James Smith’s Info Serv

by: Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Who can control a smile sneaking across your face as you go outside on a beautiful spring day, suddenly finding your nostrils filled with a sweet aroma of fresh blooms, while feeling warm breezes against your skin, whispering, “No coat today.”? Nature provides enchantment all around us in the spring. The birds sing, the flowers bloom, animals have their babies, new birds learn to fly. If you look high up in a tree you might see an exquisite bird singing loudly, full of life. It is as if nature gives humans an opportunity for enchantment all around. Yet, we often are indifferent, not responding spontaneously to the rebirth of spring. We seem to be, at times, equipped to live lives of misery brought on by ourselves. Many of us are able to generate a bad mood, put ourselves down, see our future as dark or today as gloomy. We have lost or never had the easy comfort and capacity to relax and enjoy life that a cat has on a sunny porch just snoozing and rolling over. We humans have to work at enchantment. Let s take a moment and look at what the major components of this work called “enchantment” are.

To experience what we call THE ENCHANTED SELF, that is positive states of mind and body again and again, a person must be able to develop three capacities. The first is the ability to successfully meet one s needs. This can be challenging when we find ourselves committed or obligated to be elsewhere or doing other things. There is a saying, “If you can t go to the mountain than bring the mountain to you.” You may yearn to be outdoors playing sports or gardening but find yourself stuck indoors at home or at work. Opening the windows to let fresh air in, displaying a vase of colorful flowers on a table are some of the ways that can enable you to experience a spring day.
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Look around you. There’s a host of people working in jobs that are, shall we say, less than rewarding. If it were not true, the acronym T.G.I.F. wouldn’t exist. The reasons most people give are legion: “I have a family to support”…”We need the benefits”…”This is all I know”…”It’s a tough job market, I’m better off staying where I am”…”I’ve only got a few more years to retirement”…”We couldn’t afford a pay cut”…”I’m too young”…”I’m too old”…”I don’t know the right people”… and on and on. I argue that these reasons are really more of an excuse to stay in one’s comfort zone. They are usually offered up as if another job — one that taps more into our deeper interests and passions — could never support a family, provide benefits, or mean a salary increase. And, more times than not, when someone offers up one of these excuses — I mean reasons — everyone politely smiles and nods in a way that says, “Yes, this is a very wise and responsible person.” Wise? Responsible? Really?

I believe the key to a truly happy and fulfilled life is spending a good chunk of your time pursuing the things you’re passionate about. The things that fire you up. The things you’re good at. The kinds of things you’d do whether you got paid or not. The lie is that it’s not really work if you’re having fun. The truth is that there are more ways to earn a living doing what you’re passionate about than you’ve ever considered.

Interestingly, I have found that when confronted, many people have a difficult time nailing down their passion. They think to themselves that if they can just get through to the next day, the next month, the next promotion, it’ll get better. If you’re trying to figure out what exactly you should be doing with the rest of your life, I offer this technique I once heard years ago: Think back to what you wanted to be when you grew up. President? Ballerina? Astronaut? This holds a clue as to what you’re supposed to be doing now. It helps to look at WHY you wanted to be/do that thing, as opposed to heading straight for NASA. If you wanted to be an astronaut, was it because you wanted to explore new worlds? Were you intrigued by the physics of it all? Or did you like the idea of going really, really fast?

For instance, I dreamed of becoming George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Looking back, I think I was most enamored by how he used his imagination to create characters and worlds and stories to entertain millions of people. Now that I’m all grown up, I can see how through Kim & Jason, I’ve used my own imagination to create characters and stories to entertain lots of people. (I’m not quite to the million stratosphere yet.)

All that being said, even I was blown away when I came across a quote from a fellow named Arthur Miller. He said, “It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps it’s a form of sin you’ve never even considered – the sin of staying in the wrong job. But God did not place you on this Earth to waste away your years in labor that does not employ his design or purpose for your life, no matter how much you may be getting paid for it.”

Miller’s point comes from a religious point of view, but I think it’s still a relevant question for anyone to ponder: Are you wasting away your years? As I said at the outset, there are a host of people working in less than rewarding jobs. They’re ignoring their passions, shackled by self-limiting beliefs, and they’re drowning in a life of mediocrity. Are you one of them?

