Unstoppable Skills

I used to play video games. I loved Atari and would sit and play Space Invaders for hours. Usually only one since my mom made me turn it off.
As an adult I enjoyed playing Castle Wolfenstein and F-15 Strike Eagle. I loved flying into Middle Eastern targets low and then popping up and blowing things up and then getting out of dodge. I think I even had the stealth fighter simulator and would stay stealth until right above whatever and then open ports up and drop bombs and take shots and then go back into stealth mode and disappear.
Loved it. I played Doom a lot. Doom actually gave me weird dreams. I remember one time being at the airport when there was remodeling and construction going on in the terminal and it flashed in my head that this looked a lot like Doom. It was weird.
All that to say that as many times as I failed in video games and crashed and burned and died, which I don’t like saying, I never really gave up. Even though there was almost no way for me to win, I never gave up.
Because video games give you an ability that we tend to think we don’t have. Nowadays they call it respawning. You show back up where you stopped or wherever your last save point was. You face the challenge again and try something different.
And you lose and die and respawn and do it again. And respawn and do it again. And respawn and do it again. And that’s what we have to do in life. Yes, life is for real and yes, if you try to step out of your car while it’s moving at 55 miles an hour you will die and you will not be able to come back. They’ll have a funeral and you’ll be buried or cremated or whatever it is they do.
But when you try to talk to somebody and fail, it’s not over. Shake it off, pick it back up, and try it again. Or go in a different direction and try it again.
If you apply for the job and you don’t get it, shake it off, respawn and apply again, either at the same place or somewhere else. There are so many filters and barriers in place out there that if you can learn to take the no and smile and consider it something to learn from, then respawn and do it again a different way. Count them for points and brag that you’ve gotten more “no” answers than anyone around you!
You’ll be able to get around those barriers and get to where you want tobe. Salespeople get taught this a lot. Salespeople don’t make the sale every time and they take a lot of no’s, but they smile and they try it again.
No is not final, it’s just, oh, okay, I’ll try this over here or I’ll go with this person or maybe you can use me later.
Don’t give up, respawn. Then try again.

One of the things that I’ve been known for in the past and tended towards heavily was negativity. It’s the way I was raised. Murphy’s law was quoted often around my house when I was growing up and as an adult I was told that over and over and over by family members and by me.
Over the past few years I’ve been making efforts to be more positive. It’s challenging because of my tendency to be negative about things but I think I’ve turned a corner. Still not great but I’m a lot more positive than I was.
One of the things I’ve started doing recently is instead of using dashes as divider lines between things I’m trying to use plus symbols. A line of plus symbols makes a good line and it looks more positive to me than a bunch of minuses and if you read the history of the plus symbol it’s actually in that shape because the person who kind of got it going and encouraged it as a standard for addition was a Christ follower and wanted to have the cross everywhere.
So here’s an example of what I’m talking about.
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Makes a nice divider doesn’t it? I’m positive that this will help somebody 🙂
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#us #positive #communicative

One of the skills I encourage is to be positive. Not in a sickening-sweet way that is not based in reality, but in a way that encourages people to be more positive.
There is a site at
positivewordchallenge.com
I created it so that I and others could have a positive word for each day.
And if you’d like a positive question to use in conversation check out
positivequestionchallenge.blogspot.com
Enjoy!
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#us #positive

Getting things done is hard because you have reminders and they got a blast through all of the attention grabbing things that the online industry is throwing at you.
One idea is to make a playlist for things that you want to remember. Songs that talk about the work you gotta do for the things you have to check or people that you want to stay in touch with on certain days and then name those playlists for the day of the week or the day of the month. That way when you going hey I’ll listen to some tunes all the Monday playlist was see what I’m forgetting and then you play it and they remind you of all the stuff you want to do.
Another way you could use playlists to help you get things done is to make a playlist with different songs grouped by artist (like an album but do people even think that way now?) and then change activities when the next artist’s songs start playing.
Just a couple of idea for using playlists to increase productivity!

One the things to keep in mind when thinking about “presence” is: Follow you plan, not your mood.
From day to day, moment to moment, we make decisions. What do we want to do? Where do we want to go? How do I get through this next puzzle? Who do I want to be with?
If we lay out a plan for the day, whether it’s based around a schedule that we have been given by someone else or a schedule in our head, we have to decide moment by moment whether we will follow the schedule or not. In this way we will move forward with our plans, uphold the values we have, meet the expectations that we or others have.
A lot of times my mood is different from my plan. I get tired, I woke up late so I’m grumpy, or I’m hungry and don’t see an opportunity to eat anything for a couple of hours.
Or on the positive side of mood I’m happy doing something I love, I’m enjoying time with some friends, or I’m content with the comfort that I’m experiencing.
No matter how I feel I’ve found that I still need to check my plan throughout the day. And start doing something I want or need to get done because it’s what I planned to do.
Sticking with your plan is a great way to be present. And it helps move the pegs along the planned path you set and help you achieve your goals.
So follow your plan, not your mood.