27/01/06

落叶的使命

叶，一片一片长在大树上。
没有怨言，不曾退缩，替它挡风和遮雨。
大树的快乐都是因为有了叶子的呵护。
这样的日子神仙都羡慕。

时光飞逝，一天又一天，怎样都不厌倦。
但是有一天，残酷的干旱出现了，苦不堪言。
叶子看见树的痛苦，便说出了这些。
“其实我不想离开，但是看到你这么痛苦，我实在不忍心再粘着你。”
“我希望你能坚强的活下去，面对以后的问题。"
"照顾你的誓言，就让其他的叶子来实现，请你一定要照顾自己。"

说完了以后，叶子离开了，飘落到大地。
虽然很难放下，总要放下。
落地之后，还是没有放下，依旧看着大树。
变成营养，滋润着它。
叶子的使命就是这样，永远都不会改变吧。

Slice of Life

Making Up Excuses

I asked a friend of mine recently why he seems unafraid of failure, and how he remains upbeat in the face of difficulties. And he shared his life philosophy with me - he said that every time he fails, he examines the situation critically, comes up with three reasons why he failed and from there, thinks of three ways he can improve. That way, he's always learning and constantly looking forward to a better future.

That made me think about how we all could benefit from that manner of thought. When we fail at something, or sometimes fail to do something, we make up excuses for ourselves - why we can't do something, why something can't be done, why we haven't moved towards our goals and so on.

Making up excuses takes a lot of energy and time. But it seems to be intrinsic to us, so here's a great way to make your excuses work for you. The next time you feel like making an excuse, instead of thinking of excuses why you can't, try making excuses why you can.

Since we all are experts in making up excuses, we won't need much training in this area, just a shift of focus. Instead of focusing on what we can't do, lets focus on what we can do. Instead of coming up with all kinds of excuses why it won't work, let's focus on why it can work. Kind of like how my friend comes up with three ways he can improve the next time. But you don't have to stop at three? give yourself no room to make up excuses why you can't.

Instead of focusing energy on excuses that don't serve you in moving forward, make up excuses that inspire and enthuse you to do what you want to do. Excuses like "there is no time like the present", "I am just the person to do the job", "I know all the ways it can work."

Be creative and think of as many as you like.