Motivational Quote 8 - potential

"Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities.

They vary in their desires to reach their potential."

- John Maxwell

Why do I get frustrated with people I care about?

When I started this blog, I didn't set out any terms for myself - there were no rules. It was done to allow me to understand myself, support other and seek out support for myself. But understanding myself and my feelings is very important if I want to help others do the same.

But now I'm wrestling with those feelings. On holiday with Hubby, Special Friend and Best Manfriend (people that I held very dear to me).  They are people that I know understand me.

Yet I still feel it necessary to release some of my frustration at them. I get frustrated because I want to plan and they don't. As I write this, I question whether it was really that important at all. Was it just a case of me throwing my toys out of my pram in an attempt to get my own way?

I would say I got frustrated because I wanted everyone to be happy, but if I'm being really true to my feelings, am I sure that was the case. Would they have been happier had I just left things alone to work itself out? - probably.

Fortunately these are really good people who care about me too and make allowances for my constant need to plan.

A promise is a promise - no matter how mad the idea.

I love holidays, especially those that involve been in my favourite place in the whole world (a corner of England known as the Lake District (Cumbria)).

Its been ages since we've been. We had a weekend last August. We've enjoyed our other holidays in Scotland and Yorkshire and Devon, but absolutely nothing beats a week in the Lakes.

We spent the week with Best Manfriend and Special Friend. Its an environment in which you can relax, where there is no pretence and nothing you say is held against you.

But there's always been something I haven't wanted to do, a mini adventure - camping in the hills, in the wild. I've always been the only one of us not wanting to do it. But in a mad moment last year I promise Special Friend I would. Since then its been the topic of many conversations, Hubby and I have been and invested in the right equipment on the proviso that the conditions had to be spot on. For me a promise is a promise. My recent special birthday was celebrated by treating myself to a sleeping bag for this sole purpose.

When we left, the weather was okay and we pitched the tent in dry conditions. Imagine my horror to waking up the next morning above the snow line. It was a bit of a WOW moment. Had I have known what the conditions offered I would have dug my heals in and not gone, but I missed that bit of the forecast as everyone got carried away with the planning. But in actual fact it was OK. The snow was OK and added to the experience.

The overriding feeling of the day was one of a shared experience, friendship and togetherness - a shared adventure. I have no doubt there will be more.

And I can count on one hand the number of WOW experiences I have had in a lifetime.

Try it - you might like it.

Caravan and Camping: Your Guide to Sites in Cumbria and the Lake District

How do you place a value on friendship?

An old friend turned up today. Totally out of the blue. We'd lost touch with old friend and his wife, grown apart I guess with different priorities, different lives and living in different counties.

Sometime paranoia creeps in and I blame myself, wondering what I've done to upset them. I have made efforts to stay in touch and we're sort of in touch via Facebook so I see the time they have for other people. But they rarely make the contact with us.

But anyway, out of the blue, we get a phone call. The old friend is in the area and 30 mins away. Mutual friends were staying, so it was simple to set an extra place at the table and catch up on what's happening in life.

Suddenly the time lapse was unimportant and it was good to catch up. I know now that lives are busy especially in our household at the moment. This friendship isn't a priority for me, but whilst its one that will fade into the background for most of its lifetime, one of my personal values is around friendship and there will always be room at my table for Old Friend.

Do you believe in fate?

I often say that I believe in fate. But actually I’m not truly sure what I believe in.

What I do know is that whatever choices you make along the way affected the paths that are revealed in front of you in the future.

So any decision you make along the way ultimately closes some gates, but will always open others.

Choosing wisely will give you better paths, but simply making a decision when presented with any choice will lead you on a journey.

Which path will you take?

While the cats away ........

Boss wasn’t in today so I managed to make progress on a number of work tasks without interference AND focus some time of my personal development (a buzz word around here). I completed a Careers Anchors Questionnaire and found it very useful.

We also had an update on what’s happening in the current restructuring at work. Its confirmed to me again that I have outgrown this job, echoed by the Careers Anchor results showing that I have a desire to have more control over my own working patterns.

Where does all my time go?

I am trying to research coaching courses and how to set up a business. But I am still struggling to find the time. Take today as an example.

I get up at 7am, get ready for work, make lunch, throw some washing in.

At 3pm I am sat at my desk eating a rather late lunch, - that 30 mins means that I can ring the bank, the vets and the doctors.

At 4.30pm my office day is done, I pop into town to buy a gift, and go for a piano lesson.

At 6pm, I’m back home, a quick shower and change, a ten minute walk with his Royal Doggyness and appreciation of the glorious countryside on my doorstep.

At 7pm, I sit down to some tea which gives me time to write this. I know I have 30 minutes before attending a Pilates class, pick up Hubby and then meet friends at 9pm. Returning home, I clean my walking boots before going to bed.

It leaves me with 2 options:
Give up on some sleep
Give up working.

I know which I’d prefer!!