This month has been hectic.
I didn't have time to update at my usual time this morning, so I'm making the time this evening. While I missed writing this morning, this is exactly the sort of dilemma I like. I mentioned a few posts back that my work area of life was picking up, and this is the main reason why I am late writing today. I'm going to be gentle though, and forgive myself.
Last week was my love week. I managed a few very successful days, and then I hit a love wall. Suddenly, I was grumpy, achy, and "Darn it get the effe out of my blind spot you blanking son of a blank" (I promise it was significantly less clean). I did try in the midst of this though. I would say something horrible, and when I realized it, I would tack on to the end "I love you". I am not sure I ever really meant it, but this is why it was useful: saying "I love you" to the thing/person/element that was annoying me in the moment stopped me from continuing on with the cursing spree. If the power of repetition is as great as modern Psychology suggests it is, eventually I will believe the words.
Whether I believed myself when I told the annoyance "I love you" or not, the simple act of stopping the frustration can have profound effects. Instead of allowing my body to produce more stress hormones, which research links to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and other awful methods of sudden death, my body relaxed. I stayed open to possibility, instead of closing my self off emotionally. I let the bad stuff go. The cool thing: it was a totally automatic response. I didn't have to think it through.
Earlier this week, some unfortunate soul in my city was killed as a result of road rage. I don't know all the details, but just think what the result could have been if someone had simply said "I love you, you are human, and we all make mistakes", instead of getting insanely pissed off. I believe the outcome would have been very different.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I'm going to continue to work on this love thing. I think it is leading somewhere, and that somewhere is going to be a very fine place to explore. The exploration I'm doing now is already pretty fine, so why would I expect anything different?
Love,
Diana
PS- I mentioned protecting my time for the people/activities/things that are most important to me. I'm struggling, but I'm taking small steps: controlling my hours at one work place, piggy-backing errands, etc. This is still a challenge, but I really do believe part of my own challenge with loving people right now is linked to my sense of limited time for myself. I'm looking forward to my vacation at the end of March, just so I can have a week to breath.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Resolution 6-2012: Bring the Love
No, this isn't a Valentine's Day Special of a post.
Now that issue has been cleared up, this is a great time to talk about love. We have spent the last few weeks seeing every possible visual representation of love marketing gurus can cook up. I even saw an add for a cat food involving a marriage proposal (the cat food had nothing to do with the rest of the add). My realization after watching something like this, well, maybe a few hours after watching this: love has been co-opted by consumerism to breed discontent.
I mentioned a few posts ago I was charged with a purpose of loving people, which I'm shortening to simply loving. Once you get past the corny sound of such a purpose, the value of existing in a state of love becomes apparent pretty quickly, but the actions for actually living it are a little more challenging. I'm not inclined to skip around the city, handing out flowers to people and saying "I love you". I've been looking for something a little more meaningful.
As it turns out, there is this great mechanism called the internet that allows us to learn things that aren't always readily apparent. Through the internet, I found out about a teleconference about wellness that was free, and I decided to start listening to some of the calls. I stumbled on a call interviewing the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" author Marci Shimoff. My initial reaction: groan, but something about the title of the call, and her newest book, made me listen. Ms. Shimoff wrote a book called "Love for No Reason", and this was the base of her talk about wellness.
I took two really interesting ideas away from the call. The first was forgiveness, which can be really hard to do. The second was a physical action for increasing the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters for you science geeks) linked to feelings of love. Let's talk about forgiveness first.
Forgiveness is one of those things we have to mean. People know when we say "I forgive you" and we don't really mean it. The funny thing about saying something out loud: it sparks a small change in our thinking, and if we repeat something enough times, we eventually believe it. Even repeating the phrase to ourselves can spark that change. If you want to look at the opposite of forgiveness to understand this, take a look at self-loathing. How many times today have I told myself how unacceptable my appearance is, and it isn't even 7:00am (first thing I did this morning was check the circumference of my thighs. No joke).
What would happen if I forgave myself for eating too much chocolate this week, and let myself return naturally to a state of balance, instead of beating the snot out of myself emotionally for being imperfect? I guess I would start living my purpose.
