The most important connection

When we are on holidays, we all hope the weather is good for outdoor activities.

However, sometimes weather has her own plan.

We are in Jeju island for a vacation. It rains. We decide to go out anyway.

There are not many people at tourist site due to the rain obviously. Then I see this family of three generations: grandma, her daughter and son-in-law, and her two grandchildren.

The grandma holds an umbrella to cover her and her daughter who holding a young kid. The husband walks with other kid wearing rain coats hand in hand leading the way.

They are chatting, laughing cheerfully in the rain. Contrast to others seem in a hurry, they are no hurry at all.

If you have the connection with the most important people in your life, they are the whole world to you. Nothing else matters that much. Rain does not matter too much to the happily connected family.

How many the most connected moments do you have daily? Find them. Treasure them. Live in those moments.

Live fast…

My dad is in his eighties, now in a hospital for a surgery. I am with him.

My dad has one roommate, who is a man just turned to 50. He is hospitalized due to heart failure.

Then I learned this roommate is a business owner, running a successful business. He admires my dad as a cheerful, happy man and wishes he could be like my dad…

This comes to my mind.

Do not: Live fast, die young.

To choose live happily, truly, fully is a choice to make.

Live life

I am busy with my company matters.

Then I got the news yesterday that my dad will have a heart surgery tomorrow. He insists in saying it will be a small operation that I don’t need to take time off to see him in the hospital. He has two helpers with him and mom.

I had hesitation on making the decision whether coming to see him or not. What came to my mind were tightly scheduled meetings, reading, writing for this week. One colleague heard this, he said to me, “Go back to see your dad. Family is more important.”

This goes straight into my heart.

Live life.

Life happens while I am busy making other plans.

Life takes priority over everything. No life, nothing happens.

I came to be with my dad and my mom. I felt the immediate peace once I made the decision to do so.

I need re-examine my life from time to time. Just like someone says:

An unexamined life is not worth of living.

Recovery of your elasticity

The shelf life of an elastic band can be extended if you let it bounced back to its original shape, and relaxed.

If you want to make your career sustainable, you need make time for self recovery. Such as, take a vocation, a nap, a walk, or watch a movie, read a book… whatever that suits your style.

Only when you intentionally make self balance a priority, you can recover your elasticity quicker, you will have more moments of happiness, you will be more energetic.

Be aware of the time for self recovery. The last resort is that you have to rest because of illness.

Find the best way for your recovery early is a skill. You can get skillful quickly be practicing it.

Recovery of your elasticity, recovery of your longevity of happiness.

To live is to thrive

If a patient’s cardiographs showing a straight line, we are facing a big problem. She may die if we don’t do something to make her beat again.

If her cardiographs showing waves of ups and downs, we feel good. We know our patient is alive and her heart is thriving.

To live is to thrive.

We seek opportunities, we pursue happiness, we learn new skills, we travel to find meanings in our lives.

We go through difficulty and happy times. We live our lives.

If we feel bored, feel nothing to do, feel don’t want to anything, we get a big problem.

When I had this feeling came to me, I pinched myself to check if I was still feeling anything. I did bizarre things to myself just to feel my existence.

All of our effort is to get satisfied with us, with our environment and feel alive.

Each of us is looking for a path back to the present: We are trying to find good enough reasons to be satisfied now.

With this realization, how are you going to pay attention to the present moment?

Find those making your current moment a quality one. Find those making you thrive. Find those sparking in your life and find a way how to get more of those thriving moments in your life.

Life is yours to live.

What is your phrase to push you forward?

I use the word “to produce” for my daily reminder to do something useful, because my personal value is to be a useful person.

When I think of “producing” something useful, it inspires me to initiate my action and the action gets me closer to my dreams. “Producing” has been my phrase of action and inspiration.

This weekend, Simone Biles made history at the 2019 US gymnastics Championships. She said during an interview, “I feel like you should never settle just because you are winning or you are at the top. You should always push yourself.”

“Never Settle”.

Biles revealed her internal drive and altitude that makes her a champion by this phrase.

She competes against the greatest competitor – herself.

Don’t ever compete against someone else. You are your number competitor in your life.

What is your phrase to bring you up from the bed every day?

Life happens

Both my parents were hospitalized for the last two weeks. I was in the middle of preparing some meetings when I heard the news. I cancelled my engagements and went to stay with them in the hospital till they were checked out of the hospital.

I had been calling them once a week and exchanging messages a few times a week before this incident.

I learned from the last two weeks that they need more conversations, that make them feel loved, understood, and connected.

I realize that taking time off to take care of people in your life may sound selfish, you may feel guilty for not doing your job. However, without taking care of ourself, people in our life first, we can’t take good care of what we do.

We live life once.

“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.” – John Lennon.

We get to live fully and truly to ourself, live in present, embrace whatever happens to us.

Gratitude

Miracle has happened to many people’s lives when they stared to express and feel the gratitudes very often. They write gratitude diary usually.

I tried to write gratitude diary. But, it seems that I can’t keep the consistence. Then I realized that if I begin to appreciate myself, then I can become having more appreciations to other.

If you haven’t started this practice yet, one way to start your gratitude journey is use 3+1 approach.

3+1 means that 1) write down 3 things you feel the gratitude towards to yourself. Such as, I am grateful today for my yoga; I am grateful for completed 80% of my to-do-list; I am grateful for having a health. 2) write down 1 thing that you feel grateful for externals, such as, I am grateful that I live and work in a safe environment; or I am grateful today because I have heart to heart conversation with a few colleagues today.

Try the 3+1 rule and start your gratitudes today.

Assumption

I am more aware of assumptions now than before.

This has two folds: I become more aware of my own assumptions when I talk to others and when I have a self talk.

These moments usually are the time when I have emotions – strongly against or for some things or some opinions. Therefore, I become realizing that I have assumptions or altitudes towards the situation. I have screwed up things in the past by allowing my emotions (assumptions) took control my life…

By realizing an assumption has helped me to see things differently, in others eyes, and give other the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, I have lived in a more peaceful mind, a happier mind.

“Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups” – unknown

When next time you get emotional during a conversation, check what is going in your mind; when you have a conflict with someone, check where is the debating point. How many of them are assumptions from you or others?

Once you become aware of your assumptions, you will become sensible and smarter.

If you realize others’ assumption, you can either point it out or let it go. Because you can create millions of assumptions. The only way to know the truth of it is to test it. Without testing, an assumption is just an assumption, it will not get you any where.

Get real,

Test it,

Live truly.

We don’t need screwups and assumptions if we don’t have to.

Live your life, live your life, live your life

We all get to live our lives as long as we are alive.

Live your life seems obviously, naturally, and no one needs to debate or argue about it. It is a matter of fact.

If you think a little bit more, absorb the meaning of live your life, and what does it look like from now onward to really Live Your Life? To live a life worthy of living? To feel the joy, the tear, the happiness, the pain, the connection with others, the love…

Whatever happens in your life is your life, you have full permission – your birth right, to do things.

You have permission to be fearful to give a public speech;
You have permission to make mistakes and try again;
You have permission to fail and learn from it;
You have permission to write and publish them;
You have permission to love yourself first;
You have permission…

The list can go on and on.

Only when you break free from self limitation, you gain your permission to do more, to be more, to live your life fully.

Live your life whole heartily.