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Stephanie Houseman, DMD, Coach, Author, Speaker, is the creator of the 7 Steps 2 a Balanced Life Program(TM). She works with professionals who feel their life is a juggling act and helps them to discover how to have more joy and more LIFE in their life. She is committed to assisting you in restoring balance in your personal and professional life.
For more information
visit our website.
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Be in the Arena
Will you agree that it is easier to give critical feedback than it is to receive it? We're quick to criticize others and pump ourselves up because we know better, but what happens when you receive critical feedback which blows the wind right out of your sails? It's discouraging, to say the least.
You are moving along on your path, climbing the mountains, stumbling into the valleys, reeling from the missiles which knock you off the path, all the while continuing to forge forward. And then the critic comes along, eager to rub salt in your wounds.
What do you do? You do not let your critics dismiss your dreams. You remain in the arena!
You remember the words of Theodore Roosevelt:
The Man In The Arena
By Teddy Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic" excerpt
Speech at the Sorbonne,Paris,France
April 23, 1910
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic--the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done."
Theodore Roosevelt (1891)
"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger."
Theodore Roosevelt (1894)
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I have often been in the trenches, face marred by dust and sweat and blood, listening to my critics telling me to quit because I'll never make it. And sometimes, I am my own worst critic. I can lose faith in my ability to achieve. I dare myself to give up. But, I don't, usually. For me, it is the triumph of achievement, one of my values, that keeps me going through thick and thin.
If I fail, which I do sometimes, there are lessons to be learned for next time. And, there is always a next time.
I will be taking a hiatus from The Balance Beam for a few weeks. John and I travel toSan Franciscothis week for the American Dental Association annual meeting, and then we're staying on to explore the city and venture into wine country. When I return, it will be off toNashvilleto speak for the Nashville Dental Hygienists' Association Oct. 12. There is still time to register at nadhs@comcast.net
The Balance Beam will return on Tuesday, October 16.
Have a fantastic few weeks and be that person in the arena.
Stephanie |
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We grow by "word-of-email" so please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone whom you think might benefit from and enjoy it. Thanks so much!
Contact Us: stephanie@7steps2abalancedlife.com
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Copyright 2006 - Dr. Stephanie Houseman
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