Lately on my morning walks, I’ve seen several lifeless monarch butterfly bodies scattered on the ground. My first reaction is sadness but then I realize everything has lifecycle, an expiration date, including me.
I often wonder if given the chance to know my own lifecycle, would I take it? My answer is always a resounding yes.
My practical side wants to know how long my money needs to last. If only until tomorrow, today could be a really “bang up” day! But more than that I think about how I would spend my last day.
I would swing on every swing, kiss everyone I love probably even some that I didn’t, forgive everyone for everything real or imagined, reverently stare at the deep blue sky and not miss a moment of magic of that day.
A butterfly flits by me dancing in the sky and on her wings I send a prayer for the best day of her life, telling her to wait for nothing, to live this day and love this day to the fullest, to embrace every moment aware and grateful for the gift of her life.
LIVE YOUR DREAM
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Small Changes in Thinking CAN Make Big Changes in YOU
The Four Day Win (oops I added an “e”and typed wine the first time) is a behavior modification strategy shared with me by Martha Beck Master Life Coach Susan Hyatt shyatt.com. It nurtures goal setting and I can sure use some help with that?
The process involves setting a four day goal and turning it into a success, a win. You start by choosing a small daily goal that you will commit to doing for four day. A feasible goal makes a huge difference in succeeding. So, make your goal, then cut it in half to make it ridiculously easy to achieve. I cut my original goal to write one hour every morning during my genius hours when I'm most creative, productive, and connected down to thirty minutes.
Step two involves giving yourself a small reward every day you achieve your goal. I put together a basket of small gifts, material rewards (pens, post-it, nail polish etc.), and post-it notes with nonmaterial rewards like reading for 1/2 hour from a yummy book or watching Oprah. I gotta say the reward part challenges me. But that’s the applause, the pat on the back, the “atta girl” we all crave.
On the fourth day of achieving your goal give yourself a BIGGER reward because you accomplished your Four Day Win. It doesn’t need to be expensive like an e-reader or an ipad (although I’m trying to manifest one) it can be a latte or trip to the park or something else that you like.
Three small rewards followed by a larger one allows you to experience life in small wins. It breaks goals up into managable bites and creates a natural pause to relax in and enjoy your successes. Then if you want, you can set another Four Day Win!
It also provides a psychological boost. Say I go to a yoga class one time, “I’m trying yoga.” But if I go to yoga four times “I DO Yoga.” See the shift, BE the shift!
LIVE YOUR DREAM
The process involves setting a four day goal and turning it into a success, a win. You start by choosing a small daily goal that you will commit to doing for four day. A feasible goal makes a huge difference in succeeding. So, make your goal, then cut it in half to make it ridiculously easy to achieve. I cut my original goal to write one hour every morning during my genius hours when I'm most creative, productive, and connected down to thirty minutes.
Step two involves giving yourself a small reward every day you achieve your goal. I put together a basket of small gifts, material rewards (pens, post-it, nail polish etc.), and post-it notes with nonmaterial rewards like reading for 1/2 hour from a yummy book or watching Oprah. I gotta say the reward part challenges me. But that’s the applause, the pat on the back, the “atta girl” we all crave.
On the fourth day of achieving your goal give yourself a BIGGER reward because you accomplished your Four Day Win. It doesn’t need to be expensive like an e-reader or an ipad (although I’m trying to manifest one) it can be a latte or trip to the park or something else that you like.
Three small rewards followed by a larger one allows you to experience life in small wins. It breaks goals up into managable bites and creates a natural pause to relax in and enjoy your successes. Then if you want, you can set another Four Day Win!
It also provides a psychological boost. Say I go to a yoga class one time, “I’m trying yoga.” But if I go to yoga four times “I DO Yoga.” See the shift, BE the shift!
LIVE YOUR DREAM
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Blog Writing 101
IDEA - write about something you believe in that excites you. Something you are experiencing right now or something that you can’t get out of your mind translate well into blog posts that engage readers.
