Showing posts with label spiritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Progress yourself into mastery...

Dear...

Confident is when you fully believe in your own capabilities, when you trust that you can overcome any obstacle and that you can fight any fear.  Having confidence means that you are well set to achieve your goals, but it doesn’t stop there. You still have to do it and come into massive action. But now with confidence, with willpower you will follow through and achieve your goals, you will reach mastery and even then you don't stop.

Let's say you are learning new dance steps. You have full belief that one day you will be able to dance them. With confidence you practice and learn... And then the day comes that you are able to dance the steps that at first looked almost too complicated to perform. Your confidence is growing so you try new, even complexer steps and routines. You practice them with the same believe and confidence that one day you can dance these step as well. With each new step that you are able to dance, your belief in yourself will be reinforced and you won't stop their either. Your confidence and belief in yourself is growing and you are no longer afraid to push your boundaries further.

In this example, you have literally progressed yourself step by step into mastery, all because your confidence was high and you had full belief in yourself. Successful people will tell you that once they gained confidence they started to achieve goal after goal. It is like pushing through a wall, once the firs brick starts to fall, the rest will almost fall by itself. So if you go after your goals with high confidence and an unshakable belief in yourself you will achieve your goals and get what you want.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


Saturday, February 1, 2014

Is there meaning if we don't contribute?

Dear...

In life, we shouldn't only think of our own needs but also of the need of others. What we do, does affect other people, just as what other people do affect us.

It's a great thing that we are encouraged to strive for self improvement, not just financially, but also intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. It's a duty to ourselves to make the most out of the opportunities and situations presented to us. Besides striving to be successful and happy we also need to makes sure that we can give back and contribute to the people close to us.

We have to understand that nothing will ever stand on itself. Our development will have an impact on our environment, our culture and therefore the future of others.

So when we define our vision and visualize our future, we also need to look at the value of our goals and the effect they can have on others. As we plan our achievements we have to consider what we can add to other people's development, success, well being and happiness as well.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The positives of positive thinking...

Dear...

Positive thinking is not just a state of mind. It has some real benefits for your wellbeing as well. Positive thinkers or optimists have a different 'inner dialogue' than negative thinkers or pessimists. If you tend to think more negative and be pessimistic then you have to learn how to change your 'inner dialogue'. Use different words and thoughts and learn from more optimistic people.

  • Positive thinkers are in general more productive and more healthy, they are more resilient and persistent. 
  • Positive thinkers have a lower rate of depression, reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. 
  • Positive thinkers have in general a better physical and mental well being and bottom line they just have an increased life span.

So If you are a negative thinker, your first positive change would be to accept the fact that negative thinking can be unlearned and positive thinking can be learned.
  • Change your attitude from seeing threats to seeing  opportunities. 
  • Instead of thinking: "it will never work";  think: "let me give it a try". 
  • Be someone that embraces changes instead of running away from it. 
  • Surround yourself with positive people. 
  • Stop yourself complaining about things that can't be changed like the weather. 
  • Always think the best can happen and not the worst.
jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD





Sunday, January 26, 2014

Excellence will always be rewarded...

Dear...

To become the best of what you can be in the future, you have to be at your best in what you do today, no matter what that is.

If you believe that all things happen for a reason and most things in life aren't random then where you  are and what you do today aren't without reasons either. You might feel you don't have the most important job in the world or you might not have the influence on others you were hoping for, but to become who you want to be tomorrow you have to accept what you are today.


Focus firstly on how to become excellent in what you do today and secondly on where you want to be in the future and change will happen fast and constantly

To become excellent do your current job without judgement, but do it with willingness to grow and learn; do it with commitment, responsibility and integrity; and most of all do your job with creativity and a sense the contribution for others.

Believe that we are all destined to do great things, not only in the future but especially in the every day things of life, do them in the best way you can and trust that excellence always will be rewarded.



jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Be instantly happier in 5 steps

Dear...

People who are more thankful and who feel more blessed are in general more happier than other people. This doesn't mean they posses more, but they are more appreciative of what they have no matter how much or how little it is.

