Where were you on July 6, 2009?

I was sitting at my laptop blogging these 9 things about how I wanted my life to be different in 30 days:

July 6, 2009:
Describe the me that I would like to be in 30 days: I wake up happy and excited to see what the day has in store. I feel so good about putting myself first every morning. I am easily able to discern what is good for me and what is not for me in a particular moment. I understand more about how I work. I am unique and I’m more familiar with me than I am with me in comparison to others. I am vibrant and honest. I feel shiny and sparkly inside. I am clear and confident. I’m proud of being me and love how I’m taking care of me.

I definitely didn’t fit that description 30 days after I wrote it…

But it’s now July 7, 2010…a whole year later…and guess what? They’re all true.

Wish #1 – I wake up happy and excited to see what the day has in store.

More often than not, this is now true for me. I love it! I wake up, plug in the white lights that I hung around the ceiling, then I lay back, smile and think, “I love it here!”

My room is absolutely beautiful and it makes me so happy. It mostly has red, orange, pink, and purple in it. There are green plants; 5 of them. I have a cool frog (Freddie) on my wall. He’s made of metal and he’s 3D and looks like he’s hanging there by his little suction cup feet. There are paper lanterns hanging in one corner. It’s my dream room. And it’s so fun to wake up in.

This has come true.

Wish #2: I feel so good about putting myself first each morning.

Yes I do! I have my little morning rituals – they vary sometimes – but Me Time is always there. Whether I’m walking around the block, meditating, sitting in the sun drinking my fresh juice, journaling, inquiring, singing to myself, or doing sun salutations…the morning is mine. And I feel AWESOME about it.

This has come true.

Wish #3: I am easily able to discern what is good for me and what is not good for me in a particular moment.

I am a chillion times better at this than I was when I originally wrote it. Why? Because I’m trusting myself more. I’m trusting my intuition. Trusting my life. Trusting my path.

There are times, especially when I am thinking of existential things and my mind gets away from me, when I feel lost and have trouble discerning whether I should be sitting or standing (as a dramatic example.) But on the whole, I am good at saying yes and no – which is what this whole thing was about when I wrote it a year ago. To make a decision and feel good about it and trust that it is good. Particularly around activities I get involved with, people I spend time with, and foods that I eat. I am good at it!

This came true.

Wish #4: I understand more about how I work.

Hells yeah. Have you heard of Wealth Dynamics? Seriously changed the way I understood how I should be working. But not only that. I’ve realized that I am not someone who works well with deadlines that involve other people. Nope. Just not for me right now.

I also know that in order for me to enjoy my work, I need to feel like I have a relationship with my projects and the people I’m creating things for. Oh, and on the creating topic – it’s not my strong suit to create things. Partly because of the deadline thing…and the fact that I’ve had some wicked Business Injuries over the last couple of years – some of which I have not yet recovered.

So for sure. I understand more about how I work. And I am loving learning more about me in this area.

This came true.

Wish #5: I am unique and I am more familiar with me than I am with my comparison of me to other people.

(Wow. What an interesting thing to write!)

Truth: I compare myself to others so much less frequently now. It’s almost amazing. I do things in public that I would not have done previously. Things like TALK to people in grocery stores. And make small talk with clerks in shops. I smile. A lot. And I am too busy having fun in my world to spend much time thinking about what others are thinking about me.

It’s so refreshing…it’s like…wow. Really refreshing.

And I really like me. More than I ever have.

This came true.

Wish #6: I am vibrant and honest.

Vibrant. Yes.

Honest. Yes.

Continuing to bring awareness to both. Yes. Especially about being honest with myself about how I’m feeling and not trying to control it or limit the degree to which I feel something. Preventing myself from feeling fully is on of the biggest ways I Upper Limit myself and stop myself from experiencing more joy, success, love, and abundance.

Wish #7 : I feel shiny and sparkly inside.

Oh yes! This had a lot to do with my health and now that I’m so on track with taking care of my insides, I totally do feel fresh and shiny and sparkly. I know that my insides are happy and enjoying the way I’m treating them. And all the good stuff that I’m giving them. And when I went to my brother’s wedding last month all my friends and family said I looked vibrant and healthy too.

This has come true.

Wish #8 – I am clear and confident.

Yes! And with that comes a feeling of maturity. Of independence. Know that I’m totally here for me and willing to do what it takes to take care of myself. I feel good about my choices and I’m confident and trusting that all is well and my life is wonderful. It can’t be otherwise. I’m finally getting this.

This has come true.

Wish #9 -  I am proud of being me and I love how I’m taking care of me.

Oh my gosh. I don’t think I ever expected to feel this proud of myself. To like myself so much and to appreciate the things that I do for myself on a daily basis. I have so much respect for what I do to sustain my life and enjoy it!

A year ago I was wanting to change my life in 30 days. Those initial changes got the ball rolling – now a year later – every one of those desires I had have become true. Super cool.

How would you like to be different in the next 30 days?

And would it be okay with you if they all came true in the next year?

Very interested in the title of this chapter before I’ve even read it. I’ve been feeling kind of scattered in the last couple of days. There’s a lot going on – especially with training our new team members – and I haven’t been as focused and feeling as centered in myself as I generally like to. As I get into reading this chapter I’m going to be thinking about the start of next week and how I can get good stuff out of this chapter that will help me be more balanced and centered as I work next week.

One of the words she uses in the beginning of this chapter is the word floundering. It’s the word her client used when she came to her for help. I can relate to that word in some ways too. I’ve gotten movement on a lot of things and projects this week, but I’ve also felt like I was floundering a bit too. I used the word scattered at first. They are similar to me.

Define Freedom: Hmmm. The feeling of being unrestricted and in flow. Not boxed in. I see that freedom to me is the absence of yucky stuff that traps me. What is it the presence of? Being able to choose? Huh. Defining freedom is not that easy right now. Being able to do whatever I want. I think that’s my main association with freedom.

Define Discipline: The ability to make myself do things – even if I don’t really want to do them. Has to do with making myself, forcing myself, making something happen.

Rhonda Britten’s definitions from when she was struggling in her business: Discipline = confining and rigid. Freedom = doing whatever I want whenever I want

Notes

- True discipline takes hightened awareness and self-mastery.

- Getting in touch with discipline requires a willingness to take responsibility for the state things are in. Not blaming other stuff like customers, the economy, other people, etc.

