Courage

The Signal

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Optimism Thought of the Week

The Signal

There is a signal that resides in all of us. The signal will alert us when it’s time to move forward, or when it’s time to come to a complete stop. Knowing this how often do we obey the signal within us?

Have we faithfully moved along when we had the signal to move forward, or was there a missed opportunity, and therefore we wait for the next signal?

Signals are unique, and not everyone will have the signal to go at the same time, but when we do, that signal is meant for us. Our signal will not turn green unless it was safe for us to proceed.

The greatest thing about life is the road ahead of us. We do not have to be constantly on the move, but we must be aware of the signal before us.

 

Glennel Hardy

The Power of Now

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Optimism Thought of the Week 

The Power of Now 

by Zackary Meier

 

The power of now. Time will pass whether we like it or not. Ten years can easily evaporate like water in the desert. Some of us are granted the gift of 100 years yet others only require 21. Either way, the universe is completely ambivalent to when we decide is the “perfect” time to do something. Therefore it is a MUST that we utilize the most valuable asset we own; the ability to make a decision and create the ultimate power, which is the power of NOW.  

All too often, we allow ourselves to procrastinate on our own goals and by avoiding the short term pain of diving in and taking that initial first step, and instead we create a much larger pain of looking back on a life with dreams unfulfilled. After all, a goal without action is just a dream. The most efficient way we can make a dream reality is by making a decision and taking action, no matter how small that moves us towards that goals which is composed of much smaller steps. 

 How often have we had a dream vacation or have always wanted to learn something and we use the phrase “one day” or “someday” and unfortunately that turns into “I wish I would have…” It’s up to you.  

No matter our circumstances, we can still exercise our freedom of choice. Choose wisely.   

 

Discovery

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Discovery

Have you ever been forced to make a decision that you were not comfortable with, but afterwards you discovered it was the best decision you ever made?

Life has a way to propel us forward even when we are strongly reluctant to comply.  Our immediate thought generally when there is an abrupt change in our life,  is why when it appears that everything is going well, it’s somehow interrupted.

The truth is we grow from interruptions in life.  Interruptions allow us to discover growth and opportunity in areas we never knew existed.  It allows us not to become dormant but active.

Challenge yourself to see your interruption as a new way to discover a path to a new way of growth and opportunity. 

  – Glennel Hardy

 

 

 

We Start With Nothing

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Optimism Thought of the Week

We Start With Nothing

Take a few minutes and reflect back on the most impactful accomplishment that you have made. Now I want you to think back to what were the beginning stages of that accomplishment.

The point of the assignment is to consider the fact that “we start with nothing.” It’s a flat surface that we build upon, and we decide what we use in the building process.

We cannot become discouraged if what lies before us seems to be an empty space. We ourselves must use life lessons, which are our bricks, and start building new things, in order to accomplish a better tomorrow.

Glennel Hardy

Moving Forward With Action

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Moving Forward With Action

Text By Zackary Meier

Lately, it’s been far too common to see bad news and let it affect how we perceive the world. If we only resign ourselves to the notion that negativity and conflict are unavoidable; it prevents us from coming up with a solution.   Quite often, the small acts of kindness that are performed go unmentioned yet are the very things that continue to build emotional bridges which connect us as a human race. It is far too easy to see what divides us instead of seeing what unites us. Therefore instead of wasting precious mental energy just talking about what’s wrong with the world, we can instead take action and do something small to change it.

Whenever we hear about something negative we must immediately go out of our way and do something positive. Otherwise, mentioning a problem without offering a solution is just a complaint.

Photograph By Zachary Holley

In The End

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Optimism Thought of the Week

In The End

The things that consume the most of our time today, in the end will it really matter? We never appreciate the importance of time until it begins to slip away from us. It then becomes especially important in life which battles we choose, and how to live life to the fullest.

Each day is an opportunity to hit the reset button, and make any necessary adjustments from our yesterdays’. We will rarely have the perfect day, but we will have an opportunity to approach our day with a different perspective.

