Monthly Archives: May 2010

Remember that song, “What have you done for me lately?” by Janet Jackson. My take on that is “What have you done for yourself lately?”

It’s all about personal responsibility when it boils down to it. Don’t get me wrong. I love it that my husband spoils me rotten, calls and texts me a dozen times a day, and supports me 100% in everything I do. But always looking outside of ourselves for what we need in life leads to disappointment. It’s important to nurture our own dreams and take care of our own needs on some level.

I can guarantee you that I’d have that angry look on my face like Janet Jackson does in the video if my husband started ignoring me, but the core of my world would not collapse. Personal responsibility builds personal resiliency. And we all need personal resiliency to get us through the tough times whether in a relationship, business downturn, or just a bad mood.

So what have I done for myself lately? This weekend I pulled out one of my old manuscripts and decided to get serious about it. Bet you didn’t know that I’m a closet fiction writer! Yep! I’ve had all the well-known reasons for ignoring my hobby for years. Busy raising kids, two jobs, poor health…I could go on, but that’s not my point.

It’s a sad thing when you let a busy life bury your fun. And that IS my point. You have to take that responsibility to fit time in for what you love to do. I’m still very busy, but I shifted things a bit to include a few minutes of writing every day.

Here’s how my old thinking worked. I’m so tired…I have too much to do for the family…I’ll never finish much less publish it…why waste the time…

Here’s how my thinking has shifted as I’ve taken more responsibility for my own happiness. I feel more energetic when I write…you can make your own sandwich, honey…finishing is not the goal, enjoying the writing is the goal…taking time for my version of fun is an essential way to spend my time…

Take the time to look at some of those hobbies or dreams you’ve put aside. Adding them back into your life just might create the energy you need for other successes in your life.

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How do you deal with distractions? When they are as cute as this one, I just go with the flow and play more than I usually do. You see, I’m grandma to this one so I don’t have to clean up after him – or feed him – or take him on walks. My son does all that. I have all the grandma privileges – spoil him rotten – buy new toys – play for awhile then give him back. New puppies are soooo much fun when someone else does all the work!

But he is quite a distraction! He’s been here only a few days, and the amount of work I’ve gotten done is probably about 25% of normal. Naturally when it came time to write a post, my inspiration focused directly on those moments of distraction when I just have to get up and go see what Rush is doing. Here are a few tips you can use for your own distractions. I will definitely be using them for the next few weeks to get back on track.

1. Give in! That sounds crazy and seems to be missing the point, but if you use this one sparingly it works wonders. Let’s say there’s a cute puppy in the other room, and you can’t get your mind off of how much fun he is. Give in to urge to play for 5 or 10 minutes then get back to work. You need a break once in awhile, don’t you?

2. Use the distraction as a reward. Set a time – I use 1.5 hours – and then spend 5 to 10 minutes with the puppy (or your own distraction!)

3. List your distractions. My piano instructor in college taught me this one. Keep a notepad handy and write down anything you think about that needs to be done or handled later – play with Rush, buy a new chew toy. The reminder list frees you up to focus on the current task without being afraid of forgetting something. (Like I’m going to forget to play with the puppy!)

4. Track your distractions. This is one I developed after using #3 for a few months. When I make a tick mark for each time my mind wanders off onto something else – maybe something like a puppy – it helps me refocus. The fact that I’m seeing all those tick marks add up helps me realize I’m wasting time and motivates me to stay on task.

I hope this helps when you’re dealing with distractions. I’d probably have more to say on the subject, but I really have to go. There’s a puppy waiting for me and…

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I need your help. I’m looking for success stories. You see, it’s my theory that success is contagious. If you read about, hear about, talk to, rub shoulders with, or study successful people, you’re sure to gain some extra insight or inspiration you even closer to your own version of success.

What kind of success am I looking for?

Big success is built on a series of little successes! I want to give people an opportunity to shine at any level of success.

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time you’ve probably read about “Gary” and his success. That kind of success stirs up our souls and makes us believe we can achieve anything we want. But there are plenty of other ways to succeed: I made my first $1,000 online! I found enough courage to get on stage and dance! I ran to the top of the steps just like Rocky!

Here’s my other motivation

Years ago I worked on a county newspaper as a staff writer. My favorite part of the job was the chance to do interviews for the People Pages. Interesting jobs, amazing hobbies, contests won, community service recognized…I loved it! Loved talking to the people, loved finding about their lives and what they loved, loved the energy they glowed with as they talked about what they loved. Wow! Lot of love in there. But newspaper work doesn’t pay all that well. Not enough to support a growing family, so I moved on to other things.

I still miss it! And want to recapture the fun of talking to people about what inspires them to achieve!

Again, I need your help. Please, recommend yourself, your friends, or even someone you’ve only heard about for an interview here on my blog. Everyone knows someone who is doing something interesting! Thank you so much!

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Loose ends, unfinished business, procrastinated must dos, they all drain the energy you need for success. Today’s post is a follow up to My Missing Gravatar where mentioned why I hadn’t responded to posts for way too long. It wasn’t until last night, I remembered that I’d never gone back to the comments! Too much excitement over finally accomplishing a successful photo shoot, I thought.

My Reality Radar set off an alarm one second after that idea popped into my head. Yes, it’s always exciting to overcome something that’s been giving you a problem, but no, it wasn’t the truth this time. I’ve been working on knowing the depths of my soul too long not to recognize another bout of procrastination trying to set in.

The REAL me

I hate tying up loose ends! I love new, fun, fresh adventure. Tying up loose ends – especially when I’ve delayed for any reason which then leaves me feeling lousy like I haven’t met my own or someone else’s expectations – just isn’t fun.

Solution? I decided take a look at the energy.

I’d better explain for those of you who aren’t my students. When I began studying energy work, I realized I could see the energy that was causing someone’s health problems. I could then check to see what their energy would look like if it was performing optimally and make the shifts needed to get it there. It was just as easy – once I actually thought about it – to see the energy of any situation or relationship, see how it was affecting the energy of everyone involved, and understand the action needed to create an optimal environment.

A quick look at the energy of the unanswered comments looked like bright cords anchored on their end and waving around like they were looking for something on my end. Just as quickly I switched to optimal energy view and saw those loose ends linked to me. Oh, duh! They were the same energy cords we create when we interact with anyone else. Hello! – it made perfect sense that I simply hadn’t finished making the connections. Then, of course I felt terrible about the missed opportunities to connect with the great people who have been reading and supporting my blog.

Corrective action in progress!!

I am spending every bit of time necessary this week to respond to all of the unanswered comments on this blog. I will also be looking around the house and through my relationships for any other loose ends I need to tie up.

What effect do loose ends have on your life? And what actions do you take to tie them up? Please share in a comment so we can all grow!

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