- Are you willing to take full responsibility for the problems you’re experiencing in your business? (I need to take responsibility for how I thought having team members would make everything easier. But I wasn’t prepared for the amount of training that would be involved and the adjustment period and how it would take my attention from other things.)

- Freedom can not be achieved without discipline. It includes the ability to focus, inner-peace, self-acceptance, and clarity of intention.

- Where do I think I DESERVE freedom without having gone through the steps of earning it? When we think we deserve something, it’s easy to focus so much on what we AREN’T getting instead of focusing in on the stuff that would actually get us closer to what we want.

- Rhonda’s mantra: “True freedom lies within the lessons of self-discipline.”

- How many hours a day do you work? What do you work on? What distracts you? What keeps you focused? What turns you on? what turns you off? What are your monetary goals? How many clients do you have?

- Need to look at a Life Log. Hour by hour activities and keeping track of what ignites your passion and whether the activity moves your business forward or not.

Today, Practice Disciplined Freedom

Can you count on yourself to finish a task that you started?

Ugh. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. So I guess that means no. I’m not always trustworthy in this department. Or more accurately, I haven’t been that trust worthy in the past. I am open to changing this about myself and beginning now to be able to count on myself to get the job done whatever it may be.

How many projects are left undone in your home right now?

Not many in my home since we got our awesome personal assistant, but there are some in business that are more of a concern to me.  4 big ones I can think of right now. (QTM book, TG Market, MWTEB slides, HBP q’s)

What would your life look like if you were disciplined?

It seems like my life would be really productive. I’d feel really accomplished. I’d be on purpose. I’d be focused and clear. Those are things that I really value. But there’s also a fear of being disciplined and thinking that I would feel forced to do things because I’m scheduling them or something like that. But I sure don’t like the results I get when I don’t have schedules for doing things. Feels a little Catch-22ish. But I also think I’m leaning toward the more disciplined stuff.

Also realizing that I don’t get good work done when I’m in a room with other people. I get my best work done when I’m by myself and things are quiet.

What could you accomplish if you were disciplined?

I think it’s really the only way to grow the business. I have to focus in and get some things done and make sure those things are the priority. And I really need to spend some time figuring out how this can work in the mornings while our team members are with us. And how to work with them while they’re here and not get so worn down that by the time they’re gone I don’t have the energy to do the focused work that I need to do alone. Hmmm. Will be figuring this out over the weekend.

From Rhonda: Your willingness to become more disciplined tells me how committed you are to being true to yourself and changing your life.

5 Acknowledgements

1. Today I acknowledge myself for: Sleeping in and taking care of myself this morning.
2. Today I acknowledge myself for: Being as gentle with myself as I could when I realized I was scattered this morning.
3. Today I acknowledge myself for: Coming into the bedroom for some peace and quiet and time to work on this chapter from the Change Your Life In 30 Days book.
4. Today I acknowledge myself for: The awesome work session I had by phone with a client yesterday.
5. Today I acknowledge myself for: Being honest in a conversation with my assistant this afternoon and not feeling the need to censor some things about my personal life.

- Being on someone’s side doesn’t mean that you’ll always agree with them. We can be on someone’s side and ask the tough questions that help them be honest with themselves. And people who are on our sides may ask us the same kinds of questions. Just because they’re not agreeing with us, doesn’t mean that they’re not on our side.

- Guessing doesn’t build intimacy. It puts up walls. Guessing is in the same vein as assuming.

One of the main reasons we turn a small situation into a huge problem is to justify our feelings. We feel bad, so there must be a reason for it. A-ha! Best friend flirting with boyfriend. That’s it. And  off we go taking innocent gestures and turning them into evil acts of betrayal. Think of the people who betrayed you. Are you sure they betrayed you? Did they plan on hurting you? Were you the target all along? Or was it an innocent action executed on one of your bad days?

- When we find ourselves reacting disproportionally to an event, it’s a good time to ask: Am I making it up, or is it true? And then follow up with: What else could be true?

- Be willing to give up the security of making things up for a life filled with intimacy.

Today, Practice Being True

Why can’t you be true to yourself?

I tell myself that other people are more important than I am. I make that up. I believe it even though it’s not necessarily true.

What excuses do you make up when things don’t go your way?

Often it’s stuff about my body. I blame something unexpected in my day. If only that had gone differently, the whole rest of the day would have gone the way I wanted it to. So I turn myself into a victim of certain daily events. This morning it was that my salt flush didn’t happen as quickly as I wanted it to, so I wound up feeling bloated and uncomfortable and it took forever to get going. So I blamed that event for how the rest of my day was great, but didn’t involve the work accomplishments that I wanted.

I’ll blame the activity in the house as a reason for things not going my way also. The hustle and bustle with my personal assistant being around and my Sweet Bee, and the neighbors, or my Sweet Bee being on the phone…that other people or sounds are keeping me from doing what I want to be doing. Again, making myself a victim to them.

What things am I making up about the people I love?

• I make up that the people who pre-ordered the manual are totally pissed at me.
• I make up that I can’t show my face to them.
• I make up that they don’t respect me anymore.
• I make up the story that one of my family members wants me to feel sorry for him.

List the emotions that you feel when you make things up about people.

• Justified
• Right
• Smart
• In the know
• Arrogant
• Smarter than them.
• I know what’s really going on here vibe…
• Certain

If you had to ask yourself: Am I making this up or is it true? Before I spoke, how would that change my life?

Gossip would definitely be reduced. I’d be more mindful of what I was saying. I’d say things more intentionally. I’d probably feel more connected with myself because I’d be thinking about what I said before I said it. I do that already, but not through this particular filter all the time. I know I assume things and say things that are true lots of times. So if I were to focus on that and really ask myself, hey…am I just making up that my back is killing me (for example) or is that true? I’d probably exaggerate less. Actually yes, I would exaggerate less. Things I say would be connected to reality much more.

Reading…

- Important to learn what triggers us to want to make things up. Making things up is a defense mechanism.

- For the next 24 hours, any time I’m irritated, ask: Am I Making This Up, Or Is It True?

Reminders:

- Are you making it up or is it true? Keeps you open and honest with others.

- When you make things up, you are afraid to become vulnerable and therefore intimate.

- See the situation “as is” and take your perceptions out so you can focus on the facts.

- Facing when you make things up will help you heal.

