 THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME A BETTER FOOTBALL PLAYER IS TO PRACTICE FOOTBALL
Recently, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said, “The only way to become a better football player is to practice football.” It doesn’t get much simpler than that! Yet for our accomplishments we wait for just the right time, the right situation and for the wind to be blowing in just the right direction before we take action. We wish, we hope, we pray expecting success to fall from the sky into our ever-so-deserving laps. Hmmmm….. how is that working for you? Let’s take this simple formula and fill in our own blanks: The only way to become a better __________________ is to practice _________________. Words like: piano player – piano; salesperson – sales; gardener – gardening; friend and friendship fit easily into this equation. An example for me is, “The only way to become a better writer is to practice writing.” I write every day. My theory is that by writing a little every day I will complete an article or story every week. By the end of a year I will have 52 pieces of writing. Will they all be good? No, probably not. But somewhere in the 52 there will be some that are good and sifting to the top there may even be a few that are great! I’m not the best writer in the world. I use incomplete sentences, my typos come back and slap me after the publish button has been hit, and I couldn't live without my spell checker. But, I believe I have stories to share, ideas to document and people to reach out to. I do this through my writing. I won’t become a better writer by waiting for the perfect words, the perfect thought or the perfect space to write from. I become a better writer by writing. Why make it more difficult than it is. It is just this simple. “The only way to become a better football player is to practice football.” Now fill in your blanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Don’t wait for your accomplishments to come to you – practice your way to success!” All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] Thank you!
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 LET’S GET OUR BUTTS ON THE RIDE My husband and I both have a fear of Ferris wheels. There is something about being suspended in mid-air, with our legs dangling from a bucket as it swings and rotates that is not our idea of fun. Recently while visiting Atlanta, we planned a day of sightseeing. We walked from our hotel to Centennial Olympic Park to visit the attractions in that area. With a little time before our first tour, we stumbled upon something that was hard to miss. The SkyView Atlanta Ferris Wheel. This isn't the average carnival Ferris wheel. This is 20 stories high; an impressive site to see. We read the sign about how it rotates 4 times, the buckets are actually enclosed, air-conditioned gondolas and the ride takes about 15 minutes. None of this lessened our fear of Ferris wheels….and this was a big one. There wasn't a line and we had some time, so we decided if we were going to do it we better get our butts on the ride. Without hesitation we bought our tickets, jumped in and heard the door lock. Suddenly we gave each other the what-have-we-done look! I’m not sure about my husband, but for the first rotation my eyes were closed, my breath was held and fear took over. Reaching the top of the second rotation I opened my eyes.
The view was incredible! It felt like we could see the entire city. By the third rotation we were both smiling. After the forth we were glad to put our feet back on the ground, yet happy for the experience. Isn't life so often like this? We stand by silently wishing we could jump on the ride, yet we hesitate and hush our enthusiasm. Our fear takes over and we play it safe by just watching instead of participating. The time isn't right, what if we would get hurt or fall off; of course we will do it another time. Life isn't always a smooth ride. It can go round and round with monotonous predictability, then suddenly everywhere we turn we are hit, jerked and slammed like bumper cars jolting back and forth. It can be dangerous to ride life’s roller coaster up and down through the peaks and valleys. In the ride of life it is in the bumps and jerks that we learn our biggest lessons. Without the valleys of fear and desperation we can’t appreciate the peaks of being on top where the view is incredible. If we stand on the sidelines we miss the experience. If we had thought about our fear we wouldn't have gotten on that Ferris wheel. We would have missed the experience. The second chance may have never come. Now, "Let's get our butts on the RIDE!" ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "Don’t stand on the sidelines of life – jump in and enjoy the ride!” All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] Thank you!  HOW SHARP IS YOUR KNIFE?
