This time of year is so interesting, isn’t it? If it’s mid-winter where you are the days are starting to get longer, you might be seeing some little plants push through the ground, and there is a restlessness like we want to wake up and get going, but where to? It’s still winter and if you aren’t doing a resort trip what to do?
Don’t you feel like something new? Like moving the furniture in your house, trying a new flavor of tea, really a restlessness sort of. I’m so there! So a few days ago I shared this activity with a friend.
I planned out an afternoon where we could chat about our new ideas for ourselves, our gardens, well, theirs, I’m still working on that skill but I can dream. For me, the ideas I carried over from last year felt like they needed some weeding so that will be my garden of sorts.
The weather was bright and sunny but it was still chilly outside so it was perfect for a cup of hot tea with cinnamon sticks for stirring, plus we had some gingerbread cookies, some lit candles, and had an amazing time sharing everything on our minds. The take away was a fun afternoon doing something totally different, both energizing and a refresh in itself.
Don’t wait, try this or something similar now! I promise you it will help pull you out of any mid-winter doldrums and you can get a start on your Spring plans now.
Appreciate You All!
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Mondays, they don’t get me down but I’m not filled with a sense of energy to dive in either, which doesn’t make sense. They are like any other day – you make them what you want, but what to do if you have no recollection of being a huge fan? Read on for my Monday edits, created last week!
This year what I’m feeling is to carry on with last years goals but take it as a new chapter. Let’s take my business, I had some ideas of what I wanted last year and some intentions I completed, others were dropped when it became clear they weren’t what I wanted, and new intentions came up in their place. I’m excited about writing my script in that way!
Do you remember last weeks mention of affirmation as part of my vision notebook? When I felt particularly stuck a few years ago one affirmation was written what felt like hundreds of times and I’d repeat it during the day as I was driving, etc., and yes things changed for me along with baby steps towards what I wanted. I still intend to do that if there’s something that feels stubborn and unchanging in my life but it occurred to me I can do a twist on the usual way of doing affirmations.
Last week, I took an affirmation that is relevant to a major goal for me. On Sunday I decided on an affirmation to start and put it in my calendar each morning with an alert so it’s on my phone screen for a few minutes and sets my tone for the day. Today I selected one as the next baby step and I’ll do the same. There are no rules here so if I want to keep an affirmation for several weeks I will. Additionally I say them throughout the day and, though this didn’t feel relevant the past week, they can be written as well.
Monday doesn’t feel as dull with something to look forward to-a new start and a shift! Here are a few affirmations that may be helpful if you want to try this. Create your own or go online-there are oodles of them!
I am capable of starting and completing tasks, I am a great friend and attract great friends in return, I am confident in my ability to lead and grow my start up.
So easy and Monday’s won’t be the same!
Appreciate You All!
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Recently I asked for your input on what is changing for you in 2024 and I was amazed with all your ideas, goals, and creativity. Thank you!! There was so much I couldn’t just do a random select because it meant I wouldn’t share every comment that I found energizing. Seriously, reading them provided ideas and inspiration on ways to further shape what I want to focus on. To get it all on paper I looked at the patterns and saw some main themes emerging so I’m sharing them in that way.
Get Into The Great Outdoors…Spending time in nature, watching sunrises and sunsets, walking outside, to name some, do lift you up and give you a different frame of mind. I’ve been pulling weeds and putting down new mulch and even though that’s tedious I do get more relaxed being outside. I would think if you’re in the city planting flowers in a pot to put on a deck would give you the same perspective.
Getting Motivated – So true! Get there in bits and pieces, usually 5-15 minutes will start moving your goal into shape. Look for an upcoming post on this.
Love, Kindness, & Happiness – So true! Start with yourself, maybe the 5-15 minutes of something important to you, something that makes you happy, daily or a few times a week makes a big difference! You deserve it. Love that this came up as a theme.
Travel – Do get out and explore, it’s amazing the people you meet and things you see. I’m starting to do this where I live, exploring my city like someone traveling here to visit, kind of exciting!
Work Through Tough Times – I totally get this one and being in the middle of it feels like you’re walled in. From talking to people, reading, and going through tough times, seems like it’s part of being a person, if you get an idea to read something, talk to someone, write a dialogue about it, etc. do it-those nudges are motions that help you to feel unstuck. I have a journaling link below to use or to spur ideas. Let me know what you come up with.
