John Harrell's Blog, page 99

Airport

I’m writing this sitting on an airplane. Air travel has always enthused me. I love to fly! To me, it’s a miracle that airplanes fly.

Take notice of all the marvels in our world. There are miracles everywhere. You just have to look…

Two Simple Words

I read something yesterday about couples who have healthy relationships. They acknowledge each other with two simple words: thank you. It takes minimal effort to thank someone who has helped you or shown kindness to you or a loved one. Minimal.

Take the time to write thank you notes. Anyone can text or email. The few minutes it takes you to write a short note will pay great dividends in the future. You will stand out from the crowd when you do this. I promise…

Competition

Do you like to compete? I do. If I win I’m still looking for ways to improve my performance. If I lose? I learned something from the experience, and I live to fight another day.

Don’t shy away from competition. Embrace it. Healthy competition makes us better…

Patterns

Our brains are wired to look for patterns when we are experiencing something new. Familiarity makes us feel secure. We try to fit the experience into an already-formed neural pathway.

We do this in relationships, too. We invite, usually unknowingly, the same type people into our lives. The person might look different from the rest, but their inner being is the same.

We must do the hard work on ourselves to break unhealthy patterns. If this sounds familiar to you, it is my hope that you find the courage to change…

Attention!

Today’s culture says, “look at me! Look at how great I’m doing.” I love to celebrate others success. I’m happy when my friends and acquaintances are doing well.

But the ones who get my respect are those who do things quietly. They do the necessary work, and don’t care about getting attention or credit. They simply perform.

Which one are you? It’s certainly something to consider. Humility is attractive. Inflated egos are a turnoff…

Believe

What do you believe? There are certain things we inherently believe, such as gravity. If I jump off a building, I’m gonna fall. Every time.

I use self-deprecating humor often. If you knew me, you would know I give myself a lot to work with! But I don’t believe any of it. Therein lies the difference. I am simply laughing at myself.

I believe in God, and I believe in myself. Start there, then continue your list. This is a great exercise to strengthen your beliefs, and your convictions…

Consistency

To be consistent means to be unchanging in nature. But what about people? Oftentimes people change for the crowd they are in. They are one way at work, another way at home and even another when with friends. You never know who you’re gonna get!

Focus on getting to know who you are at your core being. Find comfort in that, knowing you were created by God exactly how He wanted you to be. Then don’t change yourself to fit in with whoever you are with. Be yourself, consistently…

Growth

Seek discomfort. Personal growth comes when you relentlessly pursue your dreams and purpose. You will leave some people behind along the way. That’s okay.

You are thinking higher…

Garbage

We remove garbage from our homes regularly, right? If we don’t, things turn ugly. And smelly!

This goes for what we allow to stay in our minds and hearts, too. Bitterness, hate and anger will destroy us from within. These character traits will have a major impact on the way we communicate with others as well.

If you are holding on to anything that’s preventing you from being your best, pray to God to remove them from you. He will, I promise. The self work will not be easy, but anything worthwhile rarely comes to us easily…

Different

All of us feel different from everyone else. We are, and that’s a good thing.

God loves variety, so He made each of us uniquely. As human beings, we try to conform to the crowd so we “fit in.” We were not created to conform. We are here to stand out!

Embrace your uniqueness. Be different on purpose…