1. Don't take everything so serious, don't take life so serious and don't take yourself too serious. Be light hearted. Learn from children around your, learn from their lightheartedness. Make sure you have time to have fun, to celebrate and once in while be lay back and plan a vacation.

2. Learn again to enjoy the simple and basic pleasures of life. We are sometimes so busy that we are not noticing anymore the beautiful things we are surrounded with. A simple way to do that is to use your senses more conscious: Smell the flowers, See the blue skies, Listen to child laughter or silence, Feel a nice breeze, Truly taste what you eat.

3. The Power of now. We are so occupied with what lies ahead or what have been, that we have lost how to live in the moment. The number one and still growing mental symptom in modern world is worrying. Worrying means that your mind is occupied with things that are not even certain to occur.  We should better learn how to live in the moment and focus on the here and now.

4. Be more relaxed. How can you be happy if you are constantly busy, frustrated or even angry? Relaxed doesn't mean do nothing. Being relaxed is an attitude not an activity.

5. Be grateful. Feeling blessed, grateful and appreciative should probably be on top of this list. When you have a stronger sense of love and thankfulness you will have a happier and even healthier life. An attitude of gratitude can be practiced and learned. A good way to do that is to make a little list, each day before you go to bed write down three to five of things you are thankful about of the day passed.

jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/



"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Sunday, January 19, 2014

To make your dreams come true requires a good amount of courage

Dear...

Dreams of doing big things in life; we all have them or at least had them. Only a few us dare to declare what their dreams are, a smaller percentage of people pursue them and an even smaller percentage actually reach them.

It is because of the fact that most people think only a few can make it that they are not pursuing their dreams, but it is because only a few dare to pursue their dreams that only a few make it; not the other way around.

Most of us want to know what the end results are before we try to begin something. If we would be less result driven, more people would go after what they truly want from life.

So when you pursue your dreams you will not get a guarantee that you will reach them, it will be hard work, you need to do things you have never done before, you will encounter roadblocks and have many failures, other people might think you are crazy, but it will be all worth it. You will know that  you have lived to the fullest and that you have lived
with courage.

Steve Jobs says:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.”

jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD




Saturday, January 18, 2014

GIGO: Garbage in garbage out

Dear...

GIGO or Garbage In Garbage Out is a term used in computer science. When input data is of low quality (garbage in) one can only expect low quality output data (garbage out).

If this is true for computers then why would this be less true for our mind and body?

If we expect to have good thoughts and a creative mind we have to make sure that there is quality in the 'mental' things we consume. You might want to moderate watching soap operas, playing computer games and reading gossip magazines.

If we expect to have plenty energy and a healthy body we have to make sure that we eat and drink well and work out regularly. Processed food and being a couch potato might not fit that criteria.

We can set goals and want to perform at peak levels, physically and mentally. But if we don't fill/feed ourselves with good things (garbage in) you can only expect that you won't perform at your true potential (garbage out).

So if you make sure that you eat and drink healthy, exercise well and consume useful information (quality in) you can expect better performance physically and mentally (quality out): QIQO.

jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD





Saturday, January 11, 2014

Instead of asking: Why me? We should ask: Why NOT me?

Dear...

Janine Shepherd a cross-country skier hoped for an Olympic medal, until she was hit by a truck during a training bike ride. Leaving the hospital after six months, barely able to use her legs, she quickly fell in a state of depression. After a period of constant pondering on the question "why me ?" she had a life changing epiphany. Instead of asking again "why me?" she asked herself "why NOT me?".

Janine Shepherd's story is as inspirational as it is motivational. Not only did she decide to learn how to fly a plane, but she became a flight instructor within 18 months leaving the hospital and after that she made to a trained aerobatics flying instructor. Despite the fact that her doctors told her that she would never be able to use her legs again, she learned how to walk and she was asked to be a torchbearer for the Paralympics in Sydney 2000.

We all have been in situations of which we felt we can't change; a situation in which we got stuck in asking ourselves why me and why did this happen? The story of Janine teaches us that we can change bad situation by asking ourselves: "why NOT me?" and "how can I turn this in something good for others and perhaps myself?"