The second idea is more of an activity. Have you noticed we are supposed to put our hands to our hearts when taking an oath of some sort? That simple act of placing a hand over heart increases levels oxcytocin, a neurotransmitter connected with feeling good and love. If you haven't already, put your hand over your heart and see how you feel. The exercise gets a little goofy after this, but try it. With your hand over your heart, breath in, and imagine the center of your heart is the entrance and exit for the breath. Got it? Okay. Now imagine you are breathing love in to your heart center. I bet you feel a little more love (Want more like this? www.heartmath.com).
This week I am going to work a little harder on forgiving myself. I tell people all the time to be gentle with themselves, but rarely do I follow my own advice. When I start to get all self-loathy, I'm going to use the love exercise and see if it tempers my tirade.
Love,
Diana
Now that issue has been cleared up, this is a great time to talk about love. We have spent the last few weeks seeing every possible visual representation of love marketing gurus can cook up. I even saw an add for a cat food involving a marriage proposal (the cat food had nothing to do with the rest of the add). My realization after watching something like this, well, maybe a few hours after watching this: love has been co-opted by consumerism to breed discontent.
I mentioned a few posts ago I was charged with a purpose of loving people, which I'm shortening to simply loving. Once you get past the corny sound of such a purpose, the value of existing in a state of love becomes apparent pretty quickly, but the actions for actually living it are a little more challenging. I'm not inclined to skip around the city, handing out flowers to people and saying "I love you". I've been looking for something a little more meaningful.
As it turns out, there is this great mechanism called the internet that allows us to learn things that aren't always readily apparent. Through the internet, I found out about a teleconference about wellness that was free, and I decided to start listening to some of the calls. I stumbled on a call interviewing the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" author Marci Shimoff. My initial reaction: groan, but something about the title of the call, and her newest book, made me listen. Ms. Shimoff wrote a book called "Love for No Reason", and this was the base of her talk about wellness.
I took two really interesting ideas away from the call. The first was forgiveness, which can be really hard to do. The second was a physical action for increasing the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters for you science geeks) linked to feelings of love. Let's talk about forgiveness first.
Forgiveness is one of those things we have to mean. People know when we say "I forgive you" and we don't really mean it. The funny thing about saying something out loud: it sparks a small change in our thinking, and if we repeat something enough times, we eventually believe it. Even repeating the phrase to ourselves can spark that change. If you want to look at the opposite of forgiveness to understand this, take a look at self-loathing. How many times today have I told myself how unacceptable my appearance is, and it isn't even 7:00am (first thing I did this morning was check the circumference of my thighs. No joke).
What would happen if I forgave myself for eating too much chocolate this week, and let myself return naturally to a state of balance, instead of beating the snot out of myself emotionally for being imperfect? I guess I would start living my purpose.
The second idea is more of an activity. Have you noticed we are supposed to put our hands to our hearts when taking an oath of some sort? That simple act of placing a hand over heart increases levels oxcytocin, a neurotransmitter connected with feeling good and love. If you haven't already, put your hand over your heart and see how you feel. The exercise gets a little goofy after this, but try it. With your hand over your heart, breath in, and imagine the center of your heart is the entrance and exit for the breath. Got it? Okay. Now imagine you are breathing love in to your heart center. I bet you feel a little more love (Want more like this? www.heartmath.com).
This week I am going to work a little harder on forgiving myself. I tell people all the time to be gentle with themselves, but rarely do I follow my own advice. When I start to get all self-loathy, I'm going to use the love exercise and see if it tempers my tirade.
Love,
Diana
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Resolution 5-2012: Time Management
My flight to Hawaii is booked, and I'm flying on March 21.
While I'm excited about that, I want to write a little more about taking on an attitude of abundance. I only have a few minutes before I have to get ready for work, so I will keep it short and sweet.
This week I have been working on "enjoying the ride". While I'm enjoying the idea that I do and will continue to have what I need, I found myself directing worry to other areas. My big concern right now: my time. Because I have an abundance of work, my time has become extremely precious. I had a minor fit at the thought of writing this morning because "I don't have the time".
This has been a busy week (and it's only Thursday). I won't get home from work tonight until almost 8:30pm. I won't get a work out in until mid-day, and I've promised myself a trip to the consignment store on one of my breaks.
Here is my revelation: I have to make time for those things that give me joy, such as the consignment store. Writing this morning is important. This is creative time, and time I get a chance to check in with myself to ensure I'm doing the things that make my life wonderful.
