Ray's Daily

Ray Mitchell

 Indianapolis, Indiana

 Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies.

The editor is somewhat senile.

This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can join at http://groups.google.com/group/Rays-Daily. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.

If that is as bad as it gets, things are pretty good.

The other day I talked about the problems created by our procrastination and how ever increasing backlogs make things even worse. I know that when I face the fact that there is more for me to do than there is time to do it my discomfort level shoots way up. I don’t remember if I included expediting as one of the solutions to backlog reduction, if I didn’t I should have. If I expedite and quickly handle a task I not only take something off my to do list, I also feel better. Let me give you an example.

Instead of a new Daily today read this one that I published five years ago.

See, I just expedited.

~~~

February 25, 2005

I got so distracted putting together yesterdays daily that I did not tell you about my Wednesday. I had an early morning blood test appointment and as I usually do, I hung out my clothes for the next morning the night before, everything from socks and underwear to suit and shoes. All proceeded as normal, underwear on, check; shirt on, check; I then took the freshly cleaned suit off the hook and low and behold, no pants, not a good thing. I went to a back up dress program and started my day.

All went well, I was to meet a good friend for lunch at 12:15, I waited outside the restaurant (it was pretty cold) for about a half hour before I learned that my friend was home sick with the flu, she had e-mailed me earlier but the message was missent so I didn’t get it, that was not a good thing either.

Since I now had time on my hands, I went to a nearby restaurant to get one of my favorite sandwiches, only to learn they don’t make them anymore. As you can tell things were not moving well at all. Since they did not have what I wanted I decided to go to a super-store and see if I could purchase something that my wife wanted, of course they did not have it. As I was pulling out of the parking lot I collided with another car ($1,200 damage on my car, more on hers), that was a bad thing.

We exchanged insurance information and I started off to go to my friend Terry’s viewing at the funeral home, I took a wrong turn and was able to turn a ten minute trip into a forty-five minute trip via a short cut that was probably 20 miles longer.

Later, on my way home from the body shop where I got my estimate I decided to stop at a deli that serves good New York hot Pastrami sandwiches, the sandwich was great and so my day was not all that bad after all.

Fortunately yesterday was much better. The highlight of the day was the funeral celebration of my friend Terry’s life. I thought of that old adage, you can learn much about someone by the friends he has. As I looked around the chapel I saw people from all over our nation in attendance, these are good people who shared Terry’s dedication to serving others. Terry is gone now but his memory will live forever.

~~~

Few cases of eyestrain have been developed by looking on the bright side of things.

Author Unknown

~~~

A young woman was having a physical examination and was very embarrassed because of a weight problem. As she removed her last bit of clothing, she blushed. "I’m so ashamed, Doctor," she said, "I guess I let myself go."

The physician was checking hers eyes and ears. "Don’t feel ashamed, Miss.  You don’t look that bad."

"Do you really think so, Doctor?" she asked.

The doctor held a tongue depressor in front of her face and said, "Of course. Now just open your mouth and say "Moo!"

~~~

A waiter comes over to a table full of Jewish women and asks, "Is anything all right?"

~~~

An optometrist was instructing a new employee on how to charge a customer.

"As you are fitting his glasses, if he asks how much they cost, you say ‘$75.’

If his eyes don’t flutter, say, ‘For the frames. The lenses will be $50.’

If his eyes still don’t flutter, you add ‘Each.’"

~~~

"Jack, will you still love me when my hair is grey?" asks Rachel.

"Of course," says Jack. "I’ve loved you through blonde, brunette, red and every other color. Why not grey?"

~~~

Irving walked into a lawyer’s office and inquired about the lawyer’s rates.

"$150 for three questions," replied the lawyer.

"Isn’t that awfully steep?" asked Morris.

"Yes," the lawyer replied, "and what was your third question?"

~~~

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is the quietest voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow".

Paulette Tuers

~~~

An old nun who was living in a convent next to a Brooklyn construction site noticed the coarse language of the workers and decided to spend some time with them to correct their ways. She decided she would take her lunch sit with the workers and talk with them. She put her sandwich in a brown bag and walked over to the spot where the men were eating.

She walked up to the group and with a big smile said : . . .  "Do you men know Jesus Christ?"

They shook their heads and looked at each other. One of the workers looked up into the steelwork and yelled "Anybody up there know Jesus Christ?"

One of the steelworkers asked why.

The worker yelled "His wife is here with his lunch".

