Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself

My awesome battle wound from my first time ever wake surfing!  I wish I could say I rode the water like a boss but I didn't.   However, I did get up and ride it so I was happy with that.  On one of my crash landings the board smacked me in the head just as I came up for air.  At the time, I was really upset at the pain, now however, I'm rather liking the proof I have of my hard work...as my stepson would say, "Beast!"

The battle wounds of life, some displayed obviously on the exterior of our bodies like my eye, and others stored internally as an obstacle still waiting to be overcome, are reminders of what we are wanting to accomplish. At each check point we have a decision to make; to keep going or to quit. 

Personal goals are not just about accomplishing the one obstacle in front of us, they are about finding self discipline; a feeling of freedom in knowing that we have complete control over our thoughts, our actions, and the success we feel in our daily lives.  To have the power to accomplish whatever we so choose.



One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life was to change the person that I had become.
When I was about 21, I decided that my life was not going the way I had always thought it would.  I was living a fun, carefree lifestyle but I was not headed in the direction of my dreams.  All at once I made the decision to change paths.  I, as much as I loved them, stopped meeting up with my friends, changed my wardrobe, the things I did for fun, the kinds of music I listened to, the things I watched on TV...almost everything about the way I had been living came to a haulting STOP.
I instantly starting reading books that filled my mind with the kinds of things I wished to dwell on.  As hard as it was, I started spending my time alone or with people with whom I did not have much in common with but, that I wanted to share common goals with.  Slowly, everything about me started to change.  It was a difficult transition because not only did I feel very alone but I also didn't at first really want the changes I was making for myself.   I only made them because I knew I should.
Not anywhere close to a perfect person, I am grateful everyday for that period of my life that I call "change".  I learned that I can be anyone I want to be.  I also learned that with a strong determination and focus, our minds can change as well...we can begin to see ourselves the way we want other to see us.

Since that time I have had great success in my attempts to make a difference in my life or the lives of others. I have also failed at things I have tried to accomplish the first or second time but, I have never given up.  Some of those things are still a work in progress...

As we make goals; for our family, for our career, for our physical or mental health, etc., it's important to remember that we are influential and powerful.  We set an example, even if it's just for those in our home, and we can motivate others.  Settling for less than we are meant to be encourages others to do the same. 

I have always felt a solemn responsibility to find my purpose in life, to figure out what it is exactly that I was sent here to do. I think that maybe the answer to that question changes a little through different stages of life but, it is my own personal goal to always be working towards accomplishing that task that seems to be mine.  Sometimes it's harder to find the task that will best serve us then it is to accomplish it.  Looking outside our comfort zone will usually provide the answer...