This One's For You

It is love month again and I think love is really in the air and people are in the mood for some love.

Yesterday, riding on the bus on my way home, I found a crumpled piece of paper on the seat next to me.  A portion of it was a little exposed and my curiosity got the best of me again.  No matter how much I told my self not to pick it up, I was not able to resist the temptation.  So I picked it up and read it.  It has neither an addressee nor the name of the writer.  And as I read through it, I realized that it was too general it could be for anyone.  I don't know if it's a prank, an open letter or what.  It may be left there intentionally for others to see.  Lucky for that writer, I found it and now it has find its way to the cyber space.  Here's the content of that letter and hopefully, if it is really intended for someone, may that person find this letter's place in his/her heart.

"Our fight last night wasn’t as big as the previous ones we had but it made the deepest wound so far. My head was buzzing with thousand questions that I can’t even remember how I fell asleep. All that I remember was that I was crying last night.  And when I woke up this morning, I had an aching head and swelling eyes. The only consolation I had, I woke up with you still by my side.

I wonder why you always ask if I really love you whenever we had an argument. Do you really feel that I don’t? I may be narrow-minded as you always tell me, but as far as I know, it doesn't have anything to do with how I feel for you. I do not argue for the sake of arguing or even try to prove you that I was right.  I just want you to see things the way I see them.  I just want you to know that there’s another side to it, not just your side.  And if I do sound like I’m always trying to prove who’s right, I’m sorry.  It was never my intention. I just want you to see the bigger picture.  And if right now you feel like I am again trying to prove that I’m right or insisting on my side, I’m sorry. If you prefer me to remain silent, then silent I will be.  I just wonder how that would help us both grow and know more about each other.

You are the most intelligent person I’ve ever met and I love exchanging ideas with you. I love talking to you.  Whenever I remember how I would sometimes fall asleep while talking to you, it always brings smiles in me.  One day we’ll both grow old and moving and playing around like young children will no longer be possible.  One day, all we will be doing is just sit on our porch or on our couch and talk the whole day through.  I look forward to those days; I look forward to those days when I can simply say that I became a better person because of the one who never got tired “arguing” with me - the one who held my hand all through my life.

I know one day we will have our arguments again, petty or big, but I want you to know that it won’t affect how I feel for you – how I love you. 

You ask me if I love you, and that question swirled in my head the whole night.  It brought me back to our younger days, back when our love was young and new, the days when we don’t ask why or how but simply believe that we “do” love each other.  I long for those days.  I long for those moments. I wonder what happened to us.  Why do we suddenly need proofs now? Is it because of all the mistakes of our yesteryears?  Seems we haven’t really let go of the past then.

There’s only one person whose hands I will forever love to hold, one face that I will always love to see before I close my eyes at night and the moment I open it in the morning, one house to come home to and  one person to share my love with.  If you will still ask me if I love you, then you don’t know that I am talking about you. 

If you know who’s the one who really loves you, hurry, I will be waiting for you. You know where to find me." 

Goals on Track

Just a couple of days ago, I made something really funny and I am surprised until now of its effect.  But, before I tell what it is, or show rather you, I want you to take this step by step procedures for a short while.

Did you know that you can change your default homepage when you browse the internet?  It's like your corporate web address if you are using company computer or Yahoo! or Google or whatever is that first internet site that appears when you launch your internet browser.  Did you also know that with just a simple change in your browser's home page it could make a significant impact to your life, your career and in keeping your goals on track?  

If you're in the office or using NOT your own computer, I suggest NOT TO DO the following.  But if you are USING YOUR OWN computer (or your company allows you to personalize your web browser), follow me in this little experiment.  

Ready?  Here we go... 

What internet browser are you using right now?  Internet explorer?  Great!

Launch your Internet Explorer and find the upper most gear icon on the right hand side of your window.  It looks like this.  

Then, click on the "Internet Option" menu and a similar box like the one below would appear.  Now hold it for a second cause we're not done yet.  You see, the highlighted portion is the URL of your homepage.  That is what we want to change, which we will do later.  Ok?

Now, If you are using Mozilla Firefox, here's how you are going to do it.  

Launch Firefox.  On the upper left hand side of your window is the tab "Firefox." See it?  Click it and then the menus will appear.  Select the "Option" menu and then "Option" again, just like the second picture below.  Once you've clicked that, a box similar to the third one below will appear.  

Notice the highlighted portion again.   That's what we are going to change.  But don't proceed just yet.  Let's wait for the Chrome users.  

Chrome users, are you ready?  Here we go!  

Launch your Google Chrome and on the right hand side of your window you will see a "wrench" icon.  See that?  Yep, click on that and the menus will show up.   Select the "Options" menu and the second window below will appear. Are you there now?  Good.  See the "on start up" and "home page" items like the ones highlighted below?  Great! Hold it just right there.  

Now, IE, Firefox and Chrome users, are you ready to achieve your goals by simply changing your personal computer's home page?  Ready?  

Type this on the highlighted portions you've seen thus far:  

http://goalontrack.blogspot.com

You got it?  Amazing! It isn't that hard is it? Now save what you've just did. (Chrome users, there's no "save" option on that window, but it's OK, it will be saved automatically).  