~~~

Historians have found the first treaty the U.S. government ever signed with the Indians.  It states that the Indians can keep their lands "for as long as the river runs clear, the buffalo roam, the grass grows tall and the mountains stand proud – or ninety days – whichever comes first.

~~~

Life is a paradise for those who love many things with a passion.

Leo Buscaglia

~~~

"I was riding my camel in the middle of the Sahara," exclaimed the Muslim.  "Suddenly, a fierce sandstorm appeared out of nowhere.  I truly thought my end had come as I lay next to my camel while we were being buried deeper and deeper under the sand.  But I didn’t lose my faith in Allah.  I prayed and prayed, and suddenly, for ten miles all around me, the storm stopped and I was able to get back to my village.

The Christian chimed in.  "One day while I was fishing in a little rowboat in the ocean, a giant storm came from nowhere. 50 foot waves!  I thought my end had truly come.  I prayed and prayed to God, and then, for ten miles around me, the storm ceased and I was able to row back to shore."

The Jew started.  "I was in the middle of New York City. Suddenly, a black bag on the ground appeared out of nowhere.  I put my hand inside and found that it was full of cash.  I truly thought my end had come as it was a Saturday and we’re not allowed to handle money on the Sabbath.

But I didn’t lose my faith.  I prayed and prayed, and suddenly, for ten miles around me, it was *Tuesday*!"

~~~

Men’s Rules

Anything we said six or eight months ago is inadmissible in an argument.

All comments become null and void after seven days.

If we say something that can be interpreted in two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other way.

Let us ogle. If we don’t look at other women how can we know how pretty you are?

You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done – not both.

Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during the commercials.

When we’re turning the wheel and the car is nosing onto the highway exit, your saying "This is our exit" is not necessary.

~~~

Old Jacob Johnson, a raging hypochondriac, was convinced that the pain on his left side was appendicitis.  Mrs Johnson explained that his appendix is on the right.

"So, aha!  THAT’s why it hurts so much…." said Jacob.

"My appendix is on the wrong side!"

~~~

Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.

Irving Berlin

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

 Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies.

The editor is somewhat senile.

This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can join at http://groups.google.com/group/Rays-Daily. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.

William James

I was with one of my college student grandsons today and I admitted that I was a compulsive avoider; I think the technical term is procrastinator. Yep, it seems like I live at the deadlines and do so for no good reason. Even minor tasks seem to want to linger so they can keep me from reaping the rewards of efficient accomplishment. My recent life style changes seem to have helped me get a better focus and have kept me from getting too bogged down in the trivial. If you ever have had the same problem you might have experienced the bi-polar aspects of quickly moving from dread to euphoric accomplishment. I have probably shared all this with you before but it hit home when my grandson described what he planned to do tomorrow without yet having defined what tomorrow he was talking about. When I got home I remembered that I had something written sometime ago by spiritual life coach Shelia Skarp that might help us all. Here is what she wrote.

A Simple Way to Stop Procrastination Today

All of us are guilty of procrastinating at some point or another. We put off unpleasant tasks for as long as we possibly can simply because our mind tells us we don’t want to do them. Try this experiment to see what kinds of tricks your mind is capable of playing on you.

Say to yourself,

"I have to rake the yard."

"I have to get the laundry done."

"I must clean the floors."

"I need to get that presentation done for work."

How are you feeling right now? Are you feeling overwhelmed and like you are all of a sudden carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Are you suddenly "too tired" to do any of these things?

Now say this to yourself,

"I want to rake the yard."

"I would love to get the laundry done."

"I’ll feel so much better once the floors are cleaned."

"I’m excited to get that presentation done for work."

Do you notice the difference in how you feel? Don’t all of these tasks seem very doable and easy now? Of course they do! The Ego is all about self-gratification and doing what feels good. If you allow yourself to think that something is hard or complicated, the Ego is very happy to provide you with a hundred reasons why it would be too hard for you to accomplish, so why bother trying? But if you tell yourself that you want something done and put a positive spin on it, the Ego doesn’t have the opportunity to make excuses.

If simply changing the way you phrase your task list isn’t providing enough oomph to get you off the couch, you can expand your inner dialogue. In the past, your Ego has given you many excuses to procrastinate. Now, let it give you reasons to act!

Here is a simple template you can use for your internal conversation with your ego.

"I want to _______________________ because:

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

When I am done with this, I will reward myself by ______________________."

Let’s use the above example of raking the yard to see how this will work. "I want to rake the yard because it is covered with leaves. Getting those leaves cleaned up will allow the grass to grow and green up faster, and the yard will look a lot nicer. I will also get some nice exercise and will get to spend some time outside soaking up the sun and fresh air. When I am done with this, I will reward myself by relaxing with my favorite book for an hour or two."

How does that feel for you? Instead of giving yourself excuses to not do something, you have given yourself reasons to do it! Not only that, but you have promised your Ego the reward that he/she loves to have.

The more you work with the template, the easier it will be to stop procrastinating and start acting. Soon, this internal conversation will be routine for you and procrastination will become a thing of the past.

So now I want to complete today’s Daily so that I don’t feel guilty sending something from the past. When I am done I’ll reward myself with a piece of fruit and that magazine I have been trying to get to. See you tomorrow.

