The Benefit of Perseverance in Sobriety

July 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Rolls of Perseverance

As we continue through the book Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing, we come to perseverance. It is the next step in our journey to sobriety and inner peace.

I must first interject an acknowledgement about my lack of postings for the past two days. I get involved in the morning in a project and before I know it, it is 4:00 pm. And I discover I have not yet blogged.

Thinking that it’s too late in the day to blog, I decide to save it for the next day. And then the next day, I do the same thing. That is what happened the past two days. I am involved in my script for my talk that is occurring this Sunday in Novato, CA. http://carolyncjjones.eventbrite.com/

It’s not an excuse; rather, it is a way of letting you know what happens to me on the days I don’t blog. And so I apologize if you came to visit and were disappointed. I am hopeful you found past articles to satisfy you.

Now, back to perseverance and why it’s important in sobriety…

If we fail at any of our attempts in the process of getting and staying sober and finding peace, we just keep moving forward… we persevere in our attempts. We do not beat ourselves up because we have not reached the vision of who we want to be.

Beating yourself up and putting yourself down for not finding success in your attempts on your first try are self-defeating. Think, rather, that you choose to keep moving through any unsuccessful attempts.

Keep trying until  you are successful in your endeavors. Repeat over and over, if necessary. Celebrate your attempt that you took in the first place.  In other words, celebrate the trying. 

“I struggle to not become discouraged, or to think I am a failure, because I have not achieved in my first few attempts the vision of myself as I wish to be. Instead, I try to hold tightly to that vision, awaiting my efforts to catch up with the way I am seen by my heart.

“Through practice and perseverance, I am learning and growing.”

Whatever your endeavor, whatever you are trying to achieve in your sobriety and your path to peace, keep trying until you are successful. Think of it as learning to walk, and recall how that took continual practice and “failure.”

I put “failure” in quotes because nothing is a failure… it is just another attempt to grow and heal, to keep sober and to find peace. So keep trying until your actions and thoughts match your desires. Keep persevering.

Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. This is what persevering means, according to Webster. If you are continually running into blocks and walls, however, consider that you’re headed in the wrong direction. I invite you to change course.

I wish you well on your efforts to become the person you wish to be. May it enhance your sobriety and help you on your journey to peace.

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Filed Under: Inspirational Quotes About Life, Inspirational Sayings, Principle of living, Self Improvement, Sober Living Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Living Your Dream Takes Perseverance

May 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Rolls of Perseverance

It take lots of perseverance on your part to fulfill your dream. The bottom line is, it’s your job to follow through and take action to move things along to fulfillment. 

And the thing about perseverance is this: sometimes when you take action, you will get nowhere. It will seem like doors are slamming in your face.

When this happens, know that the Universe may be sending you a signal that you are going in the wrong direction. When you are going in the right direction, everything will fall into place easily.

However, there are times when even though you’re going in the right direction, you aren’t making progress. In that case, try to be the impartial observer as you review the steps you have taken to move things along. Make adjustments as you identify ways to improve what actions you’ve taken and what you are planning to do.

If after that assessment you think you are going in the right direction, then try to change your tactic a bit and see if that gets better results. The secret is to practice perseverance.

It is tempting at times to give up on the dream, especially if discouraged because you are getting nowhere, or making very little progress.

Today, I invite you to get clear in your heart what you are trying to accomplish, who you are trying to serve and why. With that reminder, gain the strength to continue to try. The reward is astounding peace.

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The Benefit of Perseverance

March 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Rolls of Perseverance

As we continue through the book Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing, we come to perseverance. It is the next step in our journey to sobriety and inner peace.

If we fail at any of our attempts in the process we’ve discussed, we just keep moving forward… we persevere in our attempts. We do not beat ourselves up because we have not reached the vision of who we want to be.

Beating ourselves up and putting ourselves down for not finding success in our attempts on our first try are self-defeating. Think, rather, that we need to keep moving through any unsuccessful attempts.

Keep trying until we are successful in our endeavors. Repeat over and over, if necessary.

“I struggle to not become discouraged, or to think I am a failure, because I have not achieved in my first few attempts the vision of myself as I wish to be. Instead, I try to hold tightly to that vision, awaiting my efforts to catch up with the way I am seen by my heart.

“Through practice and perseverance, I am learning and growing.”

Whatever your endeavor, whatever you are trying to achieve in your sobriety and your path to peace, keep trying until you are successful. Think of it as learning to walk, and recall how that took continual practice and “failure.”

