"Monday 5 Things" with D. Paul Graham
Monday 5 Things…..Take…..
A leisurely, lazy Sunday brunch. The kind of brunch that leaves one properly caffeinated, appropriately mimosa-ed (if there is such a word) and well fed. The kind of brunch that frames a day of taking time to just be. Following such a brunch, we strolled the grounds of a beautiful Lowcountry resort that is one of my favorite places to simply just take time. Taking time led to today’s M5T and considering things to “take” in our lives.
1. Take Measure
How often do you consider where you are in life; this year, this month, this week, this day? Taking measure that goes profoundly beyond your bank account or the “things” in your life. Taking measure is a considered look at what and who in your past has shaped you; how you are living your present; and where you want to be in your future. Taking measure looks at what energizes you and the relationships that build you up. A measured look at your life reveals what fulfills you, what challenges your intellect, what moves your emotions, and what prompts you to action.
2. Take Control
Taking control means taking authority over how you react to the stuff that happens in life. It means conquering fears and anxieties. Taking control is discipline needed to forego immediate satisfaction for long-term peace, to cut things out of your life that cost more than the worth to your life or your dreams. Taking control is removing toxic people from your life and learning to say no, without guilt.
3. Take Responsibility
Taking responsibility for what you say to others, your actions, your thoughts and your feelings. Far easier said than done. Taking responsibility is no longer blaming others. It transforms you from reacting and living like a victim to claiming a victorious life. Taking responsibility is asking what is the blessing in this situation? What lesson is in front of me? What does this have to do with the big picture of my life, for my dreams? Taking responsibility lets you live in the moment, intentionally, with confidence and peace. Taking responsibility allows you the liberty to love… intensely, generously, honestly, healthily, and with a heart that can forgive — yourself and others.
4. Take Time
Take a breath. Take time for yourself. Take time to think, to invest in yourself, to create, to dream. Take time to be grateful. Take time to appreciate the smallest most wondrous of things that are all around. Take time to tell someone that you love them. Take time to truly listen to someone else. A well-used adage, some might say over-used, but profound non-the-less; take it a day at a time.
5. Take Roads
Take the road less traveled. Make it your road. Take risks. Take a dirt back-road. Take the highway. But, have the wisdom to know when to take either one. Look back at the roads you’ve taken and realize how far you have come. Take the journey.
Here’s to a week of recognizing the positive consequences of making time to take the most important things in your life.
© 2019 D. Paul Graham, all rights reserved.
D. Paul Graham is passionate about people, culture, photography and business. He has embraced his wanderlust with his travels around the globe and is at peace with his need for spirited drives in all things automotive.
You can find M5T each Monday here on www.southmag.com and by friending D. Paul Graham on Facebook. Paul is also a contributing photographer to South Magazine. His photographic work can be found on Instagram @dpgraham and at www.imageGRAHAM.com. Your feedback is always welcome. Email Paul at dpg@imagegraham.com