Daily Acknowledgements

1. Today I acknowledge myself for being decisive about the plants we chose to buy from Michael’s for the studio.
2. Today I acknowledge myself for chewing my food intentionally at each meal to help my body make the best use of the food I’m putting in it.
3. Today I acknowledge myself for staying connected to myself even when the early part of my morning didn’t go the way I wanted it to.
4. Today I acknowledge myself for tidying up the kitchen and keeping things looking fresh.
5. Today I acknowledge myself for being honest with myself that I need some systems in place to help make Mondays super fun and enjoyable and relaxing for me.

Comfort Zone — Stretch — Risk — Die

These are the concentric circles Rhonda Britten talks about in this section.

1. Stretch: taking an action that you’ve avoided but that isn’t necessarily hard
2. Risk: Most actions that will actually change my life will fit here. Possibility of rejection and failure. Takes courage to accomplish. Might get hurt. Might feel foolish. Self-confidence comes from taking risks, so she’s suggesting it’s worth it to take risks.
3. Die: Seems like it would bring ALL the stuff to the surface and be really, really scary. As if part of us would die if we did that thing. Doing it feels like you will never be the same on the other side…which is a good thing…and also can be scary.

“Unresolved issues become a burden on our well being.”

Seriously. I’ve been living with this one for several years with some unfinished projects and loose ends that just have NOT been tied up properly. They haunt me regularly and I feel shame, guilt and embarrassment about them. It’s awful.

Activity

Area of life that would have to change in order for me to be more true to myself: Definitely my business stuff.

5 Stretches I could take in my work/business:

1. Start at the beginning of Mark’s book and go through the exercises one at a time so I can start developing a relationship with my business again. Basically, take myself back to Heart of Business school.
2. Start using The Business Oasis for my accountability with myself and keeping myself honest with my tasks as well as the exercises from the book that I’m doing.
3. Update the order page for this particular program and print it out so I *see* it in reality and know what I’m working on.
4. Create a big mind map on a poster with my current projects and the vision for my business so I *see* it also.
5. Spend time working in the studio tomorrow and getting familiar with that space.

5 Risks I Could Take In My Business

1. Let the list know that I’m making a new video for them. Do it and give it to them. (Does feel risky!)
2. Create a survey for one of my lists I haven’t written to in a while and get back in touch with them.
3. Create a video for that list based on their survey results and then give it to them.
4. Respond to some of the emails that I’ve been avoiding responding to. (Yuck! I don’t want to.)
5. Asking the members in one of my programs what we can do to make things better.

5 Actions That If I Did Them, Would Feel So Scary It’d Be Like A Part of Me Was Dying

1. Writing to the people who bought the book.
2. Giving myself 2 weeks to finish the manual and making it happen.
3. Holding myself to doing 3 hours total of focused content/writing work a day. Each day I don’t do it, I give $50 to a cause I don’t believe in.
4. Calling everyone who bought the book and having an individual conversation with each person. Being me and open and honest and seeing how I could help and what I can do to make things right between us.
5. Taking a vacation and getting out of town without my laptop for at least 3 days.

Today, Stretch, Risk, or Die

If you stretched each day, how would your life change?

I’d be getting more and more confidence in what I was able to do. I’d see I was capable of more than I thought I was. I’d be growing.

What stretch, risk, or die must you take in order to change your life?

Definitely these things in business. Business is where all the leverage in my life is happening right now. It’s related to all aspects of my life. My personal life, health, entertainment, etc. I’m seeing it all hinging around business. That’s where the work needs to be done.

What stretch, risk or die have you ignored that’s stopping you from being true to yourself?

Definitely the manual. I’ve been humiliated about the status of that project. The way I’ve hid from people. Avoided people. It’s been awful. Ashamed to let anyone know that I have anything else going on in my life besides that particular project. As if I should only be working on it until it’s done…and that people are hating me for doing other things in my life than finishing that project. It’s been such a source of soreness and pain and regret. Deep regret. Deep shame. Really I can’t believe I’ve been carrying this for so long. I just haven’t been able to get out from under it yet. This chapter is helping me look at it…and it’s been coming up in my mind more and more for me to think about lately.

Which stretch, risk, or die do you want to avoid at all costs?

Again, it’s the manual. I feel like I’ve lost all sense of relationship with those people and they dislike me and distrust me. I feel as though my word means nothing to them because I’ve changed my mind so many times and said so many things that haven’t been true. That haven’t come to be. Why would they even care what I have to say. Why do they even want to hear from me any more? And even if I did say something that was true for me or heartfelt or honest…why would they care? They’ve seen me do that before. They know I say things and then stuff doesn’t happen. I feel totally lost in my relationship with them. Like I can never make it right. Dang. That’s some heavy shit to be carrying around. But there it is. My die has to do with dealing with this old book project.  A project that has brought me so much stress and physical illness over the last couple of years. It’s daunting to even think about it. That’s why I haven’t been.

I see that’s also why I’m going to need to make it a super priority. The degree to which that project is killing me…is TOO MUCH. I can’t let that keep happening to me. I need to take care of myself and my life and my projects. I need to get on top of this thing. I need to show myself that I am strong enough to do it. I can move beyond the pain that started all the stress around the manual in the first place. I am bigger than that.

I know how to complete this manual. I know how to make it a beautiful thing. I know how to get right with my customers. I know how to move forward and make stuff happen. It has to do with my die. It has to do with getting this project out TOMORROW and working on it for at least 50 minutes. It’s totally something I can do. I will do it. That’s my new commitment. And if I feel like chickening out tomorrow, I’m going to reread this post and remind myself that I’m a bad ass and I can do whatever I set my mind to. I can even pull out an old project folder and reaquaint myself with it for 50 minutes on Thursday. That’s what I’m doing.

Big inhale. I can do it!

So I was off track with my daily practice with this while I was in Los Angeles for a business seminar. Feeling good to reconnect with it and come back to this work.

Initial Reading…

• Living well is different from being happy.
• Writing down goals is good, but they need to be put in the proper *context* so that they don’t seem scattered and unrelated.
• Affirmations are meant to be stated as if it’s already happening: “I am now in a loving relationship.”
• Affirmations can help us remember what we DO want instead of only focusing on what we DON’T want.
• Intention: Proactive statement written in the present tense that encompasses an overall attitude toward life.
• Intentions supersede any one particular goal. You are responsible for its success.
• Intentions: Must be written in a way that will inspire me to DO something.
• Bigger intention: I am now loving in all of my relationships.
• Intentions should not make you feel guilty or bad if they’re not happening.
• Goals: Actions that you plan to take toward making the intention become a reality. Goals support your intentions

Today, Live With Intention

My affirmation: I am great at getting things done.

