The Jar and the Two Bottles of Beer

City lights.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the beer. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes!'"The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.""Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked.""The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple beer with a friend."

What A Real Boyfriend Could Do?

When he walks away from you mad - [Follow him]
When he stare's at your lips - [Kiss him]
When he pushes you or hit's you - [Grab him and don’t let go]
When he start's cursing at you - [Kiss him and tell him you love him]
When he's quiet - [Ask him what’s wrong]
When he ignores you - [Give him your attention]
When he pulls away - [Pull him back]
When you see him at his worst - [Tell him he's beautiful]
When you see him start crying - [Just hold him and don’t say a word]
When you see him walking - [Sneak up and hug his waist from behind]
When he's scared - [Protect him]
When he lay's him head on your shoulder - [Tilt his head up and kiss him]
When he steal's your favorite hat - [Let him keep it and sleep with it for a night]
When he tease's you - [Tease him back and make him laugh]
When he doesn’t answer for a long time - [Reassure him that everything is okay]
When he looks at you with doubt - [Back yourself up with the TRUTH]
When he say's that he likes you - [He really does more than you could understand]
When he grabs your hands - [Hold his and play with his fingers]
When he bumps into you - [Bump into him back and make him laugh]
When he tells you a secret - [Keep it safe and untold]
When he looks at you in your eyes - [Don’t look away until he does]
WHEN HE MISSES YOU - [HES HURTING INSIDE]
When you break his heart - [The pain NEVER really goes away]
When he says it’s over - [He STILL wants you to be his]
- Stay on the phone with him even if he’s not saying anything.
- DON'T let him have the last word.
-NEVER call him hot! Pretty and beautiful is so much better.
- Say you love him more than he could ever love you.
- Argue that he is the best boy ever.
- When he's mad hug him tight and don't let go.
- When he says he's ok don’t believe it, talk with him.
- When he says he's sorry, he truly means it.
- Because 10 years later he'll remember you.
- Call him at 12:00am on him birthday to tell him you love him.
- Call him before you sleep and after you wake up.
- Treat him like he's all that matters to you.
- Tease him and let him tease you back.
- Stay up all night with him when he's sick.
- Watch his favorite movie with him or his favorite show even if you think it’s stupid.
- Give him the world.
- Let him wear your clothes.
- When he's bored and sad, hang out with him.
- Let him know he's important.
- Kiss him in the pouring rain.
When he runs up at you crying, the first thing you say is; "Who's ass am I kicking today baby?"

Workplace Dilemmas

If you are a relatively junior employee at your company, though you carry out a very important role, you may not always be recognized. You might also face some of the following challenges:

1. Little fulfillment at work
2. Long working hours
3. Conflicting demands on your time and loyalty
4. Little balance between personal life and work commitments
5. Tight deadlines
6. Time management pressures
7. Strained relationships with the important people in your life
8. Tight personal finances
9. Lack of any say at work
10. Internal politics and a rigid company structure
11. Bullying within the workplace
12. Few promotional opportunities

You are therefore faced with a number of dilemmas in your workplace.

On the one hand you want to be involved in rewarding, enjoyable and fulfilling work, get recognition and promotion for your efforts, and be appreciated for the key role you play in the company.

On the other hand you want a balanced life with time for the things you really want to do with a full and interesting social life. Of course you want to have clarity about your career, job duties and you want to continue to be healthy, fit and stress free.

So what’s the best way forward?! How can you too achieve a Zen like happiness at work?

One key to resolving these seemingly conflicting challenges is to get clear about just how much you love the work you do. Is what you do something you jump out of bed every morning, or would you rather be doing something else?

How motivated are you with your work? And how do you cope with the day to day routine office work?

A UK survey last year found that almost 2 out of 3 people are dissatisfied with their jobs. And I am sure there is a similar situation in the USA and other parts of the developed world. This means that they are either apathetic about finding what they really love doing or they are resigned to being in this situation.

No matter how good things are in other parts of your life such as family, social life and relationships, work is a major part of your life, and not to be neglected.

Since for now you have chosen to be in the job you are in, it is up to you for the time being to make the most of what you do. Of course in the long term, you can either change your job or even embark on a new career. But for now, you can get to love more of what you do right now.

Assuming that in the short term you are not able to change jobs, there are a number of things you can do to begin enjoying more of what you currently do. Ask yourself - is it the job or is it you? And what can you do to make your current work more enjoyable?
Stop acting the victim. YOU are responsible for your life and if you can’t immediately change the job you are in, then it is up to you to make the most of it.

Here are some simple tips for getting to enjoy your current job.

1. On the way to your workplace, get yourself motivated to face the day. Think of how the work you have allows you to have your life outside of it, such as a great social life. A positive attitude will make the day more pleasant and productive.

2. Keep your work in perspective. You can only do the best you can in each situation. Look beyond yourself and your work, and consider the bigger picture. Do some voluntary work to gain a broader outlook. Find a way to contribute to society in general.

3. Remember that you are more than your work. Do not have your identity too strongly tied to the job you do. Give up thinking that your work life “should” be a certain way. Such expectations of what you were supposed to be, as set by your parents and teachers, stop you from enjoying what you currently do.

4. Plan your time. In your to-do list include long term projects as well as the more imminent things that need doing. Prioritise your to-do list - do the most important things first. When performing any task, ask yourself - is this the best use of my time? Schedule in enough time for your studies etc.

