What is your vision for this New Year? How would you like your life to change and grow this year?

I know, we have all made promises to ourselves over the years on New Year’s Day (this year will be different!) that we haven’t kept. Have you decided to give up on resolutions? What if this year WAS different and you actually got it together to create the life you want—imagine that—I mean really, IMAGINE that!

I had a client who had a good life, but there were some details that she wanted to change—like finding work that would be fulfilling, and reshaping her body to be lean and strong. She was tired of hearing herself say the words without following through with the actions. Success came to her when she reached out for support and came up with beliefs and a plan that would make it finally happen for her. And boy is she flying high with her shimmering new life!

Often, by changing a few things, your whole life shifts into a higher level of living—more satisfied, confident and peaceful. Empowerment comes when you experience success in one area of life, and that energizes you to raise the bar of your expectations in other areas—to go for the whole life that you REALLY want.

This New Year, instead of feelings of resignation and failure, make a commitment to discover the impassioned thrill of planning what’s next in this rich adventure called life.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore, dream, discover.”                    Mark Twain

Enjoy the journey~

Diane Ingram, ACC

 

Do you remember what if felt like when you were young, anticipating the holiday season? For me, it was excitement, hope, surprise and an extra helping of family tenderness. It was sitting down with all the cookie recipes and picking out the ones that we wanted to taste that year. It was my Dad risking the climb on the roof to mount Santa and his reindeer. It was a time of pageantry and driving from house to house to arouse those tucked in with a chorus of carols. The world seemed to draw closer, as the cold weather set in, and snuggle into a winter embrace.

How was it for you? What are your holiday memories? Are you able to still feel those wonderful feelings as we head into the holiday season? What would it take to be back there again in that embrace?

As adults we often feel overwhelmed with even more to do than usual this time of year. We are running around, heeding the “should” voice in our head, driving ourselves to do what we think we must in order for everyone around us to have a great holiday. Then when the day arrives we just want to get to the other side of it, to survive.  There is no joy in the holiday for us.

What if we chose to focus on those seasonal feelings we originally felt and do only what is aligned with experiencing those feelings? We can give ourselves the gift of pleasure this holiday season by remembering what it is really all about. May love and joy come to you and to your loved ones, too.  Have a wonderful holiday season.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re in the market for a new car, such as a Honda, there appears to be Hondas everywhere? How did that happen, and where have those cars been? Actually, they’ve been there all along. You’ve shifted your focus, and that overabundance of Hondas has simply entered your “sphere of awareness.”

In fact, our sphere of awareness is constantly receiving input in the form of problem-solving ideas, and in ways that help shape our attitudes, beliefs and assumptions toward certain situations. It also influences our dreams and all the other possibilities that we envision. Typically, we pay attention to the ones that are familiar to us and that confirm reality as we know and accept it.

But what if, like the Honda, there are all kinds of possibilities that we are not seeing, that we can’t see unless we shift our focus? Quantum physics tells us that at each moment there are infinite possibilities.

I was working out in the gym today and thinking about some of my belief patterns, especially those that apply to physical fitness. A common one is this: “I’ll probably never be really fit.” Rather than letting a belief like this prevent me from making progress, I realized that seeing the possibility of total fitness through consistency would be a much better game plan. “Each day I have the opportunity to step closer to total fitness.” Well, that’s a bit more inspiring. . .

When we are aware of the patterns that govern our assumptions and beliefs — our “habits of mind” — we are less likely to come under their influence and more likely to make better choices based on what we want and what we see as possible. And that is definitely inspiring.

Wow, Spring is finally here! Isn’t it glorious! So much to do—rake up the leaves, plant the bulbs, clean the gutters, switch from winter to spring clothes—in addition to work, family, community obligations and everything else that you usually do in a week. Where are you going to find the time to do it all?

Each time the seasons change, life gets busy, especially here in the Northeast. How can you manage your time? How can you make sure that all the things you “want to” be doing are included in all the “must dos”? It’s sometimes a high wire balancing act.

One of the helpful things you can do to manage your time is to create an Ideal Week chart. On this chart put your “must dos”, and then you can clearly see how much time you have left to add your “want tos”. “Want tos” are those things that are important to you aside from your obligations; the things that give your life joy and meaning. It makes it easier to say no when asked to give your time to something that really isn’t a priority for you. It will remind you not to get stuck in time and energy draining situations you really don’t want to be in. It will allow you to create a life that includes all the parts that really feed you but often get bumped into the “someday when I have time” category, like going to a cultural event, spending time in nature or pursuing a creative activity.

It’s not easy balancing all the parts of your life with only 24hrs in a day, but when you become more conscious of where your time is going, you can choose more wisely how you want to spend it.

Remember what it felt like when we were kids and out of school for the summer? Freedom! Well, now we are all grown-up and school has been replaced with a job that often does not allow us the freedom to play for the summer. We’re lucky to have a week or two to vacate our normal routine and experience a new perspective.

What if we were to build that feeling of freedom and vacating into our normal routine each week? How would we spend the time?

I was recently reminded of how important it is to schedule (yes, schedule) time in my week not schedule or plan anything. Coming off of a couple of really busy weeks, I was feeling exhausted. The kid in me rebelled against my “to do” list and took the day off. When I allowed myself to have no plans, the left, rational thinking side of my brain went dormant, and allowed the right, intuitive, creative side of my brain to take over. I found myself feeling inspired and energized! Solutions and new ideas for my life and my business bubbled to the surface. Surprise—I was being productive in a fun and creative way, that pleased the kid in me.

By building in time each week to let go and trust the intuitive part of your brain, life regains its sparkle. You can get work done and do the fun things that are also important.

It all fits, amazingly—time to read, run, swim, be creative, commune with nature, whatever it is for you—is available. We just need to choose to include those things in our life.

How would you like to spend your time?