Hardships often bring the best out of people, but I always hope that stories like the one I told in today's post motivate us to pursuit a life of excellence and do extraordinary things without having to go through ordeals first.

Watch Janine Shepherd telling her own life story at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX32U_hfri4


jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Monday, December 30, 2013

New Years Resolution: Keep Going

Dear...

In the previous posts on this topic I gave you already six guiding principles to help you achieving your New Years Resolutions for 2014.
- Make sure that it's your resolution and not someone else's.
- Formulate it in a positive way, so avoid negative words.
- Make sure that your resolution meets your personal standards and common sense.
- Create a support group for your resolution.
- Write your resolution down and read it repeatedly.
- Achieve one resolution at the time.

Browse back to the older posts on this topic to read more.

Today we'll conclude this series of post on "achieving your new years resolution".

Plot a plan and implement:
It is better to have a poorly developed plan than no plan at all. Break your resolution down in smaller steps, reward yourself for every milestone you make, don't deviate from your plan if possible, but also adjust if necessary. Make sure it is not only a plan in your head but put it on paper instead and share it with people in your support group.

Imagine how it is to have achieved your resolution already:
Make this picture so clear and positive as possible. Describe it to someone else. When you want to lose weight see yourself already having the size you're aiming for. If you want to stop smoking see yourself already taking the stairs without gasping for breath. Feel how it would feel and go back to these thoughts at least once a day.

And last but not least: Keep going...
If it was easy you would have done it already. Your mind will try to persuade you to stop, but don't listen to that voice in your head...remember why you wanted to achieve it ... picture yourself already achieving it... read your resolution again and keep going!

I wish you all the best for the New Year, dream bold, dream big and take large bites out of life in 2014...

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Monday, December 23, 2013

Life is a test...

Dear...

Why does it seem that some people are tested more in life than others? To me that's one of the big life questions, maybe too big for me to answer in a blog post, but I can at least try to give you some perspective. 

I believe that we all get tested in life and it is through these tests that we'll shape our characters, find our courage and ultimately fulfill our destiny. It will help you to accept this as a universal truth. People having a hard time to accept this fight more with their tests instead of making them. 

Life tests are like school tests if you fight them you have a hard time to pass them; if you undergo them without perpetration you'll find yourself getting an F as well; but if you embrace them, prepare for them and even seek them out, tests will become stepping stones of your life. 

Seeking out tests will not only help you to understand your limits but it will push them as well. It is like a muscle, it only gets stronger if you train it. This is true for any skill you want to develop, both physical and mental. 

There is perhaps one difference with school tests and tests in life. In school a lesson get taught before a test, in life the test is often the lesson you have to learn. 

The above might not give us an answer to the question I started today's post with, but  hopefully it will give you a good starting point to cope differently with your tests in life. 

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Be like Scrooge...

Dear...

I already told you that I'm a sucker for the holidays. I like it all: the decorations, the food, the get together with family and friends, but mostly I like The Christmas Story after all that's what we celebrate.

Today however I would like to talk a little about another famous christmas story, the one about Ebenezer Scrooge. The main character in Charles Dicken's tale is portrayed by countless actors in countless plays and movies. My favorite one is George C. Scott.

Charles Dickens wrote his story in 1843, but hasn't lost any of its beauty and profoundness. On hindsight of the story you can see that Scrooge was fortunate to get first a reflection of his past and present and then a preview of a possible future.

Wouldn't it be nice if once a year we were visited  by our ghosts of the past, present and future so that we can make a course correction as Ebenezer Scrooge did? We are not able to see into the future, but we can do a reasoning whether a continuation on the line of our past produces a preferable future or not. After all the past leaves traces. There is a saying: "if you want to know some ones future look at his or hers past". This is however only true if you don't make any changes when the results of your past and present advices you to do so.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The struggle to find a life's purpose...

Dear...

