Working Under Grace

It irritates me all too much when I see individuals who always come up with excuses why they do not have any means of earning to feed their family or even when they do not get to find the right job to do. My say to this is that sometimes we always just have too many excuses to come up with when our hearts are not truly set into the goals we are trying to achieve.

These past few days I have been taking my time to work less compared to the seasons of my working life when I wake up early and sleep late writing. I appreciate it greatly when I am given the extra time to rest early, watch television, cuddle my dogs, or even update our blog. But this does not mean that I hate working.

I think working hard and on the double turns bad when we exchange it for other aspects of our lives that weigh far greater than the money we can earn like spending time with our loved ones. At the same time though, it can help to remember that God has nothing against human effort since hard work even honors God. Hard work only becomes a cover up that God cannot provide for our everyday needs when we depend all our lives on our work.

Despite all the perseverance all of us may be showing in these times of economic hardships, it is still important that we have enough rest and a lot of spiritual refreshment. But this should not be an excuse to be lazy. To strike the right balance between working and trusting God is what we need to do along with times of resting as well while trusting Him still.

Thief in the Night

It is certainly hard to hit the right sense of balance in life; especially when it involves raising a kid who will soon become a stubborn adult like all of us. Lately, I have been getting things from Pio without his knowledge which I think he does not value much. And I have been constantly in the lookout for his possible reactions, attitude, and behavior with what could have been happening around him.

My guess is that he knows I may have kept some of his things already but he just does not want to bring the issue up because of pride. There are just some people out there in the world who always want other people around them feel that they are doing fine even if they aren’t.

Apart from the desire of seeing Pio learn from such things and instances, I find myself learning so much more too. Many of us fail to appreciate and give value even to the small things that we have in our lives. That is why I feel grateful and mature that even the smell of clean sheets, old books, seeing Dori sleep in a big, lifted bed, Tita enjoying our flat TV, Pio already enrolled for school, or the sight of my dogs happily strolling around the house well fed and healthy – all these and more make me feel happy grateful. This is probably because we stumble upon happiness only when we find meaning.

Procrastination is not just the thief of time. It’s the thief of meaning, our happiness and life itself. – Timothy A. Pychyl

No wonder God is also described in the Bible as a thief in the night. It says that Jesus is to come back like a thief in the night, when you least expect it. What would you do if one day you’d wake up to a day that all the things and people you often disregarded and failed to appreciate and value are taken away from you? Just like that, in a snap of a finger.

Or maybe by the time you have finished reading this entry, you are already decided to review your life quick and get back all that once was yours.

Easy, Sleepy Mondays

If there is a problem to deal with Mondays is that we are too sleepy to get up, start the week and work. It is just such a blessing to sleep especially when you would look back on days when life’s problems keep you awake for several days. I believe it is as precious as relationships, time, and appetite. Besides it caught my interest to have read recent research that afternoon naps can make you smarter.

Don’t you agree that it is that exact time after you have just taken lunch that you feel most sleepy? The psychology research says that it can improve your memory and other mental abilities. This is due to the scientific reason that the time after lunch is when the brain is at a very low point and is wanting to rest.

Hence, a lot of Americans envy those who live in Latin America and other Asian countries like the Philippines who carry out the concept of taking a siesta. With that, I feel grateful too for working homebased. Which office would allow you to take naps as part of your working schedule? Maybe in Google, who knows.

These naps can go from 45 to 90 minutes to make you perform better throughout the day. This should make corporate people think twice about firing their employees who take quick naps while at work. And this should make kids like Pio value the time they are given to get to sleep in the afternoon. And also, make me be convinced all the more why Dori is as tall as she is.

Shoo Monday Sickness Away

I know. It feels hard to start the week. Almost everyone has experienced and still experiencing the so-called ‘Monday Sickness’. But it is very important to remember that this should be our most energized day since, ideally, we should have taken enough rest already yesterday, being a Sunday. Besides, I learned from the last book I summarized that most people who do not treat their Mondays good experience heart attack during Monday mornings, between 8 to 9 am. 

Here are some life tips you can use to help you get your human machine all warmed up and ready for work, school, and for what is about to come for the rest of the week. 

Build up that competitor spirit in you. Most of us get challenged when we feel somehow like we are in a competition. Imagine such an ambiance so that you will not have lazy bones every start of the week.

There’s nothing wrong with starting small. Instead of always promising that you will start on your work this weekend or so and failing yourself again and again; start small instead before you promise yourself and others of accomplishing huge deeds. 

Listening to music can keep you focused. This is very true especially for work that requires cerebral activities. Listen to whatever kind of music that makes you feel comfortable. 

Be accountable. Whether it is good or not, we do better when we know someone is watching us, a boss, a colleague, your family, etc. 

Reward yourself. When you do not deprive yourself of rewards, big or small, you will be amazed how much the next difficult task would be something you would desire for instead of staying away from it. 

Above all, you should realize that no matter how much you work hard for the money, it all comes back to doing what you love doing. Nothing else can be a better motivator than that. 

Wake Up Early, Change Your Life, Reap Rewards

This blog entry is not to go against the ones who do not and will not ever get to wake up early in the morning since they work on a graveyard shift pattern. Meaning – this is for everyone who they think such habits would apply to their own lifestyle.

I used to be a late riser. You will not believe how often I arrive ‘super’ late in the office when I was still a commuter about two years ago. Admit it. To wake up early for a late riser would feel very much the same as being utterly deprived. However, many experts say and even the famous and successful people that waking up early will make you reap rewards you never thought possible out of just doing this simple habit.

Why? Here are the reasons I have discovered and you would too if you would start waking up earlier than the usual, as soon as tomorrow.

• -       Maybe you do not know that when you wake up as early as 5am, you wake up earlier than the rest of the people in the world. 99.9%! Waking up early can surely motivate you to get on ahead of your tasks and widen the lead you have set from others.
• -       I noticed that I have very high productivity each time I wake up and start my day early. If you would experience this yourself, you would realize how mornings are the most ideal ambiance of the day when it comes to peace and serenity. The quietness of this part of each day cannot be defined by words.
• -       When you practice waking up early, you start mastering yourself. It would teach you a great sense of discipline and will make you a lot more organized.
• -       I get to eat breakfast in a relax mode even if I am not a breakfast eater. I even get to have time to clean the entire house before everyone else wakes up.

Start waking up early tomorrow and who knows what kind of change is going to come in your life. You can start off with just waking up around 30 minutes earlier than your usual wake up time and adjust it to a point when you can already wake up at your earliest. If you become unsuccessful with it, then contact me and I will let you borrow our pet pug, Attack. I can be sure he will wake you up as early as 330am with his ass on your face.