What Have You Learned Today?

We go through our days and do we stop to account for them?  Do we ever stop to think, what have I learned today?  Its almost like we just go from one day to the next, doing this task and that task without stopping to notice what we have learned.

The days do get busy.  I will grant you that.  Sometimes it is hard to find time to stop and reflect.  The kids need this ready for the next day.  The boss is emailing us late at night with a question that he needs answered.  We've got household chores to do, bills to pay, groceries to get, and many other things to finish.

Yet, if we don't stop and take notice of our day, we're missing out on so much.  We are giving up a big part of our life's experience that we will never get back.  When that day is done, there is no way to go back and redo it once again.  You either grab it while you have it, or you can just cross it off of your day calendar.

Opportunity...

Stopping to focus on what you have learned today gives you the opportunity to gain so much more out of your day.  It allows you to be a participant, rather than an observer going from one moment to the next.  It gives you a chance to embrace tomorrow with more knowledge than you have today.

Possibility...

Stopping to focus on what you learned today helps you to see the possibilities that lie ahead.  It helps you find the answers you seek to moments and experiences and situations in your day.  Without stopping to reflect, you miss those moments and they could end up becoming a key piece of your life's puzzle.

My question to you today is "what have you learned"?  Please leave a comment below and share your reflections of what you have learned today.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

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Mistakes

Mistakes are something that I've always been pretty hard on myself throughout my entire life. There are plenty of reasons as I'm sure many others out there would attest to as well. I could delve into the details of all of these, but it most likely would not further this particular discussion. Of course, it is important to note that I am not saying you should not travel into these areas of your life. On the contrary, I feel it is important to go in and reclaim these misfires of communication in your mind that distort mistakes. Once you do, you offer your brain a different path to travel when these circumstances come up.

I am very creative but as I create, I get very critical of myself. This is especially true when it comes to creating music. Most of the music I play is songs that I create in the moment. They are not repeated from anyone or anything but totally what happens at the moment my hands rest on the keyboard. If you had the opportunity to be around me when I am creating, you would more than likely hear me say at some point as I was listening to a playback of the song, "there was a mistake". To the average person or even the talented musician, they would not hear the mistake. That is because what I call a mistake is how what I am hearing playback to me is not how my mind heard the music come together. And yet, I am realizing now that those little moments that I call mistakes have led to some wonderful moments in the songs I have created. It has given them a depth and dimension all to their own that without these "mistakes", they would not be all that they are.

One of my favorite authors, Ellen Langer in the book "On Becoming An Artist" writes about mistakes in the following quote on page 81

If we know just where we are going we can’t go anywhere new. Mistakes not only set the stage for a mindful approach to the work at hand but also reveal our individuality. When we all act according to the same plan, our final products are likely to look the same, just as machine-made rugs do. Our “errors,” by contrast, stand a chance to be both unique and interesting. The difference between a line drawn with a ruler and one drawn by hand is that, in the latter, the individual shines through.

So if we feel we really have to embrace that we make mistakes in life, why not try turning the tables on the thought process for a moment. If we see mistakes as an opportunity towards greater awareness or insight, than the person who makes many mistakes, has so many opportunities in life. Just imagine having all those opportunities.

Of course if we take the mindful approach to what we consider mistakes, than all that you are and all the potential you have, has the opportunity to shine as bright as the brightest star.

New Beginnings

I love new beginnings because they are full of possibilities.

Congratulations President Obama