The Castaway

Written by Dave Cole


Inrepparttar recent movie, "The Castaway," Tom Hanks playedrepparttar 124092 role of a FedEx delivery man. His job was to fly all overrepparttar 124093 world making sure thatrepparttar 124094 packages were delivered on time.

One fateful trip found his cargo plane flying through a nasty storm somewhere inrepparttar 124095 middle ofrepparttar 124096 South Pacific Ocean. The plane crashed near a tiny, deserted island. The only survivor was Hanks.

Upon awakeningrepparttar 124097 next day, Hanks found himself all alone. Alone with nothing exceptrepparttar 124098 clothes on his back.

So picture this: no matches, no tools, no food, no shelter, no communications, only 1 small flashlight along with a few packages containing some useless items that had washed up on shore.

He learned to survive a meager existence sleeping in a small dark cave. His food came from coconuts andrepparttar 124099 few fish he managed to catch.

Tom Hanks was captured and held prisoner on an island with seemingly no hope of ever escaping. Every dayrepparttar 124100 island dictated to him how he was to live.

He was trapped on that island because he saw no way of escape.

His fears of losing what small sense of securityrepparttar 124101 island provided, as despicable as it was, prevented him from trying to escape to a better life. A life he knew existed, but now only dreamed about.

Looking out overrepparttar 124102 vast expanse ofrepparttar 124103 ocean, he constantly thought about that better life. But those thoughts soon returned to seeingrepparttar 124104 opposition and competition that prevented him from returning to what was rightfully his.

4 long years later, Tom Hanks made a decision.

He had grown sick and tired of having a nothing life.

It was either die a nobody, going no place, on a nowhere island, continuing to live a struggling and pitiful hand to mouth existence, or......die trying to escape to a real life.

Getting Out of the Rut... Initiating and Managing Change

Written by Edward B. Toupin


Have you ever accomplished something, then wondered where to go next? Or, perhaps you've accomplished something and just continued down that same path because it worked. Many people become stuck in this way because ofrepparttar "security of sameness." You can get stuck from problems as well as triumphs.

I have to say that my life has been a most interesting set of twists and turns, but I've always hadrepparttar 124091 opportunity to maintain a little bit of control. The control I kept, however, was not over my environment or my direction, but on me and how I handled or initiated change. You realize when you get stuck and that you devise a plan to move forward---it all depends on how you manage and initiate your own change.

--- Planning Out Your Life ---

I hear so many people say that you cannot plan your life, "you just let it happen." So, what happens while you're sitting there waiting for life to happen? But, if you plan your life too rigidly, what experiences will you miss out on?

You really can't plan your life right up torepparttar 124092 end, nor can you plan it out five years and expect it to work as you expect. I know that sounds bad, but planning your life and expecting to stick to it will only limit your options and keep you in one place allrepparttar 124093 time.

Realize that, as you experience change and enjoy life, you grow. Growth spawns new ideas, feelings, and intellect that change your point of view. As your point of view changes, so do your directions and options in life. You must be willing to change your life's plan as you grow so that you can take on more challenging things and be accepting of other new experiences.

As I write, I think of some ofrepparttar 124094 things I've done in my life. I once worked for a major corporation and wanted to be in management. But, once I got there, what was next? Nothing. I didn't realize that I forgot to think about what happened next and I didn't know that once I got there---"there" was not where I wanted to be anymore.

The point is that you cannot plan your life in an absolute manner or you'll either miss out on new experiences or end up in a place you no longer want to be. You must learn to adapt and change your plan after each step of your path. As you achieve each new goal, you grow, taking you one step further.

--- Geometry of Life ---

Sameness is security for many. You wake up, go to work, go torepparttar 124095 store, take care ofrepparttar 124096 kids, changerepparttar 124097 oil inrepparttar 124098 car---what else is there? If you notice,repparttar 124099 sameness you experience is inrepparttar 124100 form of a geometric shape---line, square, circle, rectangle, or triangle. Take note ofrepparttar 124101 things you do during your day and determinerepparttar 124102 shape ofrepparttar 124103 consistent paths you take.

For instance, when I worked in downtown Denver and lived south of town, my path was a straight line. I lived atrepparttar 124104 end of Broadway, 14 miles from town. I drove down Broadway to my office, which was located in a building on Broadway itself. All of my stores, friends, and family were within one block on either side of Broadway. This became so monotonous that I could drive to work in a daze and still get there safely. Sound familiar?

The easiest way to break out of this shape is to change your path from time-to-time. I'm not specifically referring to your path to and from work. I'm speaking of any path that seems to have etched itself into your existence---you create a "rut" in your virtual road from travellingrepparttar 124105 same path too often. For instance, instead of going down Broadway, I should've takenrepparttar 124106 freeway and made a square, then changed it later to some other shape.

At first, even small changes will take a lot of effort, butrepparttar 124107 one thing you'll begin to notice is that you're indirectly changing other things as well. This is what you want to do!

Once you "break out of your shape" you have to figure out what it is that you want out of life. Don't go material, go more for fulfillment as material things are only a reward for accomplishments. Also, being emotional beings, satisfying a feeling or desire is a fulfilling reward in itself---it makes us feel whole.

--- Making a Plan ---

To help you stay out of your rut, you must make a plan that takes into accountrepparttar 124108 many things you want to do in life that fulfill you. The overall plan consists of your Mission, your Vision, and your Goals. Each of these items identifies what you want, where you're going, and how to get there.

* Defining Your Objectives Realize that, just because you want to do something, there is a reason you want to do that thing (i.e., fulfillment, acceptance, and education.) Since you're probably not sure why you want to do these things, you might want to do a dozen or so things with each providingrepparttar 124109 same fulfillment---this leads to clutter and confusion.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use