Look For The Silver Lining

Counting My Blessings

For several months last year I spent some time as a member of The Champion’s Club run by  Vic Johnson the author of  50 Lessons I Learned From The World’s Greatest Achiever. One of the things that he always stressed was the idea that in order to improve our business, we first need to improve ourselves. One of the best ways to make ourselves better people is by seeing the good in every situation.

This is why every night before I go to bed, I write down at least two things that I found was a blessing for me that day. Before I decide which two things to feel thankful for,  I have to feel the gratitude expressed. It may be something that I felt grateful for before, but there has to be something special about that gratitude that relates to that specific day.

My Blessings

Here’s a sample of some of my more recent blessings:

1. I  am blessed with three wonderful children. All three of them are taking what like has given them and made the most of their lives.
2. I blessed by the inspiration of  both of my parents. Both overcame physical disabilities and raised six healthy children.
3. I am blessed with great friends who help me when I need it.
4. i am blessed with a sound, creative mind.
5. I am blessed with good health, and not dependent on any medications.
6. I am blessed with a travel trailer that is fully paid for.
7. I am blessed with a small truck that is fully paid for.
8. I am blessed that I am learning self-discipline.
9. I am blessed in that I have a love for continuous learning.
10. I am blessed with a job that provides me with cash flow so that I can continue my passion of writing my novels and online articles.

The Art of Doing Exceptional Work

 

Another aspect of seeing the silver lining , in addition to counting my blessings, is in doing something excellent relating to my goals on a daily basis. There are certain things that do every day toward reaching my goals. One of those things is that every day I work on learning Spanish using the online program Duolingo. However, I always try to do something else that leads toward my goals. Recently, my goals have involved raising the bar on the books that I have put out. I have recently had a professional photograph done of me as an author. I have again been rewriting my first book and intend to let my beta readers tear it up.

There is a fine line between determining to do excellent work and do it to the best of my ability and being a perfectionist. With perfectionism, we are often danger of not giving ourselves allowance to  do imperfect work as we learn to become more and more excellent. As perfectionists, we tend to want to do it all ourselves because we don’t think anyone can possibly do it as well as we can ourselves. This sets us up for procrastination depriving us of doing our best. Doing our best is what excellence is all about.

When we look for the silver lining in our daily pursuits, we feel better about ourselves. in the process, we try to excel even more because we want to prove to ourselves that we can do better than the day before. We become more self-confident. Self confidence leads to better performance and better performance leads to improved skills overall.

 

 

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.