In the end survival isn’t enough, triumph is what we want to achieve.

Glennel Hardy

Facing Our Own Giant

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Optimism Thought of The Week

Facing Our Own Giant

We each have them, our very own giant that stand in our path to intimidate us in the way we move forward and the decisions we make. The job of the giant is to instill fear and tell us those things that we cannot do, and those things that have never been accomplished.

Our own personal giant does have one particular fear that makes it appear very small, it’s when we take a stand, and our shadow becomes taller than the giant.

It takes one moment of courage and one leap of faith to cause our own giant to tremble.

If we have the vision of winning the victory, we should never fear going into battle.

Glennel Hardy

Changing Course

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Changing Course

We generally set goals and objectives for ourselves but at times we could be forced to change course midway through our journey. Changing course can be frustrating, but in the long run it allows us to find additional opportunities, we never knew existed.

When we have one way of accomplishing things, changing the course allows us an even better way to reach where we desire to be.

We would have to decide if “changing course”, is our friend or foe.

Glennel Hardy

Self-Value

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Self-Value

When it comes to self-value do we add more each day, or do we subtract from what is already there? Our own self-value is something that we have complete control over. How we perceive ourselves sends signals to those around us, and therefore others at times react towards those signals.

What can you do today that will increase your self-value for tomorrow?  Our contentment and satisfaction with our lives should never cease, as long as we are able to wake up to a new day, and be persistent in looking for ways to grow.  

Once we have become satisfied with where life has brought us, our own growth comes to a halt.

  – Glennel Hardy

The Building Process

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Optimism Thought of the Week

The Building Process

In order to have a strong foundation in life it may take of years of building before everything falls into place.  Before you begin the building process, you have to create a solid plan and have a vision of what the end result will look like.

Without a vision the design is uncertain and the end result is almost always less desirable. Our vision is formed within us, and is not duplicated in the mind of others. Its uniqueness is what makes it extraordinary.

If someone says that you can’t, it should increase your ability to propel, if someone says you can, it should cause you to become unstoppable.

 

 

  – Glennel Hardy

Destined

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Destined

Most of us when planning for a vacation we generally plan ahead and already have the destination set.  The more we plan ahead the more excited we get for when the vacation comes along. It wouldn’t be as much fun if we were to wait to the day of the vacation and wing it.

When you have a destination in mind to where you would like to go, the journey getting there is the joy of it all. If you have a destination in mind today of where you want to be in life, how much thought have you put into it?  Do you actively work on it every day, do you keep it as a roadmap until you reach that point?

Pick a destination point in life of where you would like to be and get excited about it, as you continue the journey of obtaining it.

  – Glennel Hardy

Reflect

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Optimism Thought of the Week

The Importance of Reflection

 

 Where have we been, and where are we going? We have found ourselves moving in such a pace, we sometimes forget where we once originated, which can also determine where we are destined.

 Have we stopped and considered our surroundings, for example nature itself?  Have you recognized the beauty of the ocean, and how far it expands?  Have you ever closed your eyes, and just listened to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, or walked in a pine forest, and listened to the wind push against the trees, and smell the pine seeping from it, as you dodge flying pine cones. 

 If we can’t stop and consider the greatness of these that have been given to us, what will get our attention? – Glennel Hardy

  – Glennel Hardy

Being Thankful

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Being Thankful

The equation of our life represents many different elements, but the end result is the sum of the person  we are today.  When we consider the good and bad, the joys and sadness, the victory and defeats, we still manage to stand.

Being thankful is not only appreciating the good things that life has to offer, but learning to embrace the trials that have been placed upon us.  If you are able to read this post, you have persevered, and now have the courage to move forward.

When we look at the overall equation, the elements in the beginning never appear to make sense.  We therefore must remain optimistic, that the end result will bring us to the sum, of where we desire to be.

Glennel Hardy

Snapshot

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Snapshot

When was the last time you have taken a snapshot of a period of your life, and later reflected on it to determine what had developed? A snapshot is an important part of measurement in our life to determine if we have grown, or if there is an area of opportunity that still exist.