My time is limited right now. I'm working 6 days a week, but with in that time frame, I promise to make the time for the people I love, the hobbies I love, and the rest I need.
Love,
Diana
While I'm excited about that, I want to write a little more about taking on an attitude of abundance. I only have a few minutes before I have to get ready for work, so I will keep it short and sweet.
This week I have been working on "enjoying the ride". While I'm enjoying the idea that I do and will continue to have what I need, I found myself directing worry to other areas. My big concern right now: my time. Because I have an abundance of work, my time has become extremely precious. I had a minor fit at the thought of writing this morning because "I don't have the time".
This has been a busy week (and it's only Thursday). I won't get home from work tonight until almost 8:30pm. I won't get a work out in until mid-day, and I've promised myself a trip to the consignment store on one of my breaks.
Here is my revelation: I have to make time for those things that give me joy, such as the consignment store. Writing this morning is important. This is creative time, and time I get a chance to check in with myself to ensure I'm doing the things that make my life wonderful.
My time is limited right now. I'm working 6 days a week, but with in that time frame, I promise to make the time for the people I love, the hobbies I love, and the rest I need.
Love,
Diana
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Resolution 4-2012: Enjoy The Ride
Last night, as I was falling asleep, I was thinking about how right things are going in all areas of my life. And that ugly little thought popped up: "I wonder when this is all going to fall apart". Instead of letting my brain wander down this trail that inevitably leads to everything falling apart, I made the decision to believe things are going to keep going right.
I'm normally a positive person. I have friends who call me when they need someone to find some sort of silver lining. In my own life, sometimes the silver lining is hard to find until after the fact, and the "when is it all going to come crashing down around me" mentality is not as rare as I would like it to be.
The last few months have been a hard transition period for me. I can roll with change, but my preference is to get back on my feet as quickly as possible. Going from having more than I needed (maybe not as much as I wanted), to worrying constantly about money was a shock. I was really lost in a thinking pattern of scarcity. I worried about draining my savings, draining my energy, draining the love and support of the people who were my safety net. I felt like a burden. I started resenting the people who were keeping me from totally sinking. And then there was the guilt. These are heavy things to carry around chronically.
A few weeks ago, I started seeing subtle shifts in my "luck". There are some who say luck doesn't exist, or it is entirely based on our own efforts. I say luck is a combination of preparation and opportunity (thank you, Randy Pausch, may you rest in peace). The work we put in to our lives is the driving force behind the opportunities we are dealt. I was offered a second space for massage in a high volume gym, my work load at my other practice started to pick up.
This week, the lid blew off. One practice had a record breaking number of clients, the other practice, which hasn't even opened yet, had more pre-sales than any one expected. I was asked to do a presentation for a grief group. I have people interested in coaching. My engagement ring arrived. Oh, and it was 40 degrees and sunny on February one. The kicker: it is only Thursday. It is an understatement to say things are going well.
I think I have found the silver lining to the harshness of the transition: I was forced into making some amazing opportunities come about. I couldn't sit around and do nothing. I had to go find people, make connections in my new community, and really commit to the path I took. I volunteered, I handed out cards, I talked to strangers. I emailed and I emailed and I called and I emailed until someone responded. It is one thing to know you are the best at what you do, but convincing other people to believe it is a whole different beast. In the midst of all my negativity, there was a kernel of belief that I was on the right track. If I hadn't believed it, I would have given up and found a job slinging coffee for minimum wage.
I can't claim victory yet. The thing with a business is you have to keep people coming in and coming back. I need to keep making opportunities, but instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, I've decided I'm going to enjoy the efforts I'm making.
My goal is to abandon the attitude of scarcity and the fear it generates. I'm going to practice a mind-set of abundance and gratefulness. I see now it was that little kernel of belief that everything was going to work out that drew this initial success into existence. Imagine what a whole attitude will bring about!
Love,
Diana
I'm normally a positive person. I have friends who call me when they need someone to find some sort of silver lining. In my own life, sometimes the silver lining is hard to find until after the fact, and the "when is it all going to come crashing down around me" mentality is not as rare as I would like it to be.