~~~

The two rules of procrastination:

1) Do it today.  2) Tomorrow will be today tomorrow.

~~~

More signs that you have grown up:

MTV News is no longer your primary source for information.

You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits.

A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer ‘pretty good stuff.’

You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.

Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & Ho-Ho’s.

I just can’t drink the "way I used to" replaces "I’m never going to drink that much again."

Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

You don’t drink at home to save money before going to a bar.

~~~

The only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep.

~~~

One evening a preschooler, Kristel, and her parents were sitting on the couch chatting. Kristel asked, " Daddy, you’re the boss of the house, right?"  Her father proudly replied, "Yes, I am the boss of the house."

But Kristel added "Cause Mommy put you in charge, huh Daddy?"

~~~

I am a nutritional overachiever.

~~~

"HEADSTONE INSCRIPTIONS"

Here lies my wife,

I bid her goodbye.

She rests in peace

and now so do I.

Here lies Henry Blake

He stepped on the gas

Instead of the brake.

~~~

I am having an out of money experience.
~~~

"Oh, No!"  he gasped as he surveyed the disaster before him. Never in his 40 years of life had he seen anything like it.  How anyone could have survived he did not know.  He could only hope that somewhere amid the overwhelming destruction he would find his 16-year-old son.

Only the slim hope of finding Danny kept him from turning and fleeing the scene.  He took a deep breath and proceeded.  Walking was virtually impossible with so many things strewn across his path.  He moved ahead slowly.

"Danny!  Danny!"  he whispered to himself.  He tripped and almost fell several times.  He heard someone, or something, move.  At least he thought he did.  Perhaps, he was just hoping he did. He shook his head and felt his gut tighten.  He couldn’t understand how this could have happened.

There was some light but not enough to see very much. Something cold and wet brushed against his hand.  He jerked it away. In desperation, he took another step then cried out, "Danny!"

From a nearby pile of unidentified material, he heard his son. "Yes, Dad," he said, in a voice so weak he could hardly hear.

"It’s time to get up and get ready for school," the man sighed, "and, for heaven’s sake, clean up this room."

~~~

"To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing."

Eva Young

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Every word, facial expression, gesture, or action on the part of a parent gives the child some message about self-worth. It is sad that so many parents don’t realize what messages they are sending.

Virginia Satir

Far too many people I have met have grown up in a negative world. As an infant they constantly heard “NO, you know better than to do that” or “why don’t you pay attention” and similar criticisms. Often it continued into puberty and beyond with such things as “your lazy and just don’t try” or “so you got a B, why wasn’t it an A?” and on and on, never being told they had done well. Often these years of put downs result in an expectation of failure and the feeling that they are just not good enough. Many give up and quit trying for fear if they did try they would fail and the critics would pounce on them again with the “you’re a loser” comments.

These are people who always want you to tell them exactly what you want them to do, yep they are the task oriented folks who are so afraid of failure that they have lost confidence in their own abilities. What is tragic is that these criticism are often unfounded, made by those who have not found success themselves and so they put everyone else down feeling like that increases their own stature and anyway if they can’t be happy why should anyone else be. What is even worse is that those who have let others destroy their self confidence are most of the time much better then they think they are the result of letting criticism turn them into less than they can be.

