Getting Ahead

How can you maintain peace of mind in today's fast-paced world without falling behind or getting run over by the pack? Here are some ideas.

Set priorities and goals.

· Without meaningful goals you will never be truly successful in life, no matter how much money you earn or how great a name you make for yourself.

· Be wise; prioritize.

· Success starts in the heart. When priorities and motives are right, you're halfway there.

· Avoid self-imposed pressure by avoiding unrealistic goals and deadlines.

· Even a relatively small project can seem like a mountain when you get so close to it that it's all you can see. Cut it down to size by breaking it up into smaller tasks.

· When you feel overwhelmed with all there is to do, reassess your goals, priorities, strategy, and work habits.

· Keep things in perspective. Don't let little inconveniences become big annoyances that sap your inspiration and strength.

· If you are worried about tomorrow, it makes today doubly difficult because you're trying to carry tomorrow's burdens as well as today's. Concentrate only on what you can do today.

Slow down and take time to rest and relax.

· There will always be deadlines, pressures, and work. If you let those things run your life, you'll never find time to relax and enjoy life.

· Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself.

· You must stop everything periodically and connect with the source—God—to get recharged, or you will run out of power.

· Better to take regular times of rest than to risk a breakdown. No matter how important your work is, it's not as important as your health and spiritual well-being.

· After creating the universe, God rested from His labor, and He tells us to do likewise.

Don't get caught in the materialism trap.

· Material things may temporarily satisfy the body, but only God and His love can truly satisfy the spirit.

· The truest wealth is measured in the things that money can't buy.

· Some people own things, and some people's things own them.

· At best, material success will last till the day you die; love lasts for eternity.

Take time for people.

· Make people your priority, and the best things in life will come to you.

· Start the day with love, and love will carry you through the day.

· Take the preferences, needs, personalities, and limitations of those you work with into consideration. That will go a long way in reducing stress and friction, two arch enemies of happiness.

· The life you live will soon be past,
But the things you do for love will last.

· All you need to be a world changer is love, because love changes everything it touches.

Stay positive and cheerful.

· To get the most from every day, look for the good in every situation.

· Success starts with a successful attitude. Train your mind to look beyond obstacles, disappointments, setbacks, and even failures.

· A smile is the lighting system of the face and the heating system of the heart.

· Laughter relaxes you physically and refreshes you mentally and emotionally by putting your problems in perspective.

Give your cares and problems to Jesus.

· Prayer can lift you up on the wings of God's Spirit to where you can see the big picture more clearly.

· When the pace or the events of the day seem overwhelming, take time to reflect and talk things over with Jesus, and you will be amazed at how much more energy you'll have and how much smoother things will go.

· Prayer is meant to be like talking to your closest friend on the telephone. You talk to Jesus, you listen, and together you sort things out.

· Make prayer your prelude, and you'll stay on key all day.

· Jesus can give you solutions that will make problems that loom as large as mountains melt away.

· Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light," but there's one condition attached: "Come unto Me" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Maintain a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle

· An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's better to stay healthy than to have to be healed.

· The best way to prevent illness is to obey God's natural laws: Live right, eat right, work right, play right, rest right, love right, and maintain a right relationship with Him.

· Take time to enjoy life. God made every good thing for you to enjoy in moderation, and He created the senses with which to enjoy them.

· Taking good care of our bodies shows respect for the God who created us and gave us life and health.

· What you take in mentally and spiritually is as important to your overall well-being as what you eat. If life is full of headaches, perhaps you've been filling your head with the wrong stuff.

Compiled by Abi F. May