Turn your affirmation into an intention by shifting the focus from a completed task to something I can practice: My intention: I am clear headed and focused when I work on my projects.

Goals support intentions. List a minimum of 5 goals:

1. 15 minutes of meditation each morning
2. 10 deep breaths before starting any project
3. Write my action steps before I start a project so I know where to start and finish.
4. Use timers when I’m working so that I have a mental container in which I can focus.
5. Make sure my actions are doable. Big projects need to be broken down.

How would your life be different if you lived by your intention? Well, my intention is that I’m clear headed and focused when I work on my projects. Life would be different (and awesome) if I did that because I would not be in the gray zone when I work. If I’m feeling clear, I’d be working. If I wasn’t clear, instead of working on stuff and making a mess of myself and of my projects, I’d be resting and breathing and making sure I was taking care of myself so that I COULD be clear in the future. If I’m clear, I can work. If I’m not clear, my priority is to take care of myself and get myself clear.

How would your life change if your intention made decisions for you? That’s an interesting one. Letting my level of clarity determine what I’m doing. Instead of me saying that I need to be doing something. As if capital I know the best thing, I could let my intention guide me toward what’s appropriate to do. Clarity and level of focus guides me to do what makes sense. I like it.

Describe a relationship using intention as the foundation. Well, it’d be like a thermometer. I’d know when things were “ready” to be taken out of the oven, of if things were still needing to cook longer. Either the clarity and focus has been developed to a point where it’s ready to cash it in and use it, or it’s still percolating and developing and it needs some more time before it’s ready to be used properly and fully.

If I could create any intention, what would it be? I like the intention I have of being clear and focused when I’m working on projects. That feels really good. I’d also like this intention:

I choose to do things that feel good to me.

I really like that one. I’ll add that one to my colored sticky and put it up on the wall.

Remember:

Use my intention as the measuring stick for success. Nothing else. My success can be measured on whether I was living by my intentions to:

• Choose to do things that feel good to me.
• Be clear and focused when working on my projects

If I do those things, that’s a success! Love it.

How does passion show up in my life right now? I’m passionate about getting “right” with myself. Getting on top of things. Making sure that I’m current with my life. Tying up loose ends. Realigning myself with me. Getting back in my groove. That’s what I’m passionate about right now.

What would your friends and coworkers say about you if you were more passionate? Umm..things like WOW You’re awesome!!

What’s scary about passion? Yep, love questions like this to see what’s underneath stuff. Scary things: possibly getting LOST in my passion. Feeling overlwhemled by it. Feeling ungrounded. Getting wrapped up in it. Feeling out of control. All versions of the same thing related to control. As if passion is a dangerous feeling and I could get carried away with it and not know how to come back.

3 things I’m afraid might happen if I were more passionate?

1. I’d become super angry like MADD mothers. Righteous indignation.
2. Wouldn’t feel like myself.
3. Might be too happy.

3 Things that would happen that would change my life if I were more passionate:

1. I’d get more done. Super sense of accomplishment.
2. I’d have a non-profit for kids & families
3. I’d have an amazing relationship with Gio

Actitivy

Write down 25 things you love to ignite your awareness of passion. No matter how silly or embarrassing it might seem to write them.

1. Fresh Au Lac donuts
2. sharp pencils
3. new notebooks
4. fresh salad
5. maple syrup
6. reorganizing rooms
7. singing with my Sweet Bee
8. playing with kids
9. journaling
10. cracking open watermelon
11. sleeping in
12. going to the farmer’s market
13. looking at the birds eat the food I put out for them
14. swimming
15. laying in the sun
16. listening to music in the car
17. reading funny websites (www.someecards.com is a good one.)
18. giving others empathy
19. getting mani/pedi’s
20. creative writing
21. coloring mandalas
22. finding good deals
23. eating raspberries
24. relaxing
25. riding my bike
26. having pretty nails
27. feeling good

Some Notes:

When you’re purpose driven, you have learned to listen to your intuition and never let  NO get in your way.

True purpose is never selfish.

Purpose transcends job titles.

Invest in the life you have to get the life you want.

Today, Focus on Passionate Purpose

What is your purpose? To be okay with being me and helping others know that they are okay too. Meeting people where they are at…including me.

3 lessons I can learn from my present living situation:

1. It’s possible to find myself and be doing different inner work than my partner is. We can have our own paths and it’s beautiful and perfect.
2. Work/professional life is about finding myself. It’s a vehicle to learn more about myself. This is something I really want to sit with more and make more of my experience. Using my professional life to learn more about me. To develop myself.
3. You can always start again. It’s always a fresh beginning.

3 lessons I can learn from my present job?

1. Honesty
2. Humility. It’s okay to be as I am. Show up with what’s here. Be real.
3. Following through. It’s important to know what stops me from doing it and know how to support myself in making things happen.

Remember

- Your purpose is already within you.

- Passion gives you the desire to succeed.

- Passion without purpose can be perceived as unfocused and confused.

- Purpose without passion can make life feel like a chore.

Also want to remember that PASSION is like the gas for my purpose. And I’m reminding myself that I don’t have to be a super stickler about what my purpose is and worry about not having the right one or missing out on something. I can’t do it wrong. And I love me no matter what purpose or passion levels are at.

First thoughts that come to my mind filling in the blanks:

Define confidence: feeling good and strong and knowing that I can do it and be safe and good

How would you know if you had confidence: It’d be a feeling inside. There’d be excitement. Assuredness. Knowingness. I’d feel excited.

I want to build my confidence in the area of: professional life

If I had more confidence I could: accomplish more and be “out there” in the world

When I am with a confident person I feel: intimidated and overpowered sometimes

I am confident ___ % of the time: 25%

If I had more confidence, I would be truer to myself because: I’d be able to give myself more of what I want in life.

Reading And Reflecting

She says that confidence is built on taking risks. And that we all want it, but few of us are willing to do what it takes to get it. It involves feeling our feelings and facing our fears.

Confidence is a function of consistent effort, compassion, and willingness.

We often think that we need confidence in order to do something. But confidence isn’t what comes first. The risk comes first. The confidence follows that.

Confidence is a muscle just like any other muscle in the body and exercising it helps.

Confidence is strengthened by making promises to myself and following through with them. (I’ve broken lots of promises with myself and others over the last several years and I see how this has affected my confidence in general.)

So, can I count on myself? <==== Really good question I’d like to work toward being able to answer YES. I’m totally there for myself. I can count on me.

