Emotional Health

Country Tree

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The Trouble Tree

by Author Unknown

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job.

A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.  On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles, he hugged his two small children, and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.  “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied.” I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”  He paused. “Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there ain’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

Moral of the story: Troubles are only as big as we let them be. Removing ourselves from the situation(s) and doing other activities to take our minds off of troubles sets them aside for a brief time. Sleeping on it allows our minds to focus on others, and to rest. Revisiting problems after a time makes the problems look different, not so bad, and more palatable to cope with.

Do you know you’re blocking your own success?

“You have a choice. You’ve always had a choice. It’s OK not to fit in. It’s OK to follow your own path and see where it leads rather than arranging your life to fit someone else’s concept of success. Figure that out, and you’ll find the adventure you’re looking for. Figure that out, and you’ll find happiness.” by Kate Luther

I came across an article about success. It spoke profoundly to me. I’ve always lived with fears and self-doubt. Kate Luther, who’s quote above, shared ways to overcome the negative mindset.

In our life we are surrounded by people we feel we can trust. Unbeknownst to us many of those people aren’t feeding our minds positively. Next thing you know you have all these preconceived notions about how life “should be”. When things don’t go like we want them we get down and disappointed and become depressed eventually giving up. We must never give up.

In this article, Kate goes into some details. She explains the reality of our mindset and how to overcome that.

Are you tired of not succeeding? Contact me for some coaching sessions to help iron out what you can do to be successful. We all like to succeed in life.