EXECUTION – short and simple is best. A three paragraph writing style similar to one I use in my Focus Phrase Process is a great structure for new bloggers to loosely follow. I say "loosely" because you may notice that this post does not conform to that style.☺ Also, remember to edit, edit, edit. Ask yourself “is this word, thought, or sentence necessary to tell the story?” If not, no matter how brilliant, lose it.
PUBLISH POST - clicking the publish post button used to paralyze me, but practice does make easier (remember there is no perfect). So NIKE (just do it!) You can always change, edit, or if you totally freak out delete it altogether. Nothing is carved in stone here, RELAX, hit PUBLISH POST and see what happens.
I’m hitting PUBLISH POST now!☺
LIVE YOUR DREAM
Monday, October 18, 2010
My Superpower
My secret superpower is survival, surviving conflicting feelings, surviving difficult life situations, surviving sometimes what it feels like to be in this moment.
My tongue-in-cheek not-so-secret superpower is sleeping. I can fall asleep within minutes of going to bed and begin dreaming right away. I know this because the “others” that share my bed, a.k.a husband of thirty years, gets tired of my startle response, sleep paralysis and screams of terror when he comes to bed. Not my fault. The dream train came around and I jumped right on.
Just last weekend waiting in an interminable line at the airport to check my luggage I struck up a conversation with a woman who sells medical equipment to monitor sleep. She informed me that falling right asleep, dreaming right away etc. are all signs of Narcolepsy. At least that what I think she said, I kinda nodded off!
Seriously, don’t let the opinions of others cause you to believe that there is something wrong with you or your superpower. Sleep serves as one of the most important restorative processes. Like air, you sure do suffer when you don't have it. So sleep well my friends because the world needs our strength to evolve and survive.
Dig deep, tell me what superpower do you posses that will help us save the world? Share freely, there are no wrong answers in my class!
LIVE YOUR DREAM
My tongue-in-cheek not-so-secret superpower is sleeping. I can fall asleep within minutes of going to bed and begin dreaming right away. I know this because the “others” that share my bed, a.k.a husband of thirty years, gets tired of my startle response, sleep paralysis and screams of terror when he comes to bed. Not my fault. The dream train came around and I jumped right on.
Just last weekend waiting in an interminable line at the airport to check my luggage I struck up a conversation with a woman who sells medical equipment to monitor sleep. She informed me that falling right asleep, dreaming right away etc. are all signs of Narcolepsy. At least that what I think she said, I kinda nodded off!
Seriously, don’t let the opinions of others cause you to believe that there is something wrong with you or your superpower. Sleep serves as one of the most important restorative processes. Like air, you sure do suffer when you don't have it. So sleep well my friends because the world needs our strength to evolve and survive.
Dig deep, tell me what superpower do you posses that will help us save the world? Share freely, there are no wrong answers in my class!
LIVE YOUR DREAM
Monday, October 4, 2010
Learning to Fly
Butterflies sound so much prettier than how a nervous stomach feels
It’s RISE week and after that I fly to Phoenix for a Writer’s Retreat with Martha Beck. YIKES!
It’s usually after the sun goes down, that I start question myself “Am I ready? Can I do this?” The questions quickly turn to doubts and that’s when the party really gets started.
But experience has taught me that after dark fatigue often masquerades as doubt. So I say to the questioner and the doubter “I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Because nine times out of ten when the light of day arrives, they are gone.
So let's bask in the light. Learn, stretch, grow, and accept the butterflies as a sign of the metamorphosis that occurs as we leave the safety of our cocoons and learn to fly.
It’s RISE week and after that I fly to Phoenix for a Writer’s Retreat with Martha Beck. YIKES!
It’s usually after the sun goes down, that I start question myself “Am I ready? Can I do this?” The questions quickly turn to doubts and that’s when the party really gets started.
But experience has taught me that after dark fatigue often masquerades as doubt. So I say to the questioner and the doubter “I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Because nine times out of ten when the light of day arrives, they are gone.
So let's bask in the light. Learn, stretch, grow, and accept the butterflies as a sign of the metamorphosis that occurs as we leave the safety of our cocoons and learn to fly.
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