Imagine you were born a few thousand years ago, you didn't have to make a choice what job you were going to do or what profession you have to learn. You would live in a time where you had to take care of everything yourself, hunt or gather your own food, prepare your meal, you made your own entertainment, fixed your own housing and was your own medical service. You would not be stuck in a role that wouldn't fit you, because there was only one. There were no specialists only generalists.
Society, especially in first world countries, have changed dramatically. You can be a general thinker, but there are almost no real 'general jobs' anymore. Just some decades ago, when someone asked you what do you do for a living, a simple answer like I work at an office, I work in a factory, I work on the land was sufficient.  Everything was more general. I think its great that nowadays we have so many specialists in so many areas. But what if you are not wired liked that and you are stuck in a "specialist's job" but your nature forces you to always look more at the bigger picture of things. There is no education for that and there are no jobs like that either.
If people like this grow up in an environment where this 'general' way of thinking is recognized and stimulated they will often be very successful in life. However when people like this grow up in an environment where this thinking is not taken serious and even suppressed, they will often live a life full of struggle and in many cases lead a life of depression, obsession and  addictions.
People who recognize themselves in this tend to look different at the world. They have a natural drive to seek answers to the bigger life questions like: where do we come from, what is the meaning of life, is there a purpose of life etc. If life philosophy was a common profession then that's probably where you would find these people. Most other people would call them dreamers with less sense of reality. The truth is that these 'dreamers' just look different at life feeling they can only be happy when finding their life's purpose.
In my to be published book I'll paint the picture of such a dreamer and his life long struggle to find his purpose in life.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Thinking without acting

Dear...

I love people who love to learn. Some might say life is all about learning or one could even say life equates learning. Learning will change us and change is growth.
Is learning alone enough? At times I was so in love with learning that I forgot to apply the things I have learned. In other words, I didn't put my learning into practical use. Knowledge because of knowledge is not per se wrong, but we miss something profound if we never bring what we have learned into practice. Applying what we have learned will deepen and anker it.


The same can be said for thinking. We all know some people who act without thinking, I for one am guilty of that myself quite often. But I consider the opposite, thinking without acting, as even more problematic. The latter will end up in analysis paralysis, a state of overthinking so that an action is never taken. This comes often from wanting to be perfect and / or the fear of making the wrong decisions. Well the truth is that if you don't take any action or a decision someone else might take it for you... So as learning need to be applied so need thinking to be put into action.


Yes, of course you should do some thinking before you act, but try not to overthink things, take action and come into motion. I always say it's easier to change the course of a moving object than change the direction of
something that stands still.

Jeandorff@googlemail.com
http://facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/

"Be inspired and you shall inspire."

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The power of words....

Dear...

You probably know that most of our communication is non-verbal and I'm not talking about when you read an e-mail, I'm talking about when you are actually talking face to face with two or more people.
Depending on what research article you read, somewhere between 75% and 90% of our communication is non-verbal. Non-verbal communication such as gestures, intonation, posture, clothing etcetera and even smell... This means that only 10% to 25% is conveyed through words.
I sometimes wonder if my readers get the full meaning of my daily posts since I'm limited to using only words. I can only imagine how much nuance in our messages gets lost with the texting we do via social media and mobile apps.

We already misunderstand each other so easily when we communicate face to face, I can only imagine how much of the true message we miss when we see written text only. I read something recently in a blog that illustrates how powerful Non-Verbal communication is. Ahston Laurent, a former teacher from Gallaudet University where the students are deaf or hard of hearing said: "It's difficult to lie to a deaf person because they're so attuned to peoples' body language."

As a dancer and dance teacher, I'm very aware of non-verbal communication. In fact when I perform and when I teach, my body language is the most important 'instrument' to convey my story or a lesson.

By now you might wonder why today's post is titled 'the power of words' and not 'the power of body language'. Well, because today I was made aware again what the power of a few words can be. My dad who just came from Intensive Care Unit was able to talk again. I had him on the phone and he said: "Son, I can't hear you very well, but you don't have to worry about me, I am okay".
A few words can make sometimes all the difference...even without all the non-verbal communication.



jeandorff@googlemail.com
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"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~JD



Tuesday, December 3, 2013

We can live forever...

Dear...

The US declaration of independence says that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with unalienable Rights of among others, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

When I read this for the first time, I was inspired by it and it prompt me to scrutinize my own life and see if I was not squandering these rights.

