While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, travel is a critical part of staying creative; not only to bring in new experiences but to see the old with fresh eyes. So when I say travel is essential it’s with that perspective, not just a need for regular vacations.

It’s also perilously vulnerable to excuses – time and money being critical components in disrupting the everyday routine.  Goals around travel and seeing foreign cultures are common but achieving them is not.  So what am I going to do about it for myself? The  goal here is to eliminate excuses, not common sense which means getting creative and persistent in keeping travel as a critical element of a life well lived.

The first part of the solution is simply research, on a regular basis (once a week) how to travel more affordably, ways to get paid to travel, and so on.

The second part is to set aside money and time – a little bit of the first on a regular basis and block out the available vacation way in advance of even figuring out where to go – that way the excuses begin to crumble.

Lastly, is simply making the commitment to take those trips every year, whether they are nearby or across the globe – letting it slide is not one of the options.

Next week: Being more consistent with medical check-ups

• Holding myself accountable

• Garden: thanks to all the rain recently, I’m still on track (without having had to do very much of anything)
• Chores: still working out the kinks but fewer excuses to put things off
• Treasure hunting: no activity but no excuses either
• Losing weight: took the next step in revising the diet, still behind on exercise
• Jewelry: was productive in refining techniques and making new pieces
• Photography: definitely the victim of time and excuses this week and will be working on that
• Family and friends: doing well
• Romantic relationship: making progress

Technorati Tags: balance, no excuses, traveling solo

While relationships can also serve as an excuse “can’t make those calls – need to take Mom to lunch” too often they are the victim of having too many other things to do. Relationships can also be a goal unto themselves – those more strained that you feel the need to improve.  But what about the ones with friends and family that are just fine but which you manage to neglect rather than avoid?

I know I’m guilty of looking up from everything else and realizing that I haven’t seen a particular friend for two months or that maybe it’s been a bit longer than I thought since I reciprocated on family stuff. It’s neither conscious nor deliberate but “I’ll do it later” or “I don’t have time” still slip in there.  All the other goals are going to lose quite a bit of meaning if these folks aren’t there with you when you achieve them.  Delayed gratification has some merit but not when it comes to people. Relationships like so many other things are about process not the end result.

Next week – some thoughts on carving out time for the really important people

Holding myself accountable

• The garden – still going strong despite the appearance of the first mosquito
• Photography – an unexpected request for more information that took up the allotted time but that’s acceptable
• Losing weight – renewed focus after a frustrating shopping trip, doing better with exercise and not picking up the office treats
• Jewelry – ok – this one is a miss for the week
• Romance -doing ok on the plan to get out more
• Treasure hunting – also ok – nothing due this week!

Technorati Tags: balance, excuses, family relationships

Progress on all fronts without major accomplishments is always a little hard to claim as progress. I’ve been told that I’ve inspired others which should always be considered a major win. I’m also proud of fitting in some exercise, getting the garden watered and that sort of thing.

On the downside one photograph came back ‘rejected’ so now it’s time to find it a new home and future. I know what I’m doing with my next big efforts and just have to find the time to implement them. My new wireless setup should be up and working next week so that will be the litmus test for getting a little more done.

I’ve been reminded this week that pushing too hard will just make the Universe push back so I’m trying to fit some downtime in there as well. It’s not always easy to stay focused with everything going on but it’s still worth the effort.

Technorati Tags: balance

Hobbies are important – basically having something in your life that you judge by how much you enjoy doing it and not where it takes you. But for those of us with pressing goals they can be the first thing that goes by the wayside.  The excuses just help it stay there because most everyone still wants to see improvement in themselves – play a better round of golf, knit a more complicated pattern or hunt down an even rarer stamp.

My hobby is treasure hunting- metal detecting and gem hunting in the wild (as in still in the ground)  I’m not very good at it (an excuse to avoid practicing) but I have a blast because the potential is always there – despite the lack of Spanish galleons or pirates in my part of the world.  Treasure hunting falls into that limitless category of things I mean to get to – but the fact that the metal detector is still on it’s original set of AA batteries  doesn’t make me happy.

You might not think there would be that many excuses for something that’s not attached to a major goal. I still managed to find a few that I’ve used to avoid pursuing this hobby:

• I’m too tired (maybe I’d better save it for a day when I feel great and have nothing better to do)
• Doing this will stop me from  doing more important things
• The timing isn’t right (the tide is high, it’s raining, etc.)
• I’ll lose interest before it’s profitable (it could be years before I graduate from pennies and coat buttons)
• I don’t have any experience (I don’t know the secret places to hunt)
• It will take a long time (it’s usually at least a full day commitment)

Next week: how I plan to create some balance in my life and fit in some treasure hunting.

Holding myself accountable

A quick look at how things are going so far:

Gardening – the new schedule seems to be working; got the dahlias planted and started to clear the vegetable garden

Romance – working on owning my previous choices as having been the right ones for me at the time – nothing to apologize for, even to myself.

Photography – doing much better at just having some fun and trying new things and most importantly taking more pictures

Exercise – getting more in; but still need to do better.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, balance, common excuses

Most people have about five core areas of their life that are important to them. Family and career are two of the most common ones. If they don’t receive equal attention, over time one petal will get heavier or smaller and life will move more like a square wheel.  What are your most critical areas? Are you working them in balance?

Plumeria, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved

Technorati Tags: balance, Health and Happiness, meditation images, minute meditation, Online Meditation, online relaxation