About the Author
Jason Kotecki
jbird [Email address: jbird #AT# jbirdink.com - replace #AT# with @ ]
Jason Kotecki is a mild-mannered cartoonist, speaker, and author with the mission of helping people diagnose, treat, and cure cases of Adultitis. He is the creator of the hilarious internationally-known comic strip, Kim & Jason, and the author of “Escape Adulthood: 8 Secrets from Childhood for the Stressed-Out Grown-Up.” Read his blog, listen to his podcast, reminisce about your own childhood and sign up to receive free comics and tips on escaping adulthood at www.KimandJason.com

This uplifting author, Joanie Winberg, better known as the Happy Wednesday Lady, is feeling extremely energized about spreading the word of Happy Wednesday. The passionate writer plans on making Wednesday a Power Day and banishing the dreaded middle of the week’s “hump day” reputation forever. And she can do it too. Wouldn’t it be awesome if everyone felt that way about Wednesdays? Think about it, rather than only existing for the weekends, you could feel better each and every day of the week. Can you see how much more you would accomplish? How many more good days you would have? And finally, what a difference this could make not only in your life, but all those around you.

Winberg’s 10 Power Tips offer just what you do to do it. Here are just a few:

1. Start your day with an inspirational tip. Journal what you are going to do differently to make today a better day. Winberg has the perfect Journal and Inspirational CD Set to assist you at http://www.HappyWednesday.com.

2. Find your favorite inspirational quote and make it a part of your day.

3. In the morning, write down three things you are grateful for.

4. Look for the good. Focus on what is going right in a situation versus what is wrong or not working.

5. Do an act of kindness. Now consider, how does this make you feel? Can you imagine the difference if everyone did even one act of kindness each and every Wednesday?

6. Forgive someone and make amends with a relationship gone sour. How good would that feel? You then have brand new relationships and renewed friendships.

7. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a long time to say hello. Tell them you’ve been thinking of them. 8. Call or e-mail a member of your family and tell them how much you appreciate them or how much you appreciate having them in your life. 9. Do one good thing for yourself. Something you normally wouldn’t do.

10. Have some fun. Make Wednesday night family fun night. Yes, you still can get the kids to bed on time for school. But devote one hour to something fun for you and your family.

Committing yourself to working on your Wednesday attitude keeps you in high spirits every day of the week. And if you need a little help in making that happen, Winberg provides her Happy Wednesday Broadcast, 90 second midweek “BOOST” to help. Winberg’s commitment is to help make everyone’s daily joy contagious and bringing the feeling of gratitude into an individual’s life. It provides inspirational quotes and tips to help listeners kick off their days with motivation and laughter.

Linda Hollander, the Wealthy Bag Lady, author and founder of the Women’s Small Business Expo, is just one of the many making the Wednesday change. Hollander wrote, “I look forward to my Happy Wednesday midweek boost every week, and I can’t wait to hear what gems of wisdom Joanie will impart to me. Watch out world, the Happy Wednesday Lady will inspire you to live your passionate life.”

And for those who regularly tune into the radio for inspiration, Winberg brings her message to radio stations across the nation in an effort to broaden the Power Day scope and is currently looking for more stations interested in airing her Happy Wednesday Broadcast.

Rediscover your true magnificence each and every day by changing just one day of your week-Wednesday. Make it a Power Day and feel the difference.

Keywords: Motivational tips, inspiration, success, Happy Wednesday, inspirational tip, inspirational quotes, Joanie Winberg, Wednesday, Hump Day

About the Author
Joanie Winberg
joanie.winberg [Email address: joanie.winberg #AT# yahoo.com - replace #AT# with @ ]
Joanie Winberg is a speaker, Published Author, Behavior Specialist and Certified Laughter Leader. Her new book coming out in November- “Rising to The Top”- A Guide to Self Development compliments her product “40 Days to a Happier Life” CD and Journal Set. For more information go to http://www.HappyWednesday.com, or contact Joanie Winberg at jw [Email address: jw #AT# joanwinberg.com - replace #AT# with @ ], or call (508) 947-2750. Article is free to be reprinted as long as author’s bio remains intact.

In this go-go world, it is easy to develop a lack of enthusiasm for daily life. If you just look around you, however, you can find plenty of things to inspire you. Finding Inspiration in Daily Life