I put “failure” in quotes because nothing is a failure… it is just another attempt to grow and heal, to keep sober and to find peace. So keep trying until your actions and thoughts match your desires. Keep persevering.

Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. This is what persevering means, according to Webster. I wish you well on your efforts to become the person you wish to be. May it enhance your sobriety and help you on your journey to peace.

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Is Your Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

December 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This morning, I had the opportunity to reflect upon whether my glass is half empty or half full. Here’s what happened. Oh. First, let me explain that I am deviating from the topics in the book for my second post yesterday and today’s post… I will resume the book topics tomorrow.

Yesterday’s second post was an exercise in a blogging class I was taking, and this morning’s is something that came to mind. I was sitting on my enclosed-in porch, as is my wont to do in the morning, drinking coffee and watching the sun rise, playing shadows of bushes upon the house next to mine.

I was taking the opportunity to reflect upon the blogging class I took this past weekend. Specifically, I was thinking about how I rated the class with a thumbs-up of 8, instead of a full thumbs-up of 10. When asked by the presenters why that rating and not a 10, I replied that I already knew much of the information that was presented.

Glass Half Empty of Half FullIt’s interesting I responded in that way, as a lot of what I DID learn was new to me, and very valuable. I was rudely awakened to the fact that I looked at the experience as my glass half empty, instead of half full. Embarrassing to admit, but a valuable lesson for me to examine further, so I thought it beneficial to share it with you.

I was modeled the attitude of judgment about everything and everyone when I was growing up, and the judgment was always negative. I don’t say this to give an excuse, but to allow you to see where my default mode came from. It’s simply a fact.

So, when asked about my thoughts about the class, they automatically went to my glass being half empty, rather then half full. Darn! And I thought I had outgrown that! I certainly have worked on changing that perception over the years.

I believe this experience came up to show me how I still need to work on this issue of the glass half empty or half full. It gives me an opportunity to treat myself with gentleness and tolerance, rather than beat myself up about where I initially went… to the glass half empty.

Additionally, I get the chance to practice perseverance in changing my default to the glass half full.  Life is all about practice, after all… We can turn the other way and become defensive or intimidating about the way in which we see the world as half empty, or we can gently examine ourselves, ferreting out our negative responses when a positive one is just as easy to do.

How do you view the world? Is your glass half empty or half full? Do you have to remind yourself of this, or is your glass always half full? Do you view the world with a positive outlook?

 

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Continued, Patient Effort Leads to Peace of Mind

November 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The next topic in the book is perseverance. It is that continued, patient effort on your part that leads to peace of mind, inner peace. It is that repeated effort, without being discouraged that things are not turning out the way you wish.

Rolls of Perseverance

The first stanza of the verse reads, “I struggle to not become discouraged, or to think I am a failure because I have not achieved in my first few attempts the vision of myself as I wish to be.”

You see, I wanted to have peace of mind, and, despite my efforts, I was not making it, was not getting there. What I didn’t realize was that I WAS getting there, it just took a lot of internal work and healing to get to the peace of mind for which I searched.

You cannot do one thing and expect to “get there,” wherever “there” is. It often takes repeated effort on your part, doing the same thing again and again sometimes. Just as the rolls of iron go on and on in this photo, so must your efforts to find that peace of mind for which you search.

It is much less straining to be patient while continuing your efforts, for to be impatient sets up an attitude of tenseness, of expectation of what the outcome of your actions is to be. That’s all well and good, yet life’s outcomes are often not what you want them or expect them to be. 

Besides, to go against the flow of what is, to try and manage the outcome, takes away from the mystery and magic of life, don’t you think?

So, what does that have to do with perseverance and peace of mind? The more you can go with the flow and keep up a continued and patient effort, the more you will find peace of mind, even during the search you are on.

Perseverance helps you find peace in the middle of daily living. Don’t like something about yourself, or that you did or said? Keep practicing perseverance until you get it right. Continue to work toward peace of mind, even through the discouragement that may come.

Above all, do not think yourself a failure because it takes more than one attempt. Instead, think of yourself as a human being.

How have you persevered to find peace of mind? Have those methods been difficult for you to maintain? How did you find the patience to continue, again and again? I invite you to leave a comment in response.