5. Concentrate on the task at hand. Do not let yourself be distracted by worrying about all the other things to be done or losing energy over the undesirable situation you find yourself in. Stay in the moment.

6. Be ruthless and take care of a task before it gets on a possible procrastination list. For example, sort your morning post immediately in one go – open it, file it, act on it or bin it there and then.

7. Clarify anytime you are not sure or where you are faced with conflicting demands. The more clear and upfront you are with your manager and the other people you work with, the better it will be for you in the long term.

8. Delegate wherever appropriate. Decide if there is anything that can be delegated, or that more fairly belongs to someone else’s work load. Always remember the “3D” rule – do it, dump it or delegate it - never handle a piece of paper twice.

10. Have regular breaks. Get away from your normal workplace even if only for five minutes. Try taking a break from the laptop, emails and do leave the mobile behind. Make sure that you do have that lunch break – it is not just for food but also for fresh air and a mental break.
Eat a healthy lunch and if you must snack, make sure it is healthy too – an apple rather than a bag of chips. Look for ways of energizing yourself other than from adrenaline and caffeine.

11. Learn to relax no matter how challenging the work gets or how demanding your bosses become. At the end of the day it is only a job, and you are much more than that. In years to come, you will look back and wonder what the fuss was.

12. Contribute towards creating a pleasant work environment. Do not gossip in the office as it just creates negativity all around. Do not listen to any gossip either. Minimize your time with people that you do not resonate with or like. Learn to have more fun at work. Laugh more and chill out. Perform with a more fun orientated approach.

13. Review your day before you leave for home. Look at what worked well, and what could be improved the next day. If you feel satisfied with the day’s work, then why not reward yourself later that day. You deserve it.

14. Switch off once you leave work. You are already at work a third of your time, so do not continue to keep it buzzing in your head during your supposed free time. Mentally say good bye to your work space the moment you leave for home.

See your work as a game. Life is meant to be fun and if you are going to spend a third of it at work, you might as well enjoy the game.

The Power of One

1. Give one kiss every day. One extra kiss a day equals 5 kisses in a week.

2. Read one book every month. Expanding your knowledge will help you become more successful. Read books related to your industry or that will provide insight to helping you improve your skill in a specific area.

3. Ask one more question before you go. Before you starting your day, ask yourself one more question. This question might give you the additional insight you need to more effectively position your day ahead.

4. Pause for one moment longer than usual before responding to a prospect’s question or request. Known as the pregnant pause, this often prompts the other person to blurt out something they had not intended to say. The secret behind this strategy is that most people are uncomfortable with silence and will begin talking to fill the “dead” air space.

5. Get to the office one hour early. Remember the expression “The early bird gets the worm”. That one extra hour first thing in the morning can be the most productive time of the day. You have a better chance to reach decision-makers, there are fewer distractions, and you can often achieve more in that 60 minutes than in several hours.

6. Address objections one more time before giving up. Too many sales people give up too soon when faced with objections. I’m not suggesting that you beat your customer into submission in order to close the sale. However, I do recommend that you tackle each objection one more time before you give up.

7. Send one encouragement to someone who has been sitting on the fence. Sometimes, people need that little push and encouragement to move forward. But, in many cases, their time is occupied by other projects and priorities which means they are not focused on your solution. Gentle reminders are often appreciated providing you don’t follow up so frequently you appear to be stalking them. Even though they may not be ready to make that particular buying decision, you will help keep your name in their mind.

Although it is a tiny number, one can make a very powerful impact both on your life and career. One extra kiss every day, week or month, depending on your how you give it, can make a significant impact on your sales by the end of the day. The next time you think about giving up, consider the fact that you might be just one phone call, encouragement, or one kiss away from making someone else's life beautiful.

A Test of Faith and Love

Lately, Dub Dub and I have been over a lot of fights and arguments. Since the day that Dub Dub did what was not suppose to be done. It all seems that our Saturdays abd Sundays are cursed. We always have that argument over simple things. Last Saturday was the worst, Dub Dub cried so much. I felt bad as well becuase I'm making it hard for him. It seems that I put all the grudges that I have for him in anything that he does or anything that he says. I was so hurt when he sentd me the following text message: "I love you too Lub Lub... I love you until I'm existing... ;-) Please just minimize your begrudges on me..."

I was so touched by these words. I felt that with these little arguments that we are having every now and then will strip the love in our hearts. I don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose Dub Dub. I love him and I have kept him within me despite the hurtful thing that he has done. I took him back. Why? I took him back because I love him. We have bad times. We will alwalys have bad times. But, do we sacrifice all the good times just because of the bad times? No! We should not. These bad times wil test your faith between each other and will test the love within you, between you. Let the fire of love continue burning. Let no one fall out of love. We will keep each other safe. I know we will get through this if we stay together. If we patch things up. It's like a house you know. When a light bulb burns out, you don't buy a new house. You fix the light bulb. Patching things up will build your relationship. You will see that there are a lot of things the you have not discover yet. Both partners should be open to each other. No secrets. No lies. Just pure love and honesty.

I really love it when we can't express our feeling to each other. You know what we do? We either write a letter about what we don't like and what made us feel down and then we take turns reading it to each other. Then we make our own comments. Funny?! Yeah, I love it. Or we send a text to each other even if we are just beside each other. Then, we give each other a hug. A heart-warming hug. It lifts our spirit so much and then things are patched up.