Empowerment

The Most Special Month

Lynette M Burrows

Welcome to December, the last month of the calendar year. As I thought about the posts for this month, my thoughts turned to December as the end of the year. But it’s not just an end. According to some, this is the most special month of the year. The Most Special Month of Holidays It’s a month of many holidays. See my posts from last year that gave you a little information about each holiday.  Celebrating and Remembering: 5 December Holidays 5 December Celebrations 10 Celebrations during the third week of December 17 Celebrations during the final week of December I’ve established that Christmas is my favorite holiday in these posts.  A Christmas Crybaby Christmas Carols for You Quotes in the Spirit of Christmas The Most Special Month of Birthdays December is THE birthday month. Why?  For Christians (those who keep the spirit of Christianity), it’s the month we celebrate Christ’s birthday. That makes it an important birthday.  The second reason it’s THE birthday month? It’s my son’s birthday. His birth was the very best give I ever got. December also includes one of my best friends’ birthday. And it includes a beloved aunt’s birthday (though she passed away many […]

Life is Like Plumbing

Lynette M Burrows

For the past two weeks, my life has been an adventure in plumbing. Over the years, the plumbing in my old house had filled with the debris of years and years of water flowing through old black pipe. The flow of hot water to my kitchen sink had decreased to a trickle. And when my family asked if I would host Thanksgiving dinner again this year, I put my foot down. “Not without hot water in the kitchen,” I said. Unexpectedly, I realized that anything you do, that life is like plumbing. The Assessment My son looked at the problem, opened and shut valves, and studied the pipes in my house. Then he gave me the news. To fix the hot water in the kitchen he had to fix the flow into the hot water heater. To fix the flow into the hot water heater he needed to fix the cold water shut off—for the entire house. And the bill for all the bits and pieces cranked higher and higher. Yikes.  “I can’t afford a plumber to do all that,” I said.  His answer: “I can do it.” I imagined the mess and the long hours of no running water. […]

When I Give Up is the Best Choice

Lynette M Burrows

Never give up. Never surrender. Noble words. But don’t you wonder if sometimes it’s okay to be too tired, too overwhelmed, too done? It is more than okay. Sometimes crying, screaming, or saying I give up is the best choice for you. But persistence is the key to success, you argue. Yes, persistence plays a huge part in success. But, there times when the goal you’ve been working so hard to achieve is beyond your reach. It may be bad timing. There may be a crisis in your life that requires all your energy and time. Maybe the goal simply isn’t right for you any longer. Or, you may have made a wrong-for-you choice.  Have you heard of Survivorship Bias? It’s a psychological term that labels a blind spot we all have a cognitive bias. We overestimate our chances of success because we overlook or ignore the failures. We tell ourselves that if we focus on success, we will succeed.   I have met many entrepreneurs who have the passion and even the work ethic to succeed – but who are so obsessed with an idea that they don’t see its obvious flaws. Think about that. If you can’t even acknowledge […]