Perspective is a tricky; making small things appear big and large, distant forms seem small.
Some people are content with the view from where they stand while others yearn to stand on the horizon.

Thinking of the list of things you want to achieve, are they small changes that will improve your daily life or big ones that will change what daily life means?

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, small pleasures

Ok, it’s been a while – longer than I realized, actually.  But that was kind of the point.  I took a break from posting, not because I was tired of it but because it felt necessary to re-evaluate.  What am I trying to accomplish? Are my efforts going in support of those goals or just keeping me busy and distracted?  I think it’s part of any journey to need to stop and evaluate the trail ahead the choices being offered and the like.

I’ve decided I need to be more focused in what I’m doing but that I wasn’t that far off from my goals either. I’m going to cut down on how often I post to a couple of times a week but also really work on some of the side projects and provide some advance visibility to them here, starting with that meditation book I’ve been toying with for over a year!  So stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: achieving goals

It seems like the “experts” keep telling us it’s easy – whatever it is they’re talking about. Even if you know it’s not, a little bit of that thinking can creep in, particularly if the message seems to be coming from all directions. Not too long ago I was reading an article on the Launch Coach totally an another topic but it brought home the point that we’ve become conditioned to believe that life is supposed to operate on a push button. Life is difficult when you have to write something out by hand and impossible beyond that.  No wonder so many people stop in their tracks.

And yet studies are starting to show that what truly makes people happy are challenges, and the accomplishing thereof.  We aren’t wired to have life be easy. So if you’re stumped by something that seems impossibly long and hard maybe it’s time to reset the scale.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, challenges, the way to happiness

Oooh, I love this new little laptop. It’s tiny and fast and weighs less than three pounds. Now that I have it up and running I’ve been getting a few more things done here and there.  The broadband signal isn’t as consistent as I’d like but it’s a place to start. Gradually I’m working on building links and moving forward with newsletters.

Beyond that things have simply been busy with life and such. Getting in some more exercise and the garden.  The big projects have been incubating and now it’s time to make them a reality.  I was reading something the other day that pointed out how much we’ve grown to expect life to be easy – that manifesting and visualization can replace the work of “doing”. Not only does it not work that way but I’m not sure I’d want it to. The perspective though is helpful in framing the approach. Hard work requires down time too!

Technorati Tags: achieving goals

There’s nothing glamorous about taking out the garbage or loading the dishwasher. It’s even hard to relate that to making that trip to Italy happen or retiring to Baja. But. not getting them done, at least the basics, does keep you from achieving those goals. Partly because the rest of your life doesn’t flow as smoothly and partly because the guilty part distracts you from those projects every time you walk by the dishes on the counter or that pile of unironed laundry.

I’m as guilty as most of putting these things off with an easy excuse until they grow overwhelming and turn into a project of their own. In the past, it’s worked to assign a chore to each day of the week instead of doing everything on the weekend. That won’t work with my current schedule so well so I have another approach. Simply finish what I start – if I run the dishwasher that means putting everything away when it’s done, laundry gets done, folded, ironed and put away the same day adn so forth.

That may seem simple but it’s a committment none the less and designed to root out the ‘I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m not so tired.’ If you’ve never ever said that then I’m pretty sure you can ignore this entirely!

Next week: Keeping up relationships with family and friends

Holding Myself Accountable

First off, I made myself a chore chart – not that different from the one when I was six that resulted in a trip to the toy store when I got enough stars.  Most of life relates to when we were six.  This one I did in Excel but this way I’ve got a single point of reminders of what I’ve committed to.

• Gardening: This one is going smoothly; hanging baskets planted and everything fertilized
• Losing weight: funny how that chore chart made me hit the treadmill immediately – all in all, better
• Photography: next set of pictures selected for the book
• Jewelry: working on improving some techniques, a little low on the marketing efforts
• Romance: well, I’ve enlisted someone else to keep their eyes open so I guess that’s a start.
• Treasure hunting – found a new hunting buddy so that may help get me out there a bit more…

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, common excuses