Eat More Sourdough Bread – Sign me up!!
Bye for now!
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I love this time of year, January! Yes, I know you start getting end of year notices from your bank prepping you for tax season, big eye roll, and it gets really cold. But, there is so much more than that with January!
For me, every year it feels like I’ve got every possible avenue open to me-the adventure is refreshing! I also get this feeling to a lesser degree in April, with the spring weather, and October with the falling leaves and chilly evenings. More on those in a minute. Think about the New Year, the previous is now only a memory so if there were less than desirable things going on it’s in the past.
With that said, what are you going to do with any remnants you no longer want to deal with and what new cards do you want to deal into your life? It’s all a choice, and with baby steps, you can make edits and shape things to better suit either the direction you want to take or how you want to face something. Nobody can take that choice from you, it’s totally yours and that to me is exciting!
So usually each January has me changing the art in my home, lucky me my Dad and brother are both painters so there’s never enough wall space for everything, and refreshing my organization, and making plans. Also each year I tend to also take a deeper look at where I am in life, things like my spiritual take on things, or how I can edit my approach and be a better listener, stuff like that. And I look into the next baby steps to bring about the things I’d like to experience and see.
About a week ago I asked for your input on how you plan on recharging for 2024 and the responses have been amazing, really I’m inspired and grateful to read your goals. I want to give it the rest of this week and then I’ll randomly pull ten to post, but it may be more because I’m overwhelmed with how great they are. If you are on the fence, I won’t post any names but I’d love to share because they have inspired me and I’d like to share the same with you.
I’m posting the two things I’m excited to work on as a recharge in 2024 and that’s looking deeper into gratitude for even the things that aren’t desirable and also partnerships and what I’m bringing to the table to be part of a team whether it’s personal or business. In April and October I’ll look to revisit what I’m working on to see what feels relevant.
Bye for now!
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So, I’ve started this year obsessed with organizing, weeding out, and sorting my house. And I mean my house! I’ve got a list by room of things I will do this year to refresh and/or edit things. I’ve been going through drawers, and even looking at expiration dates on everything, including my cosmetics! Crazy? Maybe, but I’ve only dented the surface and it already feels so much better. Plus, it feels like I’m a little more organized in my head which I didn’t expect.
This feeling came on me towards the end of December, and, serendipitously, while reading through the Apartment Therapy blog, I saw their January Cure they offer annually. Each weekday, gratis, for 20 days they send an email with the coolest ideas that are super easy, and quick to do. Check it out via the link below. If you do decide to go for it, and who cares if January is mostly finished, reach out either via the comments, or on my SM, and tell me what you think.
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/january-cure-2022-sign-up-37004167
The work I was doing organizing and restyling my house brought an awareness that I was dissatisfied with my style too. Truthfully, I’d been feeling creatively stale for awhile and it felt as if I was putting a stale version of myself out to the world. Focusing intensely, managing my construction project last year, felt consuming to the point I wasn’t aware of changing incredibly inside. I’d been changing a lot in a positive way as a person but was too busy to realize it. You’re constantly changing, even if you aren’t aware of it at the time. Change was happening to me but it was background noise due to focusing so intently for so long. My client’s comment frequently that because I do styling, having a concern or feeling off must not happen to me. I’m here to tell you, even after years of styling for film and advertising – it happens to everyone!
Organizing, sorting, and weeding through my home caused me to realize the issue wasn’t “stale” creativity, it was no longer resonating with who I was before embarking on my project.
It’s time to put an editing eye on my closet! Everything was going into the project so I hadn’t purchased anything new for awhile. But, more than that, I wasn’t putting a fresh eye to what I had. Yes, some things will no longer “feel” right and those will go to someone who will feel amazing in them. It’s time to put a fresh take on what will work, what “fits” who I am inside now, and what I still feel amazing in. Then, I’ll add new items to my closet.
So, having figured that out, I got to thinking there are probably lots of you reading this that feel the same. So, I decided to offer a promo to kick off 2022. How exciting, am I right?
Here it is, just share a question, or concern, with me, and I’ll work with you to resolve it. Just IM me or send an email. It’s that simple!
Looking forward to sharing in your New Year/Updated You adventure!
Bye for now!
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Ready to start journaling? Click to get my free journaling workbook!
