Wow, I can't believe that 2010 is almost over! Where did the last 6 months go? I guess time flies when your life is crazy busy!
Of all the productivity tools that I rely on to help me keep my hectic life managable, there is one that is deceptively simple but very effective. It’s not a digital gadget, software program or fancy planner calendar.
Continue reading "Forget Resolutions! Try This New Year Navigation Tool Instead" »
Today I came across a wonderful video of a presentation made by Martha Beck, author of “Finding Your Own North Star” and “Steering by Starlight”. It’s called, “Ten Steps to Living Your Best Life”.
Here’s the link for her video:
http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Martha-Beck-Seminar-from-O-Magazines-10th-Anniversary-Video
The video is about 45 minutes long so make yourself a cup of coffee, grab a pen and some paper (for jotting down notes), then sit back and enjoy!
One of the ways we get off track in life is when we stop living our truth.
What does “living your truth” mean?
It simply means living your life from your authentic core. It means being who you really are, acknowledging and facing your true feelings, and being honest with yourself…about yourself. It’s about embracing your own foibles and weaknesses while at the same time having the courage to strive to live your highest vision of yourself.
Why is living your truth important?
Are you living inside a box?
No, I’m not talking about your office cubical or referring to the size of your house.
By “box” I mean the set of limitations you put on your life and on what you believe is possible for you. Your set of limiting beliefs becomes an invisible box that keeps you stuck in life.
Most of us began collecting our limiting beliefs from the time we were small children. Throughout our lives we’ve unknowingly assimilated limiting beliefs from our parents, relatives, teachers, friends, co-workers, spouses and from the media.
Continue reading "Living "Outside the Box": Challenging Your Limiting Beliefs" »
“Life’s not about waiting for the storms to pass…
It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
--Vivian Greene
This quote beautifully summarizes the true nature of life design. Life design isn't about creating some fantasy life in a perfect world. It's about creating the life you really want...in spite of life’s challenges.
So many people I talk to are convinced that creating a life they love is simply something that is beyond their reach. They list all the problems and responsibilities that they believe prevent them from having the life they really want.
They keep thinking, "Someday, maybe." But "someday" never comes because there is no such thing as a problem-free life.
Problems, challenges and adversity are unfortunately a natural part of life. What matters is how we choose to respond to them.
During tough times, we can either sit around feeling sorry for ourselves and lamenting about what's missing from our lives. Or we can focus on and be grateful for the abundance we do have and learn to thrive in spite of the challenges.
Creating a life you love is not about waiting for "someday." It's about steering your life where you really want it to go...everyday. It's not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain.
An important aspect of creating a life you love is being able to fill your life with joy, pleasure, and fun.
Fortunately, we don’t need a lot of time or money to achieve this. What we do need is attention. We need to start paying more attention to the simple joys we encounter each and every day.
Below is a list (in no particular order) of some of my personal favorites. Try reading through the list slowly and pausing for a moment to imagine each experience before moving on to the next one in the list. I hope these will inspire you to create your own list of simple pleasures and add more joy to life every day. Enjoy!
Sitting outdoors on a warm, sunny day
In my last post I talked about taking some time to look backward and review 2008 so that you could see which aspects of your life were working and which were not. Now it’s time to look forward and define what you’d like the New Year to look like.
So often we launch into the New Year with good intentions of making big changes in our lives. We may want to lose weight, get healthy and fit, make more money, improve our relationships, and other similar “resolutions”.
Our intentions are sincere, and we may initially spring into action on them, but we rarely follow through long enough to make them happen.
Why?
Because we get caught up in the frenzy of daily life and our intensions get lost in the shuffle.
To prevent this from happening, it helps to have a roadmap that not only keeps our goals in sight but also guides us in staying on track.
A simple technique for creating such a roadmap is to take a closer look at individual facets of your life and assessing what you want to adjust within each of them. The six basic areas I use in my own planning process are:
Work/Career
Financial
Relationships
Well-Being
Health & Fitness
Environment & Lifestyle
To make creating this roadmap super easy, I've developed a simple PDF worksheet that you can print out for yourself and fill out. (Download New Year Roadmap)
Or, if you prefer, you can simply use two sheets of paper. Write the title, “My Roadmap for 2009” at the top of the first page. Use the life areas described above as headings. Put the first three headings on one page and the remaining three on the second page. Leave some blank space after each heading so that you have room for writing your answers to the questions below.
