Defeating the voice in our heads that tries to sidetrack us from the activities that bring us to the life of our dreams can seem like a full time job (and it is, in a way). One of the favorite ways I get sidetracked is with busy work. I used to think of things like dusting plant leaves as a way to not start work on something vitally important. Those plant leaves looked terribly dusty and anything that's dusty must be dusted, right? Actually, no. Since we are all supposed to be busy, busy, busy in this day and age, the only way we can legitimately loaf is to elevate busy work to an art form. Then we can say, "Well, I just didn't have time (to do whatever the vitally important thing is), and we can prove it since we were incredibly busy all day.
My favorite way of defeating busy work is to make a "to-do" list and put down all the plant leaf dusting. When I can't think of even one more thing to write down, I just cross off everything but the vitally important stuff.
Empowerment enhances the ability of individuals or organizations to make choices and transform those choices into positive outcomes. Empowered people have recognized their own value and strength and their capacity to handle life's problems. In turn they are better able to influence the course of their lives. With information and support, most people can find within themselves the power to direct their lives and reach their dreams.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
More Simplicity
Of course, simplifying your life is a very individual thing. It requires time, thought and introspection to decide what will benefit each one of us the most. Some women would be horrified to learn that I quit having my nails manicured because this is one of their treats. For me it became annoying though. It meant I had to get in the car and go someplace. I had to protect my nails for awhile to make sure I didn't mess up the polish, etc. So now I just cut them and file them once a week. When I take a bath I push the cuticles back. That's it. Saved me a lot of time and trouble.
Also, lots of folks would be surprised to learn that I kept all my house plants. Some people get rid of them because they require care and thought. Ditto outside plants (which I don't do very well caring for). I, however, love plants. They take the carbon monoxide I breathe out and give me back oxygen. Plus they're lovely to look at. None of my plants require much in the way of care except watering once a week and occasionally fertilizing. Some of them need repotting, but they are waiting patiently for me to get around to it. Then there's my beloved companion cat. He requires some care but he showers me with love making it more than worth it for the tiny bit of feeding, brushing, cat box cleaning, etc. that he requires.
There are lots of things to consider that each one of us may or may not want to do. Streamlining Christmas, for example. I don't do Christmas cards anymore. I would rather stay in touch some other way. The whole Christmas card thing is weird anyway. I have a couple of distant cousins that have me and my deceased husband on their Christmas card list. Despite my having notified them more than once that he's dead, they keep sending them to both of us. Plus they don't respond when they get my note that he's dead. Their cards contain long letters outlining the accomplishments of theirs, their kids, and their grandkids. To me that's very strange.
Another example: if you belong to an organization whose meetings you dread, resign! I don't go to business meetings any more. They drive me crazy. I know they're necessary, but I need to protect myself from stuff that drives me crazy. But if you love them, go and enjoy!
Also, lots of folks would be surprised to learn that I kept all my house plants. Some people get rid of them because they require care and thought. Ditto outside plants (which I don't do very well caring for). I, however, love plants. They take the carbon monoxide I breathe out and give me back oxygen. Plus they're lovely to look at. None of my plants require much in the way of care except watering once a week and occasionally fertilizing. Some of them need repotting, but they are waiting patiently for me to get around to it. Then there's my beloved companion cat. He requires some care but he showers me with love making it more than worth it for the tiny bit of feeding, brushing, cat box cleaning, etc. that he requires.
There are lots of things to consider that each one of us may or may not want to do. Streamlining Christmas, for example. I don't do Christmas cards anymore. I would rather stay in touch some other way. The whole Christmas card thing is weird anyway. I have a couple of distant cousins that have me and my deceased husband on their Christmas card list. Despite my having notified them more than once that he's dead, they keep sending them to both of us. Plus they don't respond when they get my note that he's dead. Their cards contain long letters outlining the accomplishments of theirs, their kids, and their grandkids. To me that's very strange.
