Do I love to learn? Many love to learn new things. The Bible says that knowledge "puffs up". We are in an age of knowledge. We can go to google or the internet and find out just about anything, and yet I find that we are not being taught by this information and changing our lives but rather being "puffed up". Today there are a lot of puffed up people walking around bumping into each other rather than learning and being taught be each other. Having a teachable spirit means that you let another teach you. They lead, you follow. In this information age with so much knowledge on the internet and all around us, I fear that we are taking in all this information and not connecting instead with others older and wiser than we are. We become a bunch of know it all's that don't need others and don't ask for help. I am suggesting that being teachable means that we don't have all the answers and we admit we need help. We let another lead us, mentor us, teach us, and yes at times discipline us. This discipline often comes in the form of challenging us and questioning us, holding us accountable for our actions and the outcome of our actions. We all to some extent want to do our own thing. But real growth comes when we let others teach us and we follow, learn, and change in the process...

am I teachable?

How do I feel about discipline? How do I feel about authority? These are two important questions simply for the reason that if I don't like being under another's authority and or see discipline as a negative, I probably do not have a teachable spirit. When I am not teachable, I am stubborn.... and a stubborn spirit is not likely to see much lasting change. Anytime I am locked into my own way of thinking and not willing to be taught, what I am really saying is "I want it my way". Look at your life? What is not going as you wish it would? What changes do you want to see? If you could make those changes alone, my guess is, you would have made them already.

Are you open to asking for help and then following that advice? Are you willing to admit that you do not have the answers to another and come under their authority and let them teach you?

Having a teachable spirit is necessary if change is going to occur.

STUBBORN...resistant to change, and immoveable. It's not a positive thing to be known as stubborn and a defect of character.

Giving up

How often over the years I have made a promise to myself or a declaration of something that I am going to do and somewhere during the process I lose focus, get discouraged, get tired of the discipline necessary and give up. Why? Was my motivation wrong? Did I set the goal too high? Was I really serious about what I wanted in the first place? What did I really hope to accomplish? All of these questions are valid. Most times in the past when I did not follow through with a goal I had not considered the cost at the beginning or asked myself these very important questions. and thus I ended up giving up, only to feel like a failure and feeling frustrated at yet another goal or dream not realized.

There is hope however, and there are strategic ways to make and keeping your goals. In the next few days and weeks I will be writing about goals, motivations, discipline, perseverance, counting the cost, and the power to change.

For Today

Today I am loving life and loving the gift of Addison our granddaughter. We have the great joy of having our kids and Addison live with us for a few weeks. Today is my husbands birthday..He's 59 and I am so very thankful for him and our life together. Pure JOY!

Friendship

Friendships are important to creativity. Yesterday I met with a friend and exchanged some ideas about a speaking thing we are doing together. After two hours of sharing, thinking, and bouncing ideas off each other I was not only encouraged but I was joyful and full of energy. It is important to connect with a good friend every day. It makes me a fuller , richer person. Friendships are such an important part of our lives I wonder why we don't make more time for them.

Time

Time is love. Giving of your time is precious. When time is gone, it's gone. No do overs, no getting it back. We can't buy it, but we give it away and we waste it. I am suggesting that by giving your time, you are giving love. Relationships aren't built without time, and relationships without time die.

What is getting my time today? Is it tasks? or people?

It's been a along time since I've blogged. Life has been busy and full. In the past year, two children have married and our fifth grand child was been born. I have travelled almost every month between work and family. I am amazed at how life can edge out those things that we aspire to do and before we know it, what we wanted to do and set out to do is not happening. We wake up and wonder what happened?

Blogging was one of those things that I wanted to keep up with. It wasn't a high priority so I didn't keep up with it. I think it's that simple. I'd like to work at blogging everyday or at least every other day. In part for my coaching business and in part because I like it. I like to discipline myself to do new things. The discipline is good for me and I learn a great deal about myself in the process.