Harvey, Jason - Achieve Anything In Just One Year - Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals

Look at your overall progress. Is the red line on the chart moving upward despite occasional dips? Then you are in great shape! Failures are very frustrating, but they really don’t mean much if you resolve to keep moving forward. Everyone has failures. Do you still have your ultimate goal in sight?

Your assignment today is to make a line graph of your progress over the last year. Pinpoint specific victories and failures along a timeline and then connect the dots. How does it look? Is there a trend upward or downward? What can you do today to keep the overall direction moving up?

DAY

246

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass—it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

— Anonymous

There will be storms in life. You can be absolutely sure of that. Will you choose to hide in a corner and wait for the storm to pass, or will you dance in the rain?

This is a great quote, but it’s a lot harder to put into practice than it sounds. When life is going badly, it’s difficult to find positive actions to take. It’s much easier to hide and wait out the storm. If you really want to move along the road to success, though, you need to get out there in the rain. Launch yourself into the eye of the storm. When you’re in the center of the action, you have a much better chance of changing the outcome for the better.

Paula was the CEO of a small factory, and she was facing economic crisis and potential layoffs. Instead of hiding behind false reports and fake smiles, she told the truth. Paula went to her employees directly by holding a company meeting. She told them exactly what was going on and let them know that she was open for suggestions that would save the company money and increase profitability. Paula was shocked at how her employees responded to her plea. They came up with terrific ideas for saving money and increasing efficiency. By the end of the year, sales were looking up, and Paula offered an across-the-board raise to her employees as well as several bonuses to the workers with the most effective contributions. They came together as a corporation during a time of crisis rather than scattering and hiding in the corners. Paula and her employees learned to dance in the rain.

How can you practice dancing in the rain rather than hiding from storms?

DAY

247

“When I go to farms or little towns, I am always surprised at the discontent I find. And New York, too often, has looked across the sea toward Europe. And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life.”

— Norman Rockwell

Do you find yourself constantly turning your eyes away from what you have? Do you spend a lot of time comparing and ranking yourself against your co-workers, friends, and family members? Why do you do that?

Discontented people have a very difficult time getting ahead. That attitude of wanting what you don’t have is a little like getting stuck in the mud. You can’t move forward, and you can’t move backward. Instead, you spend your time watching everyone pass you by.

It takes a considerable amount of energy to be discontent with life. You can spend a lot of time wishing you were anyone but you, in any location other than where you are, doing anything but what you are presently doing. Does that sound productive? When you look elsewhere for satisfaction, you often miss the great things that surround you every day. You put your life on hold, and in a way you stop living and start watching other people live. Life is priceless, but you throw it away when you succumb to feelings of discontent.

When you start getting that itchy feeling of dissatisfaction, what can you do? Start by looking around you and making a quick list of the things for which you are grateful. Then take a mental inventory of where you can make immediate improvements. Is there more you can do to get the most out of your present situation? Take advantage of who you are today, and stop being envious of who you are not.

DAY

248

“The splendid discontent of God with Chaos, made the world; And from the discontent of man the world’s best progress springs.”

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You read yesterday about how discontent can slow you down and keep you from achieving success. Today you are going to study a different interpretation. The quote above by Ella Wheeler Wilcox suggests that discontent breeds progress.

Sometimes that itchy, unhappy feeling of restlessness makes you just uncomfortable enough to get into action. When you are content, you may not have a reason to change for the better. You’re happy right where you are. But if you are nursing feelings of discontent, you want out. You want to be somewhere else—you are just disgruntled enough to work for something better. Some of the greatest achievements in history were direct results of someone’s discontent.

Compare the quote today to Norman Rockwell’s quote from Day 247. Write in your journal about the word discontent. What role does it play in your life? Does it help you to move forward and get things done, or does discontent give you a feeling of being stuck? You have to come up with your own unique answer to this question. Only you know the truth.

It’s important to know how you personally deal with your feelings. Discontent may be a terrific motivator for you, or on the other hand it could be a huge roadblock. When you are in tune with how you react to feelings of dissatisfaction, you can start to use those emotions as a tool for success rather than a hindrance.

DAY

249

“We love in others what we lack ourselves, and would be everything but what we are.”

— Richard Henry Stoddard

How big a role does envy play in your life? Do you look at others and see traits that you wish you had?

Today you are going to tackle a personal issue. Are you content or are you discontent—with yourself? Sometimes the source of your dissatisfaction is you. Now that would be a bummer, wouldn’t it? You are the one thing you can’t escape! On the other hand, you are a unique and beautiful gift to the world. Stop trying to be what you are not, and start enjoying what you are.

Sometimes you see gifts that others possess, and it’s easy to forget that you have a treasure chest of your own. Mark was often envious of his younger sister’s singing ability. He could barely carry a tune. When he got stuck in that jealous place, he forgot that he was a genius with numbers. Maybe his younger sister was a songbird, but he had a different and equally beautiful gift.

It’s hard to be content with yourself sometimes. You might feel like you’re not quite good enough to stand up to the rest of the world. You long to experience the riches of someone else’s life. Practice celebrating your gifts rather than being envious of the talents of others. You’re stuck with you, whether you like it or not. You might as well look around and check out your own aptitudes. Pretty soon you may be surprised to discover you aren’t lacking at all. In fact, you are rich with talent.

DAY

250

“I used to think I had ambition . . . but now I’m not so sure. It may have been only discontent. They’re easily confused.”

— Rachel Field

Congratulations! You have arrived at day 250! How do you feel? You are more than two-thirds of the way through the year, and your life is changing—maybe drastically. This is the point where you are probably feeling one of two things: either you are gaining confidence, or you are completely confused. Don’t worry. Either way you are right on track.