Top 10 Confident Moments

1. Retelling an experience from a vacation in front of a group of people.
2. Basically anything I did in my classroom the first 3 years I was a teacher.
3. Creating the sales page for the manual.
4. Walking across the stage on graduation day.
5. Attending the Leadership event in great shape.
6. Driving around tonight realizing that something I thought was true, wasn’t. And that I am actually awesome!
7. Going to India by myself when I was 21.
8. Interviewing for a personal assistant
9. Being the team leader of my grade level.
10. Being senior class president and leading pep rallies.

What do I notice about my list? A lot of them have to do with interacting with groups and other people. Speaking. Leading. Interacting with others. Basically showing me that it’s an important way for me to exercise my confidence muscles. Do things with groups. Lead teams. Organize things. Show up and speak. I’ve done it in the past, I just haven’t done it lately.

Activity

3 challenges I’m facing right now. Maybe places I’m feeling guilty or frustrated.

1. Lack of focus in my professional responsibilities (aka. what the hell am I supposed to be doing.)
2. Wrapping up loose ends with projects and completing things.
3. Balancing my work and personal life so that I am constantly energized and replenished.

If I were confident, what would I do differently?

1. Pull all my stuff out from the shadows of my mind and lay out exactly what projects are unfinished and needing attention.
2. Get back in communication with my lists and start helping them with tips and ideas and support.
3. Make lists and have my assistant help me get things going on them. I’d be delegating really well.

What feelings am I afraid to feel around these circumstances?

1. Guilt. Shame. Embarrassment For not doing this stuff earlier.
2. Anxiety about thinking I need to do it right.
3. Overwhelm that there will be too much to do and I won’t be able to break it down enough.
4. Pressure from others (guilt) that will lead me to think I have to rush and will contribute to the anxiety, guilt, overwhelm, etc.

If I were no longer afraid of feeling those things, and I could count on myself, what could be the happy ending for these challenges? (Totally digging this question. Especially the part about if I could count on myself.)

1. Oh man! It would be so great. I would have the information for the manual published in an amazing way that people love and are excited to have. I would feel free and on top of things and seriously back in my integrity. It would be amazing.
2. I would have folders for all of my projects with next actions in them and I would know where I was with each project at any given time. Each day/week/month I would tend to each project to nurture it and make sure that it’s being taken care of. I would be ready to WORK again. And that just means TAKE ACTION. I’ve been afraid to take action and I would be in action again. Yes!
3. I would see how amazing I am and that my feelings are just things I experience. Not things that ARE me and that have to derail me in any shape or form. I would see them for what they are instead of being overwhelmed and consumed by them. I would notice them and also have a healthy understanding that I, at my core, am not those feelings. They’re body sensations, they’re chemical happenings, they’re a lot of things…and they’re not me. That would really help me feel confident. Understanding how my moods are a function of science.

What could you gain or learn from these areas that you could apply to other areas of your life?

This question isn’t really going anywhere for me right now. Too early to try to apply it to other areas of my life right now. Need to just sit with it around this particular topic of getting back into action professionally.

What’s keeping me from getting the result?

Not sure which result she’s asking for here. Maybe the thing I could gain or learn? Gonna skip this one.

More Reading

Feelings can get in the way of truth. So please acknowledge yourself daily. Eventually your feelings and your truth with become more aligned. When you are willing to see the truth instead of acting on just your feelings, you will clear your filtering system of misperceptions.

Love that. I’m really getting from tonight’s exericse that my feelings DO get in the way of the truth. I mistake them for the truth all the time. Yes, it’s true I’m feeling a certain way, but it’s not necessarily true that it’s me or that it means anything about me. It’s like having a cut on my finger. That doesn’t mean anything about me. Just means that I have a cut there. I have a feeling sometimes too. I am not the cut on my finger. I am not the feeling I’m experiencing. They’re both just there.

I must be willing to throw it all away in order to find myself true self. Good thing to sit with too. Am I willing to do that? Not that she’s suggesting we give away all of our stuff literally, but in terms of understanding the metaphoric risk…am I ready?

10 Confident Moments From Today

1. Scheduling the meeting at Panera’s with Susan.
2. Making the smoothie video on my Flip Cam
3. Saying no to oily food.
4. Asserting my opinion about a business matter
5. Driving home from dinner affirming my awesomeness.
6. Realizing that part of my weird body feelings lately has to do with the steroid I’m taking. It’s not me. It’s the medicine.
7. Making the list of actions for my assistant to do tomorrow when she comes in.
8. Doing tonight’s assignment and really going in with the questions that resonated big time.
9. Envisioning my future of success and strength and empowerment.
10. Visualizing the completion of the manual and the information within it being organized and excellent.

What decision has been avoided because I haven’t had the confidence to decide?

Deciding to really go for it with my professional life. Deciding that I can do the things that I think avout doing. I haven’t had the confidence to believe that I can make these things happen, and the truth is that I actually can. So now I’m choosing to go for these things. Woo hoo!

Would you be able to make more money? How much more?

Definitely making more money. Being of service to people again becasue I’d be in connection with them instead of hiding.

If I were confident, would I have the same job? Same friends? Same mate?

I’d have an upgraded house, that’s for sure. Decorated to my favorite liking. Since I’m not in that house yet tho, I’m starting with one room of my home. Making it into my Sanctuary. A place that is beautiful and I can discover my style and what feels good to me. Blues, reds, and purples will be included so far. White too. I will have the same friends, plus new ones. And I will get along with and enjoy my partner so much more than I already am. We’ll be off galavanting doing amazing things together. Confidence will make my relationship with him better and better.

5 Daily Acknowledgements

1. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Taking a nap when I really needed one.
2. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Being gentle with myself and my new assistant as we get to know each other.
3. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Discovering the mistake I made with weaning off of my meds and the big insight I had that resulted from that.
4. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Being really honest in my personal work and just saying it like it is.
5. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Leading a really great team meeting.

5 Clues Your Confidence Is Growing:

1. You can count on yourself. You do what you say and you get the job done.
2. You are willing to feel your feelings and take a risk anyway. No matter how scary things get, you always remember that feelings do not determine success. Risk does.
3. Facing your fears is a daily experience. See fear for what it is: an affirmation of your growth.
4. You have learned to be comfortable in the uncomfortableness of change. You have put your negative voice in perspective and realize it does not run your life.
5. You are willing to give up all you know to discover your true you. You have given up justifying your actions; instead your life speaks for itself. Your main commitment is to keep growing and therefore you have to let go of your need to always be right.

