Month: April 2014

LET GO of the BAD to Pick Up the GOOD

Posted by: Rachel Bryant Lundy Posted on: April 11, 2014

letting go image

As a close girlfriend of mine walked off the elevator and into the office kitchen area, I eagerly waved to her. When I noticed there was someone that she was talking to behind her, I assumed I would also like that person and began to wave to them as they followed closely. Once I could fully see who the person was, and it registered to my brain that they weren’t one of my favorite people, it was too late. I already said “hi”, and you can’t take back a “hi”. If you’ve ever accidentally waved to someone that you don’t like, you immediately want to kick yourself for making that mistake.

I can only imagine this happens to many naturally happy people, you’ve got so much joy on the inside that you can’t contain it. You smile and wave often, with no time to stop in the middle, just to prevent yourself from interacting with those you deem not worthy of communicating with you.

I was reserving a little bit of bitterness for this individual and when I forgot to use it, oh how my world came apart for about five minutes. I quickly shared what happened with a co- worker and we laughed for a while because honestly we’ve all been there. And when it happens, you just want to shout “I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean to speak to you!” While funny enough, practicing bitterness and resentment does more harm than those temporary good feelings that revenge and spite bring.

Yours truly is not crazy, there was a perfectly logical explanation why I wanted no communication with the person, and it involved MY WEDDING. I was deeply hurt by their actions and I wasn’t ready to show that I was “over” what they had done. But ironically, even though they made the mistake, I was making it my problem by holding onto it. In a recent bible study class, one of the points Bishop Stokes taught, is the importance of processing events to move on from them so they won’t prevent us from receiving future blessings.

I’ve learned that letting go of the negatives to set yourself up to receive the positives will take constant self- analysis. In this world we have both good and bad experiences that can contaminate us in different ways.  And while there are so many books on the topic of forgiveness that we all should be able to forgive automatically, the reality is,  it just doesn’t happen like that.  We have to constantly assess ourselves and our feelings to see if we have subconsciously chosen not to forgive and then work towards forgiveness. And as long as we are living and interacting with people, we will always have to take this kind of inventory.

To make more room for the good stuff to enter in your life, ask yourself the following:

  • What matters the most to you?
  • Has it been affected positively or negatively and by whom?
  • What steps could you begin to take that will help you move towards not being effected negatively by the experience?

It’s easy to let go of stuff that is not important, but what are we holding onto that has real meaning or significance to us? You may be surprised how much space these things are taking up and blocking you from receiving the good things that await.

Remember….Stay a Busy Bee and share with a Bride to Be

Rachel Bryant Lundy

The Power of FUN to Complete your Goals

Posted by: Rachel Bryant Lundy Posted on: April 7, 2014

 

team of business people winning

Why do people root for the bad guys in movies? Why do some people pick a life style of illegal activity? Why do some people choose professions that may have a huge monetary reward, but will inevitably leave them unfulfilled? Some will say it’s because many lack morals and guidance. But a simpler explanation for the attraction is bad guys always seem to look like they are having more fun than everyone else. The allure of fun is typically how most of us learn of or become interested in certain businesses. The level of happiness people display, are excellent representations of how successful we deem them to be. We don’t want to be apart of the boring and grumpy crowd, we want to be around exciting, fun, and upbeat people. The potential of being able to have fun is extremely motivating.

With competing demands it can be very hard to complete things we want to do, while trying to inspire ourselves to do the stuff we don’t like, which is usually no fun at all. Recently, my husband and I discussed our future business plans, but oddly we weren’t excited. This didn’t make any sense because we were not embarking on plans that were not apart of our God given gifts and talents. So, what had stolen our joy about these endeavors?

We figured out it was because we were too busy focused on the outcome, and were beginning to forget about how exciting and fun these ventures were going to be. These self-sabotaging feelings often come before any of us have given ideas a real chance to materialize. Too often we can begin to view something that was once fun as a chore. Little by little our fears and unrealistic expectations can trick us out of being happy that we are moving forward, and taking the necessary steps to fulfill our dreams.

Remember, while every part of a project or business may not be exciting, you should anticipate doing the things you love. Don’t let the idea of hard work or the inability to predict how things will turn out steal your joy.

To keep the good times rolling while working to accomplish your goals, try reminding yourself to do the following until it becomes a habit:

  • Enjoy yourself as much as possible while undertaking tedious, but necessary activities.
  • No matter the challenges, stay encouraged, and keep in mind why you wanted to do this in the first place.
  • Do your best, have fun, and don’t be overly focused on the outcome.

 

Remember……Stay a Busy Bee and Share with a Bride to Be

 

Rachel Bryant Lundy