You Know How to Focus Your Camera – How About Your Life?

Over the last few years I’ve grown to love Sunday mornings mostly because there’s nothing on the list I have to do, including talk about business. I’ve got great music playing in the background; Molly the Wonder Dog at my feet and I had one of those perfect night’s sleep – the kind when you wake up with a solid boost of energy.

Thanks to encouragement from so many of you, Sundays are almost always off track from business and marketing. When I found the quote above one morning last week, I scribbled it on my whiteboard to save until Sunday. It might be one of the hardest lessons in life to learn.

I know it’s taboo to get overly personal in a blog post, but it makes such a great point. Here’s the thirty-second version of my story. I’ve spent most of my life being a “right fighter”. Yes, it’s a Dr. Phil expression, and I admit to having watched a few shows and read a few of his books. Well, I come from a whole family of right-fighters – it’s the way I was brought up, and I used never to give up trying to prove I was right.

The challenge with being in the Right-fight Club is, in the process, we wear ourselves out. We become obsessed with issues that have crossed into the “What difference will it make?” zone. We put all our energy into the battle and on any given day we might have several fights going on at the same time. Some are internal with our personal demons and others, external with people we think care about us.

Well, a couple of years ago I realized life was simply too short. I realized I was spending so much time dealing with the daily storms I forgot to “dance in the rain.” I started focusing on things I could change and stopped wasting time and energy on things I couldn’t. 

There’s another expression from Dr. Phil I love – “I’d rather be happy that right!” And that brings me full circle to where I started with the quote above. I’ve given up on those friends and family members who just don’t get it. They’ve brought nothing but pain and chaos into our lives over and over again. They battle it out on the field of righteous indignation passing judgment that just isn’t their right.

And that’s my point on this peaceful beautiful Sunday morning – let go of the negative people in your life. Stop wasting energy on battles that won’t make a difference and focus on things to make your life better. Life is too short to waste a minute on people who have decided it’s their way or the highway.

It’s Sunday of a holiday weekend. Make it a great day with family and friends. Always go for an eleven-second hug with that person closest to you. Most important of all, put your energy into things that truly mean something to you – those things you carry in your heart that put a smile on your face. I’m still work in progress, but the smile I wake up with every morning speaks far louder than those challenges I just can’t change.

Happy July 4th – It’s Independence Day – and time to celebrate your own independence as well!