32 The News-Press
October 25, 2018O
SMITH
NORTON FROM PAGE 12
I realize I am not the demographic that these commercials are targeting. I don’t need a new car every two years, and I don’t want to start talking to my dashboard. New cars are fun, and there are no French fries under the seats. Or dog hairs. Jennifer has one of these new cars. It’s the consequence of our June hailstorm. She won’t allow Harry to ride in it. My car, the one she has been riding in these many years, has, if one looked closely, a number of blond hairs on the front, passenger side floor, and I treasure them, because they symbolize our love and devotion. But the sentiment is not reciprocated when it comes to similar symbols in her car. Therefore, no hair of the dog. Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net.
she isn’t working as smart as she could be. So, I asked her what she thought about changing the saying from, “Work smarter, not harder” to “Work smarter, take the pressure off.” Her first and immediate response was, “I have never given myself permission to take the pressure off.” I am not saying that we don’t have to work hard or that we shouldn’t work hard. As a matter of fact, the compromise in work ethic in some areas is becoming a different problem and a topic for a future column. What I am advocating is that for those of us who work hard, maybe having multiple responsibilities within our existing job or holding down two or three jobs and volun-
LETTERS FROM PAGE 12
whose business income is taxed at a personal rate. Instead of the flat rate of 4.63 percent they would have to pay this new tiered rate up to 8.25 percent, which is a 58 percent increase. 3. The $150,000 is not indexed to account for inflation. That means in the years
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ahead more and more individuals and people filing jointly will be impacted by this increase as their income grows. 4. It also makes Colorado unattractive to innovators and entrepreneurs. These are the reasons the Castle Rock Chamber does not believe Amendment 73 is good for doing business in our communities. Pam Ridler President/CEO Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce
Don’t fail our students I see some of our neighbors speaking against funding our schools, citing budgeting and teacher pay among other Issues. It’s important to take this time to address concerns, which other community members have done extensively in these letters. It’s also important to ask ourselves, who do we want to be?
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ly, and spiritually, these are all things that we must maintain. If we don’t there is no way to keep up with the rush and crush of our current schedules. Sooner or later we will lose the battle if all we are doing is trying to keep up the pace of someone else’s race. We need to give ourselves permission to take the pressure off. So how about you? Is it time to take the pressure off for yourself a little? Maybe a lot? Or have you figured out your “Work smarter, and take the pressure off ” strategy? Either way I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we set our own boundaries, run our own race, and take the pressure off, it really will be a better than good week.
BUSINESS
FROM PAGE 12
teering, we need to take the pressure off of ourselves. Here is what I have found. For many of us who try and work at this pace, and spread ourselves too thin, we begin to second guess our work and our accomplishments. We start to put even more unnecessary pressure on ourselves to make sure what we do is accurate, excellent, and maybe even strive for perfection. I have also found that many of us are performing far above anyone else’s expectations, so we become our own worst enemy with our self-imposed expectations. We have to take the pressure off. Finding balance is the key. I know, maybe easy to say and hard to do, I get it. If this is a problem area for you, please send me an email and we can talk about it. Setting boundaries around time, family, activities in life that bring joy and happiness, taking care of ourselves physically, mental-
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Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the president of the Zig Ziglar Corporate Training Solutions Team, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.
SEE LETTERS, P33