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Filed Under: Healing Emotional Pain, Inspirational Quotes About Life, Inspirational Sayings, Principle of living, Self Improvement, Sober Living Tagged With: ,

Discovering Awareness of the Possibilities in Your Life

November 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There comes a time in all your feeling of the difficult emotions that you begin discovering awareness of the possibilities in your life beyond those unbearable emotions.

Discovering the possibilities of awareness in your life

Birth of Awareness

For me, it happened because I tapped into my ability to persevere past the despair, through the gate to my passions and desires, to the things in life to which I connect and delight. This began my aha! moment.

It was ever-so-slight, just like the opening of the gate pictured here. I began to notice the people around me who seemed to be happy in their lives, and I wondered why I couldn’t be also.

As the verse in the book says, “I allow myself my grief and sorrow, my sadness and anger. Then I turn my attention to the lushness I see beyond the opening… I decide to walk through the gate.”

You, too, can walk through your gate of sorrow and grief, your sadness and anger. It is a matter of hurting so much, that you believe there has to be something else in the world around you to which you can connect and delight.

All it takes is choosing to be aware of the little things in life that bring you joy, or that once brought you joy. Can you remember those times? Or that time? Think back. Certainly, there is something about you or your life that is a good memory. Focus on that.

Focus on those flowers in the garden that are so beautiful, on that delight shown by the older couple laughing, holding hands. Focus on that beauty, on them, on their happiness, not your sadness, and be happy for them. Believe that there is something out there in the world that can bring you happiness, too.

Learn to be aware of the world around you and the things that bring beauty into the world. Think of just one such thing a day. Then, after a week of doing this, add one more thing you notice that delights you, that brings you happiness. You can begin to change your beliefs.

You can begin the process of discovering awareness of the possibilities in your life. Use your imagination, that place deep within that wants to be happy, that wants to connect to the world around you, that wants to delight in something. Then, continue focusing on that… Can you begin to see your birth of awareness? It is my sincere hope that you can.

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Filed Under: Difficult emotions, Healing Emotional Pain, Inspirational Quotes About Life, Inspirational Sayings, Self Improvement, Sober Living Tagged With: , , , ,

Persevering With Patience

August 18, 2010 by 5 Comments

Patina of Patience

Persevering with patience can be a tricky thing. I mean, haven’t most of us been taught that if something is not working, to force it more, to try harder? The message is that we’ve not tried hard enough. There is a flaw in this way of thinking, however.

Sometimes when we push, we are pushing against the river, pushing against the flow of things, against the forces of the Universe. How do we know when this is happening? Things are difficult, do not flow smoothly. We run into lots of obstacles. We cause ourselves undue suffering. What can we do about this?

We can develop the practice of persevering with patience. This means we take action, we do the next indicated thing in front of us to do, and then we sit back and patiently await results. We turn our attention to the next thing which has appeared that needs to be done, even if it is doing the housework.

Like the patina on the gate, good things come iin time, with patience. Perseverance and patience are thought to be two keys to success. They certainly have the capability of bringing us peace of mind.

The results of our actions are either what we were hoping for, or they are a total surprise and are far nicer than what we had imagined. Sometimes, the answer is “no” to our request to the Universe and we would save ourselves some grief if we just accepted that, and tried another path.

In other words, we practice persevering with patience.

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How Do We Persevere?

August 15, 2010 by 3 Comments

Rolls of Perseverance

The verse which accompanies this image talks about learning not to feel discouraged, or, to feel like a failure, if our first attempts at being the person we want to be does not work out. The word “failure” stands out to me as a difficult belief about oneself, a difficult emotion, one which warrants further discussion.

Of late, there have been several quotes about failure on Twitter and FaceBook. In short, the message is that there are no failures, only results which have not yet been discovered. It’s only a failure if we don’t pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and try again.

But the bottom line is, to try again, to persevere. We continue to make adjustments to who we are as a person – our beliefs about ourselves, others, how we treat each. It is only through trying again that we can get anywhere. Yet, how do we try again? In the same manner? No. We use different tools –  a self-appraisal to locate and to objectively look at ourselves, our attempt. We consider a different perspective,  an open mind, willingness. We persevere. We gather new input,  and we get help if it’s needed…

Perhaps, we allow ourselves to grieve the loss of our desire before we start again. At the same time, we celebrate our efforts of trying at all. Some choose not to change, you know. Do you suppose an individual who goes through life never looking at themselves and making adjustments is happy? I wasn’t.

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