Keeping it Real

Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

Will you remember in five years what you did today?

It would be incredible if everyone lived every moment as if to create a memory they could cherish for a lifetime.  What kind of life do you want to create?
~ Darren Sproat, 2008

Take a moment to absorb all that is wonderful going on around you and you stand a good chance of creating those memories you can cherish for a lifetime.  What kind of life do you want to create?

Warmest Regards,
Darren

Halloween marks an interesting time every year when kids of all ages (even us 30/40-somethings) dress up, wear masks and makeup, and conceal their true selves all in the name of fun… and to get boat loads of candy, of course!

I would argue that many of us wear masks every single day… to conceal fears or shortcomings, to reinforce an excuse or to convince those around us, or even ourselves, that we are something or someone we are not.

I write about being authentic a lot… I believe I’m putting my authentic self into everything I write for this blog. One individual I follow on Twitter initiated an interesting dialog with me shortly after I sent out a tweet about being authentic.  The entire dialog can be summed up in one tweet… 

“REVEALING authenticity is like removing layers from a “mask”.  Any attempt to CREATE authenticity just adds another layer.”
~ Carl Ingalls (Follow Carl on Twitter at @Carl_Ingalls)

Carl’s tweet sums up the true means to presenting your real self… the authentic you.  Peel off your masks and present the authentic you in all you think and in all you do.  Resist hiding behind excuses or perceived barriers…

“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.”
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Have a safe and happy halloween… 

I would be honored if you chose to leave a comment.

Regards,
Darren

I recently asked a peer group, ”What is the most important aspect of the life you are living right now?” 

The answers I received were as diverse as the people I was sitting with. They varied from children to parents, pets to material possessions, a big promotion to employers, employees, and friends.  Not one person in the room answered, “ME”!

Is it selfish to believe that, above all, you should be conscious to YOUR needs above all others and believe that YOU are the most important aspect of the life you are living?

We are often encouraged, whether by literature or media or friendly advice, to be there for those we love and the people and things we value.  Sure, it’s important that your family and friends are important aspects of your life but I would argue that if being present for them is at the expense of your own health and well-being, that you are doing yourself and your friends and family a disservice.

You will be better prepared and able to be available for those aspects of your life you consider important - kids, parents, family, friends, employment, business, or a significant other - if you first acknowledge and aspire towards achieving YOUR happiness and are firmly on the path to achieving YOUR dreams, YOUR SUCCESS – no matter how success is defined for you.  If you are able to present your authentic self in all that you do, something that can only be done if you are consciuous to YOUR needs, mentally and physically, your loved ones and, in fact, YOU will benefit greatly.

Here are some great tips for being present for yourself…

• Give a toast to you… Make a list of all the things you love about yourself… don’t just think of a few things and then move on to the next point, do it!  If you need help, ask a few friends to tell you of the qualities they love about you.
• Avoid the negative hits to self worth… Avoid sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. If you sit around thinking about all the things that make you feel bad or talking about it to anyone who will listen, it will make you feel worse.  Sure, you can acknowledge that there are things that make you feel bad but then focus on what you are grateful for in life.
• Eat better and stay active… Living healthier today than you did yesterday, and making that a goal for every morning when you wake up, is something that will improve you both physically and mentally.
• What do you love to do?  Make a list of the things you love to do and then do them!  Does that seem simple?  It is.
• Identify the learning opportunities… Every challenge in life is an opportunity to learn and better yourself.  This self betterment is what, when faced with challenges today, you should look forward to identifying and embracing. 
• Be happy… Your happiness is a choice… YOUR CHOICE!  Choose happiness when you wake up in the morning.  Approach each day as the gift that it is… with the enthusiasm and anticipation of a child on Christmas morning waiting to open that present from Santa.
• Listen to your body… One’s body sends many messages throughout the day.  When it’s time to eat, you’re hungry.  When it’s time to rest, you’re tired.  When it’s time to relax, put the damn cellular phone down and relax.  Be present for YOU!  You will find that handling the day’s anxieties and stresses becomes that much easier when you listen to the messages your body is sending you.

So, consider yourself the most important aspect of your life… it is not selfish.

I welcome your input on this… Comment now, and, as always, opposing viewpoints are always welcome at Keeping it Real.

Regards,
Darren Sproat

I am pretty confident when I say that all of us would like to be happy all the time.  I mean, who doesn’t want to be happy?  What I often observe, however, is people allowing external influences and past experiences to impact their desire to be happy.

Happiness is a choice.

It’s that simple.

And those past experiences and external influences, also known as insecurities or fears, that can be barriers to your happiness are influences you choose to allow to impact your level of happiness.

