Take Away 122 - Perspective

My new job has been challenging but today I had an "aha" moment and something finally clicked. What a relief. Every day gets a little better and I sleep a little better. There's another woman in the office who transferred out of the job I'm at into another job in the office. She is feeling exactly the same as me. I find some relief in knowing I'm not the only one filled with anxiety.  The other upside is I have a friend in the welder's apprenticeship and taking night classes while working out in the field in a completely different career than she's ever known. When I feel a little overwhelmed I just think to myself, "this is a lot easier than welding".

TAKE AWAY: Perspective is nearby if I just search for it.

Take Away 121 ~ Experience

Started my new job yesterday. They tell me it was the craziest day they've had in a long time.  I like that. Things will only be better today, I'm betting. The phones were insane and the stack of mail we processed gave me a good idea of what comes into the office.  I'm a person who likes to get hit with it all at once so I can sort it out as days go by. I crammed a lot of information into my brain yesterday and I was dog-tired when I got home but I'm up and ready to go do it again. WOO HOO!!!!

TAKE AWAY: Nothing replaces having various experiences

in my work life. I have had slow jobs and I've had fast-paced jobs,

and some in between. In my 30+ years of working, I feel like a

very seasoned worker. I'm proud of my experience and will

use everything I know to do a good job where I've landed.

Take Away 120 - Never Go Empty Handed

I attended a big banquet last night where we served 500 people. It was grande! So much visiting, hugs, tears, joy, gratitude, and a bit of complaining by a small number of people.  The complaining seemed to be the only thing I could focus on and it stole some of my joy. By the end of the night, it left me thinking about things my mom taught me a long time ago and at the end of the night I realized that not everyone was brought up the same. We all come from different stations in life. The banquet we held was a fund-raiser and potluck. We provided the meat and people were to bring a side dish. When you're serving 500 people, that means we need everyone to participate. I watched as at least half of the folks coming in the door arrived empty-handed.  What's up with that?

Take Away: There are givers and there are takers.

Mom taught my sister and I to never go somewhere empty-handed. Never. Ever.

 

And, she taught us that when someone gives us something on a

plate, never return it empty. 

 

And one more thing.

 

Be grateful.

 

Someone, somewhere didn't eat today.

 

Someone, somewhere is cold today.

 

Someone, somewhere can't beat their addiction.

 

Someone, somewhere is alone.

 

Be grateful.

 

I'm getting down off my soapbox now.

 

love, susan

Take Away 119 - Consistency

I've been on a mission to declutter my living space. This is an ongoing project that will never be done but I realize the only way to do it is to consistently stay on it. I have a couple of boxes sitting in a strategic area and have been dropping non-necessary items into them for weeks now, with the plan of donating them. Pure junk goes in the trash. It seems like I have hardly put a dent in all the junk we accumulate but I'm determine to pare down. I can't take the clutter.

TAKE AWAY: Even though I have a long way to go to get rid of the

excess stuff in my life, it feels good to be doing something about it.

Take Away 118 - Train Your Feet

We listened to someone speak last night and he said a lot of profound things that perhaps I've heard before but he said them in his own words and from his heart. Whenever I listen to anyone speak, I try to take away one or two new ideas or thoughts that I can maybe incorporate into my life.  He said "train your feet". To me, this means if I want something to change in my life, I gotta train my feet to take me where it is I'm going. Gotta get up off my keaster and do it.

TAKE AWAY: Do something. It's all about my actions. Talk is cheap.