Doddsism #130

Sometimes your reflection can be the hardest thing to see!

Why is it when we look at other peoples situations their problems seem so obvious? If you have a really good friend or are a really good friend you know exactly what I mean. When a friend is in trouble a lot of times it is easy to see what the problem is and try to diagnose a solution. You can go through that same problem and have no idea what the issue is and it may seem like there is no solution in sight. It seems that it is always easier to look at someone else than it is to look at ourselves. We seem to have a tendency of getting in our own way. It is almost as if the problem disables our ability to analyze and adjust. That is why it is so important to have good friends around you to help figure out your situation. How is your friends list looking?

Doddsism #129

Negative words only have the power that you give them!

Words are powerful. They have the power to dissuade and persuade, they can make you happy or they can make you sad. But really words are only truly powerful when there is something behind them. Meaning, anyone can tell you that your fired from your job but unless that person is in a position of authority those words have no power. There is a huge difference between fact and opinion. We can get in big trouble when we take someones opinion as fact, especially if that opinion is negative. When someone is speaking negativity to you either you can accept it as truth (give it power) or you can take it for what it is (meaningless, powerless words). Just because someone says something does not mean it is true, even if that person is in a position of authority or esteem. That is why it is so important to know who you are on the inside so that when people try to speak negativity into your life you will be able to know that the words they speak are false. You also have to be careful with the people that you allow in your inner circle. People can become jealous of you and slowly try to sabotage your self-esteem. Whose in your circle?     

Doddsism #124 Part 3

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

Just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over!

The third and final part of Doddsism 124, just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over. So many times we want to give up at the first sign of failure. We get rejected once and assume the battle is over. We can learn some of the best lessons in failure. There are two things that I think about after something has happened or I have been rejected. The first thing I ask myself is "did I do something wrong, or is there a way I could have done something better". Sometimes we fail or are reject even when we do everything correctly. It could be something as simple as timing. The second thing I try to figure out is "what can learn from this event." When everything is going well we tend not to look for ways to improve. Sometimes it takes something bad to happen for us to make the adjustment that could eventually lead us to greater success. Like I have said in previous post, even the most powerful and successful people have failed or come up short. The thing about those people is that even though they lost a couple battles they never stopped fighting the war. Have you given up after a battle? Maybe it is time to go back to war!

Doddsism #128

Sometimes the best and what's best for you isn't the same thing!

A lot of times we as humans get caught up trying to get the best things available. We see the newest gadget out, the most technologically advance piece of equipment available and say "it is the best gadget out, I have to have it." Sometime the best available is not  the best for you. It is the old apples to oranges saying with a slight twist. Instead of constantly trying to figure what is the best item, gadget, or person available we should instead figure out what would be best suited for our individual needs. If the newest hottest phone available is a tiny little touch screen phone the size of a business card and you have trouble reading small fonts or constantly lose small objects, that phone might not be the best for you. Americans are taught to compete practically from birth. We are always trying to one up one another and sometimes it causes us to end up with something that we really don't want. We need to stop looking so much at what is better in general and start looking more at what is better for us as individuals.

Doddsism #127

It is not always about what you say but sometimes more about how you say it!

It's funny how two people can say the same thing to the same people and get two entirely different answers. The old quote goes "you can catch more flies with honey than you can with fly paper." I have a degree in marketing communications and one thing that I learned is that you can take information and present it in multiple ways in order to get a desired response. If you think about all the movies that came out this summer, how could more than one of them be the number one movie in America at the same time. You have to pay attention to the simple words that are added to completely change the statement. The number one live action, animated, adult comedy etc. Adding or changing one word in a sentence can change that statement from true to false and vice versa. In the same way an added word can change a sentence, tone can change perception. Different situations can call for different deliveries even though the information is the same.

Doddsism #124 Part 2

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

When you start something always be prepared for what could possibly happen because of that action. One of the most basic principle that we are taught in school is cause and effect. Everything we do will have some kind of effect on the rest of our life. We can get ourselves in a lot of trouble by doing something without taking into account the possible consequences of our actions. Sometimes the things we do can cause great things to happen, other times they can cause not so great things to happen. Either way you should always be ready for the possibilities. Two quotes pop into mind when I think about planning for the future. The first is "always be prepared." You never know what can, and will happen but prepare as best you can. The second is "plan for the worst but hope for the best." That one I am not as fond of as the first because I never want to expect the worst. I would rather plan for the best and be prepared for any and everything.

Doddsism #126

Balance is a vital key to quality living!

We have all heard that too much of a good thing can be bad, but what about not enough of something that you don't care for being bad also. Life is all about balance. We can take a cue from the the world around us. We have season that change, day and night, land and sea. The whole world is balanced to perfection. It is easy to do the things that we like to do, but it is also important to do the things that we don't like to do. Most people are not fans of going to work but without it we might not be able to do the things we enjoy outside of work. A great example of balance is the food pyramid. As much as we love some of our favorite foods, depending on what that food is chances are if you ate it everyday you would have a potently serious health problem. On the other side the foods we don't like to eat are the ones we need to on an occasional basis in order to stay healthy. One of my favorite foods is pizza. I'm sure if I ate that everyday eventually I would be too big to go in and order one.

Doddsism #125

Sometimes simply knowing is enough!

It seems one of the biggest fears there are in life is the fear of the unknown. So many times we deal with issues that we don't understand. People change or leave without explanation, leaving you to wonder what happened. Things change, stuff happens and we are left with only memories. One of the most basic questions we ask as children is "WHY?" As kids even when it is explained to us we still may not understand but it was enough to make us feel better. I believe as adults that same thing still holds true. Knowing even without completely understanding gives us something to help us move past the given situation in our lives. Is there someone in your life that deserves to ask you why?

Doddsism #124 Part 1

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

It is better to do something than nothing at all, but if your going to do something why not give it your all. Some may be thinking what is the difference between a battle and a war. The difference in my definition is that a battle is a singular event while a war is made up of multiple battles. There are three things that I take from this Doddsism, 1) if your going to do something why not give it your all, 2) when you start something always be prepared for what could possibly happen because of that action, and 3) just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over. In this post I am only going to focus on the first one. Most people don't realize that no action is action. Meaning that by not making a decision you are actually making a decision. I believe that in most cases it is better to act than to do nothing, but if you are going to act why not give it your all.

Doddsism #123

Sometimes the hardest choices are the choices we have to make. 

One of the hardest parts of being an adult is that sometimes you have to make choices that no matter what you choose the outcome will not be a fond one. Sometimes there is no avoiding an unfavorable outcome. I have heard people refer to these choices as picking your poison. These moments don't happen all the time but when they do most of the time they end up becoming defining moments. These moments can be turning points in your life. Sometimes these decisions effect more than just yourself, and it may end up being a life changing moment for someone else too. That is why when we are faced with these decisions we must choose carefully.  The important thing to remember when facing difficult decisions like that is not to dwell on the present. Sometimes looking to the future makes a hard decision slightly less painful.