Alexandra & Associates
Power Bytes

  
April  2011

 
  
A PROBLEM
OR
A SURPISE?
  

 

 

Sometimes EVEN when we've made wonderful plans, we bump into life.  I know without a doubt, that no matter how much planning I did I was not prepared for everything that happened.  In looking back, it was the unexpected "surprises" that had the biggest impact on where I am today. 

 

Creating visions, setting goals, making plans and taking action are very valuable/powerful ways to take charge of our lives.  It helps to do all we can to ensure that our life moves in the direction that will allow for the outcome we're committed to.  But still life happens and "surprises" interrupt our plans.  I'm calling them surprises.  I used to call them problems and they caused me great upset.  I imagine you do too. Thanks to what Mark Nepo, wrote in "The Book of Awakening" , entry of April 21st, I have begun to think of the things that interrupt my best laid plans as surprises.  You may want to consider doing the same.

 

I would be married until death do us part, and I would be staying in Rochester with my Associates at Vitalwork until I chose to retire - and then think seriously of heading into a warm and sunny climate in the winter - snowbirds as they are referred to in Florida.

 

Vitalwork didn't work out and then the marriage came to an end.  A networking lunch I had with a handsome gentleman, seven years ago, was the beginning of an amazing relationship that sourced a move to the sunny South exactly one year later. I planned all that I could plan - and then life happened.  Much of it looked like breakdowns at the time.  Now I choose to look at it as the Surprises of being alive - and I've come to see that those surprises are the very things that are the most valuable gifts we are given - the ones that allow us to grow the most. 

 

What allows for the inclusion of those surprises with minimum upset is believing that everything is in your life for a reason even when you can't imagine what that reason may be.  In fact it's not  the challenge or the disappointment that is the source of a great deal of suffering but our attitude about it.  Perhaps you too can begin to think of those interruptions in your well thought out plans for yourself, as the surprises that come along to allow you to grow.

 

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.  ~Epictetus

 

 

During tough times, do you spend too much time feeling sorry for yourself, or, can you, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?

 

 

"The greatest discovery of this generation is that  human beings can alter their life by altering their attitudes." I believe this with all my heart, and over the years have seen it happen countless times. What most people fail to realize is that your attitude not only impacts your happiness and your success, it also can impact the happiness and success of all the people around you...your family, your friends, and your peers at work. Attitudes truly are contagious, and from time to time we need to ask ourselves..."is mine worth catching?"

~William James

 

ATTITUDE

 

 

 

 


There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror,
and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today.' 
So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror
and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today.' 
So she did and she had a grand day.


 

 
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed
that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail..' 
So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

 

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and 
noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.
 
'YAY!' she exclaimed.
 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'



 

Attitude is everything.

 

Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly,

and pray continually.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

 

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DANCING IN THE RAIN

 

 

 

 

A great example of dancing in the rain which comes from a gated community in South East Florida -

 

I've sure gotten old!  I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought cancer and diabetes.  I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.  I have bouts with dementia, poor circulation so can hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.  I can't remember if I'm 89 or 98, have lost all my friends, but thank G-d:

I still have my driver's license

 

 

    

 

 

IF LIFE HAS HANDED YOU PROBLEMS AND YOU'D PREFER TO EXPERIENCE LIFE AS AN ADVENTURE FILLED WITH UNEXPECTED SURPRISES:

 

IF YOU HAVE BEEN HANDED A LOT OF LEMONS AND WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE LEMONADE:

 

IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO LEARN HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN:

 

CHOOSE A LIFE COACH.  THE JOB OF A GREAT LIFE COACH IS TO BRING A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS - A NEW PERSPECTIVE - AN EMPOWERING VIEW OF WHATEVER IS SHOWING UP FOR YOU AS THE PROBLEM THAT STOPS YOU FROM HAVING THE LIFE YOU DREAMED OF:

 

OR SPECIALLY IF YOUR EXPERIENCE OF LIFE HAS STOPPED YOU FROM DREAMING ALTOGETHER!

 

 

 

alex@committedotyou.org

561-742-2779

 

 

 

Alexandra Marcovitch
Alexandra & Associates
561-742-2779
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