The last few months have been a hard transition period for me. I can roll with change, but my preference is to get back on my feet as quickly as possible. Going from having more than I needed (maybe not as much as I wanted), to worrying constantly about money was a shock. I was really lost in a thinking pattern of scarcity. I worried about draining my savings, draining my energy, draining the love and support of the people who were my safety net. I felt like a burden. I started resenting the people who were keeping me from totally sinking. And then there was the guilt. These are heavy things to carry around chronically.
A few weeks ago, I started seeing subtle shifts in my "luck". There are some who say luck doesn't exist, or it is entirely based on our own efforts. I say luck is a combination of preparation and opportunity (thank you, Randy Pausch, may you rest in peace). The work we put in to our lives is the driving force behind the opportunities we are dealt. I was offered a second space for massage in a high volume gym, my work load at my other practice started to pick up.
This week, the lid blew off. One practice had a record breaking number of clients, the other practice, which hasn't even opened yet, had more pre-sales than any one expected. I was asked to do a presentation for a grief group. I have people interested in coaching. My engagement ring arrived. Oh, and it was 40 degrees and sunny on February one. The kicker: it is only Thursday. It is an understatement to say things are going well.
I think I have found the silver lining to the harshness of the transition: I was forced into making some amazing opportunities come about. I couldn't sit around and do nothing. I had to go find people, make connections in my new community, and really commit to the path I took. I volunteered, I handed out cards, I talked to strangers. I emailed and I emailed and I called and I emailed until someone responded. It is one thing to know you are the best at what you do, but convincing other people to believe it is a whole different beast. In the midst of all my negativity, there was a kernel of belief that I was on the right track. If I hadn't believed it, I would have given up and found a job slinging coffee for minimum wage.
I can't claim victory yet. The thing with a business is you have to keep people coming in and coming back. I need to keep making opportunities, but instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop, I've decided I'm going to enjoy the efforts I'm making.
My goal is to abandon the attitude of scarcity and the fear it generates. I'm going to practice a mind-set of abundance and gratefulness. I see now it was that little kernel of belief that everything was going to work out that drew this initial success into existence. Imagine what a whole attitude will bring about!
Love,
Diana
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Reserves and Resolutions
This week I'm taking a break from making resolutions; I have a few that I am still working on diligently, and making one change a week can get overwhelming. I'm going to focus on the first three for the rest of January (I promise I'm scheduling that trip. Really. I am.).
I've been stressed out about money lately. I'm practice building, business starting, and adjusting to life in a new city. I'm waiting to hear on admission to a Masters degree program. I feel like my life is moving full-speed ahead while I am stuck in a weird state of limbo, and a really not-fun state of being broke.
My coach training brought up a tough topic the other day (while I was in the middle of feeling awful about not having an income that amounted to more than a hill of beans): reserves. Those things in life that keep us feeling secure and moving forward as long as we have a little extra of them stored up. When I was working full-time, I had a nice little reserve of money built up, and while it wasn't an enormous sum of money, it was enough to make me feel secure.
I knew this transition was going to deplete my cash reserve; this was one of the reasons I focused on creating such a thing in the first place. Still, watching my bank accounts decline is a hard thing for me, so this topic of monetary reserves was difficult.
Until my trainer brought up an interesting idea: what if we look at other parts of our lives as having possibility as a reserve? Time, health, energy, love, family, fun, community are pieces of our lives that could be looked to for that necessary security. I started thinking about what I have that isn't money, and I quickly realized I do have reserves. I have to be willing to accept the support I get from those reserves in order to access them, but what a relief to realize I'm not totally depleted.
My challenge for myself (and for you) this week is to think about what my reserves would look like if they were completely filled (this includes money). This ties into all of the resolutions I have so far made, so this is my action for the week.
Love,
Diana
I've been stressed out about money lately. I'm practice building, business starting, and adjusting to life in a new city. I'm waiting to hear on admission to a Masters degree program. I feel like my life is moving full-speed ahead while I am stuck in a weird state of limbo, and a really not-fun state of being broke.
My coach training brought up a tough topic the other day (while I was in the middle of feeling awful about not having an income that amounted to more than a hill of beans): reserves. Those things in life that keep us feeling secure and moving forward as long as we have a little extra of them stored up. When I was working full-time, I had a nice little reserve of money built up, and while it wasn't an enormous sum of money, it was enough to make me feel secure.