Here are some pretty simple things you can use to achieve your little piece of happy:

• First and foremost, choose to be happy…
  When you get up in the morning, choose to make it a happy day.  Add to your morning a thought routine that will take you through all that you are grateful for and then be grateful.
• Let go of negative influences…
  Those people, places, or events that seem to have a negative influence on you, release them from your life.  If you feel bad after watching the news, stop watching the news.
• Be true to yourself…
  Create and understand YOUR priorities and take the actions necessary to progress towards your dreams.  If there are influences impacting your ability to focus on the priorities you hold dear in your life, to be present for yourself, release them.
• Surround yourself with happy people…
  Happiness spreads like an uncontrollable fire.  Surround yourself with people who are happy.  Those who see the bright side regardless of what life throws them are happy people.
• Help others…
  It’s true.  The more you are present to assist others in achieving their goals or attaining a level of happiness, the more happy you become.
• Live in the now…
  Talked about so much on this site… choose to live in the present.  Live every moment as if to create a memory that you could cherish for a lifetime.  Each moment is an opportunity to make the next better than the last…
• …
• …

There are so many other tips you could use to find that little piece of happy you desire…  By all means, if you have blogged or submitted articles about this subject, include the URL’s in your comments.

Sincerely,
Darren Sproat

PS: I should probably indicate that the inspiration for the title of this post came from a recent ad I watched from Trident, check it out here…

[youtube HenercaxpU4]

Setting goals is something many of us do… I tend to think about what I want to achieve and write it down, find or create a computer desktop background that reminds me of the goal, set reminders in my calendars, etc…  and I often set those goals well beyond what I have achieved in the past or beyond what my ‘mind’ believes I can achieve.

Goal setting, however, is not the primary focus of this article… it is important and is something I have in the past and will discuss again in a later post.  Instead, I am going to focus on a key aspect of achieving those goals that often goes unaddressed in day-to-day actions.

One of the most important things you can do to put yourself on the path to success, the path to achieving your goals, regardless of how the success is defined or what the goal is, is to clear yourself of perceived limitations preventing you from making it there.

Everyone has barriers to reaching their goals, and I am not ignorant to that, but there are a few things you can do to permit yourself to focus on achieving the end result instead of focusing on the barriers or worse, becoming reluctant to proceed at all due to those perceptions.

First and foremost, RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE BARRIERS you believe get in the way of your success. I always say to people that they should choose to focus on the achievement, the goal, the dream, and not the barriers that prevent one from getting there but that doesn’t mean you should ignore those perceived barriers.  Often, people are unable to see how a perceived barrier is exactly that – a perception and not a reality – and it becomes the leading cause of inaction towards achievement of one’s aspirations.

In fact, a brief self discovery or analysis of those barriers will often uncover the fact that they are nothing more than external annoyances, mild internal fears, or some other perceived barrier your mind has constructed.  The services of a coach, recommended books on overcoming fear or limitations, self discovery exercises, meditation, massage, or any combination of other new age or conventional treatments could help you overcome these perceptions.

Second, and this is where the magic starts happening, you shall FOCUS ON, VISUALIZE, AND EXPECT THE BEST, MOST POSITIVE OUTCOMES as you take the actions necessary to achieve your goals.  Put some feeling into your actions, energize your passion, become a beacon of hope for yourself, demonstrate enthusiasm about the end result.  Instead of leaving your mind wonder and end up dwelling on all the things that will prevent you from taking action, you will focus on the steps, the actions, necessary in achieving your goals.

Does this mean that you suddenly don’t have all those others things going on in your life… of course not – you will still have to pay the power bill and rent/mortgage at the end of the month.  You have, however, permitted yourself to change your mindset to one of focusing on the steps necessary to achieve your goals instead of one of inaction and dwelling on the negative in your life.

Third, and this is an incredibly important step in this process, SHARE YOUR GOALS with everyone you come into contact with.  When you see people, friends, old acquaintances, new introductions, ask them what they are up to… they will answer and, naturally, ask what you are up to.  This is your opportunity to share with them your goals.  Energize that enthusiasm you have for your goals and express them passionately to those you come into contact with.  This step alone may uncover additional resources that could help you in achieving those goals…

Finally, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!  This is the single most important aspect of achieving your goals and is something that should be encourged from the beginning of this whole process.  Don’t just wish for the end result and then sit and wait.  Believe!  Believe that you deserve the end result and that the actions you are taking will result in achieving that result.

Make this a habit, change your perceptions (your thoughts) and refocus your energy on success instead of fear.  This can be done in every aspect of your life.  You will find that this will make achieving goals, choosing happiness, and attracting abundance that much easier.

What do you recommend to overcome limitations or barriers in life?  Click here to leave your insight now!

Regards,
Darren Sproat