Goals (plus some affirmations)

“The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” ~Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead~~

Nothing can stand in your way unless you let it. Who’s stopping you?

Some affirmations for today:

I have all that I need to achieve my goals.
I get out of my own way and let success happen.

Attitude

“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” ~~Robert Brault~~

Choose to make it a great day! Choose to celebrate the small successes. Choose to celebrate the fact that you woke up this morning. Choose to celebrate your family, your friends, your path and your journey. Choose to view your current situation as an opportunity for learning, no matter how bad, or how good your current situation is. Choose kindness and compassion. Choose to give and be helpful. Choose to give back. Celebrate life. Celebrate you!

Motivation

“I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” ~~Frances Willard~~

Momentum: an interesting word. Dictionary.com defines it as “force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events”. Linguistically, and I am NOT a linguist, so if you are, cut me some slack, please; I think “momentum” is moments building on moments. Days are made up of moments. Moments are truly momentous…

Here is an excerpt from “Moments in the Woods” from the musical Into the Woods:

"Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment...
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always "or"?
Is it never "and"?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...

Oh. if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one-!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.

Let the moment go...
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you've had and "and",
When you're back to "or",
Makes the "or" mean more
Than it did before.
Now I understand-

And it's time to leave the woods."

So, go make your moments!

Preparation

“You don't become a winner by mistake.” ~~Joe Atkins~~

…wondering if today’s topic should really be “Practice” instead of “Preparation”; or maybe it should be called “Do Your Homework”…

Success, albeit certainly assisted by luck, takes work. And, it takes commitment. It also takes time, energy, drive and focus. And, no, you’re not expected to do it all by yourself. Every great player has a coach. Who is yours?

Motivation

“There is no success but your own success.” ~~Terri Guillemets~~

Don’t let others define for you the things that will make you feel successful. Only you can do that. There is no real definition of success, as success is what you make of it.

Here’s another quote for you: “Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” ~~Author Unknown~~

So, are you successful, happy, or both?

And one I think I’ve used before, but bears repeating: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. ~~Booker T. Washington~~

So, keep overcoming those obstacles… YOU CAN!

Goals (plus some affirmations)

“The most important thing of all is working on living more consciously, moment to moment and day to day.” ~~Shakti Gawain~~

I was reminded, not once, but four times so far today about the significance of recognizing what is really important in life. Usually when things happen like that, there’s a reason I should write about it, so here goes.

A wise friend of mine has on her Facebook page the following quote, “Someone will always be prettier, smarter, have a bigger house or a better car. Their children will do better in school or their husband will fix more things around the house. So just let it go and love yourself, your life and your circumstances.”

An inspirational colleague of mine reminded me that every cloud really does have a silver lining and you can always find something good in every situation if you look hard enough. (And sadly, she would know!)

Too many people want to point fingers and place blame. Taking accountability for ones own actions is critical as you begin to live more consciously and be more engaged. Living more consciously and being more engaged, in turn will help you love yourself, your life and your circumstances, and find that silver lining.

My affirmations for today:

I am accountable for my actions. I do not make excuses for my behavior. I actively see the gifts in my life. I live consciously, in the present, and achieve my goals.

Attitude

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995 ~~

I’ve been passing this one up for about a year now, but it just seems so fitting today. Sometimes it’s really hard to have a positive attitude. Sometimes you want to be grumpy. Sometimes you want to be disagreeable. Sometimes you want to be angry or sad. OK… so be it. We all have those days. Our emotions can be very helpful, and are very ok to feel.

Growing up I listened to “Free to Be You and Me” a lot. Now I listen to it with my son. This morning one song came on as we were on our way to daycare…

***
ARTIST: Carol Hall
TITLE: It's All Right to Cry

It's all right to cry
Crying gets the sad out of you
It's all right to cry
It might make you feel better

Raindrops from your eyes
Washing all the mad out of you
Raindrops from your eyes
It's gonna make you feel better

It's all right to feel things
Though the feelings may be strange
Feelings are such real things
And they change and change and change

Sad 'n' grumpy, down in the dumpy
Snuggly, hugly, mean 'n' ugly
Sloppy, slappy, hoppy, happy
Change and change and change

It's all right to know
Feelings come and feelings go
It's all right to cry
It might make you feel better
***

So, feel your feelings. Embrace them. And, when you’re ready choose to be positive, and move on.

Focus

“Like sheep that get lost nibbling away at the grass because they never look up, we often focus so much on ourselves and our problems that we get lost. “ ~~Allen Klein

Focus can be a double-edged sword. I write every week about the importance of focus. Focusing on your goals, on your direction, on the task at hand, on choosing a positive attitude… but what happens when you focus so much on the wrong thing that you become paralyzed? I was speaking with a colleague yesterday about time management, and she offered this tip, “If you have multiple tasks to do in one day, do the one that you want to do least, first. If you procrastinate about that one all day, you actually won’t accomplish anything, because you’re too focused on not wanting to do anything.” Brilliant! She didn’t actually take credit for the thought, but said it was the best tip she ever heard regarding time management, and I thought it was completely appropriate to share here today. Focus is key, as long as you are focusing on the right things, and not burying your head so far in the sand that you can only focus on the sand… It’s ok to check out now and again, regroup, and then refocus.

Preparation

"Think of yourself as a toy train. All toy trains de-rail now and then. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on track." ~~unknown

Though I’d prefer not to admit it, it’s impossible to be prepared for everything. Even when you have time to prepare and feel as if you’re ready, life can still throw you a curve-ball. You can be totally and completely prepared for one thing, and then something totally and completely different happens that you’re totally and completely NOT prepared for… YIKES! The important thing is how you deal with it; how you roll with it… Do you stay de-railed? Or do you get back on track?

“The most important day ever is TODAY.” ~ James Allen