44 Things I Know for Sure

Oprah closes every one of her magazines with a page on things she knows for sure, as I'm heading to the anniversary of my birth and starting another year on this big blue marble I wanted to share some things I know for true.  What things do you know?

1. There are people in your life that will change your whole world if you let them in or let them go.
2. I cannot do this life without my family those by blood and those by heart.
3. Fresh flowers brighten a whole day.
4. There is nothing better than taking off your work clothes and putting on play clothes at the end of a day.
5. Paying off a major debt feels amazing.
6. So does day drinking.
7. Love won't fix you.
8. Lost love won't kill you either.
9. Love is always worth the risk.
10. Sometimes a day alone in your pajamas is better than anything else in the world.
11. A bad hour doesn't have to lead to a bad day or week or year or life.
12. Time spent reading is never wasted time.
13. If you don't love your job that will bleed into your life.
14. Everyone is an artist they may not have discovered the medium just yet.
15. I will always need to write poetry even if no one ever reads it.
16. Books are almost always better than the movie-courtesy of my friend Susie.
17. Libraries are magical.
18. I am stronger than I think I am.
19. Assuming good intent makes you kinder when people hurt you. And they will.
20. Iron Man is the best Avenger.
21. Sometimes sleeping late means 7:30.
22. I am not defined by my past.
23. I do not have to like someone because they like me first.
24. I am enough.
25. I will always watch The Shawshank Redemption if it is on television.
26. From my friend Kory-friends will be around, but good friends are there when things are bad.
27. I will always want to learn new things.
28. Let your freak flag fly!
29. The moments that change your life can be glaring or subtle, they are there.
30. Living downtown was among the best decisions I ever made.
31. There is nothing I love more than when one of my kids yells Lollie as they run to me.
32. Sometimes the only thing that can make a day go away is a hot bath and a glass of wine.
33. Stand up comedy is excellent company in the car.
34. Reflecting on gratitude daily can change your life.
35. So can meditation.
36. And working out.
37. I will always be a hunter and gatherer of people.
38. My fichus tree George will always be less work than a pet and will live longer (way to go George, 18 years!)
39. The sun will rise again, even if I don't see it--from my friend Todd.
40. Remington Steele was the best show from the 80's and Pierce Brosnan was the best Bond.
41. Drinks always taste better on a patio.
42. The ocean will heal you.
43. Apple products are better than Android.
44. I love my life, with the bumps and bruises, the sharp turns and brakes, the false starts and stalls, the brilliance, the love, the laughter, the tears and the overwhelming joy.  I love my life.

Law of Attraction (part 2)

I have a vision board, I haven't looked at it in a while and am currently culling magazines to start another one, now that I have a fuller clearer picture of what I want life to look like for me.  It's interesting how many times in the past week I've heard things about what you say to yourself and how that shapes the world.  So if I setup a new vision board what can I do differently with my self-talk to make the things I see real?

In the session with Andy Dooley he explained why the Law doesn't work for people, why they get so frustrated. We put messages out in the universe about what we want but we don’t really believe we deserve it so we do a half assed job believing in ourselves.  Sound familiar? How about this? I really want that new job, I'm going to get my resume updated. I'm going to do the online application and I'm going to research the company so I'm ready.  The minute we submit the application we begin to doubt. I've never done that before, I am overreaching. I could never do the job. They are never going to call so that's what we put out for God or the universe to respond to. They hear I could never do it so they don’t give it to us.

The battle rages inside our heads, we ask for one thing and then immediately sabotage ourselves.  In church this week I heard the same message, we ask for something and then doubt it, we pray and then doubt we will receive. So we are sending mixed messages what we want versus denying we want it. What if we didn’t?  What if we trusted that the universe, that God was working in our best interests?

I've talked about it before but it bears repeating, the dialog I have historically had with myself has been so horrifyingly negative that I would immediately dropped any person who spoke to me like that. I have to admit though since I've become more aware of this, of how I want to shape my future I have caught myself much more frequently and have been able to stop the negative self talk.  There are two ways I started doing this.  I posted last January how when I hear these negative voices I stop them by putting the voice into my best friend Jen's voice.  Jen's been my best friend and champion for more years than I'm interested in sharing. Jen has zero credibility with me because she believes in me 100% so when the negative voices won't go away I put them in her voice and they stop.  Jen would never speak to me with anything other than love, and that's teaching me to speak to myself only with love.