Good things are happening in my life because of me. Not despite me.

What’s your immediate response to hearing/reading this:

You are doing better than you think you are.

This is how Rhonda Britten opens this chapter. By asking us to take a good look at that statement and notice what stuff comes up. What feelings? What thoughts?

Then some possible responses and we’re meant to check off the ones that came up for us. Here are some from the list that I related to:

• I am?
• If I’m doing better than I think I am, why don’t I feel better?

Then some from my own list:

• Ya, but…
• There’s still so much more to do.
• That’s great, but…
• Okay, I can go there, but…

Hmmm. Interesting to see that I get a lot of buts in there. Hard to take a compliment just as it is. Hard to accept nice stuff without wanting to dismiss it in some way. Yeah…but….

Our response to how we receive that praise of: You’re doing better than you think you are…tells us what FILTERS we tend to see stuff through. With my “yeah but” kind of response, I see that I’m seeing things through a “never good enough” filter. Ouch.

She links my response up to one that she listed as a possibility: “Don’t tell me that. I won’t stay motivated.” Yep, I can find that one. I tend to use my lack of progress to kick myself in the ass to do things sometimes.

So my filtering system is: “I haven’t done enough.” And “Don’t tell me that. I won’t stay motivated.” Both of which = Yeah But.

All about Acknowledgments

- They give us credit for the hard work that we’re doing.

- It will not give you a big head.

- Will give you confidence to change your life.

- Negative feelings will subside when you start acknowledging yourself on a daily basis.

Today I acknowledge myself for: doing Day 2 of this program at the time I put in my calendar even though I got off to a rocky start with my morning schedule.

Things we can acknowledge ourselves for:

• Risks we’re taking. (Even if it’s making a phone call that we have been putting off.)
• Willingness to do things
• Taking time for ourselves
• Saying something to someone else that we’ve been putting off.

Activity: 25 Acknowledgments From The Last Year

1. Today I acknowledge myself for: Completing my first 5k.
2. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making a big announcement to my mastermind group at my last biz event.
3. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making friends with my new neighbors.
4. Today I acknowledge myself for: Hosting a snack & game-night party with my girlfriends.
5. Today I acknowledge myself for: Releasing 23 pounds in a healthy, sane, feel-good way.
6. Today I acknowledge myself for: Running 3.2 miles down by the beach without even realizing it.
7. Today I acknowledge myself for: Living a raw food lifestyle that feels good to my body.
8. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making an “out there” video of me in my bikini to show how I really am.
9. Today I acknowledge myself for: Saying no to running an errand just because someone needed my help.
10. Today I acknowledge myself for: Focusing on my breathing during one of my yoga classes.
11. Today I acknowledge myself for: Rearranging the home office so that we have more space.
12. Today I acknowledge myself for: Returning to the same hair stylist.
13. Today I acknowledge myself for: Driving the speed limit and wearing my seat belt.
14. Today I acknowledge myself for: Staying calm when I got pulled over for not having a front license plate.
15. Today I acknowledge myself for: For getting on Twitter and participating in the socializing there.
16. Today I acknowledge myself for: For starting this blog and showing up as myself.
17. Today I acknowledge myself for: Starting this 30 Day Program and pulling the book of my shelf again.
18. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making room in my life for having a cell phone again.
19. Today I acknowledge myself for: Buying myself a new long-sleeved t-shirt with a hood.
20. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making this list of acknowledgments!
21. Today I acknowledge myself for: Laying in the grass naked in my front yard.
22. Today I acknowledge myself for: Keeping the plants in my home alive with water and sunlight.
23. Today I acknowledge myself for: Selecting minimal makeup that looks good on me when I want to dress up a bit.
24. Today I acknowledge myself for: Understanding my Sweet Bee’s love language more and giving it to him.
25. Today I acknowledge myself for: Staying in touch with my grandparents through handwritten letters.

Now she says do 25 more!!

1. Today I acknowledge myself for: Trusting my Sweet Bee’s vision and big picture thinking.
2. Today I acknowledge myself for: Setting up interviews for a personal assistant to help me around the house.
3. Today I acknowledge myself for: Not wearing too many accessories at one time.
4. Today I acknowledge myself for: Loving dangling earrings.
5. Today I acknowledge myself for: Seriously considering trying some highlights in my hair.
6. Today I acknowledge myself for: Looking into starting our own Toastmaster’s Group
7. Today I acknowledge myself for: Having nice nails this week and taking care of my cuticles.
8. Today I acknowledge myself for: Wanting to really know the physical stuff about my body and how it works. Anatomy baby!
9. Today I acknowledge myself for: Taking my medicine regularly when it’s been prescribed.
10. Today I acknowledge myself for: Swallowing a pill camera.
11. Today I acknowledge myself for: Making sure there is bird seed in our bird feeder outside.
12. Today I acknowledge myself for: Sharing my laptop with our neighbors when they need it.
13. Today I acknowledge myself for: Telling my mom I didn’t want her to come out when I was sick.
14. Today I acknowledge myself for: Working out with Steph in her living room when I thought I was going to panic.
15. Today I acknowledge myself for: Jumping in the ocean the other day even when it was freezing.
16. Today I acknowledge myself for: Paying attention to what the child in me needs.
17. Today I acknowledge myself for: Being open to learning new ways of relating to myself and taking care of myself.
18. Today I acknowledge myself for: Finding the file folder I thought was missing.
19. Today I acknowledge myself for: Creating a bedtime for myself.
20. Today I acknowledge myself for: How far I’ve come with my health issues over the last 8 years.
21. Today I acknowledge myself for: Straightening my hair sometimes.
22. Today I acknowledge myself for: Using reusable bags when I go shopping.
23. Today I acknowledge myself for: Asking for help finding things when I don’t know where they are.
24. Today I acknowledge myself for: Taking care of my car lease paperwork.
25. Today I acknowledge myself for: Persevering through the challenges I’ve had in my business over the last several years.

Wow. Some of those got kinda hard to find. But I see that I could probably even do another 25 more. Really look for ones that were stretches and risks too. Not just ones that I notice that I did. Like using reusable bags when I shop. Not so hard, but wait…

This is me doing that thing again where I say: Yeah, but.

So screw that.

I acknowledge myself for using reusable bags.

Perfect. It’s a good thing. I am worthy of acknowledgment for that. I can receive it from myself. Thank you, Mona.

