Fathers Day and I am thinking of my dad. As a young daughter of 16 he hired me as his secretary. Dad was a successful Life Insurance Salesman. We traveled Southern Alberta listening to motivational tapes from conventions he had attended. I graduated from the Keith Scoville School of Self Taught. I believe it was from these experiences that I learned Public Relations.
Dad loved horses and all things country. The first Friday in July and for 10 days we lived for the Calgary Stampede. Dad worked the cowboy entrance and we hung out with the cowboys. Chuckwagon Races, Bull Riding, Rodeos and the Young Canadians. Midnight fireworks...cause that's when it gets dark in Calgary.
Dad was a farmer. I spent lots of summers in the garden picking raspberries, peas, carrots, beans...there were spiders in the beans. Dad turned the dirt and we picked up the potatoes. Flowers - he planted petunias all around the front steps. We picked peony's in June and gave them to our teachers as a year end thank you.
Summer trips to Raymond, Cardston, Shuswap Lake. Winter trips to Banff and Radium Hot Springs.
When I was young I felt his testimony and gained a love for the scriptures. He taught me the value of work and perseverance. Now he is 85. All that I am, I am because Keith Scoville is my dad.
Working out is really an important part of my existence. I quite enjoy it. Except last night...I popped my coccyx or somewhere close to it. I am feeling tons of pain and I waddle like a pregnant woman. When I sit and stand I look like a pregnant woman. It brings back really unpleasant memories.
Ice is helpful as are the essential oils. Aging really sucks!
Some might wonder how I could spend four days chasing 18 soccer games with my boys. I have to say that it is an absolute delight.
The boys have been competing in the summer games for more than 10 years. It has become a family tradition. The last couple of years have been most thrilling with 4 boys on 4 different teams. We just run from one game to the next and in between we settle on the sideline with a picnic.
Lessons from soccer...teamwork...tolerance...skill...patience...exhaustion...pain... perseverance...longevity...unity...
Click here to view the 2009 Utah Summer Games slideshow and check out my facebook page for all the photos!
I have loved this day! It has been nothing extraordinary and that is why I have loved it. It began at 7:40 am with Sammie jumping up to tell me he was hungry and wanted to go outside. I stumbled into the kitchen got his breakfast then thought about making food for my boys. The fridge was nearly empty of breakfast items so I wondered off to the market. I returned and had breakfast made before anyone woke.
The day continued on. Usual treks to pick up and drop off kids, Saturday cleaning and laundry. Then Ammon and Isaac wanted to go to the gym. I didn't have much going on so I went with them. A two hour work out on a leisurely Saturday afternoon was good for my soul. Then home to make dinner and, upon discovering an empty cookie jar, I made cookies.
I love to make cookies!
And so I have simply existed on this Saturday. No soccer games. No schedule of any sort. Just peacefully lived through it. The day ends with a view of a nearly full moon and all is pleasant and serene.
I attended a 90 minute seminar sponsored by ilearningglobal.tv where Hyrum Smith was the keynote speaker. He spoke on What Matters Most and gave us the breakdown of his “famous” Reality Model. If you google “The Reality Model” you will find that many have listened to Hyrum’s presentation. As I have read over some of the reviews it is apparent that Hyrum Smith is consistent in his presentation.
The Reality Model is impressive and if applied can bring about positive changes and growth.This is the synopsis of The Reality Model.
"The Reality Model"
According to this analysis, there are five steps to human behavior. Here's the breakdown.
1. Human Needs - We each have four basic human needs.
To live.
To love and be loved.
To feel important.
Variety.
If we are lacking any one or more of these needs, we may end up trying to fill them in.
File this away. We'll get back to it.
2. Belief Window - We all have beliefs, principles, convictions that determine how we interpret the world.
In his presentation, Hyrum uses an example, "Men are better than women." Another might be, "My self-worth is dependent upon never losing an argument."
3. Rules - These are "If...then..." statements, using the principles in the Belief Window has the premise.
Following on Hyrum's example: "If I get in an argument, then I must win."
4. Behavior Patterns - These are the actions that result from the Rules. Thus, in the example case, "I" can never back down in an argument.
5. Results - Here's the question: Will the results meet my needs over time?
If "I" never back down in an argument, never compromise, never acknowledge someone else's point, then is that making my life better?
Natural Law
Hyrum Smith makes these interesting points:
1 - If the results of your behavior do not meet your needs, then you have an incorrect principle on your belief window.
Your actions are the results of your principles on your Belief Window.
2 - Results take time to measure.
Sometimes it takes years. Look at smoking. Or heavy drinking.
3 - Growth is the process of changing principles on your belief window.
You can't change the behavior if the principles causing that behavior are not addressed. If you believe, "I can't stick with exercise programs," then you can try starting a workout regimen but you probably won't have much success sticking with it. If you believe, "Older women cannot be attractive," and you feel old, then dressing up will feel like an exercise in despair.
4 - Addictive behavior is the result of deep and unmet needs.
When one of your needs is not being met, all your energy goes to filling that need. And if you have a principle on your belief window that is not serving your long-term interests, then odds are good that it's a result of an unmet need.
5 – If your self worth is dependent on anything external then you are in big trouble.
6 – When the results of your behavior do meet your needs over time, you experience inner peace.
Identify what matters most to you, bring the events of your life inline with what matters most to you and you have the right to inner peace.
So drawing from the behavior loops identified above, here are 6 steps to follow:
1 - Identify the behavior patterns.
2 - Identify possible principles driving the behavior.
3 - Predict future behavior based upon those principles.
4 - Identify alternative principles.
5 - Predict future behavior based upon new principle(s).
6 – Compare steps 3 & 5 and ask WHY..do things evolve the way that they do?Because of the principles on our belief window.
Applying The Reality Model to real life is not an easy task.Just identifying the principles can be tough. Figuring out how to change them? That takes determination, desire and commitment. Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes it takes one day at a time.
Hyrum Smith will be doing this same presentation again in August. Click here to follow his blog.
We noticed two birds spending a great deal of time around our veranda and then realized they were building a nest. The construction process was exhilarating. The two of them flying up and down back and forth pulling cob webs from the corners, strings from the blankets, hauling leaves, twigs, grass, feathers. It was a two day process and it turned out beautifully.
It has been fascinating to watch this mother-to-be in her nesting sort of way. She spends countless hours on her nest leaving only for brief moments. It is a beautiful thing to watch. She now resides in the folds of the shade. The cover which once brought shade from the sun has now become home to a family of birds.
Fathers Day and I am thinking of my dad. As a young daughter of 16 he hired me as his secretary. Dad was a successful Life Insurance Salesman. We traveled Southern Alberta listening to motivational tapes from conventions he had attended. I graduated from the Keith Scoville School of Self Taught. I believe it was from these experiences that I learned Public Relations.
