Roadblock

...is anything that renders you difficulties to make progress or achieve your goal. A barrier.

Why such statement?

Three years and 11 months with my current company and I am feeling this itch again - you can compare it to a seven-year-itch. I can feel the symptoms all around me - happiness declining, my drive to become better and to explore loosens. My thought is like wading towards new environment, new people, new application to play around, new things to learn.

Like the seven-year-itch, there is also a pattern I'm feeling here which I am so alert I already raised a red flag to warn myself "this is not sooo good!". I do procrastinate a lot!

For one thing, I've been putting some task to a later time when I am fully aware I can do it alright within my 'now'. Another thing is that I am losing my focus and I am easily distracted with little things like chatting, social networking, songs on youtubes, frequent little breaks -- not so evident but steals my time softly.

Going back to roadblock, I know I am facing one right now. And when I recognize a problem I am up for a solution. Before I go down to a pitfall and ending up demotivated, I might as well heed my self-warning flag. It won't hurt to do a little self-motivation.

And right when I need it most, I happened to drop by Powerbooks at Alabang, scanned thru racks and found this book 'Motivation' by Jeff Davidson, a 60 second solutions to why we do a lot of putting off, delaying or deferring an action to a later time.

Why do I need this book? Because I answered most of the questions on page #7!

- spending too much time on periphery tasks
- finding it difficult to get started on some tasks that I know to be important
- putting off tasks and starting it when there is really a need to

Laziness is a sure one way of procrastinating. And when we do this, it lowers our initiative.

Now, why do we tend to become lazy when things are not tough? Reasons.
- We are comfortable and confident that task is easy and you can do it in no time
- We fear of failure that's why you are only maintaining your status quo
- Allowing little distractions get in our way
- Demotivated

Whatever your reason is, in the end you will know procrastinating is such a bad habit. In the end, you will always comes down to two options: either you do it or you will not do it, either you succeed or you will fail. I learned it the hard way.

So why procrastinate? It is just a roadblock to your success.

He Will Not Fail You

When you have given your all. When nothing is left within you but emptiness. When you think you are not enough. When everything else fails. Remember God will not fail you. He will not forsake you. If you are in your situation right now where everything seems to be pulling you apart? God will give you a way out. He will not give you something you cannot bear.

 

Heavenly Hugs

What's warmer than a hug when we're feeling lonely and sad? An affectionate squeeze encircles our body and embraces our heart. It makes us feel cared for, wanted and valued - Grace Fox

God have arms. Yours and mine are extensions of His. God wants to comfort the hurting. And He magically does that through us. Sometimes, that means literally extending physical hugs to other person. Other times it can be extended by emotional hugs through service, kind words, affirmation, encouragement, showing you care, giving your appreciation, expressing your thankfulness, offering a smile, etc...

Opportunities sorround us. If you are presented with one, don't let it pass without you taking advantage that chance to extend His heavenly hugs.

- Nessy

Waiting With Grace

Waiting on God is not something everyone is used of doing. Usually, our tendency is to get ahead and do our own thing. We plan, we set lifetime goals and we embark on fulfilling these goals without even praying, asking or consulting God if what we have in mind are aligned to His agenda in our lives.

We wake up in the morning and the first thing that comes to mind is our daily dose of concerns -
What to eat at breakfast.
What to pack up for lunch.
How can we be productive.
Our shopping spree, bonding with friends, what best movies to watch, who like our pictures at facebook or what's the best tweet at twitter, and the list goes on.

WE FORGOT TO express our gratitude to our God for giving us another day to live. We forgot to ask Him to bless our day, to give us strength to whatever may come our way. We get ahead. Because we're impatient. We're so eager to do things our own. We are not at peace by just letting God guide us.

We fidget.