I knew this transition was going to deplete my cash reserve; this was one of the reasons I focused on creating such a thing in the first place. Still, watching my bank accounts decline is a hard thing for me, so this topic of monetary reserves was difficult.
Until my trainer brought up an interesting idea: what if we look at other parts of our lives as having possibility as a reserve? Time, health, energy, love, family, fun, community are pieces of our lives that could be looked to for that necessary security. I started thinking about what I have that isn't money, and I quickly realized I do have reserves. I have to be willing to accept the support I get from those reserves in order to access them, but what a relief to realize I'm not totally depleted.
My challenge for myself (and for you) this week is to think about what my reserves would look like if they were completely filled (this includes money). This ties into all of the resolutions I have so far made, so this is my action for the week.
Love,
Diana
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Resolution 3-2012: $40,000 Year
In November, I declared 2012 is going to be my first $40,000 year.
Not only did I decide to make more money than I have before, I decided I was going to make this happen in 46 weeks, while working fewer than 30 hours a week. To do this, I planned to launch a business of massage therapy and life coaching. In December, I purchased a Doing Business As for my business: Seven Dimensions Wellness. I was on the verge of creating something very cool.
I froze.
I started putting a lot of time into building a massage practice for another business. My thought pattern changed from building my own success to building something for someone else. I applied to school for fall, because I love school, and having that degree in Epidemiology would really complete my life (we'll talk about that down the line). I abandoned my beautiful business plan for planning where I could scrounge up clients to simply pay the bills.
It is the middle of January, and I'm pissed off at myself for this. I really love the ideas I came up with over the course of the few months, and I really love the idea of developing a wellness center based on the idea that wellness is bigger than physical health. I let a few small things get in my way.
I didn't have a space to start the business comfortably. I was planning on using a room in the house I'm living, and even created business cards reflecting that plan. In reality, I don't want to work out of my home; this is one of the reasons I decided to go to work for another business.
I had no clients, and very little capital. I wasn't going to take out a loan either.
I decided I really hate not having a job that pays a regular pay check, so I decided to go back to school for a course of study I like, and would lead me toward having a really nice job with the government someday. And, oh yeah, school is a very safe place for me. I have no problem shelling out thousands of dollars for someone to stuff knowledge into my head, but the thought of investing in my future in the form of a business? Scariest thing ever. I decided going back to school really was the way for me to go (and to be honest, if I get in, I will go. It is only going to help me build my little wellness empire).
I started to believe I didn't really want to do anything with the life coach training I had invested in. I told myself it was going to come in handy on a daily basis for how I work with people at the other job, but I wasn't going to call myself a coach any time in the near future.
I started limiting my beliefs on what I could accomplish. As humans, we do this a lot. My take on it: if we limit ourselves, we aren't going to end up disappointed and broke. All these factors lead to an interesting place: I forgot my vow to myself that this was going to be my $40,000 year.
A funny thing happened two weeks ago that snapped me back to attention: I was offered a space. I was offered a really nice space, that might let me do some of the work I really want to do. I started thinking about what I could accomplish in a few days a week. This physical space opened up a mental space.
A week ago, my coaching buddy helped me crack my life purpose. I kept going on about community and wellness and blah blah blah. My buddy said "Keep it simple. What about your purpose is to love people?" She said it, and immediately my heart said "Yes!"
Two days ago, I met a woman who completely opened up to me in a matter of minutes. She then told me that she never talks to people about what she shared. I said I would love to coach her, and I meant it with my whole being.
I think I'm on to something. My third resolution is to make this my $40,000 year, but with the added piece of doing so while living my purpose of loving people.
Here is my plan:
1. I am going to continue on with building the practice in the established business. If I can build something where I can be busy two days a week, I would be immensely happy.
2. I am going to work out a deal to move into the space I've been offered so I can start building my dream wellness center.
3. I am going to be a coach. I might even start offering massage and coaching sessions as a simultaneous service. Massage can help the brain to relax, so those little cracks in the mental space can open up to a new creative process.
My actions for this week: finalize the space details, and continue working on finding ways to get my name out there. I am also going to follow up with my potential coaching client.
Want the updates on resolutions 1 and 2?
Resolution 1-2012 is continuing to be worked into my every day life. I have a lot of opportunity for creative outlet right now (planning a wedding, a business, and blogging), so it isn't much of a challenge. I'm going to keep at it though.
