Comments on: Sunday Thought For The Day

By: Klaus

Klaus — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:00:32 +0000

Thanks for using my photo here, you choosed a good text for the picture

Klaus´s last blog post..Next stop "Bei St Annen"

By: Lance

Lance — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:02:13 +0000

@miruspeg – Thank you so much for your kind words Peggy! “NO” can be a very powerful word, and can debilitate us, if we let it. It’s also important to remember that we can say “YES” – even though this can be hard to do sometimes. Teaching our kids that they “can” – what a great message to pass on to them! Or, really – to pass on to anyone! Thanks for visiting today Peggy…

By: miruspeg

miruspeg — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:00:12 +0000

Hello Lance
I’ve been reading your comments on different blogs and thought it was about time I dropped in and read your blog.
What a wonderful, insight, caring, inspirational blog you have.

Regarding this post I hope we have learnt how damaging the word ‘NO’, ‘CANNOT’, ‘NOT’ can be planted in our subconscious and takes an eternity to remove.
Let us teach our children, our friend’s children, all children the words….YES YOU CAN.
And let us teach ourselves and each other the same.
I am going to enjoy getting to know you Lance.
Kind regards
Peggy

miruspeg´s last blog post..Namaste

By: Lance

Lance — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:38:21 +0000

@Marelisa – “Life is a mind game” – yes, it is!! If we can just convince our own mind…

@Jewel – I think we all have opportunities to stop ourselves – recognizing the “no” in our heads. Do we? Do we stop ourselves? Not enough. I really like how you’ve said this Jewel – thank you. And, I’m off to see what you’ve given me – my guess is you’ve been too kind to me – so THANK YOU, once again!!

@Tammy – Ah, circumstances. What an excellent point, Tammy. Sometimes it’s circumstances that we let stop us. I think of things like – I need to do “x” for my kids, so I can’t do “y” for myself. Or, we need a new roof on our house this year, so my plans to do “y” get put on hold. Etc, etc, etc. – there can always be a circumstance if we really look hard enough – so there can always be an excuse to choose “no”. This is very good Tammy – because I think this one does come up very often for people – you’ve really hit upon something here. And this one can be just as hard, if not harder, to overcome than all the people out there telling us “no”…

@Squawkfox – An Ironman, that is completely awesome!! I’ve done sprint triathlons, so I know how difficult this can be – and yet know that it is achievable. I never thought I’d be able to swim a 1/4 mile – and, while it’s still difficult, I CAN do it! Because I believed in myself. That you’ve done an Ironman – another example of what one person thinks is not doable – is! And, I love your last sentence here – about a marathon being totally doable after the bike and swim – very cool and positive and uplifting!! I want to know more about your triathlon adventures!!

By: Squawkfox

Squawkfox — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:53:43 +0000

Good old Nike.

When I signed up to do my first Ironman in 2004, my family and many of my friends said I could not do it. “No way is that possible,” they said. Ignoring them, I trained and believed completing Ironman was possible…if only I wanted it bad enough. I wanted it, bad. Since 2004, I’ve done Ironman twice. Turns out running a marathon after a 180KM bike ride and a 4KM swim is totally doable.

Squawkfox´s last blog post..Printable Sewing Patterns: Softie Christmas Tree

By: Tammy Warren

Tammy Warren — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:41:42 +0000

I guess in a selfish way my first thought when I read this was "NOT ME." I guess my problem is not that people tell me what I can and can't achieve it is the circumstances that tell me what I can and can't achieve. I have conquered one, I just need to work on the other. Tammy Warren´s last blog post..A Glance Into a Year of Blogging

By: Jewel/Pink Ink

Jewel/Pink Ink — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:09:22 +0000

I have to stop MYSELF from doing this disservice.

Thanks for the reminder, Lance. Btw, I nominated you for an award

By: Marelisa

Marelisa — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 02:03:42 +0000

Hi Lance: Life is a mind game. You have to believe in yourself and your abilities despite naysayers. This Nike ad is a great way to remember that.

By: Lance

Lance — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:45:24 +0000

@Laurie – That’s a pretty awesome story, Laurie! He’s growing up with physical limitations, and yet, sounds like he is more prepared to deal with the our world than most people. That is a wonderful gift his mother is instilling in him, the belief in himself, no matter what. Very cool!

@Carla – We hear “no” so much, we why even bother — when we reach that state, when we’ve heard “no” so much — that we believe we shouldn’t even bother – that is sad, and yet, true. Especially if we have a hard time even trying to believe in ourselves. So, that’s great Carla – that you’re turning these tables around in your life! It isn’t easy, yet, it is still so worth it. You’re worth it. The people you affect are worth it. You’re life is worth it!