Take the opportunity today and seize the moment, take a snapshot of it, start the clock, and measure your progress. Make today count, as it lays the ground for the foundation of tomorrow.

  – Glennel Hardy

Photography Courtesy of Evan Curtis

The Wow Moment

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Optimism Thought of the Week

The Wow Moment

You ever experienced a “wow” moment. A “wow” moment is something that you never would have expected, and when it happened you couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it.  In order to truly appreciate the “wow” moment, you had to be open minded of your expectations. 

Today based on things we have become accustomed to, our expectations are preset which leaves us no room for the “wow” moment. The “wow” moment still occurs within our surroundings, but are generally not noticed, unless we pause and seize the moment.

When did you experience your last “wow” moment?

 

 

  – Glennel Hardy

The View

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Optimism Thought of the Week

The View

If today was the day in which we hit the reset button and set out for something new, what would that be? What does the perfect view look for you? We often allow others to paint our view, and realize later it becomes distorted. Our view originates from the inside, and is independent from others around us.  We are responsible for our own vision.

Our vision is unique, a gift or talent that is given to us, in which if we can visualize it, there is no doubt that we have the ability to carry it out. Our naysayers can either give us increased power to accelerated growth, or they can be the flat tire that will slow you down.

We must decide what the overall picture would look like. Who will be in your picture, and who has to be removed? 

 Photography Owned and Courtesy of Nick Lerma

 

  – Glennel Hardy

A New Season

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Optimism Thought of the Week

A New Season

Throughout our lives everything runs through multiple cycles. Some things will last us a lifetime, and some will end unexpectedly. We’re all called upon to do certain things, which makes us unique from those around us. The thing that you may enjoy doing today, may end, preparing you for something new.

Growth has spurts. You start small and you grow large, generally above your expectations.

We may get disappointed when things come to an end, but for every end there is a new beginning.

When you come to the edge, take a leap of faith, jump into the unknown, don’t fear it. – Glennel Hardy

Photograph Owned and Courtesy of Nick Lerma

A New Chapter

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Optimism Thought of the Week

 A New Chapter

At any moment in our lives we can be called to write a new chapter. Beginning a new chapter can sometimes be painful, depending on how the previous chapter ended.  The most important aspect of the new chapter is the rebuilding process. 

The rebuilding process brings us back to the basics, down to our lowest common denominator. We arrive empty and we leave out full.  We have the ability to create as many chapters as we desire, however at times we can’t always determine when a chapter will come to an end.

When that time comes to begin that new chapter will you be ready to create it?

 

 

  – Glennel Hardy

Summing It All Up

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Summing It All Up

The sum of who we are today represents our trials and tribulations, along with our joys and triumphs. We cannot expect to have joy without learning how to experience and embrace sadness.  We cannot expect to enjoy the triumph of victory, without knowing what it’s like to be defeated. 

The sum of who we are today takes the good and the bad, our joys and sadness, our victory and defeat, and represents the person you see in the mirror each day. 

We will have the bad days, also the days in which our faith will be tested, our optimism levels will be low, but we can never forget, we have persevered in the past, and we will continue to persevere in the future.

  – Glennel Hardy

Road Blocks

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Optimism Thought of the Week

Road Blocks

You ever find yourself driving along your regular route either to work or home, and there is a road closure or construction that forces you to change direction? You can either stick it out or wait for traffic to move along, or you can detour and go a different route.

Suppose instead of waiting in traffic you find a different route, and you’re able to continue on with your journey.

Life itself provides us with roadblocks that forces us to make decisions, whether to stay or change the route. If you decide to change your route, you experience something unique, which takes you out of your normal pattern.

Roadblocks in life are designed to take us out of our normal pattern of thinking. When a roadblock appear we may become upset, but it has its set purpose. The roadblock forces us to change direction and take advantage of a different type of outcome.

 

  – Glennel Hardy