Resolution 2-2012 is not a flop, because I have stopped shoulding myself over traveling; however, I said I was going to have everything in place by the end of the day last Thursday, and then I didn't get it done. Moving forward, I have decided to forgive myself, and I worked out a deal this morning so I could schedule the trip as I wanted, and no toes would be stepped on.
Ready, set, live!
Diana
Not only did I decide to make more money than I have before, I decided I was going to make this happen in 46 weeks, while working fewer than 30 hours a week. To do this, I planned to launch a business of massage therapy and life coaching. In December, I purchased a Doing Business As for my business: Seven Dimensions Wellness. I was on the verge of creating something very cool.
I froze.
I started putting a lot of time into building a massage practice for another business. My thought pattern changed from building my own success to building something for someone else. I applied to school for fall, because I love school, and having that degree in Epidemiology would really complete my life (we'll talk about that down the line). I abandoned my beautiful business plan for planning where I could scrounge up clients to simply pay the bills.
It is the middle of January, and I'm pissed off at myself for this. I really love the ideas I came up with over the course of the few months, and I really love the idea of developing a wellness center based on the idea that wellness is bigger than physical health. I let a few small things get in my way.
I didn't have a space to start the business comfortably. I was planning on using a room in the house I'm living, and even created business cards reflecting that plan. In reality, I don't want to work out of my home; this is one of the reasons I decided to go to work for another business.
I had no clients, and very little capital. I wasn't going to take out a loan either.
I decided I really hate not having a job that pays a regular pay check, so I decided to go back to school for a course of study I like, and would lead me toward having a really nice job with the government someday. And, oh yeah, school is a very safe place for me. I have no problem shelling out thousands of dollars for someone to stuff knowledge into my head, but the thought of investing in my future in the form of a business? Scariest thing ever. I decided going back to school really was the way for me to go (and to be honest, if I get in, I will go. It is only going to help me build my little wellness empire).
I started to believe I didn't really want to do anything with the life coach training I had invested in. I told myself it was going to come in handy on a daily basis for how I work with people at the other job, but I wasn't going to call myself a coach any time in the near future.
I started limiting my beliefs on what I could accomplish. As humans, we do this a lot. My take on it: if we limit ourselves, we aren't going to end up disappointed and broke. All these factors lead to an interesting place: I forgot my vow to myself that this was going to be my $40,000 year.
A funny thing happened two weeks ago that snapped me back to attention: I was offered a space. I was offered a really nice space, that might let me do some of the work I really want to do. I started thinking about what I could accomplish in a few days a week. This physical space opened up a mental space.
A week ago, my coaching buddy helped me crack my life purpose. I kept going on about community and wellness and blah blah blah. My buddy said "Keep it simple. What about your purpose is to love people?" She said it, and immediately my heart said "Yes!"
Two days ago, I met a woman who completely opened up to me in a matter of minutes. She then told me that she never talks to people about what she shared. I said I would love to coach her, and I meant it with my whole being.
I think I'm on to something. My third resolution is to make this my $40,000 year, but with the added piece of doing so while living my purpose of loving people.
Here is my plan:
1. I am going to continue on with building the practice in the established business. If I can build something where I can be busy two days a week, I would be immensely happy.
2. I am going to work out a deal to move into the space I've been offered so I can start building my dream wellness center.
3. I am going to be a coach. I might even start offering massage and coaching sessions as a simultaneous service. Massage can help the brain to relax, so those little cracks in the mental space can open up to a new creative process.
My actions for this week: finalize the space details, and continue working on finding ways to get my name out there. I am also going to follow up with my potential coaching client.
Want the updates on resolutions 1 and 2?
Resolution 1-2012 is continuing to be worked into my every day life. I have a lot of opportunity for creative outlet right now (planning a wedding, a business, and blogging), so it isn't much of a challenge. I'm going to keep at it though.
Resolution 2-2012 is not a flop, because I have stopped shoulding myself over traveling; however, I said I was going to have everything in place by the end of the day last Thursday, and then I didn't get it done. Moving forward, I have decided to forgive myself, and I worked out a deal this morning so I could schedule the trip as I wanted, and no toes would be stepped on.
Ready, set, live!
