The setting was perfect – crystal white sand, a calm blue green Gulf of Mexico, deep blue beach umbrellas dotting the sand, and some puffy clouds. My friend and I had walked along a boardwalk through mangroves to reach the restaurant that perched on the edge of the land (seen in this photo as the building behind me.)
Then the trouble began. The greeter in the front of the restaurant said we would have to wait 45 minutes to be seated. But my friend spotted two seats in the back of the restaurant at the take out bar, a high counter than was in a U shape. I took a seat to the left of my friend and swiveled my body around so I could talk with her. I faced the kitchen doors.
Hidden Garbage
I began to notice a pattern: every time a server went through the doors, a smell of garbage came wafting towards me. While we were waiting to be waited on, and then waiting for our food, I kept smelling the hidden garbage. My friend was oblivious to it but I could not ignore it. After we moved out of the direct line of the doors, at my request, the smell lessened, but I knew it was still there.
Habits, People and Goals
Hidden garbage makes me think about the hidden garbage in our lives. New Years is often a time to take stock and identify what we want to change about ourselves. Do we have habits, people, or goals that need to be changed?
- Do you have garbage habits – doing things to your health that are self-destructive?
- Do you have garbage people in your life who are hurting you, such as negative ones that take you off course?
- Are there goals that you want to achieve to improve and advance your life and your business to get rid of your garbage?
- Have you reached the point of saying enough is enough?
- How do you set goals so that they will stick and you can achieve them, instead of walking away from them a few weeks into January?
- How do you focus on what is really important to change, versus the urgent needs of the moment?
Now is the time to tackle your garbage.
Pat Iyer MSN RN LNCC is president of The Pat Iyer Group.
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