Pure Cuteness…

The end of January is upon us so quickly.

Even my teenage daughter has commented on how fast the months are going by! Usually I try and pick a photo that somehow relates to what I’m posting about, but this one is just for pure cuteness!

This is a been a month of cold and reflection.  I have struggled to post, but am keeping up my online education for internet business and blogging.  It is still amazing to me how much is available for free and what a great education you can get if you are willing to put in some hard work.

I hesitate to post when i don’t feel like I have some interesting information to share or some brilliant insight to impart, but after reading Jade Craven’s blog I have decided that the scope of what you can blog about, including your own feelings and experiences is not as narrow as I have read on other blogs.  She totally puts herself out there, with all of her struggles and emotions and she’s got a great following and I love that she does it like that, makes me feel more connected to her because she struggles too!  Not that I would have the guts to be such an open book, but I think I can take a wider scope in the material that I write about.

So, the blogging journey is a a total emotional roller coaster for me, but in a good way I think.  I get fed up and overwhelmed for a few days, but then I start getting the urge to get back in the ring and go at it some more.  I can’t explain it, because I have got to be one of the world’s worst for thinking of great, creative ideas and NEVER following through with them!  I drive myself crazy!  So, this month of January, I have been taking a good hard look at what my problem might be. More on that later, but I am making headway, I think.

I have been reading the book “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink (he’s my new hero!)  It’s an wonderfully enlightening book about what motivates us as human beings and what doesn’t.   I have to admit that I am blown away and slightly jealous of Mr. Pink’s deep of knowledge of his subject matter, his engaging style of writing and his visionary grasp of the big picture of where we have been and where we can go in terms of motivation and finding more satisfaction in our lives.

His ideas and explanations of the real world issues facing us on all sides; our life, our work and our relationships and his practical solutions for moving us forward as individuals and as a human race have me invigorated and longing to get out there and be the change I want to see in the world.

So many people out there are looking for a new way of being…in the world, in their lives and I think Mr. Pink has a handle on some good starting points.  He puts forth the three nutrients that are required for this new way of being, living and working are: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose!  They are three beautiful and freeing notions that resound to the depths of my being.  Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true! lol  In so many ways our society and even the global culture is locked into outdated ways of existing.  We are still living a way of life designed for the 2oth century and we are already a decade into the 21st!

It’s time to move forward out of the ruts of old habits and old thinking that no longer benefit us and actually hold us back from realizing our potential.

Why is change so difficult and why does it take so long sometimes?

What we need is a revolution in the hearts and minds of wonderfully enlightened human beings who realize that our current model of success and motivation isn’t working very well.  We need a beautiful revolution of people getting what they need to direct and control their lives, at work and at home.   The opportunity to become fully engaged in what they are gifted to do and passionate about and to do it in pursuit of a purpose larger than themselves that brings about satisfaction and deep personal fulfillment! That’s what I’m talking about ! lol

A mindful revolution of brilliant, respectful and caring individuals based on what brings us together and makes us come alive instead of what divides us and tears us apart!

One way that I see this happening is through the internet.  Savvy people all over the world with great ideas connecting with other savvy people with more great ideas getting together and creating a wave of social and cultural change.  It can happen, actually it is happening.  The internet is revolutionizing  commerce, behavior, ways of connecting on a more meaningful level.  It’s really amazing…

Ok, so I guess I had alot more to say than I realized! lol  I have been putting in alot of info into this brain of mine the past week and I always forget that it takes a few days to process and sink in so that I can put it all together.  So to bring this around full circle from where I started 900 words ago, whew…. I am sticking with this online blogging and business thing like I have never stuck with something before…so I believe I am onto something of a personal revolution, which I desperately need, and can’t wait to see where it leads.

 

 

I Say Yes!

I woke up to a

frosty,

foggy,

snow-covered

morning.

It’s a pretty way to wake up…but

The past weeks I have been in quiet mode.

Slow-paced, struggling, searching mode.