Another example: if you belong to an organization whose meetings you dread, resign! I don't go to business meetings any more. They drive me crazy. I know they're necessary, but I need to protect myself from stuff that drives me crazy. But if you love them, go and enjoy!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Simplicity
I just saw the movie, "I Don't See How She Does It." A young wife and mother with two small children and a high powered job in finance is trying to fit everything in and mostly in trouble either with her kids, her husband or her boss. I was there at one time except that workloads were much lighter and night and weekend work was not expected - but I had five kids and three of them were disabled. Later I had one of those 90 hour a week jobs plus a sick husband. After the movie ended, I remember thinking how programmed I was to believe that certain things absolutely HAD to be done. I didn't get all of them done, but I suffered daily from guilt.
Since I saw myself as a talented researcher and problem solver, I read a lot of books on time management, etc. I soon figured out that just managing my time better wasn't going to cut it. If I was to have a life that had any peace, I was either going to have to get someone else to do some of the stuff on my to-do-list, eliminate some of it, or streamline (simplify). Since there was nobody standing in the wings waiting to come on stage to do some of my chores, I was left with elimination and simplification.
I did eliminate some of the stuff - like washing clothes every day and dusting (I just quit dusting). Things got fairly messy around the house, but it wasn't life or death. Much later in my life, I learned that doing 15 minutes of household chores a day would keep me pretty much caught up. Then I learned about simplification - a miraculous gift. One of my favorite books on the subject is - Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. Some of the ideas I got from the book and implemented totally changed my life. I learned how to cook good food quickly and simply. Complicated recipes went out the window and were replaced by dishes that could be cooked in one pot, made in big batches and frozen for later. I developed quick and easy ways to load the dishwasher so that it took almost no time. I ran errands only once a week and ran them in sequence according to locations. I learned to say "no" to some of the things I was invited or requested to do. I carved out time on my calendar to do nothing or whatever I wanted to do at least once a week for several hours. I treated that time as just as sacred as time I had promised to someone else.
Now that I don't have a bunch of commitments I still continue to try to find ways of even further simplifying what I do every day. Peace is a priority!
Since I saw myself as a talented researcher and problem solver, I read a lot of books on time management, etc. I soon figured out that just managing my time better wasn't going to cut it. If I was to have a life that had any peace, I was either going to have to get someone else to do some of the stuff on my to-do-list, eliminate some of it, or streamline (simplify). Since there was nobody standing in the wings waiting to come on stage to do some of my chores, I was left with elimination and simplification.
I did eliminate some of the stuff - like washing clothes every day and dusting (I just quit dusting). Things got fairly messy around the house, but it wasn't life or death. Much later in my life, I learned that doing 15 minutes of household chores a day would keep me pretty much caught up. Then I learned about simplification - a miraculous gift. One of my favorite books on the subject is - Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. Some of the ideas I got from the book and implemented totally changed my life. I learned how to cook good food quickly and simply. Complicated recipes went out the window and were replaced by dishes that could be cooked in one pot, made in big batches and frozen for later. I developed quick and easy ways to load the dishwasher so that it took almost no time. I ran errands only once a week and ran them in sequence according to locations. I learned to say "no" to some of the things I was invited or requested to do. I carved out time on my calendar to do nothing or whatever I wanted to do at least once a week for several hours. I treated that time as just as sacred as time I had promised to someone else.
Now that I don't have a bunch of commitments I still continue to try to find ways of even further simplifying what I do every day. Peace is a priority!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Drive a Stake into the Heart of Procrastination
If not today, then when....are we going to begin on the task that must be done to create the life of our dreams? "Drive a stake into the heart of procrastination..." - Simple Abundance. Procrastination is a vampire that sucks the life energy out of us and tells us that we can put off being delighted, excited and creative. It says that there are all these other things that must come first. This is not true, by the way. Procrastination lies to us all the time. It tells us this boring t.v. show is the best thing to do right now. Don't listen!!!
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