Diana
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Resolution 2-2012:Stop Shoulding Myself
I have something I find highly embarrassing to confess: I have a passport I have never used.
I was supposed to use it last summer, but the plans fell through due to a few last minute glitches. Some brilliant woman (my mother) had the foresight to realize refundable tickets might be the way to go for this particular adventure. I now have an enormous sum of money to shell out for a plane ticket to anywhere I freaking want to go in the world.
Here is the big glitch: I can only spend the money on me. I would take a friend with me in a heartbeat, because traveling with two is way more fun than traveling by one's self, but the booking agency gave an explicit "no" to that plan. With most of my friends in their late 20's or early 30's, the challenge is finding someone who has A) the time, B) the money, or C) all of the above.
I have had some brilliant suggestions for solo travel: go to Hawaii and visit our family friend who lives there half the year. Go on a yoga retreat in Greece with Shiva Rae. Just Go! Glitch number 2: I'm starting a business and I'm making exactly zero dollars right now. The idea of spending some enormous sum of money on traveling makes me queasy, and oh, I'm nervous to travel on my own.
Not only does this money have be used only for a plane ticket, but travel has to be completed by May 6. This probably bugs me more than anything else I have coming at me this year (and I have a few big things coming at me this year). I was resolved to use this money to go to Hawaii, but something in my head is screaming "No" to any US destination I come up with.
Here is my resolution: stop shoulding myself on this one. Should I use this money to go abroad? Maybe. Is it possible? Sort of. Will it be fun to go by myself? Not really. The reality is, I need to stop worrying, and really, who doesn't want to go to Hawaii for a week? Step one for this one: call my friend who has the house in Hawaii, and find out when the best time to visit would be. Step two: book the ticket. My goal: to get these two things done by the end of today (concrete, I think).
Update from last week's resolution: Consciously making time to be creative is tough, especially when I have "really important things" to distract me; however, I did make time to do some meditation, I wrote in my journal, I read a bit, and I worked on ideas for promoting my business. I created a few items in Publisher for my business and my personal life. My goal for this week relating to resolution 1-2012: continue to consciously incorporate time for me to be creative (or have creative ideas, or clear my head).
If you have any thoughts on my travel situation, please chime in!
D
I was supposed to use it last summer, but the plans fell through due to a few last minute glitches. Some brilliant woman (my mother) had the foresight to realize refundable tickets might be the way to go for this particular adventure. I now have an enormous sum of money to shell out for a plane ticket to anywhere I freaking want to go in the world.
Here is the big glitch: I can only spend the money on me. I would take a friend with me in a heartbeat, because traveling with two is way more fun than traveling by one's self, but the booking agency gave an explicit "no" to that plan. With most of my friends in their late 20's or early 30's, the challenge is finding someone who has A) the time, B) the money, or C) all of the above.
I have had some brilliant suggestions for solo travel: go to Hawaii and visit our family friend who lives there half the year. Go on a yoga retreat in Greece with Shiva Rae. Just Go! Glitch number 2: I'm starting a business and I'm making exactly zero dollars right now. The idea of spending some enormous sum of money on traveling makes me queasy, and oh, I'm nervous to travel on my own.
Not only does this money have be used only for a plane ticket, but travel has to be completed by May 6. This probably bugs me more than anything else I have coming at me this year (and I have a few big things coming at me this year). I was resolved to use this money to go to Hawaii, but something in my head is screaming "No" to any US destination I come up with.
Here is my resolution: stop shoulding myself on this one. Should I use this money to go abroad? Maybe. Is it possible? Sort of. Will it be fun to go by myself? Not really. The reality is, I need to stop worrying, and really, who doesn't want to go to Hawaii for a week? Step one for this one: call my friend who has the house in Hawaii, and find out when the best time to visit would be. Step two: book the ticket. My goal: to get these two things done by the end of today (concrete, I think).
Update from last week's resolution: Consciously making time to be creative is tough, especially when I have "really important things" to distract me; however, I did make time to do some meditation, I wrote in my journal, I read a bit, and I worked on ideas for promoting my business. I created a few items in Publisher for my business and my personal life. My goal for this week relating to resolution 1-2012: continue to consciously incorporate time for me to be creative (or have creative ideas, or clear my head).
If you have any thoughts on my travel situation, please chime in!
D
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