Resolution vs. Lifestyle

Before the new year rang in, I had already decided to make a list of things I wanted to accomplish in 2010. I've made resolutions in years past. Some of them come to pass and others haven't happened yet.

What I realized though is that the resolutions that actually happened were the ones I had a solid plan for achieving. I wrote these goals down on paper, I looked at them regularly, I spoke about them, and I took steps towards making them happen. Now instead of making New Year's resolutions, I just set goals and make them a part of my lifestyle.

At the end of 2009, I knew I wanted to take on business partners. Events seemed to effortlessly fall into place which lead to me securing several partners for two separate projects. I was thrilled. So I've made it a part of my life to visualize my desires, speak about them constantly, and to take a step (even if it's a small one) toward reaching my goals.

Friends

I'm sitting here thinking about how good it is to have friends to call upon. Sometimes I feel like just being alone and spending time taking care of myself...getting back to my place of "centeredness." But there are definitely times when I want to enjoy some companionship.

I noticed that especially this time of year, more friends and family reach out to be close to me. I've been to countless events already this holiday season since Thanksgiving. I'm loving every minute of it though. It just takes a friendly phone call, or a quick instant message, or even a shoutout on Facebook to remind me that life is meant to be shared with the people in my life. Today, I'm thankful for friends who keep in touch even when I'm busy or forget to reach out to them.

Much Love

Every once in a while someone surprises me pleasantly…restores my faith in people. It was three Thursdays ago. Yet I can still remember it so clearly. That day I experienced so many wonderful feelings on the inside. A fresh wave of hope was sparked within me.

I had made a new friend that day. We chatted for a while. I found that one of the things we have in common is a spirit of spontaneity. Going out and having fun is definitely a priority. Once we decide we want to do something, we just do it. Not much planning is done. We like to simply live in the moment. So we decided to get together later that night.

As we greeted each other we hugged. We talked and laughed for hours—although it only seemed like minutes. My friend shared with me a few things that happened in the past while I shared some things about me as well. I’m a very intuitive person. So I often pick up on other people’s feelings even before they are spoken. I’m definitely in touch with sensing things. I was discerning that my friend had been hurt very deeply by someone close. Despite the pain I could tell that my friend still has a kind and loving heart. And my friend kept serving me and showering kindness on me.

I was treated with the utmost respect and generosity. I’ve known people my entire life that have never treated me nearly as good as my new friend. I’ll be forever grateful that we met and the meaningful relationship we are developing. You know who you are. Thank you from the depths of my heart. Much love!

The Voice Within

A few years ago, I heard about the concept of listening to positive affirmations as a way to change your thoughts to more positive ones. I recognized the importance of focusing on positive things instead of the negative. I began to act on my belief and started to listen to affirmations several times a week.

I've noticed a steady progression in my thoughts and attitudes. As I was seeing these positive changes, I learned that I could improve the results. The thoughts that cross your mind each day, all day, and the things you tell yourself are more powerful and influential than any words you'll ever hear from anyone else. Your own voice has the most power to either build you up or tear you down. With this knowledge, I knew that I needed to make some time to record positive affirmations in my very own voice.

I had been wanting to buy a quality voice recorder for a few years now. I planned to record different topics I want to focus on and play them back to myself each day. Today I actually made the decision to get it done. I went shopping, bought the voice recorder, and got to work recording several inspirational messages to myself. Next I spent hours listening to my own messages. I was very pleased with each of the four messages I recorded. My project turned out great. Now I can encourage myself whenever I feel a need to be uplifted.

Today I'm thankful for the sound of my own voice. It's powerful. It's articulate. It's pretty. It's unique. It's sweet. It's me!

Oh Baby

Yesterday, I went to my good friend, Katie's baby shower. I could see that she was glowing and ready for her baby boy to come into the world. We still have to wait a few weeks before her baby's anticipated birth date. But, he's already been given a name, Truitt (which means disciple). I love the meaning of that name! Along with it being a sunny, easy going day, I had so much to be thankful for. There were close mutual friends and some of her family was there. We had food, cake, and ice cream...yum! I'm such a kid at heart.

As I thought back to when I was shopping for the baby's present, I remembered the sheer joy I had in going through the isles of baby stuff. Baby's bring so much happiness into the world. And there were so many things I wanted to get him. After shopping for what seemed like a long time, I finally made my selections. I chose a cozy blue blanket and a soft fuzzy teddy bear for Truitt. I also picked out a colorful gift bag.

At the shower, we also played baby Bingo. That was fun. Then we played a word game where we had to pass a gift around every time we heard the words, "left" or "right." We laughed and giggled as the gift kept going quickly from person to person. Someone finally won that gift.

Our next game was to guess the size of Katie's waistline (in inches). I was sure that I wasn't going to guess anywhere near the right number for this game. Each lady wrote her guess on a small slip of paper, with her name on it, and handed it in for judging. Then one of our friends measured Katie's waist and announced it to everyone. Finally each slip of paper was read outloud for everyone to hear. What do you know? I guessed the exact measurement. I was the winner! I got a pretty pink and purple journal. I was thankful for that because those are two of my favorite colors. And I needed another new journal too. Hey what can I say, gratitude definitely works.

Thank You Power

Have you ever had one of those days... You know it's a day where you were hoping for one thing and got something else instead? Well this was one of those days.

But the focus of my blogs is not on the bad stuff. I promised myself that this would be a place for me to express my gratitude about things. So, as I spent a lot of time alone today, I tried repeatedly to focus on some positive things. I decided to read something inspirational which is something that I do every day.

One book I'm reading is called, "Thank You Power," by Deborah Norville. I was encouraged tremendously as I read each page. I decided to do what I read about in one of the chapters. It suggested taking just five minutes to list as many things, that come to mind, to be thankful for. I got out a pen, notebook, and started writing. As I began to write about my gratitude for something, more things came to mind. When five minutes was up, I stopped writing and took a look at my list of thanks.

I shocked and amazed myself when I counted twenty-three blessings to be thanful about. And I really could have kept going after that. Remembering how my day started off and how I wasn't in the best of moods, I took a look at the list again and I felt impressed with what I wrote about gratitude. I'm also thankful for the lesson that I taught myself: "No matter what, always find something to be thankful for."

The Joy of Friends

Before I even made it out of bed, I awoke to the sound of my ring tone on my cell phone. I could tell from the tune that it was a text message. Not ready to get up yet, I reached over and quickly glanced at the message. It was from my friend Jen. She was away for the weekend with her husband and some other friends. She sent me the message to tell me that she misses me and that she loves me. I read the message again and smiled to myself. Then I thought, "What a great way to start the day."

I already had a few things to be thankful for right then. I felt thankful that I was well rested from sleep. I was thankful to have a close friend like Jen. And I was thankful that she missed my company...Nice!

Shortly after that, my cell phone rang again. It was my salsa dance partner, Derek. He called to check on me because I had planned to go dancing, at the Salsa Carnival event, last night in Arlington. There's a pretty big community of salsa dancers in that area. So when I'm feeling especially social, I drive up to Arlington to dance the night away.

But, I changed my plans and decided not to go. I already knew in advance that Derek wouldn't be there either. As always, he jokingly gave me a hard time for not having been to Arlington in months. Either way, I was thankful once again for a friend reaching out to me and showing me that my presence was missed.

Today I felt missed, appreciated, and loved.