It was just an English muffin. I've cut hundreds of them. This time I used the new knife. The one with a lifetime guarantee of sharpness. I began slicing slowly back and forth and then in a blur it slid quickly through the muffin and my finger. A temporary numbness circled my finger until the blood, spilling over the cutting board, triggered my pain sensor. Dropping the knife, the blood trailed me to the sink where the pink water ran cold down the drain. No explanation was needed as I walked into the Urgent Care Office. One wave of my bandaged hand told the story and a clipboard was passed through the glass window. Waiting on the examining table silently scolding myself for being so careless, regret turned to anger for buying the new knife. The old one had worked just fine and if I hadn't been using that new sharp one I wouldn't be sitting here now. I would throw it away the minute I returned home. Snapping on her rubber gloves she squinted as she peeled open my amateur attempt at bandaging. "Ouch," she said. More squinting. "New knife?" My head nodded while I bit my lip. She unemotionally prodded my self-inflicted wound. Expecting a cautionary lecture about using sharp knives, she surprised me with quite a different piece of wisdom. "You should only use sharp knives." That gained my attention. She continued. "When you use a dull knife all the time you lose respect for it. You blindly push hard on it without fear of cutting yourself. Then when you do use a sharp knife you're shocked at the power and speed of it. If you always use a sharp knife you stay aware. You pay attention." Simultaneously her lecture and the stitches were complete. Gloves were snapped off. "You should only use sharp knives." She restated her point and left the room. I was on my way home, still stunned by the whirlwind of the last hour, the stitches in my finger and the wisdom I received; Wisdom that went much deeper than the cut to my finger. Just as I had lost the awareness of the sharpness of the knife, I realized many times I live my life with dulled awareness. I needed to sharpen my senses. I needed to see and touch and taste and hear and feel with more mindful awareness. The doctor's message was not wasted on my cutlery. I washed my new knife, threw my dull ones away and began sharpening myself. The toaster now held a new English muffin. It filled my kitchen with the smell of comfort. Feeling the sensation returning to my finger, I touched my bandage with compassion. The day looked clearer. Now, I felt a new awareness and appreciation for my own lifetime guarantee of sharpness. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "By sharpening your attention you will enjoy mindful awareness in every moment." All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] Thank you!  BOOMERANGS Do you remember playing with a boomerang? You know the concept-- you hurl it into the air believing that you are throwing it far away and in seconds it is coming back aimed straight at you. How does that happen? We all have personal boomerangs; those pesky habits, patterns or cycles that repeat over and over again in our lives. We love our boomerangs. We have a collection of them that we display in our mind’s trophy case. We polish them and engrave them with our favorite story. Imagine a sparkling, bright, red lacquered boomerang with gold embedded words that say, "I have played hookey-pokey with the same 10-15 lbs of weight and just can't seem to keep it off." Can you see the shiny boomerang whooshing through the air as it is thrown with might and determination? The weight goes down. It feels great! Then out of that same clear air this boomerang appears spinning straight back with precision accuracy and hula-hoops around the waist. ((PLUNK!)) There it is again that familiar 10 lbs. How does that happen? The story is verified and the game of hokey - pokey begins again. What does your boomerang say? Is it engraved with words like- "I am always sick," "I will never finish school," "I end up in the same dead end job all the time," "I can't trust any man (or woman) that I'm in a relationship with." Do you see what all of these boomerangs have in common? They are engraved with negative power and thrown with anger and dissatisfaction. We become so attached to these Boomerangs and the stories they carry that we keep polishing them and throwing them again and again. And every time we are surprised when they come targeting right back to us. What if we changed the story? What if we changed the engraving to a positive message? What if we threw our boomerang with love and kindness? It would come back to us - they always do - but this time with the perfect weight, the job of our dreams, or an amazing partner. We will wonder -- how did that happen. Start throwing! Throw love! Throw kindness! Throw hope! Then wait. It will come back. It always does. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie's Life Lesson: "You can throw your life boomerang with love and kindness or anger and dissatisfaction- either way it will come back to you—it always does. The choice is yours!" All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] Thank you!  EVERYTHING I WANT
I snuck away with my Grandson, Dylan, for an afternoon of feeding the ducks in the park, picnicking and a little shopping. After the ducks were fed and our tummies were full we moved on to shopping. My shopping cart spilled over with the arms and legs of a three- year-old. As I maneuvered through the aisle I asked him, “What should we buy for you today? Maybe a shirt, a book, a……” My list was interrupted when he said, “I have everything I want.” My cart came to a stop as I looked at his sweet face. I couldn't hide my smile at his remarkable comment. “You have everything you want?” He may have been three, but he knew from the expression on my face that he must have given the million dollar answer. He flashed his killer smile and said, “Yeah, I do! I have EVERYTHING I want! ” I proceeded to tell him how lucky he was that he was so happy and had everything he wants. He smiled bigger, sat up taller and was very proud that yes, he must be lucky! I have to say it stunned me. What little person (or big person for that matter) can say they have everything they want? I was still pondering this as we paid for his new football. My idea – not his. Later, we stopped by my house to feed my dog, Yogee. Yogee was much more interested in dancing around the floor with Dylan than eating. After about the third time I told Yogee to go eat her food Dylan looked at me and said, "Maybe she just isn't hungry." Again, I stopped to breathe in what he just said. I sat down and watched as Yogee’s tiny feet continued the happy dance as she circled around him. As every inch of her body wriggled and smiled, I realized – she too, in this moment of time had everything she wanted. We took Yogee to the back yard and this time it was Dylan’s turn to do the happy dance. He ran to my garden box. He circled it, hands clapping and sang, "Oh, this garden is BEAUTIFUL!!!" That was it! Three strikes to my heart! Lessons learned! At 3 years old he could see the beauty in a garden and understood that "he" wasn't hungry for anything. -- He had everything he wants! This tiny boy had just demonstrated to me the simplicity of life. That as long as we are loved we do have everything we want. That sometimes we don’t hunger for anything - we just need to dance. And if we look we can find beauty in our own back yard. I learned that right now, in this moment, I do have everything I want! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: When we are surrounded by love we don’t hunger for anything -- we have everything we want. ***Since we all learn from each other, I would love to have you share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. Thank you!*** All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information. If you have any questions or comments, or for reprint permission please email: [email protected] Thank you! |
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PLEASE NOTE: This page does not provide medical or legal advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and links to other sites, Pennie Hunt provides general information for inspiration, encouragement and educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through links to other sites, is not a substitute for legal, medical, or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call or the advice of your lawyer, physician or other healthcare provider. |