Category Archives: mindful

On the Horizon

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While it’s great to spend most of our time in the present moment and truly be mindful of what’s happening right now, it’s also fun to have something to look forward to – something on the horizon that we are excited about – something we can think about and dream about and make plans to realize. 
Spend some time today thinking about what is on your horizon.

Do you have a new project that you are excited to start?
Do you have a much-needed vacation coming up?
Do you have personal goals that you are about to reach?

Write about all of the exciting things that are about to happen in your life. 
Write about all of the wonderful things you are looking forward to.
Take some time to really feel how happy you will be when these goals are realized.
This is a great list to go back to when you are feeling a bit disenchanted or down and need a little boost. 
It’s also a great motivator to help you reach your goals.
I have some wonderful things on the horizon – things that I am so excited to share with you all very soon.
I’ve been letting some plans and ideas incubate in my soul for awhile now, and it’s almost time to bring them out into the world. 
We all have a great idea or project or vacation or goal on the horizon. 
Let’s honor them today and know that someday soon everything on the horizon will become our present reality!
P.S. – This week’s poll asks what type(s) of blogs you like to read. It’s a fun way to see what we are all reading! It’s in the upper right hand corner – please stop by and leave your answer! 🙂

Enjoying the Process

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Yesterday I wrote about setting aside time to celebrate and reward yourself after completing a goal. It’s so important to pat yourself on the back before moving onto the next task. 
It’s also equally important to enjoy the process and learn to stay present 
while you are working on the task at hand. 

Melissa from the wonderful Bubby and Bean brought this up, and it inspired me to write today’s post about doing just that! 
How often do you find yourself working on a project and either just racing to get through it so you can check it off the list or find yourself spacing out and not really able to stay in the moment and enjoy the act of actually doing it? 
And this goes for any type of project – creating, cleaning, working, errands, cooking, etc. 
The next time you are working on a project, try to stay mindful and present while you are doing it. Instead of thinking about the outcome or the next project or what’s for dinner or how much laundry you have to do – just stay with it and really be aware of that moment. 

Enjoy yourself and find joy in creating or working or just doing.

Let’s all try this today!
Let’s choose a project and make sure that we enjoy ourselves and stay completely present while we are working on it.
Let’s not even think about finishing it or the outcome or the next step.
Let’s just stay in the moment and enjoy it for what it is.

Life happens in the present moment. 
And the more we can actually be present and enjoy this journey, the happier we will be.

Ahhhh….

🙂

Who Are You Living For?

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This is a really important (and sometimes really hard) question to answer. 
In an ideal world, we are living for ourselves and only doing things that make us feel great and are on our authentic path.

But…it doesn’t always work this way. It’s normal to want to please others. It’s normal to want to be liked. But ask yourself at what expense are you willing to sacrifice your own wants and desires to fit in. 
Think of how you live and the decisions you have made and continue to make. 
Are you making them based on what you think people will want or expect you to do? 
Are you making them because someone else’s voice (a parent, a spouse, a friend) is inside of you directing how you live? 
Are you making them because you don’t want to upset anyone? 
Are you making them because that’s how you’ve always done it?

And now think about how you want to live. The answers are always within us if we just take the time to listen.
As the answers come to you, write them down. And as you write them down, make sure that it is your authentic voice coming up with the answers. This is an exercise that you can keep coming back to with every part of your life – every decision, every action you make, every second of how you live your day.

Make sure you are living YOUR life – whatever that means for YOU. 
There may be friction…
Sometimes when you start coming into your own power – your own authentic self – the self you know you were meant to be – friction occurs with those around you. When someone we love changes, it can sometimes be seen as threatening. It can bring up emotions, fears, and questions about our own life. This is why so many people resist it and why so many of us live lives that we know aren’t our best lives – comfortable, “I’m not rocking the boat” lives. And through this process of finding your own voice, you may have to let go of the voices you have carried within you – and this may mean letting go just in your mind or letting go of that person in reality as well.
Sometimes the perceived friction is only in our heads…
We all know how active our imaginations can be. When we are consciously deciding to live our best lives, we can start imagining how rocking the boat will lead to anger, disconnect, and complete withdrawal from those we love. We just know they won’t support us or understand this new person we are becoming. We get ourselves all worked up just thinking about showing them our authentic self. We are so afraid we won’t be accepted. And sometimes we aren’t. But more often than not, our loved ones completely support us and are completely okay with our changes. And we wonder why we were so worked up about it in the first place.  

Showing ourselves and the world who we really are can be a scary, vulnerable place. But it can also be an empowering place. You get to be you – fully you.

If we stay conscious and continue to examine each moment of how we live, we will learn more and more about ourselves and get closer to living our authentic life.

Now that’s worth living for!