“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves, we can RISK curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
What is it you plan to do?
As 2016 approached and even now, a couple weeks into this new year, a line I read years ago in a poem ("The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver) has been echoing in my mind:
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
I love that. The question ASSUMES so much — that we have but one life, that it’s a worthwhile life, and that we have a responsibility inherent in our existence (i.e., life is what you make of it).
That same question also DEMANDS just as much — that we take ownership of the time we're given, that we be intentional and that we sense the gravity (and grandeur) of our lives.
It’s such a heavy and beautiful question.
Now, take a second and read those words again. Does the question overwhelm you? Scare you into avoidance? Excite you to action? Inspire you to dream? Feel rhetorical? Any or all of those? Good. I encourage you to wrestle with those feelings and thoughts. Sit in that discomfort. Embrace the process and go where it leads ...
May the question inspire you in your goal setting, decision-making and hopes for this year. May 2016 be one of profound purpose, intentionality and joy.
(P.S. I’m available, if you’re looking for help along the way — just get in touch!)
Stop Wishing and Start Doing
I read once that it takes just as much energy to wish or dream as it takes to plan. Do you think that’s true?
If you wish for a better marriage or dream about a new career, what stops you from planning for it?
If you dream about traveling or wish for happiness, why would you avoid planning to make it a reality?
Something holds you back. That something needs conquering.
“A year from now you’ll wish you’d started today.”
I’d like to help you grab hold of what you’ve been wishing for and dreaming about. So, take a step toward realizing a worthy goal in 2016 — MAKE AN APPOINTMENT and we’ll make a plan together.
In the meantime, download something like the Everest app and start goal setting and step strategizing. "Everyone's got their Everest. Climb yours."
Healthy Habits for Working Out
Do you have a healthy relationship with exercise? All in or totally avoidant, there's a balance to be aimed for and achieved.
According to the Huffington Post, 9 habits might set you apart:
- Know the difference between a good burn and true pain
- Take rest days
- Don’t exercise to eat, instead, eat to exercise
- Go with the flow
- Know what you like and do that
- But still mix things up
- Do it when and where you like
- Seek support
- Do it for the mental benefits.
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How does your workout routine measure up?
Inspiration for the Indifferent
Maybe you haven't been traveling through Patagonia like the couple in the video, but the path YOU'VE been been on? Like theirs, it comes to an end, fades, transitions. Maybe it already has. And YOUR FUTURE, quietly waiting, asks you:
1. Is it possible to be happy with THIS life?
2. Did you enjoy your story?
If you can't answer yes ... I urge you to start looking for a different answer. Do whatever it takes to know that you know that you know that joy is still possible. Start today. Go. Try. Be. Change.
Go travel. Make eye contact. Say "hello." Run a new route. Change your diet. Get foolish and engage a grand gesture. Stop living half-assed and quit making excuses (Revelation 3:15-17, The Message). Fear owns you. You're no good for anyone (including yourself) all stifled and hunched inward. Tradition, authority, rules and norms? Analyze them, shake them, change them.
One life. One chance at influence and time and transformation. Don't blow this.
Just live a better story, k? Need a little help or hope to get you started? I'm game. That's what therapy is all about. Give me a call.