Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Five Years From Now

December 21 – Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? I love this type of exercise.  I once threw a "Come As You Will Be in Five Years" Party.  I invited my friends to step into their future selves in appearance and with props that showed who they would be in five years.  2012 will be the five year mark of that party, and I'm very curious to look back at our goals and see how far we've come.  It was such a fun evening.  A limo picked us up and drove us around while we talked about who we had become in those five years.  The limo then pulled up to the curb of Circa 1900 with red carpet directing us into the restaurant.  There were paparazzi and fans cheering us on as we made our way up the red carpet.  While we had dinner, the mayor had a bottle of wine delivered to us.  Here are pictures of that evening!
If I were to now look five years ahead.  The year would be 2015.  I would tell myself to make sure that I enjoy the next five years.  To wake up each morning and say "Today is the day that matters, the day with the greatest potential for accomplishment".  To move forward, challenging myself to live the life I've always dreamed.  There is no other time then now.  




Saturday, December 18, 2010

Reflecting on Lessons and Upcoming Goals

My friend and fellow triathlete Beth told me about a cool website called www.reverb10.com. Three women came up with the idea: "Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead."

They give you a word and prompt for each day in December to reflect on your past year. I'm going to start now. I may combine a few prompts from previous days or I may just do the one of the day. I'm just going to try it out. Below are December 17th and today's prompts.

December 17 – Lesson Learned: What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? Very good question for me at this time. We learn when we make it through the obstacles and challenges of life, right? Well, I've learned a lot this year! The lesson I've really been reflecting on and applying to my mindset in the final days of this year is what I wrote about in the last post. How I decide to see an event, determines how I proceed forward. Whether I proceed forward in a cloud of self pity or whether I see the event as helping me get closer to my life purpose. Also...that in each moment, event or happening in our life that we have a multitude of options of how we react to that event. For instance, I am at a defining moment in my life. It is sometimes scary, sometimes exciting...sometimes I have days when I question everything and other days that I'm practically floating with enthusiasm. Each of those emotions I experience are a reflection of the choice I made that day. To explain this lesson in a few words is my realization that the ultimate benefit of overcoming the challenges in the pursuit of my goals are not the material rewards but who I have become in the process.

December 18 – Try: What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? I want to write a book in 2011. In 2010, I wanted to get into the habit of writing daily. I did go for it. This blog was my way of jump starting this goal. I did write...maybe not every day, but I definitely wrote a lot! I feel really good about it. I feel it was a great platform to begin 2011 with more purpose in this intention.

I would like my word for this year to be purpose. I want to organize all my activities around my purpose and everything I do be an expression of it.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Your Control in Change

I did a speech in Toastmaster's today about how we only have control over three things in our life.

  • the thoughts you think
  • the images you visualize
  • the actions you take
Most of us live our lives trying to obtain control over the many facets of our life.  The age old nemesis in this balancing act is change.  How can something be our nemesis when it is so dependable?  We can alway count on change!  It is inevitable.  I like to embrace the perspective that change is an opportunity for growth and new experiences.  Instead of seeing change as my nemesis, I can see it as my sidekick in this adventure of my life.  The way I react to my sidekick change is how I control my outcome.  

Of course, it is not always possible to view change as my exciting new buddy in life.  One of the ways I try to maintain this healthy image of change during moments that are difficult is by reading.  The book I am currently re-reading is Jack Canfield's The Success Principles.  There is a simple formula he learned from a psychotherapist that illustrates the control we have in change.  Yes..the control we have in change.

E + R = O

Event + Response = Outcome

For every event we experience in our life, the way we react produces our outcome.  Another way to see this is for every change we experience, the way we react determines our outcome.  For example, my speech was good but it definitely could have been better.  Another speaker asked me last week if I would like to speak in their place.  I said yes, but did not put the speech together until two days before today...when I was presenting.  I relied on my notes which distracted from the speech.  My response to this event is to learn from the feedback I got and make sure I am well prepared for my next speech.  My outcome is after delivering a good speech I have more knowledge on how to make it a phenomenal speech.  I love this.  It is so good to push yourself out of your comfort zones for learning, reaching and attaining.  It's essential to practice in order to become better...which means feeling a little awkward.  It's when you and I take action to become better people and to live a life that we always dreamed and will not regret that we did not take action.  Let's embrace the power that we have the choice to live our ultimate life by how we respond to the events and changes of our life.  

"It's time to start living the life you've imagined."
Henry James
American-born author of 20 novels, 112 stories, and 12 plays


Friday, December 10, 2010

On the cusp

Cusp:  a change that brings opportunities with far-reaching consequences.  
My pursuit in life is to apply my innate gifts and the skills that I have acquired to make mine and other people's lives better.  Making it "better" means through learning, growing and experiencing all that life has to offer.  I have an incredible yearning to inspire those around me to reach for their dreams...what will make them most happy and fulfilled.  I've experienced that as a result of the energy I put into this, I receive so much back...gratitude, fulfillment, love, abundance and the list goes on.  I like to see life as an adventure, my husband calls it Fergitude=the Fergie Attitude. 

My hope is to continue on this adventure mindset to inspire, motivate myself and others to realize their power, purpose and potential.  My purpose is to use my compassion, enthusiasm and creativity to encourage all of us to embrace what makes each of us so unique.  I believe we are all in this together.  Once we all tap into our innate gifts then not only will we better ourselves...we will better the world.  

I want you all to know that I am about "lean into it" (as Jack Canfield says in his Success Principles).  I am willing to explore and enter into the unknown.    I trust that this journey will ultimately take me to where I want to go...and perhaps somewhere better.

   "Anyone who completes this challenge is an achiever, a believer and a non-deceiver." 

-Part of the prayer that was said to all of us before we swam 4 miles across Lake Waccamaw.