Rodney A. Winters

It Gets Better From Here

Rodney Winters | December 21, 2011

Although my last name is Winters, summer is my favorite season of the year. Living my whole life in northern Ohio, I have become acclimated to the sub-zero temperatures that are common in January and February, and the multiple inches of snow. However, I prefer the warm weather and long summer days of July and August. Today is the Winter Solstice – the day in the northern hemisphere with the least hours of sunlight. When I think about December 21, I am encouraged as I think about the fact that from this day until late June, the days are getting longer.

You may be like many people, and are going through one of the darkest times in your life. Today is your winter solstice. Be encouraged. It gets better from here!

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Choice Day

Rodney Winters | November 8, 2011

Today is Election Day in the U.S. People all across America are voting on local school levies, referenda, amendments, judges, governors, etc. Voters will be making many important choices; some of which will have long-lasting impact. In actuality, every day is “election day”. Every day we make choices that affect our futures. Many of us are dealing with the consequences of choices and decisions made some time ago. Where we are today has much to do with choices we have made in the past. Some decisions are easy, while others require much thought, consideration and prayer.

Even after facing a major disappointment such as a divorce, job loss or family crisis, we still have a choice as to how we deal with the negative situation. Will it be happiness or self-pity? Forgiveness or bitterness? As I state in Go Into The House, “we can choose to ‘join the festivities’ or remain isolated.” Let’s make positive choices so that we can do everything in our power to position ourselves for a better tomorrow. Happy Choice Day!

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Halftime

Rodney Winters | July 1, 2011

At July 1, we are halfway through 2011 (actually day 183). It seems as if time has flown by. It feels like we just celebrated the new year. Before we know it, Christmas will be here and we’ll be welcoming 2012. Have you accomplished your goals for the year? Are you making progress? The midpoint is a good place to access where we are and determine how well we’ve done at achieving our goals. It is much like halftime at a basketball game. What has gone well? What needs to be improved? The first half may have been tough, but we still have another half to go. Take a few moments to rest and gather your thoughts. Don’t give up! It’s not too late to reach the goal. Success may require making some adjustments or changing the strategy.

There’s the buzzer. It’s time for the second half to begin. Let’s go team!

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Right Expectations

Rodney Winters | March 3, 2011

We often enter into situations—particularly relationships—with the wrong expectations. We can be surprised by an outcome when our expectations have been too low, or disappointed when expectations were too high. We can hope things will be a certain way, but they don’t always work out as we imagine they will. It could be that we fail to communicate our expectations to the other party. We can’t assume that other people know what our needs and desires are. Some people intentionally set their expectations low in an effort to avoid disappointment, but this still leads to unfulfillment and dissatisfaction.

Whether our expectations are high or low, if we’re honest, we must admit that we have them. Setting high goals is important, but we must also be realistic. Having the right expectation often involves doing the research necessary to obtain all the facts. The more you know about a particular situation, the more realistic your expectation will be.

What goal do you have? Gather all the information you can. Be honest about your expectation. Share it with those affected. This will help you achieve your objective. I’d like to hear what you think. Please take the monthly poll and feel free to post a comment.

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