According to Bob Proctor, most of us are not taking full advantage of the unalienable right of life as mentioned in the declaration of independence. In his freedom series, he gives a bleak and unfortunate true picture of how most people live, how they maintain their status quo and how they focused on consolidating what they have than trying to break new grounds and go beyond the boundaries of comfort.

Now it's only you who can judge if you truly live your life to the fullest; if you live it with passion and love for life; if take it as it comes and make the most of it; if you rather lead than follow; it's only you who can make a choice to be a contributor or just a bystander and it's only you who can decide to live a life with purpose and to leave a eternal legacy.

I dedicate this post to my brother Herman, who passed away three years ago. His legacy is his love for life, he lives forever through his art, his photography, his love for music and most of all his love for his wife, kids and family.

jeandorff@googlemail.com
facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/






"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~JD

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable...

Dear...

Ask a relatively big group of people: 'Is any opportunity without risks worthwhile pursuing?' and you probably can divide this group in two sub groups by their reactions and answers.

One sub group is more risk averse and would like to know what kind of risks we are talking about, their fear of failing is typically greater than the excitement of a possible win, life has made them more cautious and they have a tendency to take make safe choices.
The people in the other group are more risk takers and show more interest in what the possible winnings could be and their excitement of succeeding is typically bigger than their angst to fail. This last group has learned that the rewards are big when the risks are big and they typically see failure as just another attempt to get closer to success.

Most great opportunities, if not all, force us to leave our comfort zones. It is very likely that none of the people in either of the mentioned groups feel 100% ready for an important life opportunity. But when it comes to take these opportunities then: risk averse people need to have the feeling that they are prepared in all details before they come into action; risk takers on the other hand feel more comfortable with being uncomfortable and therefore, they step easier out of their comfort zone. Risk takers know that growth and success are just outside their comfort zone.

It perhaps does not surprise you that successful people are more found in the risk takers group.  The reason why someone belongs more in one group than the other is often related with the personal experiences they went through.  Successful people see their experiences less as failures and more as learnings.

Thomas Edison had more than 2000 'failures' before he finally succeeded inventing the lightbulb. When asked if he was ever discouraged by these failures, he answered: "No, I just had a 2000 step process to make the first lightbulb". John F. Kennedy said: “Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished with a guarantee of success.”

jeandorff@googlemail.com
facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/


"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD






Saturday, November 23, 2013

From conscious movement to unconscious movement...

Dear...

Gary Zukav, a renown author says, "Every intention sets energy into motion whether you are conscious of it or not".

For this blog, please pay attention to the differences and relationships between conscious and unconscious movements versus controllable and uncontrollable movements.

There is a constant process of motions in our bodies such as breathing, bloodstream, lymph system etcetera. The majority of motions in our body are beyond most people's ability to control. Although we can bring these movements to a level of consciousness, most of us can only control them to some extent, if at all.

There is little or no reason to bring these uncontrollable motions to our consciousness, but there is rationale in bringing controllable movements from our consciousness to unconsciousness.
Learning to control a movement is a conscious process. After we master the movement, we can bring it into our unconsciousness. A simple example is harnessing one's typing skills. First we teach our fingers where each letter and character is located on the key board.  Once we master this step, our fingers can type with  the speed of our thoughts. Being conscious of every individual movement would only slow down the motions of our fingers. Ergo by bringing 'learned and therefore controlled movements' to our unconsciousness, we can speed up the execution of these individual movements tremendously, especially when performed in succession.

This principle is used a lot by dancers of all disciplines. A dancer constantly practices movements with a conscious mind, then allowing the movements to sink into their unconscious mind. The dancer can now execute endless and complex combinations of individual motions with remarkable speed.  There is however a big caveat here. The higher the quality the dancer practices these individual movements, the higher the caliber of the movements will be when performed in a large sequences.  These sequences are known as dancing.

jeandorff@googlemail.com
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"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD


One of the strategies that helps dancers successfully imprint movements in their mind and muscular system is called 'marking'.  In one of my later blogs I will write more about it. If you want to read about it already you can look up the following article http://pss.sagehub.com/content/24/9/1732 


Friday, November 22, 2013

New Year's Resolution II: The Power of Positive thinking

Dear...

