Destiny Booze's Blog: The Smiling Pains of Novelist Destiny Booze - Posts Tagged "motivation"

It was last year while camping for Labor Day Weekend that my brother Darin said to me, "You need to take those training wheels off that bike." He was referring to my son's bike, of course. One of them was bent almost all the way up. The other hardly touched the ground and when my son was riding, he wasn't really using either one of them. The only time you could see him lean on the training wheel was when taking off or coming to a stop. He would just lean over and let the training wheel catch him instead of using his feet.



I told Darin that I wouldn't take them off until my son said he was ready. I meant it, too. Why bother unless he was going to try to ride without them? "Fine," Darin said. Then, he walked over to my son's bike and bent the other training wheel up some. I thought of stopping him. I even thought of bending it back down while Darin wasn't looking. I guess it was mommy-protective instincts kicking in. I didn't want him to wreck and get hurt, but I let it go to see how things went.



To my astonishment, my son kept on riding that bike just as if the training wheels were still on the ground. He never wrecked. He didn't even wobble. I was worrying for nothing.



Well, just two weeks later, he let us take them off. (He wasn't really using them anyway.) And, away he went without a moment's pause. My chest swelled with pride. I felt tears. Look at what he had accomplished! I should have known he could do it!



His accomplishment got me to thinking about myself. What things can I do that I haven't given myself enough credit for? What things can I do that I have been too scared to try? How about you?



Let's really reach out there and see what we can do. It's a lesson Darin taught me and my son showed me. I'm sure we are capable of more than we think!

Man in the Glass
-Author Unknown

When you get what you want in your struggle for
self and the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what THAT man has to say

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass

Some people may think you're a straight shootin'
chum and call you a wonderful guy
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
if you can't look him in the eye

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
for he's with you clear up to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous test
if the man in the glass is your friend

You may fool the world down the path of life
and get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartaches and
tears if you've cheated the man in the glass.

I read such a great story in the newspaper yesterday. In the drive-thru of a local coffee shop, a woman decided to pay for a cup of coffee for the person behind her. How nice, right?

Well, then, the greatest thing happened. That customer decided to do the same for the car behind them. Then, the next person did it, and on and on. It's still going on...12 days later! How awesome is that! That lady began a chain reaction of kindness.

Reading that story made me want to do something nice for someone else. How about you? What can we do today for someone else? Maybe the chain will continue...

...are freaking awesome!

There is no doubt that it often feels like the bad days far outnumber the good, but don't get yourself down and don't give up! Just hold on, because those good days always come back around...like this one. Today has been amazing!

I came home today to a message on my answering machine from my neighbor. She told me that she bought my book and read it. She said she thought it was WONDERFUL. She wants it AUTOGRAPHED.

I could stand to hear that kind of message every day! Maybe I should go replay it a few hundred times... Open-mouthed

That's not all that happened today. I went by the library, and the librarian told me that she's ordered a copy of my book because of all the requests she's received for it. Then, she said I should have a BOOKSIGNING there! How amazing is that?

Ah...those bad days may be a plenty, but days like today more than make up for them!

It's so easy to concentrate on the things we don't like - our kids have attitudes, our hair just will not stay put, our clothes are always wrinkled, our houses are never spotless... That list could go on for days. The truth is that list may never shrink. It will always be there. I will always hate my damn feet, for instance. My big toes will always look like short, pregnant stubs. See what I mean?

But, oh well... At least my big toes make a great conversational piece, especially whenever alcohol is around...lol. Just kidding, sort of. They do get a laugh. My toes' due dates are an ongoing debate at parties.

So, just let all the bad stuff go. Let's concentrate on the good. What do you like about yourself? I bet the list can be just as long, hopefully longer than the bad. I happen to like my eye brows. I keep them thicker than the fashionable norm right now, and I guess I feel "Brooke Shields" that way. I typically like my hair. I laugh easily and often. Those are just a few things I really like.

I love myself. Do you?

I hope you do. It's important.