strength – Crisbie Coach

Living the Day

During these challenging moments, I would like to share with you a paragraph taken from John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”, which embodies strength and courage, and reflects a profound observation about the differences in perspective between men and women, especially in times of hardship and the passage of time.

Steinbeck is known for the realism of his novels and for the humor that enriches his descriptive narratives. Through his storytelling, he paints a vivid portrait of a vanishing America, yet his works remain infused with a resilient hope in humanity’s capacity for renewal and revival. He also captures the resilience of the human spirit and the different ways in which individuals perceive and respond to life’s challenges.

Our life ain’t over. It ain’t, and that’s the thing a woman knows.

I noticed that.

See man, he lives in a jerk.

Baby born, man dies, that’s a jerk.

Gets a farm and loses his farm, and that’s a jerk.

Woman, it’s all one flow, like a stream.

Little eddies, little waterfalls,

but the river, it goes right on.

Woman looks at it like that.

We ain’t gonna die out.

People are going on.

Changing a little maybe, but going right on.

Everything we do, seems to me, is aimed at going on.

It seems that way to me.

Even getting hungry, even being sick.

Some die, but the rest is tougher. Just try to live the day, just the day.

I think that this passage highlights the resilience and adaptability of humanity. Despite hardships, people persevere and keep moving forward. The narrator emphasizes the cyclical nature of life and the innate human drive to survive and endure, even in the face of hunger, sickness, and death.

What do you think about Steinbeck’s words?

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A Little Mouse in a Jar

This is a short story of a little mouse who does not want to leave his box.

The box represents your comfort zone. From this story you will understand why you should try to leave your comfort zone.

When a little mouse is in a box full of rice, he thinks life is fun and enjoyable because he has enough food.

Then he will stay in this box and enjoy it until the rice is finished.

One day, however, when the box is empty, the mouse will see that he has been trapped and will no longer be able to get out of that box.

As long as you have the strength, motivation, and health to do so, you can always take risks to try to improve your life.

Do this instead of choosing to stay in your illusory comfort zone.

When you decide to step up and leave your comfort zone, you will discover a completely different and more interesting life.

Also remember that every long journey begins with a first step (Lao Tzu).

Listening to Your Body with Qi Gong

Qi Gong is an ancestral discipline born in China about 5000 years ago. It has been influenced by various philosophies, such as Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

After having developed within religious and spiritual fields, Qi Gong has been contaminated by fighting techniques becoming in this way also part of martial arts.

photo a man and woman doing martial arts — Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels.com

Today, more than a thousand forms of Qi Gong are known. Actually, each teacher develops his own technique observing though the same principles and purposes: to stay healthy by keeping the body, spirit and energy in balance.

According to Chinese medicine, good health is the result of a good circulation of energy in the body. Qi Gong is considered a prevention measure.

The search for balance, the precision of intention (Yi), the fluidity of gestures represent not only a path towards self-knowledge but also the pleasure of encountering oneself. With Qi Gong, we learn to love ourselves, to open up to the universe, to live in harmony with everything around us.

In the search for balance, you will experience moments when you focus and moments when you rest. Feeling too much or what is missing, for example when you go from one foot to the other, allows you to become aware of your own fragility. When, on the other hand, you stand on two feet, well anchored to the ground, you feel then balanced, and stronger.

Working on balance brings a feeling of lightness and freedom, without forgetting that through the movements and stimulation of the meridians (energy circulation paths), organic functions improve (circulation, digestion, breathing).

The body is at the centre of the relationship with oneself, with others and with the environment. Body awareness passes through listening to your body at first, by observing muscle tone, tensions, balance, posture and the direction of movements.

Qi Gong can be considered above all as a search for energy balance and harmony between body and spirit. By paying attention to the gestures, we realize that our way of thinking also changes and we get a more peaceful look at the world.

Have you heard about Qi Gong before? What do you think about it?

silhouette of person raising its hand — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Why You Should Accept Your Insecurities

“All I have achieved in life has been thanks to good luck”. “My colleagues are better than me”. “I cannot believe my colleagues complimenting me on a job well done.”

Does it sound familiar to you? If you think that everything that happens to you is due to chance and good luck you are probably someone with an external locus. You may feel insecure in one area of your life, personal or professional, or in both areas. Maybe you think being unable to manage a project (remember that the best solutions come after unsuccessful events) or that a person you like does not want to talk to you (but have you ever tried approaching them?).

Insecurity does not always come with the same intensity. It ranges from an unpleasant feeling to a real paralysis, for instance when you have to make a presentation in front of a big audience or when you do not have the courage to talk to someone you like.

However, insecurity can become your ally if you know how to turn it in your favour. The first step is to recognize that you are insecure. Try to think objectively about your successes, big or small. At the beginning, you felt insecure but you succeeded thanks to your will and determination.

Continuously complaining, looking at others success, constantly thinking that you are unlucky certainly does not help you. Perhaps you will not be able to control your insecurity in any situations, but try to change your attitude, take it into your hands, look at it and say, “Yes, I can do it!”

Accepting yourself for who you are with all your strengths and weaknesses, even if you do not like them, will help you overcoming insecurity.

Are you ready to challenge your insecurities?

Why action without intention is useless?

Intention is powerful energy that allows you to satisfy a need, be it material, relational, emotional or spiritual.

It is a source of positive energy that allows you to create or fulfil a dream.

Many people think that only by taking action you can achieve your goal or get what you want.

However, intention is more powerful than action because it draws its strength from the energy of the universe that sustains action and guides it to avoid you getting lost or exhausted. If your energy is negative, you will not feel satisfied; you will have the impression of swimming against the current of the water.

Action without intention will never get you to your destination.

Give yourself permission to think and dream big even if it seems impossible! Authorize and solicit a pure consciousness that binds you to this universal “I”, where everything is not only possible, but already exists and needs your intention for it to happen.

By positively utilising the power of intention, you will be guided towards the best. If some cards are given by chance, through observation you will be able to seize the most favourable opportunity that comes to you. Try to adapt to unforeseen situations to turn them into opportunities, because it matters more how you react to what happens to you.

Good fortune can be provoked (certainly not for gambling or winning the lottery) and sometimes you have to be brave and reactive to seize the opportunity that comes to you.

Do you know the story of the two mice falling into a bucket full of milk? One of them yells “help, help”, doesn’t swim and drowns. The other swims to stay afloat so fast that it turns the milk into butter and can come out of the bucket!

Here are four ideas to try being luckier:

Adopt a positive spirit, attitudes and behaviours.
Dream big even if it seems impossible to you, opening the doors to opportunities.
Stop saying “Yes but …” and replace it with “What if …”.
Find a lucky jingle, a tune you like and that works like a bell to regularly connect on the good wavelength. A mantra or a positive affirmation is also fine.

And let things happen!

Do you feel ready to create your intention?