A sail boat without a rudder or a sail will be blown around and tossed by the wind and waves.  A sail boat WITH a rudder and sail and with a captain who chooses to not use either, is not only tossed around but it makes the captain both seasick and unwise.  We can either choose to be tossed by the "waves of life" or we can choose to set the sail and grab the rudder and direct our boat into the wind.  We have control of most of the areas of our life.  We can control our environment, we can make wise choices, control our emotions, and when there are areas completely out of our control, we can PRAY to God for help.  You can't control the weather but you can grab an umbrella and a raincoat before you heat outside.  "Control what you can control, and then Pray about the rest."

We are emotional beings that occasionally think rationally.  Emotions are real.  However, emotions distract us from what our brains know we should do.  We have brains for a reason.  Emotions should not impede our brains and bodies potential. Identify the emotion and then control the emotion so you can focus on what you are trying to accomplish.  "Make sure your worst enemy doesn't live between your own two ears." Laird Hamilton

My wife found a sign on our summer vacation that read, "Who Cares?  Do Better.  Move On." What a great reminder to ...  Quit worrying about what others think of you and stop complaining, because no one cares.  Focus on what you need to do to be better and not on what you did wrong.  Avoid being paralyzed by your circumstances and move forward in life.  Failure is part of life and too often we get caught up in the embarrassment of failure, the insecurity of failure and the hopelessness of failure.  Failure is essential to reach our full potential.  "One fails forward toward success" C.S. Lewis

The Winter Olympics begins this coming weekend!  The BEST in the world will compete and we will watch.  It is easy to forget ALL the years it took for them to get there.  They didn't decide to compete in the Olympics over this past weekend and then get on a plane and put on the uniform.  They have committed countless hours and they have sacrifices much and they have FAILED MORE TIMES THAN THEY HAVE SUCCEEEDED to arrive at this moment.  "Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still." — Chinese Proverb     "One part at a time, one day at a time, we can accomplish any goal we set for ourselves." — Karen Casey   "It always seems impossible until it's done." — Nelson Mandela (via Cute Little Paper)  "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." — Jim Rohn 

We make countless choices each day.  Many are small and others are more important.  However, most are decisions are made out the motivation to be "comfortable".  We try to avoid pain and conflict.  We attempt to make life easier on ourselves rather than harder.  Those around us even make decisions to help our lives be less complicated.  Unfortunately, nothing worth achieving is easy.  If it were, everyone would do amazing things and then those things would not be amazing.  Sacrifice is the key to achieving our full potential.  What are you willing to sacrifice today so that you will be uncomfortable today but reach your goals tomorrow?  ​“You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.” Gordon B Hinckley

"I hope I do well!".  I have heard that phrase countless times but even more often, when I don't hear it, I see it in people's eyes.  You can tell that a person isn't confident in their training or preparation or don't believe in their ability to execute whatever task is ahead of them.  Having a plan will increase the probability for success.  Being able to adjust that plan will increase that probability even more.  Believing in the plan must occur for any chance of success to be realized. ​“Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor. Fear is not an option.”  James Cameron

​Apparently, several people believe that being flexible and having the ability to change is a good thing ... 

• "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude" Maya Angelou
• "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change" Stephen Hawking
• "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them—that only creates sorrow."  Lao Tzu
• "The strongest will is the will that knows how to bend."  Alice Duer Miller
• "If you're not stubborn, you'll give up on experiments too soon. And if you're not flexible, you'll pound your head against the wall and you won't see a different solution to a problem you're trying to solve." — Jeff Bezos
• "Flexibility is vital on the curved road to success."

"React" refers to an immediate action while "Response" refers to a more thoughtful choice before the action.  The problem is that most people fail to respond because reaction is easier and more natural.  But we can still react appropriately.  How?  By realizing that the person or the situation initiating our reaction is not the enemy.  They or it is neutral.  It is problem or issue to solve and we don't need to take it personally.  If we challenge ourselves to focus on our action/reaction and not how we "feel" about it or them, we will more likely react more appropriately. "You can't change how people act, but what you can change is how you react."  Bonnie Hammer