June 2012

2012

Last month, I shared thoughts about letting go in order to grow. Let’s build on that theme and talk more about growing, because if you’re alive, you should be working on growth. I am not here to tell you where you need to grow, only that you must grow to keep living.

Each day you enter many doors. On a regular weekday, I took count: between 5:22 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., I entered 17 doors! I work in a large office building, so my count may even be a little low. How about you?

Some doors in our lives are mundane, others far more critical to our successes and failures. All types of doors represent an opportunity for growth. Or stagnation.

Even opening the mundane doors can have meaning or growth opportunities. Stepping out my shower door each morning, I visualize it is stepping into my day, and I think about what my purpose is for that day. Having a purpose doesn’t mean you’ll get everything you want for the day but you’ll accomplish far more with one than without.
Think about the other doors you open…do they lead to places of encouragement or to places that bring you down? Do they lead to people who encourage you to love, to be creative, to reach for your goals?

Here is your challenge for the month of June: reflect on the doors you open in a day. Is there a chance for growth in your current path? Are you doing all you can with the places and people you interact with? Are you simply going through too many doors in a day to be effective? Enjoy your reflection time and stop by on Facebook to let me know how you did!

May 2012

 2012

The Competitor in Me is now available for ereaders on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and available on iBooks any moment. Thank you to all the readers who have supported me and given me feedback. I love hearing your success stories!


Last month, I wrote about surrendering to get what you really want. Publishing The Competitor in Me, my first nonfiction, had everything to do with surrender. I had this idea that being an indie author (that’s the fun way of saying an independent author) was the life for someone else. Someone with far more time than me, more money than me, and more resources than me. I had this false hope that things would work out a different way. I can’t explain what way, but being an indie author was for other people.


Then a friend set me straight. Aside from some very inspirational encouragement, he showed me where to put my energy to make the greatest impact. More importantly, he showed me the flaws in my current way of doing things. That was my ah-ha moment! I became hopeless about my current plan and was then receptive to change. I was willing to hear his reasons why I could be an indie author, too.


This world is no longer just for someone else. It’s for me, too. My dream to inspire people is coming true. If I can do it, there is no doubt in my mind that you can do it, too! I challenge you to find new ways to grow. End something so you can make room for new growth.


I’ll stick to my roots but I’m going to do a ton of growing this year!

April 2012

2012

Last month, my message focused on how our brain protects change until the bitter end. In order to be different, or to effect change, you must surrender. This month, I would like to dig a little deeper into surrender. In order to do that, I’ll assume that you agree with my last message that you have to be willing to change.

Surrender is giving up but not in the sense our ultra-competitive world suggests. It means to stop hoping for something that is not going to happen. For example, at your job, you’ve been putting in extra energy into a work relationship in hopes that it will lead to a new opportunity. Then, a coworker gets a promotion while you sit there wondering what happened. You think, well, maybe that wasn’t the job for me; maybe next time. Then, more changes happen that don’t involve you. At some point, you must surrender that your current approach is not working. You need to lose all hope that nothing will change and then you need to get over it. Dr. Henry Cloud, author of Necessary Endings instructs “Get hopeless. It can lead to everything you want.”

Sounds easy but it can be so hard to do. I have held onto hope far too long in many things, causing setbacks. You will read about some of them in The Competitor in Me II: Conquer Fear. But what happens once you have your ah-ha moment that your way is hopeless? There are a thousand different paths to take away from where you are. In order to make your new path stick, take baby steps. This way, you’re going slow enough to see the road before you and if you do stumble, it will not be a bad fall. So, here’s to surrender…so you can get what you really want.

March 2012

2012

February 2012

February 2012   With the passing of January, we are officially digging into 2012. I enjoyed working on the appreciation and purpose exercise I wrote about in January. Have you tried it? Have you noticed a change in your approach to the day, even in some small way?   Here’s what I’ve learned in just a short time: I could appreciate something about each day and I was able to have a purpose each day. Of course I didn’t do the exercise every single day of January, but each day that I took the time, I was not at a loss of things to appreciate. Some days, I wrote simple things like, being thankful that I have a job or that God loves me. Other days, I was able to describe specific, poignant moments. All of them felt good to write out. And it felt good to reflect upon the earlier days of the month. I imagine I will have some powerful learnings if I do this all year and can reflect back upon my notes!   Writing out my purpose for the day usually took more time because I tried to balance between over thinking and not giving it enough energy. The bottom line is that I loved challenging myself to make the most of my time, every single day. If you would like to read more about this technique, I encourage you to research The Seed, by Jon Gordon, a book about finding happiness and purpose in your life and work.   I encourage you to challenge yourself with making time for you and your purpose. You won’t be disappointed in the results!

January 2012

2012

I’m still smiling about my appreciative yoga work in November. By taking time to appreciate something about my day or my week and then thinking about my purpose for the day, my yoga sessions changed my attitude about November.

So if I can adjust my attitude ever-so-slightly for the dark, cold and windy days of November, maybe there is a way to adjust my attitude any old day of the year? I’m going to give it a whirl. Here’s how: I bought a mini notebook to keep next to my bed, and my Power of Now practice book, by Eckhardt Tolle. Each night in January, well each night that I remember, I’m going to write down three things that I am thankful for that day and then my purpose for the next day.

For example, today I am thankful for a great swim at the pool, that my teenage daughter had a job interview that went well, and for Alterra hot cocoa, the very best! Tomorrow, my purpose is to simply enjoy a day off from work. 

Some days, I’ll probably forget to write anything. That’s okay, I won’t work to catch up. I’ll just pick up on the day I remember. Also, some days, I may struggle to be appreciative for something, or to have a purpose the next day. Those will be the days I will learn from this exercise. I’ll remind myself that God loves me each and every day, and that my purpose is usually to be a servant leader at work and at home.

How will I know if this exercise works? Three ways come to mind: when I begin to think appreciatively at other times in the day, when I look forward to this time that is just for me, and when I have to buy a new mini notebook somewhere around June or July. Here’s to a great year!

December 2011

2011

Wait! Stop! Before you begin strategizing your New Year’s resolution for 2012, just hold on a minute. Take time to appreciate all that you can about 2011, even the hard things as there are lessons in every challenge. Don’t be too hard on yourself; it’s okay to write all the little victories too. Here are a few from my list:

• ·       Did more yoga this year than ever before.
• ·       Mended a fence with a coworker. It really wasn’t that hard to do!
• ·       Remembered to use my fabric grocery bags more than ever before.

Now, take a long, appreciative look at your list. Consider putting it on the fridge and be proud of it!

There is a part of you still thinking, yeah, well I still want to accomplish (insert really cool goal here). Before you go busting into full New Year’s Resolution Mode, I invite you think of a new approach to reaching your goals: thinking about what you need to stop doing in order to reach a goal.

For example, as a working Mom of three kids, I want to spend just a little time walking or having dinner with a friend. I get email and Facebook time but no real face time. In order to get out once in a while, I must end thinking that I do not have time to spare for fun with friends, that my family can’t get along without me while I walk with a friend. When I stop thinking this way, I will make friends time happen.

Dr. Henry Cloud, author of Necessary Endings, masterfully shares how endings are necessary and strategic if we are to move onto something better. He notes that when endings are avoided or not done well, we lose out on opportunities to reach our goals. Even worse, we often get so accustomed to being miserable that we don’t even notice our predicament. Though I’m not affiliated with him, I fully believe his work can help each of us with our personal, business and athletic goals.

So before January 1 shows up on your calendar, I encourage you to make a choice to end something in order to move forward. “A fool tries to adjust the truth so he does not have to adjust it.”