accept what is

How To Accept AND Excel

May 29, 2017 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

In my latest book, Thrive Principles, one of my strategies is Accepting What Is. Which has caused some readers to wonder how that fits into my ideas about constantly growing and changing.

They are not mutually opposed. Accepting What Is creates a beginning point, a starting line. From there, you can move toward who you want to be. You can build a life of meaning and purpose.

Many people struggle with where they are. But where we are is just that, our current spot. Not a permanent place, but a starting point.

This week, I discuss how to both Accept What Is AND plot a growth course to become the person you want to be. Make your impact with both sides of the equation.

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Can’t Change The Past So Stop Trying

March 21, 2016 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

It is an interesting human characteristic that we spend lots of energy trying to rework and change the past — at the same time, we fail to believe we can change our future!

A belief that the future is unchangeable (and actions/inactions that often reveal this hidden belief) is called fatalism. It is a belief that fate is set. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the Fates, three women who created the thread of life for each person, measured it out, then cut it, when it was time to die. No beating the fates.

Que sera sera.

“Whatever will be, will be.”

I think I much prefer (please excuse my attempt at translation), Que fuera era. Whatever was, was. That might be “reverse fatalism.” The past has happened and can’t be changed. But we do have some choice about how the future plays out.

We don’t have FULL control of our futures. But we have much more than we often like to claim. And that might be the better focus: changing what we CAN change, what we CAN control.

The past is NOT part of what we can change. The future (starting in the present) holds much more potential.

Join me as I explore this “Reverse Fatalism.”

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3 Steps To Break Your Stuck Cycle

February 22, 2016 by Lee H. Baucom, Ph.D. Leave a Comment

Break your stuck cycle. Ever feel like you are just running around on that hamster wheel, stuck and repeating?

That’s the Stuck Cycle. It starts with stress and ends with stress. In between are the behaviors you do to cope (but that only leave you feeling worse).

Here’s a little secret: most people live in the Stuck Cycle. That’s the bad news.

The good news is you don’t HAVE to. Right now, without knowing it, you are choosing it. And guess what? I was in my Stuck Cycle earlier. I just followed a few steps to break it.

In fact, there are 3 steps to breaking your Stuck Cycle. Ready to break it? Learn the 3 steps in this week’s podcast.

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