@Natalia – My thought, exactly, as I read this the first time, Natalia. How often is the “they” in that quote really ourselves saying “no”. And that’s the first “yes” we need to get to. To believe in ourselves. Without that, the “no’s” from everyone else will drown out all our dreams. I wish you much success Natalia, in really getting to a true belief in “you” – YOU are worth it!

@Mindful Mimi – My take away from what you’ve written, Mimi – is that failure is good for us. Failure in the sense that we see that life is not always one success after another. I still believe that having others believe in us is a good thing. Maybe a realistic approach is to encourage our children, believe in them, and also let them know that life does throw us curve balls once in a while. And that it’s okay when that happens. I think that’s one of the real benefits of being on a sports team. Seeing the wins and the losses. Seeing that even though we may try our best, sometimes our best isn’t good enough to win the game – because someone else’s best was better that day. Now, about our kids as they become adolescents – everything we say is wrong anyway!!

@Jenny Mannion – Your welcome Jenny! Often, I think it is our own self-limiting belief in ourselves that holds us back. Couple that with hearing “no” from other people enough – and pretty soon we can easily fall into the trap of believing our dreams and desires really don’t matter at all. And yet, they most certainly do! ANYTHING is possible! And that will be a wonderful message you pass on to your children. Thank you, Jenny, for sharing how this has had an effect on your life, and how it’s also a message we can pass on to our own children!

@Urban Panther – You bring up a very excellent point Panther. The idea of, when we’re not nurtured, not encouraged, some of us will break. Of course, for every person, how we deal with this is different. And I agree with you completely – the euphoric feeling when we accomplish something, that for us individually, is big – being able to have others share in that moment is really such an important piece of the puzzle. Having people that believe in us can be such a huge thing, especially if our own beliefs start to slip (think the saplings snapping in the wind – because no one is there to help them). On the other hand, being able to overcome, to believe in ourselves when no one else does – that can be very important too. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, yet when it does – this is really the time when believing in ourselves is so important. Although, in the end, having others behind is makes the ride so much better… Urban Panther, thank you for stepping out and sharing that viewpoint.

@Meleah – I’m really glad this was here for you today Meleah. I think that our world works in mysterious ways sometimes, placing things/people/events in our midst at just the moment we need them…

By: meleah rebeccah

meleah rebeccah — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:48:54 +0000

You have NO IDEA how badly I needed to hear THAT. Thank you. meleah rebeccah´s last blog post..Tags, Memes, And Awards

By: Urban Panther

Urban Panther — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:17:15 +0000

@Liara and @Lance - and some saplings snap in the wind from the constant battering. Sorry, I can't buy into the 'builds character' philosophy of telling someone they can't do something. Yes, we can all be motivated to do things 'in spite of' what others tell us. Me included. But when that happens, I don't feel good about my accomplishment. I simply feel vindicated. However, do accomplish something knowing that family and friends have said "Ya! You can do this!" and I feel euphoric. And there is a far greater chance I will go on to repeat it, as opposed to the first instance, where it's more of a one-shot I'll show you deal. Urban Panther´s last blog post..I feel dense

By: Jenny Mannion

Jenny Mannion — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:58:06 +0000

Thanks for another great quote Lance! Yes, we can do and be whatever we can imagine! I was lucky enough to have supportive parents — it was my own self limiting beliefs I had to overcome! I truly believe ANYTHING is possible and am so happy I proved it to myself while my kids were young so I can teach them the message as well! Thank you Lance! Love, Jenny

Jenny Mannion´s last blog post..Top Ten Thoughtful Gift Ideas for Under $20

By: Mindful Mimi

Mindful Mimi — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:42:34 +0000

Hi Lance,
As a kid I was always told ‘You can do this, you can do everything’. So the contrary of the Nike ad. I can tell you that as a kid and adolescent this other extreme is not always beneficial for growing up either. I at least got the feeling that since I could do everything, it was expected of me to succeed. So the fear of failure, or of not being good enough tends to creep up. And when you’re in puberty that’s not something you need on top of all the other insecurities.
I found myself saying ‘You can do everything’ to my boy (goes to show that we do copy our parents… like it or not). I will try to make sure not to instill too many expectations in him. But I guess no matter what we do as parents, our kids will reproach us everything (or most of it) when they’re older )

Mindful Mimi´s last blog post..To be on Facebook or not to be on Facebook…

By: Natalia

Natalia — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:32:02 +0000

Wow I needed to read that today! I've been having such a hard time with myself lately. Thanks for that thought. It's just what I needed! The only difference is it's me telling myself NO! I need to kick that self to the curb and tell myself Yes AND believe it!!! Natalia´s last blog post..My son said…..

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:38:32 +0000

We have been told “no” so many times that its more comfortable to believe that you cant (so why bother?). I am in the process of changing this around for myself. Unfortunately, its easier said than done. Carla´s last blog post..Emperor “Clean Coal” has no clothes