I’ve been listening to a series of talks on generosity and gratitude this past month, which is timely since we just celebrated our Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. Another reason the talks are timely? The three VERY large goals I’ve been working toward this year, building a business, building a garage, and making everything else work during the pandemic, is finally moving to fruition. So, yeah, I’ve been doing my Snoopy happy dance for sure!
In going after my goals, this year has felt like a series of competency tests, one after the other, and for that reason this year has been a marathon. Those times where the goal isn’t to finish really quickly, like a sprint, but just working to finish! A good part of the challenge was a feeling that no matter what I did, there seemed to be no movement, and even, at times, it felt as if I had setbacks. Yep, even after taking action that should have given me forward movement. So this year, I’ve been doing a lot of filing in the “you can’t make this stuff up” file. Yeah, it’s funny now but there were times I was glad to have friends who let me vent my frustrations.
Because of all that, I ended up with a new tool for life, and that was the realization of feeling deeply grateful. It not only made me feel better in the moment, but also created an opening for me to figure out “what next”. And a huge part of that was my daily journaling! Listing 3 things I’m grateful for each day meant really focusing on where I have it good, especially on those days where it felt like I only had problems to solve. If you’d like to see that, get my free Journal workbook at the end of this post.
I’ve always been optimistic, and, for the most part, I’m satisfied with my life (though I believe a little dissatisfaction is a good thing because it’s one way to see where you want to experience your next adventure in the form of change). Years ago I read somewhere that gratitude isn’t a laundry list of items, a recitation, though that can be a good place to start. It’s really considering what you are very deeply thankful about, or where you are very satisfied.
Maybe because of the curves life handed me this year, and how relentless I had to be to keep things on course, I begin to feel a deeper sense of thankfulness and satisfaction. Sometimes it was coming home in the evening and snuggling in with whatever interested me at the moment. It was also sharing a good meal with good friends, or even just watching trash TV.
I’m going to do a series of blog posts on managing the long periods of challenges, whether they’re seemingly never ending tasks to reach your goal, or whether you’re facing new experiences without a “how-to” app. For those times it’s all about digging in, persevering, and taking that next step even if you feel doubt or uncertainty. Those times aren’t always easy, or fun, but sometimes it’s just what you have to do.
Bye for now!
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Do you use Firefox as your search engine? If you do, then you know how they have thumbnails to articles on their home page, some great, some silly, and some you just roll your eyes! About a month ago there was a thumbnail to a Glamour magazine article on the Miss Navajo Nation contest, so, of course, I dropped everything and read it.
You can read the article here: Glamour Magazine – Inside the Miss Navajo Nation Pageant
The article was mesmerizing and focused on the background of the contest, including why it began and when, what the judges look for, and the back stories of the contestants. It’s not like the contests you’re used to seeing on television, these women are seen as not only ambassadors for the tribe, but have the monumental job of bringing a better understanding of their culture across the country and also internationally.
The Miss Navajo Nation contest is a 69 year old tradition. First held in 1952, it was meant to center Navajo pride and honor the Dine’, or Navajo people. It’s a rigorous contest and takes years of study, dedication, and passion to enter and compete. There is an exacting test of Navajo culture, a preparation of three traditional dishes, and they must demonstrate Navajo language fluency. They also must show a clear understanding of traditional everyday life, again crucial as they travel as ambassadors of their nation across 574 federally recognized tribes and also internationally.
On a personal level it allows them to reflect back on everything that it took for them to get to where they are, something that I believe would be beneficial for all of us, how they were raised, and the things they were taught.
For me, the emphasis on their inner style, their belief system and what they value, is paramount. And you see it reflected in their outer style, the beautifully designed clothes, colors, and incredible hand made, custom jewelry, individualized to their taste, which is the reflection of their enthusiasm and pride.
Love that!
Reading the article got me thinking about a culture with great pride, that holds themselves to a high standard, moves to the future while maintaining a hold on where they came from, and represents their best as individuals. I also got to thinking about ways to reflect that in my own life, to more consciously choose to reflect who I am, and where I’ve come from.
What do you value and represent daily, as the outer reflection of who you are inside? How can we be leaders and ambassadors for whatever we hold as meaningful for us, such as kindness, patience, inclusion, or caring? As women, I believe we have the power to change our world, and the world around us. I believe we can do this best by being those things we would like to see in our world.
Thank you Miss Navajo Nation for the inspiration!
Bye for now!
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