Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

“The time which we have at our disposal every day is elastic; the passions we feel expand it, those that we inspire contract it, and habit fills up what remains.” – Marcel Proust

Last week I talked about how I am “experimenting” with time in order to make a positive difference. Click here to read it.

It’s important to realize that your emotions ebb and flow. And that it’s not a matter of if you will get frustrated but how you will deal with it when it happens.

Here are some things that I will be playing with and tweaking to see what works best:

• 1. Changing thoughts and reactions about time
• 2. Creating new habits
• 3. Keeping better track of successes
• 4. Limiting the things I work on
• 5. Letting go of the unimportant stuff
• 6. Adding more fun, relaxation, and rejuvenation

One thing that always helps is to stand back and breathe and get some perspective.

The good news is that there are already strategies that are working now. I’ve got plenty of things that have helped in the past and some new ideas to try.

I’ll be sharing some more articles and ideas with you. Many of you have told me this topic hits home!

I’ve learned that it is well worth my time to figure out how to do more with less.  Less effort, less time, and less money.

This is #29 from my 50 Little Bits of Wisdom article.

It is a worthwhile habit to develop and practice making choices about what you can get rid of and what you want more of.

Do you have an excess of stuff, things to do, and things that no longer support you?

I do want more time and money – you probably do too.  But I don’t want them just for the sake of having it.  It is to create more freedom to do the things I love and to support things that matter to me.

And one way to create more is by eliminating spending time and money on things that you don’t really need or want any more.

What can you let go of to make more room for what you really want?

The other day I watched the last part of Oprah who was interviewing people from  the new show Undercover Boss, which airs on CBS.

Larry O’Donnell, Chief Operating Office of  Waste Management, a company with 45,000 employees and 20 million customers,  poses as a man shooting a TV show about entry level jobs.

O’Donnell worked alongside Fred learning and doing the hard job of cleaning  portable toilets.

What he found was Fred not only worked really hard but had an amazing attitude.  He took a job that was dirty, and that most people at best would just put in their time.  Instead Fred found a way to do it the best way and to take pride in what he did.  And he did it with a great attitude that was inspiring.  He said he thought of cleaning toilets as an adventure.

Larry, still acting as undercover employee Randy, went on to work with Janice   as a trash collector.

He saw first hand that she had some customers who waited for her to come to run and greet her with  a hug.  They appreciated her hard work and it was obvious that she really cared about her customers.

He found out that she was on such a tight schedule that she couldn’t even afford to take regular bathroom breaks and had to bring a can with her on the truck.

He discovered that some of the rules that “corporate” handed down to the employees left them feeling devalued, and simply weren’t working.  These were rules he had helped establish.

I thought that was an insightful moment.  In my opinion, rules are often made by people that don’t have to follow them.  If they did, they would probably make different and better choices.

These people stood out because they chose to make a difference.  They brought  their best to what they were doing, even if the job wasn’t glamorous or fun.

Larry O’Donnell gave recognition to his employees and said he had a new found appreciation for the hard work they do.  He also said he would make changes for the better for them.

This is the perfect opportunity for companies large and small to see the value of including the people who actually do the jobs in brainstorming ideas of how to make them better.

How you do something makes a difference.

It’s good for you and it’s good for the people around you.

How could you bring this idea to your own business, job, or even as a family member?