevator seemed taxing to them.  They seemed frightened of every person they passed, they acted as though they were being sent to the Middle East for a stretch of 5 years.  Following simple instructions seemed to be almost painful for them, poor dears.

It didn’t take long to figure them out.  The Land of the Lost doesn’t get out much.  Oh,  they know their way around a television set and can work a remote control like an airplane pilot works his controls.  They could tell you which show comes on which night, which channel it comes on, when the series finale will be, etc.  The high end Land of the Lost-ites can even tell you which series are on dvd.  They know what they’ll eat Friday night, they know where they’ll eat Sunday afternoon – after all, practice makes perfect and they don’t step outside of the lines very often.  They don’t know any good books, they don’t quite know what’s going on in the world, and life outside of their home is a little overwhelming.

Their lives have become so routine that when they have to step outside of the norm, they are utterly lost.  They’re the ones who don’t want to visit new cities, let alone other states (Heck fire, we’ve got all we need right here!).  New experiences?  Thanks, ma’am, but I like the ones I’ve been having for all these years. Time has cast them into a tiny little mold and they’ve hardened over the years.  When taken out of the mold for any length of time they seem to have one thing on their mind:  Getting back!

We can’t really be too hard on them.  It’s easy to get into a routine.  Why?  It’s comfortable and everyone loves being comfortable.  That’s probably why a lot of people have such an issue with serving on juries – it’s just a little too far out of the norm for them.  Yet, outside of the norm (outside of the mold) is where TRUE growth happens.  Each experience helps you to develop new layers and fill up fresh wells of life experiences to draw from.

The next time you’re faced with a situation that will be a stretch for you, welcome it! Don’t shy away from it or do back-bends trying to get out of it.  See it as an opportunity to keep you on your toes, an opportunity to keep your senses sharp, an opportunity to stretch yourself and an opportunity to meet new people and gain new experiences.

See it as a way to stay out of The Land of the Lost.

Kseniya Simonova – Sand Animation: Ukraine’s Got Talent

by joi on December 14, 2009

in General

It doesn’t happen often, but I am utterly speechless.   See if the same doesn’t happen to you as the beautiful young lady, in the video above, uses sand, emotion, and talent to tell a story.

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