Close your browser now and then re-launch it.  

There you go! 

I was quite surprise that for just three days after I made that site, it has been viewed by more than 30 unique visitors.  You could be one of those.  

Imagine what a simple reminder like this one can do to keep you on your goal.  I made this my browser's homepage and whenever I am tempted to surf the internet for unnecessary matters, I would just back-out and say, "Whoa! Do I really NEED to use the internet right now?"

There, I hope you've learned something new today and I hope that I have shared something to you to keep you on your goals of BEing MORE and LIVING THE GOOD LIFE!  

Old Habits Don't Die... They Simply... Well, They Just Don't Die

Staring at the monitor for a half of a day isn't a good way to spend your waking hours, is it?  There's more to sore, dry and tired eyes that it brings - it is the feeling that you haven't done anything worth the while.  Unless you are being paid to stare at the computer which is probably impossible, I think there's no personal satisfaction in that.  Well, again, that a different story if you enjoy looking at your monitor simply staring blankly at you.

Old habits, same, old habits.  Just when you think you're finally over them, they'll just come back creeping silently into your world.  Habits could be both good and bad.

Good habits include daily reading of your Bible, daily exercise, saving a certain portion of your income, choosing healthy foods and the likes.  Bad habits include, among others, unhealthy midnight snacks, gossips, laziness, impulsive buying, procrastination and many more.

For the purpose of this article, let us talk about the "bad habits."

Bad habits are like some annoying weeds on you yard, no matter how many times you've cut them, they'll just grow even more, suffocating the flowers and eventually killing them.  Uproot them! Uproot them, I say!  Great if you can do that to your old-bad-habits.

Unless you take old habits out from the roots, they will just keep on coming back.  Always worse than before.

But uprooting them doesn't seem to be way too easy, right?  So what do you do then?  Discipline.

Discipline yourself into fighting bad habits with good ones.  You can't just wake up one day and say that all your bad habits are gone.  I don't think so.  Trust me, I've done that many times before and yet, those old habits just keep coming back.  So what do you do then.  Commit yourself to the daily grind.  Take that painful step of saying "NO" to what were once blissful and easy activities. Admit it, you find it more fun and easy doing your bad habits than the good ones.  

Join me in this journey as we wage war against this old-bad-habits of ours.  It doesn't matter if your bad habits are the same with my bad habits or not.  Let's do this simple and general approach.  Customize it to fit your needs.

Ready?  Here goes...

1. Commit to yourself that you are putting an end to your bad habits - starting NOW!  Yes, it should be NOW, as in right NOW. In this instant, as you are reading this post. Why?  Because that's commitment.  If you don't do this first step NOW, then you aren't really committed.  Or maybe, you are just aren't that serious to shake off that habit.
2. Write it in a piece of paper and read it when you wake up and before you sleep.  Do you remember when you were still a child your parents used to teach you a prayer usually at night, just before you go to bed?  Remember that?  I don't know how you would explain it but the prayers you say at night seems to stick in to your mind more than the prayers you heard or say during day time.  Haven't you noticed that?  Or is it just me?  Anyway, give it a try and see for yourself.  Also, when you prepare for an exam, you review your materials at night, right?  With the hope that maybe you'll get the chance to remember more.  And most of the time it works, agree?  Well, consider your battle against your bad habits as part of your prayer and an exam you have to pass as well.  Prepare at night, before you sleep, and remind yourself when you wake up as you went your way into the day.  
3. Remind yourself that no matter how bad your habits maybe, it isn't you.  Your habits are just part of your being but it isn't you.  It's just like your favorite dress that you love to wear.  You can always change it and you still have yourself.  
4. Think of all the wonderful things that I could bring if you have totally subdued your bad habits.  Also, I don't know what's in it if you imagine the outcome of something.  For example, you want to see a movie and you believe that you'll gonna enjoy it.  Isn't it true that even before you buy your ticket you already feel the excitement and joy?  And the more excited you are, the unstoppable you become.  Be excited about the NEW YOU and be unstoppable. 
5. Commit everything to GOD.  You can do all the first four but that will be futile if you are not clinging on the right rope.  It is like like being in a boat and rowing to death but towards the opposite the current.  USELESS.  So before you proceed any further, remember the basic: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of him, and hi will make straight your path (Proverbs 3:5-6)"  Let God show you the way!

I hope that with those steps, I have helped you in your fight with your bad habits. So there, don't let those bad habits take the greatness that awaits you in your life.  ADD MORE GOOD HABITS and BE MORE!  Habit can only be destroyed by another habit.  So make it a habit of Living the Good Life!


To a new and better you!

J. Roy
Author of "The Five Successful Ways to Fail (Things You Weren't Told About Success)"


P.S.  One day on my way home from the office, I asked myself, "why do you keep on writing even if your readers don't increase in numbers?  What do you get from writing?  You haven't even earn anything from it?"  Well my answers are these: One, "why should I not write?"  And two, I think it is not what I get from it that matters, but rather, what am I able to share through it.

Or maybe... just out of an old habit!