Setting A New Course
And the challenge of getting over myself and getting on with
my life and making it happen is reflected in my lack of blog writing and so it
is time…. Time to move on…. Time to shift….. Time to start with something
different… Time to get off my arse and get going….. Time to change the way I
have been doing things…. Time to blog!!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!
I know there are many like me, who get stuck, who know they
have to move, who are kind of comfortable in their very uncomfortable (dis)comfort
zone ( get your head round that one!!!) I
have done some interesting reading lately and one of the things I read was “When
the pain of being the same becomes greater than the pain of being different,
you change” – (From Why is God Laughing by Deepak Chopra). So the challenge of being aware that the pain
of being the same is becoming too much, brings with it the query – How? How do I change? How can I get different results in my
life? What must I do to make things
different?….
And in this space of feeling somewhat rudderless and drifting
along with all my fears and discomforts, some things came my way which have helped
me set a direction and have supported me in feeling like I have some direction
and purpose again.… And these have come
in various forms…. I do some work for Gavin Coetzee and Associates and we are
busy with his “Change Starts With Me” programme which is run for the public in
all the major centres in SA. As we have
been focusing on this, I was reminded of the very valuable work that he does on
these workshops and the HUGE changes I experienced after doing the course last
year and what it was that caused those changes.
My neighbour leant me Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” (it’s
the concepts that he talks about that are so valuable…the story is not the
important part). My partner had some tapes copied for me to mp3 format by Brian
Tracy called Maximum Achievement…. And so the list goes on – I have been given some
real clear messages from the Universe here – Kim, this is what you need to do to
move forward.
What I am aware of,
is that they are all saying very similar things about what tools you can use to
get yourself going. And in the writing
of all this, what strikes me is that for many people these kind of practices are
not something that we are taught from a young age to make a natural part of our
lives. It seems that most of us we have only really discovered them as
adults. So these areas to focus on to
make a difference in my life, on some level I know them – at the same time, I
am aware that I need to be reminded of them which means that they are not
something that are really a part of me yet – they still need to become so. In
Robin Sharma’s book he talks about following the practices for 30 days because
by then they have become a habit.
And the tools that I have drawn from all this collective
wisdom that has come my way is the following:
-
The first step really is to make the decision and to do
something about it
-
Set some
goals - I have set some goals for myself. It seems that goals are key to
creating shifts and begin the process of moving forward – all the rest is really
in support of helping me achieve my goals and in creating a life that is more
rich, energised and vital. I am aware that I resist the setting of goals, however
what I do find that no sooner have a set them, than things start to shift in
the direction I want them to go… it’s like a magic formula!!! I work with the goals a number of times a day –
I actually have them programmed in my calendar on my cellphone and I read and visualise
them at least 3x a day!! I have also set
up a project plan where I plan for what I am going to do for each day towards
each goal and look for how I can push myself out of my comfort zone. There are all sorts of ways to look at
goals. I have some BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious
Goals) that have been around for some time, however I have felt intuitively
that right now I need to focus on some short-term goals and as these start manifesting,
to then look at my medium and long-term goals. It seems I need to feel those
successes
-
Start my
day reflecting what I am grateful for – it’s a warm, positive space to get
the day going from
-
Take the
time to meditate every day – to quiet my mind, to have a time of total
silence, to connect with myself and my universal wisdom, to let go of “stuff”
in my head, to allow the power of the sub-conscious to rise to the surface
-
Take the
time to exercise every day – working with my body to energise and
revitalise
-
Eat as
much live, whole foods as possible – I find that the more I cut out the
processed and junk foods, the more alive my body feels and my energy levels and
vitality soar
-
Spend some
time outdoors in nature everyday – there is something so grounding and
recharging about doing this for me and of course I have the beautiful Kommetjie
beach just down the road…..
-
Work with
affirmations and mantras – I use these to negate the negative thoughts in
my head – I spend time while I am driving or walking saying something positive
about myself or what I would like to happen (as though it has already happened)
and this leaves no space for negative thought patterns – this is something that
I WILL change – it is one of my goals – yes the dark side will always be a part
of me, however it will not be my comfort zone any longer – I will constantly use
it to fuel change in my life
-
Read or
listen to things that stimulate my mind, that get my creative side going
and that feed my passions, nourishes me
-
Listen to
inspiring music - you can’t feel
negative when you’re listening to good sounds
-
Look to
do something different every day, even if it is to take a different route
home – challenging when you live in as small a place as Kommetjie J!!!
-
Laugh
every day – I do some laughter yoga on my own – that in itself makes me
laugh but it sure leaves me feeling great
-
Personal
reflection – look at what is working and acknowledge it. Look at what’s not working and put decide
what to do differently
So with all this information/wisdom that I have had swimming
around in my head and in wanting to make it all really work for me, I have
created a daily ritual for myself that I am going to perform for the next 30
days (I have been kind of following it for the last week but have allowed some
excuses to erode my discipline….) – so here goes, I am publically setting myself
a new goal – to follow the daily ritual that incorporates all the above
concepts for the next 30 days starting tomorrow 24 May 2013. The aim is to shift myself from where I am
now - I am very clear on what I want to change because I have set my goals – to
be in a very different space in all aspects of my life. And I commit to doing a check-in on my blog as
to how I am doing on the 7th June and then on the 30th
day which will be the 23rd June. Of course what I am looking for is to make
these practices a part of my life and not just for the 30 days. What this commitment to this daily ritual
will require of me is discipline, it will require me to focus on what I am
doing and to focus on my priorities and to plan my time …. Oh boy, do I resist
these words or what??? At the same time,
I am feeling way more optimistic and excited about what the next 30 days will
bring than I have in a long time!!
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With the greatest love - till next time
Kim
xxxxx
