Can You Commit? (Read Time: 3 min.)

I woke up this morning with one goal: do 10 things on a daily basis for the next 365 days.  It seems easy enough to do, right?  Wrong.  For most of us, we're pretty consistent at being inconsistent.  We do the basics and then wonder why life only returns the basics. 

In watching a video from T. Harv Eker (see the video here: http://tinyurl.com/nbtbb), it dawned on me that success is really as easy as he explained it: "It's the simple things done over long periods of time that will give you permanent and constant results."  But, here's the question: 

What simple things are you doing

over long periods of time (years)?

We're in an age of quick fixes.  Every gimmick, article, email sign up and offer I see is about how to do in ten days what it actually takes ten years to do.  People are sold on the idea of taking shortcuts, even if those shortcuts cost them in the long term.

Here's the truth:

There are no shortcuts to permanent and constant results. 

Either you're in it to win it or you're not.  The problem so many of us have is that we haven't been taught how to be persistent and consistent in the little  things.  We look at our lives and think, "I've got to persevere and hold onto my dreams."  That's nice but the bigger picture is only achieved when the every day steps are taken EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I've decided to challenge myself to be persistent and consistent for the next 365 days in 10 ways.  I know it's not going to be easy.  I know that I haven't had 365 consecutive days of consistency and persistence in these areas before and I've made up my mind to make the commitment to me AND for me.

If you're ready to take on the 365 Day Commitment  Challenge, download the worksheet to the right and get started NOW!  Don't wait for next week, next month, or next year.  Anyone who's coached with me knows my motto:

DO IT NOW!

Remembering Gratitude, Finding Joy... (Read Time: 1 min.)

I was reading a blog post by Colette Baron-Reid called "Just Chill Out! The Magic Power of Giving Up Your Agenda!" (http://tinyurl.com/6jslba7) and, at the end of the post, Colette says "Go on a gratitude cleanse for one full week. Make a conscious effort to look for what you’re grateful for in the now. I challenge you to write down 20 each day. You’ll be amazed at the transformative power of a new set of eyes!"

So that's what I've done.  I pulled out my favorite black notebook and wrote down 25 things I'm grateful for and, by the time I got to the end of that list, I was in tears.  It's so easy to get caught up in what's not working in your life, to think that what's not working or what's missing has far more importance than what you actually do have.  We forget that there's so much available to us RIGHT NOW.  We miss out on the awe-inspiring experience of standing in bliss because we have been provided with more than we ever could've imagined... right here, right now.

It's Day 1 of my gratitude cleanse and I am left feeling so grateful and so inspired because I am reminded today that nothing in my life is missing, not one single thing and that feels good.

My Monster's Celebration (Read Time: 3 min.)

I've begun a new journey of making Sunday my day of rest... a real day of rest, a day where I don't do work, don't think about work, and focus my attention on letting go, letting be, embracing life, and relaxing, knowing that all my needs and desires are met BEFORE I even ask.  So, as I spent the day doing tai chi, qui gong, meditating, and reading Amanda Owen's "The Power of Receiving", I decided to start holding what Amanda calls a "Monster's Celebration."

This is so in line with my chosen approach to doing therapy (Internal Family Systems).  In "The Power of Receiving", Amanda states that "When you create a Monster Celebration, you are inviting the parts of yourself that you have cast out into the Little Circle back into the Big Circle.  Here is some of what you may have evicted: anger, hope, disappointment, laziness, vulnerability, competence, competitiveness, optimism." 

So a Monster's Celebration is exactly what I did for 12 minutes today.  I meditated and the "monster" that came out of my closet was the frightened, worried little girl, the part of me that's always worried that things are going to go wrong, that she'll be left behind, that she won't be safe.  In my meditation, I set a beautiful circular table for one.  Candles were on the table.  Violins were playing in the background.  There were two escorts in tuxedos waiting to help her to the table.  With her magic wand and in her princess dress, she came out of the closet and was escorted to her table.   

Dressed in my own Cinderalla like gown, when my frightened, worried little girl (about 5 years old) sat down, I asked her what she wanted to eat and she requested rolls and butter.  She had a magic wand and every time she wanted something, she'd click the magic wand and someone would bring her something else.  I could tell she enjoyed it.  When I asked her if she minded being alone, she said she liked it.  I asked her why she didn't want anyone else around and she explained that she liked being alone, that she didn't like the noise of so many other people.  I asked her if she ever felt sad or lonely, and she responded, "No.  I know if I ever get scared, you'll be there."

There was so much revealed to me during this meditation.  I realized that I've shunned this part of myself out of fear of looking weak.  I see now that this part of me is very strong, that her worries and concerns are valid and that I have to include her in me because she is a part of me.  I was able to hug her in the meditation at the end and tell her "I'm always with you" and she believed me. 

What a powerful exercise!  Per Amanda's suggestion, I'm going to keep doing this meditation.  I'm going to see how this changes my ability to manifest what I really, really want.  Most importantly, I know that this is bringing me closer to a place of acceptance and self love for myself.  Loving ALL of me means I accept and embrace all PARTS of me. 

This is a powerful first step!

Check out Amanda Owen's "The Power of Receiving" at: http://www.thepowerofreceiving.com/