Month: August 2021 Page 1 of 2

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward.

Have you heard the phrase “Don’t sweat the small stuff?” This essentially means don’t worry about or waste effort on small matters. Instead focus on the big picture of your life and most important priorities. It’s also the title of the best-selling book by Richard Carlson, which is a great read.

Small stuff can amount to spending time getting frustrated by having to queue in a shop or bank etc. It may be getting upset by traffic jams or someone rushing into a car parking space that you had hoped to use. I’m sure you can think of countless examples of small things that irritate, frustrate and disappoint you (if you allow them to).

Last week, when I was watching some distressing images from Afghanistan of people desperate to leave their country to a safer environment, it acted as a reminder of the importance of not “sweating the small stuff.”

When I saw pictures of people hanging off of an aircraft in an effort to escape and ultimately falling to their death, I found it very sad. It made me feel lucky to have grown up in a democracy with equal rights and freedom of speech. I thought about how easy it is to take for granted that I’ve had access to good education, excellent healthcare and been brought up by a loving family in a safe environment.

The situation In Afghanistan really made me stop and think. It has reminded me how vital it is to focus on the important things in life such as good health, family and close friends. It has prompted me to remember (when I catch myself worrying about small stuff) to ask myself the question “will this matter to me a year from now?”

It also taught me to ensure that I make the most of the opportunities that come my way and not put off what can be done today until tomorrow or a later date.

It has served as a prompt for me to be grateful for all that I have in life and to remember to count my blessings frequently. This includes focusing on what I have rather than what I lack.

It has reinforced to me that it’s important for me to focus on the present and to be in the moment more often, to enjoy life, to have fun and not overly worry about tomorrow or yesterday.

This week why not take a few moments out to pause and reflect and consider if you remembering to count your blessings frequently. Ask yourself “what can I be grateful for today?”

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” Boris Pasternak.

I’ve always loved stories about synchronicity and coincidences and been fascinated by them. We don’t have to know what coincidences mean to appreciate them or gain a great insight when we encounter them. However, they play a vital role in that they remind us to maintain a sense of wonder, to be fully present in the moment and open to life’s mystery.

A friend recently shared this lovely short story about coincidence by Cathy Free which appeared in The Washington Post about Tia Wimbush and Susan Ellis:

The two women had been co-workers for years but didn’t know each other particularly well. Chatting in the bathroom one day, they learned that each of their husbands was waiting on a kidney transplant. Turns out that each woman was a match for the other’s husband.

Four surgeries, all successful, soon followed. “It’s really just a story about simple kindness,” Ellis said. “For us, the kindness came in conversation and in reaching out to a colleague. It started with two people just being good humans. Now we’d like to tell people they can do the same.”

It’s also a story about the power of coincidences and synchronicity.

Synchronicity is defined in the dictionary as “the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.”

Some people refer to it as serendipity. There is a film with that title starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale which is often shown at Christmas. It’s set in New York, contains many joyful and beneficial chance events and has a happy ending.

I believe that we need to leave some room in our life for surprises and opportunities. I can recall countless situations that people have described to me concerning unexpected events and situations that were positive. In many cases they were exactly what they needed at that point in time.

When we pursue hobbies and interests with passion, we create positive energy and some unexpected magic can occur. If we do what we’re passionate about and clearly state when we need some support to progress, quite often the right things will show up at the right time to help us.

It’s therefore important to always leave space in our life for the universe to work its magic.

This week, why not take some time out to reflect and consider if you are dedicating enough time to things that you are passionate about or make you happy.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.” African proverb.

I enjoyed watching some of the action from the Tokyo Olympic games.

Many events illustrated how tiny margins make all the difference to results.

One such example was the men’s 4 x 100 metre relay. The gold medal was won by Italy with a winning time of 37.50 seconds. Great Britain finished second to win the silver medal. Their time was 37.51 seconds and therefore the winning margin was one hundredth of a second (0.01).

In life, there’s often a small difference between winning and losing, success and failure, hitting or missing a target, securing a victory in a poll. I’m sure that you can think of countless examples from your own life experiences where a tiny amount of additional effort changed the course of events.

It maybe the extra half an hour that you spent revising for a test or exam rather than watching TV got you the extra marks to help you to pass or get a better grade. You may have put in extra time when learning to drive to revise your highway code which helped you answer a question you just read about and led to you passing the test. If you play sport, for example golf, the extra practice time on your putting may have clinched you a victory in your local club’s championship event.

An extra hour preparing for an important customer meeting may have enabled you to be prepared for a question you were asked and helped to clinch the deal. One final phone call or e mail to a prospective customer may have secured a meeting which led to a large project being sold and, in the process, securing a valuable long term customer relationship.

As I said earlier, tiny margins make all the difference and can determine the outcome of a situation. We all sometimes mistakenly think that we have to keep taking massive action to get a result. The fact is that small incremental steps towards a goal accumulate into massive progress when applied consistently.

One action per day applied every day of the year, towards a specific goal amount to 365 separate actions and somehow seems bigger when you look at it like that!

Fifteen minutes of focus a day amounts to over 90 hours in a year. if you have an ambition to publish a book and write one page every weekday (giving yourself a break at the weekend) after one year you would have written a 260-page book!

This week’s quotation is a reminder to always keep in mind the power of small! A small action is better than no action because nothing is achieved without some sort of action! It could be that 1% extra time; focus or effort will bring outstanding results in your life. It could bring the breakthrough that you are looking for in your career, relationships, goals, hobby or projects.

Why not take a few moments this week to pause and reflect and ask yourself where you could apply one per cent additional focus, time or effort. What impact could this have on your life and results? What will be your first action step?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk