Protecting Your Spirit

We are now twelve days into a the new year. Many have successfully set goals for themselves. Many have already broken their resolutions. Where do you stand? Are you starting out the year knowing what you want and where you want to be?

Each year I begin by hoping for clarity; trying to decide exactly where I see myself and most importantly, what will it take for me to get there. What kind of effort and commitment will I need to garner up? Do I see myself ten pounds lighter? Do I see deeper and growing relationships with my friends? Do I see new projects on my horizon?

Lately, what I've been striving for is reclaiming my strength. I see myself stronger; in body, mind, and spirit. That's no easy task, for sure. It's a very complicated process. I need to take better care of my body. I need to succeed more at reducing stress. And most importantly, for me, is learning to nurture my spirit. My spirit is what drives me more than anything else. It's that voice inside of me that pushes me to try harder, to walk further, to be more creative, and to learn to trust my instincts more. There are always going to be more voices telling us why we can't or shouldn't do something, that we aren't good enough, and that we don't have anything valuable to offer. We need to learn to drown those voices out more with the voice of strength that lies inside each one of us. Some days the voice of my spirit is nothing more than a whisper, but some days it wants to shout loud enough to shake the walls. Those are the days when I have to stop and pay attention.

It's okay to try to achieve things that other people think are silly or impossible. It's okay to go after what makes you happy and whole. I'm learning that sometimes it's even okay to put yourself first.

Putting yourself first ... that's the trickiest of them all, especially if you have relationships with other people. Being a wife - I try to be supportive to my husband. Being a mom (and it doesn't matter how old your kids are) - we worry about them. Being part of a care giving team - there are always lots of unexpected stresses. Being an employee - you try to always put your best effort forward. There are always the same number of hours in a day, but sometimes the demands we're dealt exceed the amount of time we have, leaving nothing left over for us. Our spirit needs to be supported as well; I'm discovering that the weaker my spirit is, the less I have to give to everyone else.

So ... my goal for this year? To improve my body, challenge my mind, and protect my spirit.

How are your goals going so far? 
Anything I can do to be supportive?

Finding Our Own Direction

 
A few weeks ago I was invited to write a motivational post for 'Entirely Women' as part of their '52 Real Women' weekly series. I was honored to contribute to this inspirational women's website. For any of you who may have missed the post, here it is.

 

 

 

When we were younger, even as far back as junior high, we were given aptitude and career tests. They’re supposed to help us figure out what we should do as a career and what we will study in college. But let’s be honest, how many of us knew at age 13 what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives? Not too many I’d bet.

Sometimes we have to endure trial and error before we can figure out our paths and direction. Most often it’s all part of an ongoing journey. I am 51 (at least for a few more days) and I’m still redefining what the ‘rest of my life’ will look like.

We all have dreams and aspirations. Sometimes we feel like we’ll never get there and that the dreams are too big for us or just out of our reach. We’ll have supporters in our corner that encourage us to ‘go for it’ and to ‘keep trying’; but often times we’ll also have people telling us that we’re crazy, that we should be happy with what we have and leave it at that.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it when people tell me I can’t do something, especially if it’s something I feel passionate about or something I just don’t feel ready to give up on. If I have the heart and the will to keep trying for something; whether it’s a new job, a relationship, or a better and healthier lifestyle – then I’m going to keep trying. People may think I’m wasting my time, but that’s just it … it’s MY time and MY effort. Why should they care if I fail? Sometimes we have to falter in our initial attempts at greatness before we can truly decipher where we want to go and what we want to do. I think it’s all part of the process. Sure it would be quicker and easier if our lives fell right into place all the time without any complications or mistakes, but it’s those hurdles (and getting over them) that help define our character.

Whatever your dreams or aspirations are, I encourage you to keep going for them. Give them everything you have until you have nothing else to give. Who knows where the journey will take you and what important lessons you’ll have to share with others once you get there.

Dreams Can Change

Often when we're younger we plan out our goals, our dreams, and in essence our futures. When we're kids we have big ideas about growing up to be a ballerina, a firefighter, a teacher, a lawyer, an astronaut, a doctor, and a musician ... among many others. We progress along over the years ... sometimes managing a career in our chosen path, fulfilling our goals and dreams. Other times we get to a fork in the road and make a choice going in a different direction. It doesn't mean we went the wrong way, just a different way - often the 'better' way.

I studied journalism while in college and always said that some day I would be a writer. But define 'writer' ... not all writers have books on the national best seller's list. Some writers create books, some write for magazines and newspapers, some write amazing business letters and newsletter articles, and then there are those of us that blog. Being a writer just means you've poured your heart and soul down on to paper (or a website) and someone out there has read it and been affected by your words. Whether their response is good or bad, you still made a difference.

For years I dreamed about writing a children's series based on my two children. Trust me there is A LOT of story content there. I even toyed with the idea of doing the illustrations myself. Years have gone by and each year I tell myself that after the kids are graduated and in college and life settles down I'll finally have the time to devote to the project. But in the process of waiting ... life happens. You meet different people, situations arise, your perspectives and even dreams can change. I still love to write, but following different life experiences I feel compelled to write about something bigger and deeper and life-changing. It doesn't mean I won't ever write that children's series, it just means the timing doesn't feel right. And that's o.k.

 

With time dreams can be further defined and goals can change. When I was in college taking creative writing and Shakespearean literature blogs and websites didn't exist. That doesn't make me a dinosaur it just means that while life, technology and even the world changes, our goals can also change. When everything around you progresses you have two choices. You can hold on to your set plan, dig your heals in and hope you're able to achieve it OR you can take whatever life throws at you and alter your plans as you go. New options may present themselves that you never even considered.

 

Did you ever have a dream or goal that you didn't achieve? If so, do you still have a desire to achieve it? What's stopping you? Sometimes we just have to go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing lost ... right?