YOUR LIFE A-Z: PATIENCE

SOMETIMES THE DIRECTIONS ARE NOT CLEAR

PATIENCE

PATIENCE is described as the ability to accept suffering, hardships, delays or other intolerable situations without getting upset.  I think that definition is what the writer thinks PATIENCE should be, but not exactly what PATIENCE is.  PATIENCE is what you train yourself to practice while dealing with suffering, hardships, delays and intolerable situations or people.  Practicing PATIENCE is finding yourself really angry at a situation, such as a driver who cuts you off in traffic.  PATIENCE is that big exhaling breath that you take before you toss your middle finger up or push your foot on the gas.  PATIENCE says, “Now that was not nice of that jerk ahead of you, but don’t reduce yourself to be a jerk like him or her. PATIENCE is the practice of breathing in and out and counting to ten or to a hundred if need be.  PATIENCE is the art of stopping yourself from saying something mean when you have been hurt. PATIENCE is the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and say, “Maybe they are having a really bad day.  Let’s cut them a break.”  PATIENCE is an action word not a passive position.  PATIENCE is not being mute nor allowing yourself to be walked on.  PATIENCE is diplomacy when negotiating.  PATIENCE is thinking critically from many vantage points before making a life-changing decision.  PATIENCE is acquired only by practice.  None of us are born PATIENT.   PATIENCE is important to you because one day you will need others 

YOUR LIFE A-Z: YOGA

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YOGA

YOGA is not a trend.  YOGA has existed in Eastern countries as long as history has been documented.  The word YOGA is an umbrella term for a variety of teachings and is a multi-layered system of practice to bring forth the best in you.   The Twenty Minute Coach invites you to check YOGA out.  There are many APPS available for download, T.V. thirty-minute practices on regular channels, and a YOGA studio on every corner.  So how do you choose which practice will work for you?  Rather than going to one YOGA class and saying, “YOGA is not for me or this is too hard,” try at least three different types.  I use the three- rule when I am helping people choose a good psychotherapist or life coach.  I tell them to interview or experience three different people and choose one from those three to work with for a period of time.  It is the same with YOGA.  Go to a studio that is convenient and has classes for beginners at a time frame that works for you.  Download an APP or watch a few poses on UTUBE.  Then practice those poses until you feel some sense of success.  Next, Google YOGA practices on line and learn a little more about them.  Practice YOGA for thirty days and you may find yourself hooked and seeking more.  Be gentle with yourself and allow your consciousness and inner core to strengthen through your practice.  YOGA will help build your emotional and spiritual discipline allowing you to expand your positive energy in your daily life. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z:VALOR

Valor is the High Road of Determination

VALOR

Personal bravery and determination when facing a challenging and dangerous situation is a good description of the word VALOR.  Some of us shine in crisis situations and fall apart when the coffee grinds slip to the side of the trash can rather than into the garbage bag.  VALOR in day-to-day life rises to the occasion of living a life of conscious choice.  Conscious choice means practicing VALOR in the midst of a broken sprinkler, coffee grinds on the floor and that one extra demand from a child, spouse, friend or family member.  Personal firmness not to give into old behaviors but to practice VALOR as a daily commitment to excellence is important for personal courage and happiness.  Let us face it.  Life is not smooth; something is always interrupting our unconscious plans and creating havoc with our daily schedule.  Determination to practice kindness, patience, and compassion in the middle of your personal chaos is a conscious choice of VALOR.  Even when you want to scream, cuss, or throw something you consciously focus on your breath and choose a courageous choice of VALOR, responding with compassion instead of rage or hatefulness.  VALOR is the high road of determination when you are tired and the last straw has broken.  VALOR is the bravery to say, “I am sorry.  That was not appropriate.”  Challenging situations are the day-to-day situations that are always coming at us.  Meetingsituations that present us with emotional danger with VALOR is living positively in the present.