3 Practical Steps for Finding What’s Worth Looking For

There are two birds with two very different pathways.

One bird wakes up in the morning and all it can think about is “where is some dead meat?” The other bird wakes up and all it can think about it “where are those colorful, sweet smelling flowers where I can find some tasty nectar?”

The buzzard the hummingbird both find exactly what they go looking for. The buzzard finds what was alive in the past but dead and rotting today, while the hummingbird finds what’s alive in the present with a promising future of life and sweetness.

The daily choice we must make

We too can choose to be like the buzzard or the hummingbird. We can focus on the bad news and the negativity we find all around us or we can go out looking for opportunity, ways to serve, looking for the good in others with an attitude of optimism and hope.

Right now I’m focusing on building a coaching practice which includes talking to potential clients who would benefit from the kind of help and service I provide. I’m finding it true that if if I go out with the belief in myself and that responsive people will say yes, I will eventually find them (and I am). On the days when I sit at my desk (when I should be out meeting people), my mind turns to vulture like thinking and I end up with self-doubt, scarcity thinking, and a focus on the past instead of a promising future.

What you and I set our minds on does impact where we end up! Even Solomon (once called the wisest man who ever lived) gave us these words of Jewish wisdom:

The one who seeks good finds delight; the student of evil becomes evil. — Proverbs 11:27

3 practical steps to help you find what’s worth looking for

1. Wake up a positive mindset first thing in the morning.

I start every morning getting my head, heart and mind set right. I read, I journal, I pray, I reflect — and then I get to work. It’s a great way to offload the worry, fear and stress I may be dealing with first thing in the morning.

If you think you can and if you think you can’t, you’re right. — Henry Ford

2. Walk towards daily activities that are good and right.

Get clear on the specific activities you will engage in that will lead you to fulfill your purpose and find the good. It may include knowing what you will NOT do any more.

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. ― Abraham Lincoln

3. Wind down by celebrating and rehearsing the good you found that day.

The end of the day is a critical time for stoking the fire of optimism and delight. Avoid letting the bad news around you to fill your mind as the last thing you do before going bed. Awareness of the world is one thing — being negatively impacted and dragged down is another. Rehearse and count your blessings before going to sleep.

Which bird are you more like?
What ritual do you need to cultivate to be more deliberate about seeking the good?