Today, Acknowledge Yourself

In what are of my life do I have a hard time acknowledging yourself? Maybe it’s more like where “Don’t” I have a hard time acknowledging myself? I find it easy to do it around food that I make. I find it easy to do around my writing. Easy to do around creative artsy projects. Not so much with business, my emotional well being, my professional life, my social life, my financial life…

What area would you like to acknowledge yourself more? Well, there’s lots of room for doing this. I’d like to focus on doing it around my professional life…and my emotional wellness. Like taking care of myself.

What could happen if you gave yourself more credit? I’d probably feel a whole lot better about myself. I’d be paying attention to what IS being done instead of what isn’t being done.

Am I willing to give myself more credit? Yes. I am. I think I’d enjoy giving myself more credit. I think there’s a part of me that needs to hear it and really receive it.

So the assignment is to write 5 daily acknowledgments for the rest of this 30 day program. The smaller and more specific the better. She suggests focusing on where and when it’s easy to acknowledge the stuff, and when/where I’m being stingy with it.

Learning to focus on what you are doing, versus what you want to do, will help you stay true to yourself moment by moment.  – Rhonda Britten

5 Daily Acknolwedgments:

1. Today I acknowledge myself for: Sticking with this blog post. It was long and kind of tedious and redundant seeming. My mind wanted to run from it plenty of times and I stayed with it.
2. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Making a detailed, doable list of the things that are on my mind today. It’s striped yellow paper pad and something about it feels really good.
3. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Doing a 3-min. hypnosis audio about a project that I have been avoiding for a long time. It helped me open up to the project better and I was pleasantly surprised.
4. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Trusting a big purchase that we’re making as an investment that will lead to future streams of income.
5. Today, I acknowledge myself for: Going to Victoria’s Secret last night and trying on 5 bras.

Okay. I imagine as the 28 other days go by in this program, that this acknowledging stuff is going to start feeling GOOD! It already feels pretty good to have focused on all these great things I’ve done.

Is there anything you’d like to give yourself acknowledge myself for today?

Looking at “essential self”. I do like the phrase “essential.” Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from The Little Prince by Antoine Exupery:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

So yes, I like the word Essential.

And am happy to be applying to me. The essential me.

Important to define our terms. If we’re using things like, “I want to feel great.” “I want to be successful.” What do those words mean? What does Great look like? What does it mean? What does Success look like?

My friend and mentor Wyatt Woodsmall told me that these words are actually called nominalizations. They don’t have true definitions, so we all have our own meaning for them. Words like love, happiness, success, courage, etc.

The more specific we can get about how our lives are going to change, the more likely we’ll be to succeed. When defining your terms, see if you can ignore the “social definitions” and let your own definitions come up.

Activity

Being true to myself would mean: Caring about me. A lot. Considering my feelings and needs as a priority. Understanding exactly what I’m capable of in any given moment and allowing myself to function within that capacity instead of trying to force something else out of myself or into myself. Really understanding how this body and this self works best. Giving myself what my body and me require in order to be happy and feel good.

If I were true to myself I could: Feel more relaxed. I would feel safe in any situation because I would know that I would be on my side looking out for my own best interests. There’s a lot of safety and comfort that I’d feel. I would feel good knowing that I am being cared for.

If I were true to myself, I would let go of: Worrying about what’s going on with other people. I’d let go of comparing myself to others and worrying about my social status. Worrying about what others are thinking about me. I’d let go of thinking others are meant to protect me and watch out for me. I could do that job and love whatever support from others happens to come. It would be a bonus at that point. Being true to myself would also involve letting go of trying to control others. I’d simply focus in on me and everything would be taken care of that way and then ripple out in the best possible ways.

Success defined: Feeling good about what I’ve done. Success has a lot to do with feelings for me. It’s not just about getting things done. It’s about feeling proud of what I’ve done. Enjoying the sense of accomplishment. Success also needs to be holistic in order for me to really enjoy it. My mind, body, and outward results need to reflect the success. If I get something done, but I’m exhausted because I worked too hard, that’s not a success for me. I’m into whole experience success.

I felt successful when: I felt successful when I wrote an ad for a personal assistant. I had fun doing it, it was creative, and I was able to do it relatively quickly and easily. Then I watched the outside results start coming in with lots of applicants replying. I felt successful when I bounced on the mini-trampoline yesterday after reading about the importance of moving the lymph system. It felt great and I bounced for 3 whole songs and danced around while I bounced.

I would be more successful if: If I had more self-care systems and rituals worked into my day (as I’m starting today) so that I am consistently built up and strong and centered in myself. I’ll be more successful when I really get that I can take care of myself excellently (without pushing and *making* myself do things) and still get amazing things done.

What I need to do in order to have a successful life? Continue to put me at the top of my list. This seems so obvious, yet I haven’t been doing it. It’s been a big learning for me over the last several years. I was well-trained in putting myself last in many situations and that became the default. In order to change my life, I need to turn the pyramid upside-down. Instead of only a little of my attention going to me, and lots of attention going to others at the base of the pyramid, I will get the most attention and others will get less. And I trust they will be okay.

What I have to let go of in order to have a successful life: Thinking that I have to do it all. Thinking that there’s anything that HAS to be done, really. It’s the *have to’s* in my life that really hurt me. Those are the things that did me in. The times when I *made* myself do things that I didn’t want to do because I thought I should, or that I had to. My new choice is that I let go of have to. I let go of should. I let go of need to. Those things are not real. There’s nothing I have to do, should do, or even need to do.

More Reading…

Noticing that there is room for more clarity and specificity in my definition of success. What are the outward things that would define it? I have lots of inner things like feeling good and being proud of what I’ve done. How would someone else be able to tell if I were successful? What would they see?

When we’re answering Big Questions like: Do you want to quit your job? Ask this follow up question to help you stay true to yourself:

Who am I being when I answer this question?

Maybe we’re answering questions as one of our parents would have answered it. Maybe we’re answering from fear. Maybe we’re answering from the place that makes us seem smart and right.

Keep asking the Big Question over and over until you realize that you’re answering from your own internal guidance and not from someone else’s.

She’s suggesting that we get a friend to support us during the next 30 days. Someone who can cheer us on and tell me the truth. I’m going to ask my Sweet Bee to cheer me along. I just asked him and he, in one of our favorite cute voices that we use with each other, agreed and cheered me on to do the program and said Yay!

