Simplicity

How often do you find yourself asking why me? How often do you have the feeling that your barely able to stay afloat in life? How often do you focus on the negatives/failures instead of the positives/wins? Most importantly if life feels like its falling apart what are you doing about fixing it or do you just wake up each day with your fingers crossed that everything will change?

If you answered no or never me to any of these questions I am going to call you out right now as I can guarantee 100% of us at some point in our life have succumbed to the weaker side of the journey.

Problems fall into only three categories: direct control, indirect control and no control. Direct control are problems that involve our own behavior and ones that we have 100% control over how we react, indirect control are problems we have less control over as they relate to other people's behavior however we can help that person influence how they respond and then there are the problems that we have no control over.

I was talking with someone who I find very inspirational but was at a loss as deep down this person had no confidence in there abilities. They focused more on how the outside world was responding instead of having an inside-out approach. They couldn't see through all the reactive negative emotions in their life that they actually inspired everyone around them to be better. This is where indirect control came into play as it hurt me to see how this person was responding to the way their life was revolving. I dug deep and offered all my support and ability to just listen in hopes that they would see the benefit of what they had to offer. This person was focusing to much on the intricacies of items that at the end of the day where out of their control and the ones that where in their control required more effort than was needed.

At this point I offered up 6 tips for simplifying their life and focusing on the wins instead of the losses.

Simple tips for daily simplicity

1. Make Your Bed - In a world that seem to fall more into chaos everyday making ones bed offers an immediate sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning. Why not start the day each and everyday with a WIN. This will also offer you a sense comfort and achievement when your day is done and you can end the day viewing a constant WIN.

2. Listen - Not sure when listening became such a hard thing to do but simple communication skills have disappeared over time because I believe people don't truly listen. Human nature is to listen for about 5-10 seconds in a conversation and then your already starting to formulate a response in your head. I know I have done it in the past as most of you have. I challenge you to hold off on thinking of what you want to say next but dig deep to listen to what the other person is saying. You will be amazed at how successful the conversation will be and what you can achieve.  

3. Smile - A smile puts your mindset into an open mindset where a frown or face of distress typically deals with a fixed mindset. A simple smile has the ability to brighten someone's day who may desperately need it. A smile produces successful behaviors and a sense of personal accomplishment. Smile as much for a whole day and then evaluate how much you accomplished plus the feedback that you received from the internal and external environment. A smile is the simplest form of leading a proactive lifestyle.

4. Read - The one thing I have noticed with almost every successful person you see on the front of a business magazine, leading a conference, CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a leader in your community is that they have an incredibly large thirst for knowledge via reading. This time of year you will see all the leaders of industry putting out their reading lists for the summer. I know first hand as I have probably read more books this year than I have since college that reading is such a simple task yet yields such rewarding results in character development.

5. Exercise - There are many forms of exercise these days and with each passing day another form pops up. I will not get into any specific form for argument sake but the simple form of moving throughout the day yields so many benefits that I could write a very long blog article just on that topic. The one thing I have noticed racing Ironman triathlons for about 15 years now is my commitment to health is contagious. My children see the value I put on it so they understand the benefit and they feel the rewards. Consistent exercise has taught me a will to always push myself to be better, it has given me the confidence of nothing is impossible and as I creep closer to 40 I feel so much younger than I am which helps me attack all facets of my life with the energy needed.

6. Language - I am not talking about speaking a foreign language but more the type of language that influence our attitudes or behaviors. The proactive vs. reactive language which holds you accountable or constantly places blame on others. Does your language inspire others to be better or do you talk about people behind their back? Do you say you have to do something or do you say I choose to do something? Do you say I can't which puts you in a reactive/failing mindset or do you say I choose or I will which opens your consciousness to options geared towards a successful environment.

Make It Count!!!

Life's too short to chase unicorns

Well its been about a month since my last post and its not that I haven't sat down a hundred times to write its just that life has thrown us many curve-balls this past month building upon all the curve-balls we have received this year. Typically writing has a tendency to put me at peace and de-stress/de-clutter but every time I have tried this year the amount of information regurgitation was on overload status. So while I will not overload you with a whoa is me blog post I will touch on a few things I have mentioned before and would like to reiterate in relation to how this year has gone for me/us. 

The best new impact habit I have created for myself this year to READ, READ, READ and READ some more. I have always been on the occasional quick read book list for most of my adult life until this year when Amazon and myself have become very close friends (sorry Britt). The wealth of knowledge, advice, motivation, creativity and personality development one can find via self-study is amazing and so easy to tap into. While some books lack in the build up in anticipation of what you thought they would be I still find that no matter what if you open yourself up to learning you can always come away with a pearl of knowledge. 

About two months ago I read a line in a book stating "Life's too short to chase unicorns". This grabbed my focus immediately as its something I agree with and disagree with at the same time. Unicorns in the business world are typically referred to that one start-up that got bought out for lots of money. For every one company that gets sold for a billion dollars there are thousands more that struggle to ever reach the potential of their creator. So basically the author was emphasizing the fact that life is too short to be wasting your time going for the moon when you can really focus on the now and build something that could be sustainable enough to drive happiness in your life. While I agree with the author in the sense of life's short I also believe that life is also too short not to chase the unicorns, not to have those moon shot goals and not to reach for something so far out of your ability just cause its not the safe choice. Life is about what you make it and in the Oergel household we believe in living each day to its fullest potential and constantly challenging ourselves to be better. To challenge ourselves to focus on the little things but also realize that those little things are the blocks to which once built will house the unicorn.

Through all the ups and downs this year and trust me there have been plenty that are to difficult to talk about I have come to the mid-point of the year with the one realization/true fact/emphasis that should engulf everyone's life. Each day we have is a gift so maximize your life in the present. Don't worry about yesterday as its in the past and there is nothing you can do to change it instead learn and apply to the present. Also don't focus to much on stressful situations in the future. I have learned one to many times this year that tomorrow isn't guaranteed so why waste precious energy, time and focus today on tomorrow. 

There are about a 100 things that will happen to you today that will be out of your control. Whether its the weather, stock market, car accident, the behavior of a friend, neighbor or co-worker or close family friend gets diagnosed with cancer. What you can control is how you and you only respond to these situations. Apply the strategy of changing the things you can change and everything else is out of your control and part of the roller coaster of life. When your co-worker does something to irritate you don't play their game but be the stronger person and try to understand where they are coming from. Offer support to the family friend diagnosed with cancer as a support system is the number one thing they need to know they have. Watch the world with an open eye to positive change and you will be amazed that the things you can control will develop and prosper with a successful outcome instead of stress and the feeling of failure. Communicate with people as this is starting to become a lost art.

The four people in the picture at the top are my support team, my laughter, my dinner guests, my cheer squad and most importantly the reason I wake up each day with a smile and know I have to give my best each and every day. Make sure you have a mission to your days and an objective to why you do what you do. 

Make It Count!!!