Another way that I was able to stop the negative thoughts are to consider them objectively.  In Brene Brown's book she mentions considering negative thoughts with the idea of isn't that interesting and letting it go.  I've been in some situations lately where I've had opportunities to interact with negative people. In the past I would take every look, every movement, every whisper as a an indication of something that I did wrong.  This time, this time it was different. I was able to look at the situation, consider it and dismiss it as interesting and ultimately nothing to do with me.  Each person reacts to their own agenda and that has nothing to do with me. 

So how does all this tie back to the Law of Attraction?  If we can monitor our thoughts, if we can take the high road and not react in negative situations to the people around us then we have a chance to make things different.  This time right now, this time is transition and we don't do transition well.  Andy Dooley talks about this a lot, that we get the picture of the end game but we don’t wait for it well, we don't do transition well.  All the books and articles talk about how to get to the end game, they don't talk about how hard it is to wait for it.

There are a million different ways to say it, in God's time, one day at a time, thy will be done.  They are all saying the same thing, that we have to wait for whatever it is that we want.  There is a caveat on that too, sometimes what we want isn't the right thing at all. How many times have we wished or prayed for something and not gotten it, only to get something much better in its place? I have yet in my life to not have had things work out better than even I could have prayed for.  The key is letting it go. Say the prayer, do the work and let it go.

Next up, more on navigating transition but in the mean time, be kind, be gentle and pay attention to the stories you are telling yourself.

Leap Day and 11:11

With the Law of Attraction stuff I've been looking at lately, I found an interesting article on Leap Day and 11:11 that inspired me to write some goals, but first some fun things about 11:11 according to the Elephant Journal. 

"According to numerology the number 11 possesses the qualities of patience, honesty, spirituality, sensitivity, intuition and is idealistic and compassionate. Those people who are drawn to 11, operate on a different level of energy than most, and when two people come together who both have this type of energy it’s almost combustible. 11:11 is the universe’s way of urging us to pay attention to our heart, our soul and our inner intuition. It’s serving as a wake-up call to us so that opportunities are not missed in this lifetime." (link is here)

In the article it mentioned how vital the time was on 2/29 at 11:11  to meditate and consider what we want for the year.  So I did that, I looked at what  wanted for my year in seven areas: Love, Friendship, Writing, Health, Career, Spirituality and Money, I literally named the list What I want in 2016.  It's interesting to me to look at the first three things on my list, Love, Friendship and Writing, and Money is last.

My list looks like this:

Love: find a place for me in Mr Wonderful's heart and finding room in my heart for real love, my partner, my true match.  I want to open myself to new opportunities to love and be loved.

Friendship: continue to grow and love with my friends, share my journey so we can all continue to grow together.  Be open to new people and let go of the people who do not fit.

Writing: PUBLISHED POET!!! I am a poetry rockstar or a rockstar poet both work. Hit 15,000 views on my blog, get two suggestions from readers on topics and have readers find me from places other than Facebook and Twitter.

Health: it's time to step out of the fat suit and step into my real life. There is no wrong food choice, food isn't an enemy it's just nourishment. I may run anther half marathon, I will be able to do 50 pushups and 350 old school sit-ups-not crunches.

Career: Continue to flourish at my new company and grow my team. I will provide guidance and skills no one else can.

Money: I will attract financial security and be on my way to wealth and security in my future. I will comfortably pay all of my outstanding obligations and save for the future easily. I will investigate homeownership again. I love financial responsibility.

My life will be focused and full of intent with an eye towards my hopes and dreams. I will act as if I have already achieved my goals and trust that I will be taken care of. I will be humbled and grateful for the gifts I receive and will share any knowledge I glean to help other people reach their goals.

I think it's a true picture of where I want to be and what I want.  The minute was a good opportunity to stop and reflect and concentrate on what is important to me.  What's important to you? What do you want from life? How can you make one small change today to impact your future goals?