10 Dreambusters to Stop Immediately

I like to laugh. But, I’ll admit I don’t find most of today’s comedies on TV or film very funny. My daughter thinks I need to loosen up. She might be right. But, I think that most of today’s screenwriters are just not funny. Instead, they rely on shock effect and profane rantings to get a laugh. No thanks. So, imagine my excitement when I recently became reacquainted with a comedy sketch that I first saw years ago. Maybe it says something about my humor. But, I think it is hilarious. Better yet, I think it has a helpful (though simplistic) tip to push us out of our unproductive and sometimes maladaptive routines.

Maybe its my training as a marriage and family therapist that makes this MadTV sketch featuring long-time comedian Bob Newhart so funny. The sketch, simply titled “Stop It”, is a spoof of the clinical counseling session. It presents Newhart as Dr. Switzer who is seeing a new patient named Katherine whose life is marred by struggles with claustrophobia, bolemia, self-destructive relationships with men, and a fear of driving. Though a spoof and clearly outside the bounds of acceptable clinical practice, I think there are some really good lessons for us to glean. Dr. Switzer, who claims to help most people in five minutes, offers Katherine two simple words to cure–STOP IT!

Click HERE to watch the short video.

LYH47: 7 Affirmations to Slay your DRAGONS (Part 2) [PODCAST]

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Featured Presentation

You can find the full blog post on this topic at haroldarnold.com/dragons2

Welcome to Part II of Slaying the DRAGONS of Your Dreams.  The DRAGONS’ intention is to throw you off of your path of influence.
In Part I, we outlined the DRAGONS’ nature and the seven lies they tell.  But, here we highlight the KINGDOM as an acrostic that gives a God-centered response to the DRAGONS and the seven truthful affirmation to help you withstand the DRAGONS’ onslaught and ignite your dreams.
Seven Truths to Ignite Your Dreams
  • Truth #1: KNOWLEDGE’s truthful affirmation sounds something like this “You were created in the image of God to do great works. The power that is within you is far greater than the powers against. You already have within you the victory you seek.”
  • Truth #2: INSIGHT’s truthful affirmation sounds like this “I am not defined by that hurt. But, I take power over it to empathize and help someone who is struggling.”
  • Truth #3: NOVELTY’s truthful affirmation against APATHY is “God is doing a new thing in you. He’s renewing your mind. Yes, new levels bring new devils. But, your latter years will be greater than your former ones. So, be strong and courageous.”
  • Truth #4: GRACE’s truthful affirmation sounds like these words from famed holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, notes ”God takes our sins—past, present, and future, and dumps them in the sea and puts up a sign that say ‘no fishing allowed.“
  • Truth #5: DEFERENCE’s truthful affirmation sounds like this famous quote from inspirational speaker Zig Ziglar “You can get everything you want in life if you help enough others get what they want.”
  • Truth #6: The truthful affirmation of being OTHER-centered sounds like this “You are the answer to a prayer that someone is crying to God right now. As you decrease, God’s ability to use you to touch them increases.”
  • Truth #7: The truthful affirmation of MUCH sounds like this “Everything that you need, God will supply. Everything.”
My prayer is that these seven truthful affirmations arm you with the weapons to slay the DRAGONS and ignite your dreams.
How do you see these truths playing out in your own pursuit of influence? I would love to hear about the easy and challenging parts of your battle.
Shout Out Corner!
Thank You to the following people for the iTunes rating / review. I really appreciate it.
  • Kary Oberbrunner
  • Derevaune
  • DaphneVSmith

Congratulations to Shayna Lear on your wedding announcement!

Check out the blog post HERE to read more about this.

Please do me a huge favor and click HERE to go to iTunes and leave me a rating and review. It will only take 2 minutes of your time. And, it means so much to me. And, just for you, I’ll give you a shout out on the next show.

LYH41: Running for Your Life: 5 Lessons to Your Best You [PODCAST]

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Featured Presentation

You can find the full blog post on this topic at haroldarnold.com/runforlife

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” – Oprah Winfrey

I wholeheartedly agree with Oprah for several reasons:
  • Running is a great metaphor for life because like life it requires a consistent commitment from you to be successful.
  • Running is a great metaphor for life because it demands physical and psychological fortitude to maintain your pace.
  • Running is a great metaphor for life because it requires that you make space away from the computer, the television, the Internet, and the emails.
  • Running creates space for you to think, to listen, and to search your soul—all prerequisites to living well
From my own experience as a long-term runner, I’ve observed five lessons that are critical to living your life to the fullest.
The Runner’s Five Lessons for Life
  • Lesson #1: Set Your Goals
  • Lesson #2: Pace Yourself
  • Lesson #3: Partner with Others
  • Lesson #4: Measure Your Results
  • Lesson #5: Go Farther

Check out the blog post HERE to see the action steps you can take for each lesson.

Please do me a huge favor and click HERE to go to iTunes and leave me a rating and review. It will only take 2 minutes of your time. And, it means so much to me. And, just for you, I’ll give you a shout out on the next show.

How To Elevate Your Life with a “Smarter Yes”

We live in a noisy world. Everywhere you turn there it is. Noise vying for your attention. Noise at home as the spouse and children place demands on you. Noise at work as the co-workers and supervisors push you to the brink. Noise at church as ministry commitments progressively encroach on your discretionary time. You want to be great at home, work, church, and in your community commitments. But, it feels overwhelming. You thought it was just going to be for a season. But, one season just rolls into another one. Now, you’re burning out physically and emotionally. You feel depleted—not sure how much longer you can keep going. People think you’re superhuman. But, you know you need better boundaries. It’s hard though because it’s hard to say ‘No’ out of a visceral fear of what might be lost. Your answer may simply lie in learning a smarter yes.

The noise is a direct outgrowth of our busyness. Busyness has been, in fact, the status symbol of the 21st century—particularly among the baby boom generation. We wear it like a badge of honor. We behave as if the person with the busiest calendar must be the most important—the most valued. My calendar is fuller than yours—with each engagement feeling like an affirmation to our ego or bank account.

You can see it even in our standard greetings as we add ‘…just crazy busy’ to whatever status we report. Despite the fatigue we may feel physically, our minds tell us that to be busy is to be needed and important. We feel like our life is counting for something. So, we live in this ironic conundrum—pursuing busyness while seeking shelter from the noise.

Yes, I’m guilty!