I’m struggling to find my way, searching to see what comes next and slowly moving forward although it seems I’m making no progress at all.  Maybe it’s just the holidays take over and life-as-usual ceases to exist for awhile.

Whatever the case I suppose I had to hibernate for a bit. Winter is upon me, the cold freezes my toes, and soggy is not my favorite way to view the world, but it’s reality.  I’m still trying to embrace Winter, but it’s a daily challenge.  I just miss the sun!

To be honest, I am also overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed at the size and scope of life in this huge, whizzing new techno-frontier we are zooming through and towards.  I feel like my life should be amounting to something.  Something meaningful, something interesting. But I feel as though I’ve allowed it to become what it will, instead of what I want it to be.

So 2011 is the year that I change that!

For the first time in my life

I’ve made a few New Year’s Resolutions (NYR’s) that I’m really serious about keeping.  I have never really made it a point to do that…so that’s one first for me. I didn’t make too many because I don’t know if I can do it.

So I started simply, with just a few.

1) Stop Cursing.

That is the first one.  I used to be very dedicated and successful at keeping certain words out of my vocabulary, but the past few years I have noticed I’ve let my guard down and it seems the more I curse, well, the more I curse, and I don’t like it.

I don’t like what it says about me, I don’t like it when I hear other people doing it ( I turned off the movie “Going The Distance” the other night because the content was so crass and the language so foul.).  But I have been doing it anyways.

I think because life has become so frustrating for me, so disappointing, and so stuck.  But the curse words don’t really make anything better. They seem to let off steam at the moment, but then I feel bad.  So I am going to curtail certain words. I dont’ have to do it perfectly, but I am going to become a minimalist cusser! lol

2)  Write daily. 

That’s another one.  My writing is usually so random as far as consistency.  I will write daily for a month and then stop for two.  It’s like I have a child part inside of me, that, at times, absolutely refuses to put pen to paper.  But I enjoy it so much and it drives me crazy when I do that.  So, I’ve taken a different approach. Instead of looking at it like a discipline thing, I am viewing it as an means to an end.  I want to be a better writer in 2011 and that means writing every day.  No shame, no guilt, just my goal.

3)  Be Active Weekly.

This is tough one for me.  I don’t like exercising for the sake of exercising.  I started riding my bike several times a week back in the fall, but then the cold weather hit and stopped me in my proverbial tracks!  Riding in 30 degree weather is basically impossible to get motivated for, I just can’t do it.

So I am hoping to find something inside I can do on the days that I can’t get out.  I wish sitting in my hot tub would suffice, but it doesn’t exactly get my heart rate up!   At any rate, I feel SO much better when I am active in some way.  My brain works better, my mood is better and my creativity is at it’s peak when my blood gets flowing!

4) Get Involved Socially!

This is an area that has been seriously neglected the past four years.  I live in a very rural area and moved away from all my friends and family when I came here.  It’s been easier to just hang out with the family and the critters than to try and develop friendships and get out and meet people.

But it’s not working for me and I’ve decided that has to change!

I emailed a women about helping backstage with a local theater group because it sounds like fun and I’ve always wanted to try theater, but have been to afraid.  So she suggested I start backstage and I thought that was a great idea! So, that is my baby step.

Last night I started a book called “Improv Wisdom”

and she speaks of being a person who says “Yes”!

She gave a quote by Keith Johnstone: “There are people who prefer to say “Yes” and there are people who prefer to say “No”.   Those who say “Yes” are rewarded by the adventures they have, and those who say “No” are rewarded by the safety they attain.”

I am tired of being “safe” and saying “No” because of my cautious side and because of my doubts and fears!

 

So I am going to make 2011 my year of saying “Yes”,

or at least learning to do it much more often.  Won’t you join me?

p.s.  I got affirmation on my “Yes Year” after reading www.farbeyondthestars.com/uncertainty-in-an-accelerating-world-you-cannot-control/, where Everett Bogue interestingly speaks of saying “Yes” as well.  Check it out!

Cheers to having a “Yes Year” and seeing where it will take us!

Kristi