Welcome to Up or Getting Up (But Never Down). This blog is dedicated to helping individuals lead a more joyful, happy, productive life. It is here I will be sharing ideas, tips, and techniques that you can easily adopt in your life so that your life is more positive and you are a more positive influence on people in your life.
It is an unfortunate reality that the world we live in these days is skewed to the negative. We are bombarded by negativity in the news, on TV, on the Internet, and life in general.
It is important to recognize that of the two sides of emotion, positive versus negative, negative emotions are the more contagious of the two. Left unchecked, negative emotions tend to take hold and prevail.
It is easy for even a positive person to get dragged down if inundated with an overwhelming volume of negative inputs. Here is a simple real world example: You start of your day feeling terrific, excited, energized, and on top of the world. You head in to work with a huge smile on your face and a bounce in your step. Right as you are walking in to the building you encounter someone that says “Hey, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling OK?” You respond with "Yeah, I feel fine!" Your smile dials back a little, though. Your step gets a little less bouncy. But, you are still feeling great, so you shrug it off and head on down the hall. You encounter another person that asks “Rough night? You don’t look like you feel good.” You respond with “No, I’m alright…I guess.” The bounce in your step is now gone, as is the smile, but you continue to your desk. You meet another person who tells you “Man, you must be having a bad day! You look terrible!” This time you respond with "Yeah, to tell you the truth, I'm not really feeling all that great." If two more people make negative comments like that to you, you will head for home, put on your jammies, and climb in bed with a glass of orange juice on the bedside table. What happened? You got hit with a lot of negative energy and it subdued your positive attitude. The lesson: It takes effort and focused attention on the positive in order to lead a positive life in this world.
While it does take energy and effort to either be Up or Getting Up, the good news is that it is not that hard to adopt the concepts that I will be sharing with you. It is here (and in my upcoming book "Up or Getting Up (but Never Down)) that I will show you how to:
Manage Yourself - It's hard to be Up when you are facing so much overwhelm from everything that is on your plate, to the massive amounts of emails that you receive, to constant meetings, and,OH, that life you (are supposed to) have outside of work. I will share with you specific techniques for getting control over all your stuff, for getting out of the way of yourself, and for keeping your focus on the most meaningful aspects of your life.
Manage Your Relationships - The people you surround yourself with will have a tremendous impact on whether you are Up, Getting Up, or Down. Here we will talk about getting clear as to which relationships in your life give you energy and who in your life is draining your energy. I will share with you techniques for Purging the Poison People from your life. I will also talk about managing your closest earthly relationship (your spouse or significant other) and the ONE concept you MUST understand in order to keep that relationship Up and never down.
Balancing Your Energy - Everything you do and everyone you encounter either adds to your energy levels or burns up some of your energy. I don't want to go "ninety-to-nothing" all day at work and then "flat-line" when I get home. That is not fair to my family and/or close relationships. Likewise, I don't want to dial back my energy at work just so I have energy left when I get home. That would not be fair to my employer nor would it be good for my career. I will share with you some techniques for managing your energy and your focus so that you can sustain your energy for both work and home.
Defining Your Purpose - I firmly believe that every single person has a purpose for their life. Further, I believe that we are the happiest and most fulfilled when we are living our life in alignment with our purpose. In other words, You are the most "Up" when your actions in life are in fulfillment of your purpose in life. On the flip side, you will inevitably be unhappy and down when you engage in actions and behaviors that are contrary to your purpose in life. The challenge many people have is that they simply are not clear about their purpose in life. I will show you how to get clear on your purpose to ensure that you keep your actions and behaviors in alignment with your purpose and ensuring you live a life of being Up or Getting Up (but Never Down.)
Living Life with No Regrets - We all know "Some Day" people...those people who are always putting their life on hold with the promise to themselves that "someday" they will {fill in the blank}. They are always putting their dreams on hold until something else happens. For example, "Someday I am going to visit London, but I have to retire first." My Dad was like that. He was full of "some days." Unfortunately, he died at age 57 and left my Mom with a lot of unfulfilled goals. Living a life of no regrets is a 3-fold balancing act of taking care of the here and now, securing your future, and engaging some of your dreams and desires along the way. I will show you the key elements to focus on to secure this 3-fold balance. (SPOILER ALERT: It's not that hard!)
If a life of being Up or Getting Up is of interest to you, then you are in the right place! In addition to this blog, be sure and check out our website: www.uporgettingup.com. If you would like more information on our seminars or having James speak to your organization, your church, or at your next event, simply send an email to info@uporgettingup.com.
I am always interested in your comments and feedback! Please comment below.