A Church Service with a Smile and A Bigger Picture

 One Sunday morning, the minister noticed young Ben standing in the church foyer, staring intently at a large plaque on the wall.

It was covered with names and flanked by small American flags on either side.

The six-year-old had been gazing at it for quite a while, so the minister walked over, stood beside him, and said softly,

"Good morning, Ben."

"Good morning, Pastor," Ben replied, his eyes still glued to the plaque.

"Pastor, what is this?" he asked.

The minister responded, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."

They stood in respectful silence, gazing at the plaque. Finally, Ben's voice, barely above a whisper and trembling, asked,

"Which service... the 8:00 or the 10:00?"


Moral of the story

Sometimes, we get so caught up in the details that we forget the bigger picture. Ben's innocent question brought the minister back to reality, reminding him that the true meaning of the memorial was being overshadowed by trivial matters.

Stay focused on what truly matters and not to get bogged down by the minutiae of life. So, the next time you find yourself lost in the details, take a step back and remember the bigger picture. It might just put things into perspective.

Grow silently and steadily

 I wanted to ridicule this after thinking of a Chinese doctor joke, but the sentiment is too true for that. Anything can be broken fast, but it takes time to build it. A brilliant future takes a while to build, but destroying value with one stupid act is easy.

Do as a clock and keep going

Don't give up. Turn your ultimate dream into a goal by adding a date to it, type out the steps to get there, and start doing it. Don't quit. Balance your attention between the small steps and the big goal, and keep working that plan. Occasionally adjust the steps, but keep your passion for your goal, and work your plan.

Confront your fears today, do what you are scared to do

 

Fear is your only real enemy. That's why people don't follow the advice on the meme. People fall into a comfort zone, even when they hate it and their circumstances, and they get trapped for years. They enjoy the parts of an inconvenient journey, without having a plan to get out of that comfort zone.

Get up and make things happen

 

Wow. Harsh, I say. Unfortunately, true. If you don't have a real partner that really loves you, you'll only have yourself to get through every crisis. Many that pretend to be friends are only after what they can get out of you, the party times, and all secretly hoping to get laid for a one-night-stand. They are the ones that disappear into thin air the day you really need them. Don't let their smooth words fool you, look at their actions, how they treated others before. When the fancy wears off, that's how they will treat you, too. Save yourself by making the right decisions, and make things work out for you. Have a dream, add a date to make it a goal, draw up a plan with detailed steps, and work that plan.

You are not getting another life

 'nuff said. I don't know how old you, my valued reader is, but I do know that you will never again be as young as you are today. Don't wait till it is too late, to start finishing off your bucket list. Do you even have a bucket list? Goals? Dreams? A clearly typed out plan with daily steps? You are your own biggest investment, or liability. Choose wisely. Make your life worth living. Take risks. Take that leap of faith in yourself and the one you love. 

Destination addiction spoils happiness along the journey

This meme is deep. One has to have a clear, big goal, and several smaller ones called steps. But to only focus on that big goal means one misses the enjoyment of getting there, the journey, accomplishing the small goals.

At the same time, one cannot only focus on the journey, because if you take your eyes off the big goal too long, you start taking shortcuts, or loses focus, or loses your passion to really live.

You should be afraid of your comfort zone, especially when you're unhappy there. There is no real growth in a comfort zone. Eventually you'll adapt to it, stagnates, and never be really happy. That is a life unlived.

Have a big goal, many small steps, and celebrate each step along the journey to that one big goal. And do not let fear, insecurity, uncertainty, or a lack of faith distract you. Push on, stick it out, and great things are guaranteed to happen.

Should you keep your plans secret?

 Hm. This meme is debatable. Studies say that when you announce your future plans, it may compel you to actually do something to achieve it. However, we all know that when you say things to some 'friends', they'll try to drag you down while you're on your ladder to success. Who wants a friend that's better than them, right. Pure human nature.

In my opinion, one needs confidantes. And whom better than the person you love most. Share your dreams, goals, plans, and get that person to buy in to it too. Working with a loved one is beneficial to both, and together one can accomplish great things. Most if not all the world's biggest winners all had a husband or wife supporting them. You require a sounding board, a friendly critic that's more objective than you, to point out flaws and pitfalls, and give some ideas on how to overcome those. But together you'll win.

 

What are you without your dreams?

 I regularly ask people what their dreams are. Disappointingly enough, many have no real dreams, just some vague castles in the sky. Others, that do have more defined dreams, have no plan to get to it. Which means, they will just never get anywhere, they are ships without rudders that get pushed to where others with plans push them to.

One cannot reach a dream, only a goal. And for that, one needs to have a plan typed out with all the steps, tied to dates, and to work that plan. But how many people that you know do it? Winners in society all have a plan typed out, that they review daily, before tackling the steps in there. Do the same.

Without a dream, that you convert into clear goals, and with firm steps to get to it, what empty life is that? It inevitably leads to tremendous regret later in life. Don't be scared, go sit down and write down where you want to be over exactly 5 years from today, and you'll be surprised how many people cannot even do this. They are scared of themselves, and you may be the same. But you can change that, just start working on a goal + plan right now.