The Lost Art of Pondering

What is pondering? It is taking the time to stop and think on a deep level. It is an intentional activity, so if you need to, make an appointment with yourself to ponder. If you don't purpose to make it a habit in your life, you will, most likely relegate it only to times when a situation or emergency forces you to stop and think. Other times will be spent thinking on a shallow level, keeping busy with the affairs of this life, and being swept along by the current of life's demands.

Who should ponder? Everyone. It helps you to accomplish your goals and live the life you want to live.

Where will you ponder? Anywhere you find yourself with a few free moments, or you can create a designated quiet place and time to ponder.

How do you ponder? You can ponder about anything in your life. If you need a jumpstart, following are some suggestions concerning things to ponder. Make and take the time to think about the following:

1. About yourself: How can you better yourself? Do you accept responsibility for your actions and decisions? Do you take others' needs and well-being into consideration? Do you do what needs to be done in a timely fashion? Are you dependable? Do you have integrity? In your thoughts, on what do you focus? Are you progressing toward your goals, or just keeping busy? Are you accomplishing or just participating in many activities? What are your interests? Examine your behavior to see where you spend your free time the most to get an accurate answer. In what do you excel? Think about times in which you felt happy about your accomplishment or times when people pointed out that you did a great job or that you were the best in a particular area. Identify your strengths and weaknesses in the following areas: academically, physically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally.

2. About your future: What makes you happy? In what areas are you successful? How can you use your strengths to help others? How can you use your strengths to make a living? What would be your best career choice? What would you want to do with your life if you knew you could not fail? What characteristics would you like your future spouse to exhibit? What can you offer to your workplace and to relationships? What is stopping you from achieving your goals?

3. About others: How does your behavior affect others? What can you do to help someone else? How can you make someone else's life easier? How can you show respect, honor, and/or caring to someone?

Why is pondering important? Pondering is crucial because if you don't take time to: Analyze (to examine methodically), Synthesize (to produce something new by combining separate elements) and Evaluate (to examine and judge), which are all higher levels of thinking, you will be subject to living your lives responding to circumstances and outside influences rather than being true to yourselves by being intentional in your thoughts and actions. Henry David Thoreau said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." If you do not stop to think (ponder), it will be hard to live life deliberately and to fulfill your life's purposes. I hope you make and take some time this week to ponder. You will be blessed.

After spending some time in deep thought, sometimes I would find myself with a variety of thoughts, and little direction. The solution to organizing my thoughts and gleaning direction from them is journaling. Next week I will be posting on the importance of journaling and how it can help you in your life's journey.

Need a Lift Today?

I would like to introduce you to a website that I have found to be a real encouragement to me. The company is called Simple Truths. I am sure you have seen the motivational posters that they produce. In addition to selling posters and books, on their website are posted several free short (up to 3 minutes) videos in which they share some nuggets of truth to encourage and empower those watching.

When you click on the link below, you can see videos about the following topics. Happiness; Inspirational, Leadership, Motivation, Personal Growth, Professional Growth, Positive Attitude, and Teamwork.

My favorite is "Simple Truths of Service: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger". It is a true story about how each of us can make a difference within the sphere of our world. It is a very moving story.

If you want to know more information about any of the videos, there are books available for sale that go along with the video.

God bless.

Success Strategies That Work

Last week, I spoke about things I realized that were a hinderance to me as I sought to achieve my goals. In this week's post I will talk about concepts that consistently helped me every time I succeeded in achieving my goals. They can be summarized as a four letter acronym: PPPW (Pray, Picture, Ponder, Work)

Pray. Once I accepted Christ as my Savior, God as my Father, and the Holy Spirit as my Helper, Teacher, Guide, and Counselor, I understood the importance of asking for His help and guidance in everything. Now, when I feel as if I need to make a change, I ask Him first and do my best to follow His lead.

Picture. Each time, envisioning my goal began with a desire to do something, avoid something, or create a solution to a problem. What is the driving force behind a goal you are trying to accomplish? Can you picture the end result?

Ponder. I cannot emphasize the importance of pondering (to think carefully about something for a noticeable amount of time). Each time I wanted to do something new, I would take time to think about what I wanted to do, what I would have to do to get there, and how I would be successful. I wondered what would make me stand out from the crowd or why people would want to use my services.

Here is a perfect example: At one point in my life, part of my retail business was selling lottery tickets. I knew nothing about gambling and wondered why anyone would make a special stop in a mall to purchase tickets from me when they could buy tickets in other more convenient places like the gas station or grocery store. As I sat thinking, I came up with this plan: If I was fast, accurate, knowledgeable, and friendly they would come. I developed this portion of my business on those four principles. The result was that I was highly successful, becoming number one in ticket sales in three counties and number nine out of 7,500 retailers.

Work. After pondering and coming up with an answer, I would relentlessly pursue achieving the goal.

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." - Mother Teresa