So I’ve got my cheerleader. : )

Activity: Today, Practice Being True To Yourself

How would being true to myself change my life: Oh, that’s a big one. It would change so many things. It would boost my confidence. I would probably have less auto-immune health issues. Yeah, I’ll just say it: it would help my body feel awesome! I would feel strong and empowered when dealing with others who seem to have more intensity or strength than I do. I would love doing whatever I was doing (and it would feel easy) because I would know that I was with me and on my side. It’s really about partnering with myself. That’s what being true to myself would do for me. It would help me be my own partner. My own best friend. My own mother. My own father. My own caretaker.

If I am true to myself, what am I afraid might happen? I love questions like this to help get to the nitty-gritty stuff that might be holding me back or leading me to feel resistance around this stuff. My fears around being true to myself have to do with what other people will say or think about me. What will they say if I stand up for myself? What will they think of me? When I am not true to myself, I am not strong enough to deal with their reactions. That’s where the fear has come from. I have been afraid that if I am true to myself, that people won’t like me. And that they will not enjoy being around me.

What has stopped me from becoming the best me possible? Hmmm. Yes, it’s feeling very attached to the me that I think I am. I have been scared of seeing who I would be if I weren’t like me. My friend Wyatt says that if you want to make changes in your life, you have to learn to become “not you.” If you stay the same you, that’s the same. That’s not changing. So change involves being “not me.” I admit to being afraid of “not me” because I’m so familiar with the way that I tend to do things. I wonder what it would be like to do things another way. And then the little line from I Heart Huckabees comes in: How am I not myself?

Describe the me that I would like to be in 30 days: I wake up happy and excited to see what the day has in store. I feel so good about putting myself first every morning. I am easily able to discern what is good for me and what is not for me in a particular moment. I understand more about how I work. I am unique and I’m more familiar with me than I am with me in comparison to others. I am vibrant and honest. I feel shiny and sparkly inside. I am clear and confident. I’m proud of being me and love how I’m taking care of me.

What is the 1 thing I’m willing to do today to be more true to myself? Yeah…let’s ge into some practical action stuff here. So, what I’m going to do is ask myself at the top of each hour: Am I being true to myself right now? If yes, I will thank myself and acknowledge what I’ve done. If not, I will ask myself what’s required in order to start being true to myself in that moment.

Reminder: Being true to myself involves understanding what I’m capable of in a particular moment and giving myself whatever is required to feel good without pushing and making things happen.

Rhonda’s 4-Point Review

1. Defining a word helps clarify what I believe.
2. Being specific with an answer accelerates growth.
3. Wanting a better life is really a desire to be more true to myself.
4. Telling the truth is an important part of discovering who I am.

So, that’s the end of day 1. Fabulous.

Stuff I noticed…some of my answers were not very specific. That’s okay. I’ll find my specificity as I go through things. Right now, I’m really into the feeling part of things, so that’s where I noticed my answers were coming from. Makes sense after coming out of a week of feeling like I was dying in some ways. Not being able to eat and drink with ease and having lots of pain in my mouth and eyes. So yes, it’s totally okay to be focused on the feeling side of things.

And I’m taking away a desire to want to be clearer with my definition of what being true to myself means. I’d love to have a little short version that I can use to help make more sense of it to me. “Being true to myself” is one of those nominalizations and I think it’ll be helpful to really refine what it means to me personally.

There are plenty of things I’ve knocked before I’ve tried them:

• Affirmations
• Skydiving
• Eating a steak
• Getting married
• Having a baby
• Owning a franchise
• Driving a Hummer

A 30-day program that claims it can change my life is not going to be one of them. This thing I’m actually going to do.

And why not do a 30 day program about changing my life?

I’ll be doing something during the next 30 days, so bonus points if it’s something supportive. I’ll be using Rhonda Britten’s book Change your Life In 30 Days as a framework.

After going through a very difficult week last week with some health issues, I’m finally coming out on the other side. Fortunately instead of being discouraged and bummed, I’m actually encouraged and excited to start paying better attention to myself in the ways that can help keep me in my best shape. I’ve had some great body insights lately that have been really important to me.

I’ve been through maybe 6 days worth of this book already and I stopped using it. I don’t know why. At the time (like 2 years ago?) I don’t think I was participating with the material interactively and documenting my experiences anywhere. And if we’re not documenting our experiences with something, we’re actually less likely to improve.

Yep, it’s true. What you measure or track improves. There was a cool study done about this to prove it. The results even got a name: The Hawthorne Effect.

So I’m applying the Hawthorne Effect and I’m going to go track this 30-day period. This means there’s a higher likelihood that I’ll complete the entire 30 day program as the book is outlined.

But it’s not enough just to say that I’m going to do it. I’ll need some more systems in place to help make sure that it happens. Here are some of them:

1. Calendar Time: If I’m going to do this and really make it a part of my life for the next 30 days, I’m going to need an appointment in my calendar so that I’m sure to do it. It’s easy to put off things that aren’t in my calendar (sometimes even when they are) but again, if it’s in there, I’ll have a higher likelihood of doing it.
2. Time Length: There’s another theory that can be really helpful when we’re trying to bring in a new habit or ritual. It involves time frames and it’s called Parkinson’s Law. This law states that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” The way this applies to my Change Your Life In 30 Days program is that if I give myself 2 hours to do the assignments, it will take that long. If I give myself 20 minutes, it’ll take that long.
   
3. Accountability: Sharing my reports here on the blog will help me stay accountable. Especially knowing that others are watching and following along. When there’s a place to come and report, that can help with sticking with something.

So here’s what I’m going to do to use these systems to help me follow through with kindness:

• Calendar Time: Daily appointments with myself (around noon depending on the day)
• Time Length: 50 minutes using a timer. If I’m not done at the end of the 50 min. I’ll leave it incomplete. Do that a couple times in a row and I imagine I’ll start doing it faster and with more focus. This will include reading and blog posting time.
• Accountability: Coming to the blog to post about my experiences will help me stick with this. Only exception will be on Thursdays. No posting on Thursdays because it’s a computer-free day each week. (The 1st of what I imagine becoming 2 very soon.) So I’ll  still do the Change Your Life activities on Thursdays and take written notes so that I can combine them in the Friday report.

So it’s only a 30-day window of paying attention to some things suggested in a book, looking within myself for the answers, and posting what feels right to post about it here on the blog.

I can do this.

Day 1 = Monday, July 6.
Day 30 = Tuesday, August 4th.