A few days ago, I posted 'New Year's Resolutions number I' and I promised then to give you some tips how to make you more successful in achieving your 2014 resolutions.
First of all I would like for you to take some time to think about what your New Year's resolutions for next year could be. Give it some real good thoughts, take a few days for it if you like. Once you settle for one or two, write them down in draft.  Over the next few posts on this topic I will give you a number of guidelines of what the criteria are for an achievable resolution.

First, it needs to be your resolution, not someone else's, no matter how good the intention of that person is. So for example, your love ones tell you that you should exercise more and you don't really feel that you should then don't make it your resolution.
Second make it a positive resolution. So, instead of saying I want to quit smoking, write down the reasons why you want to quit smoking. For instance say, I want to lead a more healthy life and give a good example to my kids. Another example, instead of saying I want to go on a diet, say something like I want to be very fit and climb every stair with ease.  Now I'm sure you can come up with better formulated resolutions than I did here, but I hope you get my point about writing it positive. Avoid negative words, like don't and no; and avoid words with a negative connotation for you, may be words like diet or work-out.

Let's start with these two guidelines and I'll follow up with some more in my later posts. So, in summary: make sure your resolution is yours and make it very positive with a focus on the reason and/or the result you're after.

There is power in positive thinking. David O.McKay said: "Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny", therefore a positive mind creates positive outcomes.
With that, get a pen and paper and start drafting your resolutions and I'll come back on this topics in a few days from now.

jeandorff@googlemail.com
facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/





"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD




Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A story of talent and passion

Dear...

Talent means you have a natural ability to do something and passion means a strong and barely controllable emotion. So when passion meets talent, it's likely that success will follow and that great things can happen. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that you need to have talent for the things you are passionate about, or that you can only be successful when you have a talent for it. If you have less talent, don't let it stop or discourage you to go after what you want. Talent accounts only for a small percentage to achieve something, the bigger part needs to come from focus, dedication and hard work. The last three can only be reached with passion.

Success should be measured by more than 'being the best in something'. If these were the only criteria of being successful, a lot of passionate people would immediately stop doing what they are passionate about. We can all strive to be a winner, but we will not all be one. I must admit that I walked in that trap and for a while I could only find joy in something when I was the best or at least really good at it. Later in life, I learned to find joy in the process of doing things, instead of making my joy dependent of the results I was after. While as a performance coach I strive to get the best out of people or teams, I also want to make sure that the love for doing things is not killed by the pursuit of success. In the end it is as Steve Job said: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do".

jeandorff@googlemail.com
facebook.com/jean.dorff
http://www.pinterest.com/jeandorff/inspiration/


"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Tidy room tidy mind

Dear...

One day a businessman asked a wise-man: dear wise-man my life is so stressed and I have every day so many things to do, I wish there were 48 hours in one day. Is there anything you can advise me to do? The wise-man said yes, I want you to clean up your room and start and end your day with 10 minutes of meditation. The businessman answered... wise-man you must not have understand me, I'm too busy to do all that.

Now I'm sure you see the irony in the reply of this businessman. The man is too busy to get rest and the only way to get rest is actually to take rest. The other advice the wise-man gave is also intriguing. He advised the businessman to clean up his room. The wise-man knew that most people with too much stuff on their mind, also have too much stuff in their room and on their desk. The wise-man wanted for the business man to have a peaceful place in the physical (his room) and in the non-physical (his mind).

If you feel you have a "cluttered mind" then start with un-cluttering your surrounding, by literally tidying your room and desk. I can assure you, this alone will have an easing effect already, but please don't stop there. Do also the following:
- Sit in your tidy room, and meditate for 10 minutes in the morning and in the evening.
- Read a book to get some inspiration for another 10 minutes.
- Take some time to be physical active, stretching your body can be a good start.
Make a habit out of these 3 things, do them twice a day and I promise, your world will soon look entirely different and you start feeling less stressed and more energized in a few weeks. After all a tidy room is tidy mind.

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"Be inspired and you shall inspire."