Many are so debilitated that they seek professional help and spend hours and lots of money revisiting the past in order to correct and neutralize their negative view of themselves. Not everyone can afford the time nor the money to get traditional help so I have a way that might work for many. I suggested to a friend once that they cop a plea and plead guilty to their perceived failures, true or not, and get free of the past. Their punishment and rehabilitation has taken place during the time they already have served being unhappy. So with their new freedom they can now look forward and inventory the positive parts of their lives and take pride in who they are and what they are going to do. They don’t have to go out and be the best at everything, not even the best at any one thing; all they need to do is be the best at being the person they already are. One of the nice things about full release from the past is that there are no more probation officers; critics can be told to shove off or at least told to quit finding fault and if they won’t stop they sent on their way to do their dirty work elsewhere.

Find and listen to positive people and real friends who offer sound support and send the others on their way. Everyone can be happy if they learn to accept and like themselves.

~~~

"If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for."

Florence Scovel Shinn

~~~

A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the person behind the wheel was knitting!

The trooper cranked down his window and yelled to the driver, "PULL OVER!"

"NO!" the driver yelled back, "SCARF."

~~~

Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good.

~~~

A distraught patient phoned her doctor’s office. "Is it true," the woman wanted to know, "that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?"

"Yes, I’m afraid so," the doctor told her.

There was a moment of silence before the woman continued, "I wonder then, just how serious is my condition. This prescription is marked ‘NO REFILLS’."

~~~

I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not sure

~~~

Every evening, a mother and her young son, knelt down beside his bed so he could say his prayers. One night, obviously bored with the same old prayer, the little boy said this: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake…… can I have breakfast with you in the morning?"

~~~

It’s bad luck to be superstitious.

~~~

She sent me this:

I’m really not an addict,

There is no need to shout;

But talking with my puter friends,

Has turned my life about.

I still do the grocery shopping,

And make a bed or two;

But instead of staring at the television

I spend some time with you.

I go with friends or family,

To dinner or a show;

I take the time to hear my kids,

Or to watch a flower grow.

But yes, you’ll find me off and on,

Sitting on my puter chair;

And talking to my cyber friends,

Who always seem to care.

There are redeeming qualities,

And hear me if you will;

Since playing in this cyber world,

I’ve improved keyboarding skill.

In fact I feel at peace with life,

Things are going well;

The only thing it hasn’t done,

Is teach me how to spell!

~~~

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.

Ruth Ann Schabacker

~~~

Thinking his son would enjoy seeing the reenactment of a Civil War battle, my niece’s husband took the boy, Will, to the event. But the poor child was terrified by the booming cannons. During a lull, Will’s dad finally got him calmed down. That’s until the Confederate general yelled, "Fire at will!"

~~~

Each day we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

Charles Swindoll

~~~

Our family owned restaurant is the setting for many of our discussions about how to handle the customer who asks, "What’s good tonight?"

Obviously, we would never serve anything we didn’t think was good. I braced myself one Saturday night when I heard the dreaded question posed to my husband.

He calmly replied, "Anything over $13.95."

~~~

"Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves".

Nathaniel Branden

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

“A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.”

Hugh Sidey

I don’t know if it is the new medications or something else but I have been moping around the last couple of days with flu like symptoms or cold like symptoms, oh you know what I mean achy, breaky – where is the chicken soup stuff. Since my brain as well as my nose is running, your better off with this daily from February 19, 2007.

~~~

If there is one thing I am sure of after all these years sharing the daily, it is that humor is the answer, it is the best medicine, it defuses even the worst situation and I have yet to see a relationship in trouble when both partners sustain a healthy sense of humor. This morning I spent a little bit of time with a friend who was having a really bad day, I mean one of those big time stinkers. Fortunately we had the opportunity to spend about an hour together finding humor even in some of the lousy things that had happened. We laughed together and you know what? We both left looking forward to the good day ahead. If you have been suffering from sense of humor deficit lately you might want to follow the suggestions of international speaker/writer/cartoonist Mike Moore who wrote:

Here are a few ideas you can use to make certain that laughter remains an ever present reality in your relationships thus ensuring their quality and endurance. Start slowly by working on your own fun loving, cheery disposition. Laughter and humor are contagious so it won’t be long before others catch the bug.