Now, think about each of the life areas, one at a time, and then answer the following three questions for each area:
What do I want most in this facet of my life in the long-term (5-10 years out)?
What do I most want to change/accomplish in this area of my life over the next 12 months?
What three key actions can I take that would provide the greatest progress towards my desired outcome in this area of my life?
Once you’ve completed your answers, consider which life area is the most important or problematic for you right now. Choose that area as the one to focus on first.
Begin taking small but consistent actions towards accomplishing your desired result. Once you make some significant progress on that front you can then being working on the second most important change/goal, and so on.
You now have a simple, two-page roadmap. It will guide you as you move through the next twelve months and will also keep you on track for your long term vision as well.
Post your roadmap somewhere that you’ll be able to see it on a daily basis. Don't just look at it and move on...actually take a moment each day to quickly review it. This way your most important goals are on your mental radar screen every day, giving you a strong sense of direction and ensuring that they are not forgotten in the frenzy of daily life.
Be sure to revise your roadmap every year and before you know it, you’re vision will become your reality.
Well, the festivities of the holiday season are finally winding down and the New Year has begun in earnest.
Now what?
Well, it’s time to do a Year End Review.
Huh? Isn’t it kind of late for that? After all, we’re already into the second week of the New Year!
Well, no…it’s not too late. In fact, it’s really the perfect time.
Most people would think that a Year End Review needs to be done before New Year’s Eve. Seems logical but it’s actually not the best time at all. The holiday season is in full swing then and people are already overwhelmed with holiday preparations, activities and commitments. There’s also too much chaos and emotional churn. It’s not the best time for the solitude and introspection needed to do a thorough review/planning process.
That’s why I recommend that people do a “year end” review shortly after the first of the year, preferably into the first or second week of January. That way the frenzy of the holiday season is behind you, but the past year is still fresh in your mind and (hopefully) you’re still excited about making positive changes in the year ahead.
So, how do you do a Year End Review?
It’s pretty simple really. Set aside some quiet time in a place where you won’t be disturbed. Make yourself a cup of coffee (or other favorite beverage) and get comfortable. Have a pen and a journal, notebook or pad of paper handy (or just print out this blog post) for jotting down your thoughts and insights. Now, look back over the past year and then answer the following questions:
What one word or phrase best describes what the last year was like for you?
Explain why you chose that word or phrase.
What were your three biggest “wins” in 2008?
What were your three biggest challenges in 2008?
What were the three biggest lessons you learned last year?
During the past year, what was most frustrating to you?
Which of last year’s accomplishments are you most proud of? Why?
What was last year’s biggest disappointment for you?
How did you grow as a human being in 2008? Which of your personal qualities or character traits underwent the most development or growth? Why? (For example: integrity, compassion, humor, patience, courage, boldness, creativity, etc.)
Over the next few days, give some thought to these questions and write down your answers. Also jot down any insights or aspirations that might pop up during your Year End Review. This process of looking back will get your juices flowing for the next step…deciding what you want the New Year to be like. I’ll write about that in my next post.
People often fail to make any progress toward their dreams because it just seems too daunting to them. But the truth is that progress, even towards the most ambitious dreams, is made one tiny step at a time.
Want to become an artist? Spend just 15 minutes a day on your art. Want to get more fit? Try marching in place during the commericals of your favorite program. Want to write a book? Write one paragraph per day. Want to change careers? Start by signing up for a class or spend your lunch hour researching your new field. (In fact, that's how I got started. While I was still working as an engineer, I'd do my research on personal development while eating my lunch every day.)
The trick is the size of the step. The smaller the step is, the less intimidating it seems and the easier it will be for you to begin. Then just stick with it, figure out the next step and keep moving, one small step at a time. You'll be making progress without feeling like you're turning your life upside down.
So, what's one small step you can take today that will get you a little closer to what you really want?
