Power of Yoda

Everyday I get a quote emailed to me. Often I have never heard the quote before and it gives me a new perspective, motivation or just a simple smile. However,when I looked in my inbox this morning I noticed a very familiar quote.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

-Yoda The Empire Strikes Back

For many years this has been one of my very favourite quotes. I hope it brings as much to you as it has to me.

Power of Belief

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that "the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams".

And my question for you is DO YOU?

Power of Being “Under Construction”

When I was in my second last year of high school I was told that my school was about to undergo some serious reconstruction. An exciting first thought that led to a disappointing after thought It wouldn't be completed until after I had graduated.

The EXACT same situation occurred in university, which made me think, “Just my luck, AGAIN!”

After university, I moved back to Toronto for 8 months during which time the major streets I live near went under heavy “road improvements”.

Yet again, more construction.

When I moved to London I seriously thought I was free from it all until I was very shortly disproven. First my street, then my area’s high road and now, MY NEIGHBOURS HOUSE!

So, after years of thinking (and sometimes screaming) “WHY ME?” I started to think about how this relates to life and this is what I came up with:

Life is “under construction”…that is, to change, to progress, to develop. It’s about getting rid of the old to welcome in the new.

For years I believed that “construction” was following me and I hated it. Now I realize it’s just a simple reminder that I am a work in progress. I can choose to change or be the same.

So can you.

On November 4, 2008 history was made. The world embraced the change it knows it needs.

We can change. Yes, we can.

For many, December is the holiday season. It is busy, fast paced and often quite daunting. Before it officially starts GO UNDER CONSTRUCTION and give yourself an early “gift”!

I once read that if something ‘new’ feels easy, it’s not something new!

CHALLENGE yourself. This month do something you ACTUALLY find to be difficult. But remember that before you can have construction, you have to have some deconstruction.

Get out there and talk to that boy or girl you think is hot, ask your boss for that raise you deserve and dare to tell a friend what you really think.

Power of Perception

PERCEPTION = REALITY

What we see is what we get.

In order to change your reality, you must begin by changing your perception.

This concept may appear simple, yet its power is undeniable.

Try it, see what happens.

Power of ‘Systems’

Recently I read a book called ‘Don’t Waste your Talent’ written by Bob McDonald and Don E. Hutchinson, which takes the reader on a journey towards creating his or her own ‘Personal Vision’.

The most poignant message of the book was about how deeply our ‘systems’ affect us and our life choices. They use the word ‘system’ to describe the many social groups we are a part of, like our family, our school, our place of work, the city we live in and so forth.

Often we get so caught up in assuming the role our systems want or need us to be that we forget to look inside ourselves to ask , “Who do I want to be?” or “What is the role I choose to play?”

Take a moment to recognize all the systems you currently belong to. Then ask yourself, “What affect are these systems having on my life decisions and goals?”

These social systems become structures that heavily influence and, in a sense, determine our actions. We don’t want to disrupt the social world by acting in a way that threatens the structure ….right?

Wrong!

I say…

Why not push the boundaries?

Why not step out of our comfort zone?

Sometimes it feels like society writes us a script, and we simply read from it. So are we just followers, a part in everyone else’s play?

Through my work as a Youth Life Coach I see the effect that our systems can have, if we let them. It feels like people are programmed by their systems to always take the right “next step”; may that be going to university after high school or having children after getting married. But is that what you TRULY want?

Perhaps your answer is yes….but don’t just assume it to be YES. Ask yourself. Question the system. Don’t just be a follower.

Take control of your life and have the courage to get what YOU want out of it.