* Remember that a sense of humor is learned, not inherited.

* Commit to becoming a humor hound. Look for humor everywhere. When something strikes you funny enjoy it. Let the laughter flow. After the funny event has passed recall it and enjoy it and laugh again.

* Begin to cultivate an atmosphere of humor and laughter in your relationships. Try to enjoy and share humor as often as you can.

* Learn to laugh at yourself. If you don’t, you leave the job to others.

* Encourage others to share their humor. Listen and appreciate it when they do. When someone sees that you have enjoyed their humorous contribution they will be eager to continue sharing.

* Collect cartoons and jokes and put them on display on the fridge or the bulletin board

* Watch comedy movies and television programs as often a possible.

* Use humor to neutralize conflict in your relationships. When things get tense use self deprecating humor to lighten things up. I remember one evening having an argument with my wife, Carol. In the heat of the moment she said something totally out of character. She said something hurtful. In my surprise I looked at her and said, “Carol, when you say things like that you stoop to my level.” She started to laugh and so did I. It wasn’t long before things were back to normal.

Is Moore right? I think so. If he is then we do have a choice of having fun days or letting the negative things in our lives pull us down. That reminds me, did I ever tell you the one about…….

~~~

“A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerated the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable”

Billy Graham

~~~

Thibodeaux’s two kids are in the same class at school, and the teacher had the class write reports about their pets. After the reports were all turned in, the teacher called one of the Thibodeau youngsters up to her desk and scolded him. "This report on ‘My Dog’ is exactly, word for word, the same as your brother’s. Did you copy from him?"

He replies, "Mais, no Ma’am, it’s about de same dog!"

~~~

She said: I disagree with my psychiatrist’s assertion that I’m depressed because I have a serotonin imbalance. I’m pretty sure the real reason is: My life sucks!

~~~

NEW OFFICE POLICY

Dress Code:

You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise.

If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise.

If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

Sick Days:

We will no longer accept a doctor’s statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor; you are able to come to work.

Personal Days:

Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays & Sundays.

Bereavement Leave:

This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend the funeral arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary; the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

Bathroom Breaks:

Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under The "Chronic Offenders" category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sectioned under the company’s mental health policy.

Lunch Break:

Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy.

Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.

Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that’s all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

The Management

~~~

"Those are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others."

Groucho Marx

~~~

While making rounds, a doctor points out an X-ray to a group of medical students.

"As you can see," she says, "the patient limps because his left fibula and tibia are radically arched.

Michael, what would you do in a case like this"?

"Well," ponders the student, "I suppose I’d limp too."

~~~

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.

Garrison Keillor