Just observe when we are at the waiting end. Say we're supposed to meet a person at 5PM. Before the clock strikes 5 o'clock, here are what we usually do:
- check the time
- five minutes before 5PM, we will be tapping our fingers or wiggling our toes or swaying our legs or pacing around (our way of channeling our thoughts)
- in another few minutes, we will be composing a text message, probably asking for the person's whereabouts (san ka na banda?). If no reply, we'll text again or give that person a ring
- when we get a response 'I'm on my way', most likely we will ask estimate of that person's arrival
- and then back again to tapping fingers, wiggling toes... now with exasperated sighs


I am not saying these apply to all, but I think most of us are (count myself as guilty sometimes!).

BUT GOD taught me better, to wait on things with patience. That there is no better way of spending waiting but to do it patiently.

I know it because I've been tested lately few times already. One instance was when I chose to wait for my boyfriend while he was taking his exam. He was supposedly out at 6 o'clock (PM). He was having a hard time completing his exam earlier than he could, so I had really no idea how long I will have to wait. But what surprised me was the patience and the calmness I had in my heart to just stay and wait, letting time passed by while enjoying being alone. I was never this person before, I so hated being on the waiting side. But as I said, God taught me better. You will never get to enjoy life if you are impatient.

I read somewhere and I reflected on it: Patience is not about how long you wait, it's all about how you behave while waiting.

A time spent waiting for something or for someone is never a waste of time and effort if you know in your heart this is how God wanted you to do, you will still continue your walk with a happy end in mind. You may not know what specific ending that is, but you know for sure that what God has for you is something beyond what you can imagine.

The behavior of waiting is tested and visibly seen on how we deal with small stuff - our daily routines, our daily small encounter with people, on how we react with small matters at hand - impulsive? always with sense of urgency? grumbling? Or calm and poise with surrender to God while having a strength and a positive character, with understanding and with a smile?

Just wait patiently, under God's grace.

Someday...

One day, you will meet a guy.

And ultimately, he's going to find out how you're a little messy when eating leaving crumbs in the corner of your mouth.

How you smell at any time of the day.

How your face looks when no make-up.

How you don't love chocolates if there's no nuts on it.

How you love singing your heart out, high pitched, off-tune and with wrong lyrics!

How you can be hyper at times.

How little things bring you happiness and how at the same time it bring you to tears. You can earn an award for this, for being a drama-queen.

How cranky you can get when tired and hungry.

How sometimes you misheard things.

How pressing you are when things don't go your way.

How terrible your sense of direction is.

He will know everything.

But despite all these, he's still going to love you. :)

- nessy

Lessons Learned

We've set plans in our hearts.
We embarked on a journey, faced crossroads and eventually decided to change our courses.
We have lost and won some battles.
We have met people and we loved them dearly. Yet, sometimes these were the same people we had let go for reasons we can't comprehend but felt strong resolve - it's for the best.

All of these happened for a reason, way beyond our comprehension. Looking at your 'now', don't you agree that the life you have experienced were pieced out, knitted together to form the better you in your now?

All things - pleasant and those that we want to forever forget - are meant to happen for a greater purpose.

You've break somebody's heart? Not a good one to talk about and I'm sure something you're not proud of but you've played a role in that somebody's life.

You are stuck and you think you're life sucks? Isn't it great that at some point in your life, you have experienced the low so you would know how to appreciate little things?

In any circumstances, we are being instructed lessons of life, just up to each of us to use what we've learned and move forward with a positive perspective. Despite of everything, life around you evolves, they won't stop because you are stuck. So you are left with one choice, to move. Someday, no matter what you do today, you will still end up to a place you are meant to stay and with a person you are meant to be with. Today - what you can do is weigh things and never do things that would add up another complications to your already complicated life.

Reading BLINK

The first two seconds of looking at something, or at someone and you feel that intuitive repulsion... hold on to that thought, because some may not believe it, but what you've just felt is the absolute truth! The power of thinking without thinking. Hunch?! Well, let's see how far my hunch will take me or how positive it is to listen to intuitions without weighing pros and cons, yung tipong basta feel ko lang eh -- reading BLINK