~~~

She said: I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve tried online dating. I haven’t met anyone in person yet because the guys always stop writing before we can set up a date. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps that handsome athletic thirty-two-year-old doctor was lying about his age, got grounded, and lost his internet privileges. Or maybe it was something I said, "I’d love to meet for coffee. Thursday’s are best for me. That’s when my neighbor picks up my four kids from my three previous marriages."

~~~

Humor is a reminder that no matter how high the throne one sits on, one sits on one’s bottom.

Taki

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

 Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies.

The editor is somewhat senile.

This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can join at http://groups.google.com/group/Rays-Daily. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.

If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am running into more and more people these days that are either unhappy or uncomfortable with their lives. Sometimes they blame it on their job; other times they say it is their lives in general. When we talk they report symptoms often without understanding the root cause of their feelings. If you ask surface questions they often give general answers or pinpoint some person or activity that they blame. In truth most of the time they are just telling you what they think is plausible which allows them to stop there and not go deeper. I am sure you have seen friends that treat a symptom by changing one thing in their life only to find that things didn’t really change and so they look for something else to blame.

My personal view is it does not have to be that way. Rather than experiment making change after unsatisfactory change we are better off doing some insightful self evaluation and then making an informed choice. In doing so we often can find the source of our discomfort and at least evaluate possible healing remedies. Sometimes the best solution is radical change and not just a tweaking of the edges. When I am uncomfortable I find I need to ask myself why I am felling that way and what can I do about it. In fact my recent readjustment, hopefully temporary, has allowed me to deal with some of my challenges without being overwhelmed by either an unreasonable workload or feelings of guilt because I can’t be everywhere and do more. Right now what might be trying times are just for me another day at the office and I know that soon I will again adjust and get back to other activities that provide personal reward.

What about you? Are you really aware of what is going on in your life? Do you know what determines how you feel about yourself and the world around you? If not you might benefit from Steve Brunkhorst’s suggestions on how you can increase your self-awareness as you consider your alternatives. Here is what he recently wrote:

An Empowering Awareness

Awareness of our thoughts in any moment empowers us to make responsible choices and take responsible actions. Achieving a healthy balance in our lives begins by identifying any attitudes that may be contributing to imbalance in a particular area. Here are ten questions to consider when examining your views and making decisions in any situation:

1. How do my core values align with the decision I need to make – what feels intuitively right at this time?

2. Are any facts standing in the way of making a positive decision, and if so, could they be removed in a constructive way?

3. Am I allowing someone else to make choices in this situation that I need to be making?

4. Do I need to reorder any priorities – what must I decide now, and what would best be left until later?

5. How am I defining the pros and cons for the options available to me?

6. If I changed my views toward this situation, what new options would become available?

7. Do I need additional information that could allow new options to come into view?

8. How will my actions in this situation affect the people in my life – family, friends, co-workers?

9. What are my greatest talents, strengths, and abilities?

10. How can I handle this situation and make a decision that would make the best use my talents, strengths, and abilities?

These questions can lead to a purposeful self-awareness of our thoughts and attitudes, thereby allowing us to discover more options for making positive, responsible decisions. Purposeful self-awareness is an empowering awareness. Examining your beliefs and reframing your perspectives will help to place your greatest objectives within reach.

~~~

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world … as in being able to remake ourselves.

Mahatma Gandhi

~~~

When I Was Growing Up We Were So Poor That We Could Only Afford…

Medicines called placebos

Five of the Ten Commandments

Bagel holes

Sunrise Or Sunset

Webster’s Extremely Abridged Dictionary

White Crayolas

Ivory soap soup mix

Blue suede shoe boxes

Lipton Tea Bag strings

~~~

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

Aldous Huxley

~~~

– Hello, that’s you, Abe?

– Yes, dis is Abe…

– It doesn’t sount like Abe

– Vell, dis is Abe all right.

– You’re positive it’s Abe?

– Absolutely.

– Vell, listen Abie, dis is Moe. Can you lend me fifty dollars?

– Ven Abe comes in, I’ll tell him you called…

~~~

My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely.

~~~

A member of the Country Club asked the lifeguard how he might go about teaching a young lady to swim.

"It takes considerable time and technique." replied the guard. "First you must take her into the water, then place one arm about her waist, hold her tightly, then take her right arm and raise it very slowly…"

"This is certainly most helpful." said the member. "I know that my sister will appreciate it."

"Your sister?" said the lifeguard. "In that case, just push her into the deep end of the pool. She’ll learn in a hurry."

~~~

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

~~~

An off-duty police officer, familiar with radar guns, drove through a school zone within the legal speed limit when the flash of a camera went off, taking a picture of his license plate.

The officer, thinking the radar was in error, drove by again; even more slowly.  Another flash.  He did it again for a third time, at an even slower speed.  Same result.

"This guy must have screwed up the settings," the off-duty officer thought.

A few weeks later, when he received the violations in the mail, he discovered three traffic tickets: each for not wearing a seat belt!

~~~

You pretend to work, and we’ll pretend to pay you.

~~~

I know I’m not going to understand women. I’ll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.

~~~

What’s right is right, no matter how few people do it.

What’s wrong is wrong, no matter how many people do it.

Unknown

~~~

His son is a "high-energy" kid who never sits still and is always on the move.

He was surprised when his wife suggested that they buy him a bike for his birthday.

"Do you really believe that’ll help improve his behavior ?" he asked.

"Well, no," she admitted, "But it’ll spread it over a wider area."

~~~

You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution.

Bob Proctor

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies.

The editor is somewhat senile.

This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can join at http://groups.google.com/group/Rays-Daily. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

 Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies.

The editor is somewhat senile.

This daily is sent only to special people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can join at http://groups.google.com/group/Rays-Daily. Back issues are posted at http://raykiwsp.multiply.com/journal currently there are about 2000 readers from around the world.