Embody the Possibilities....in 2012

As we approach the end of the year, it's natural to begin taking a personal inventory of the previous 12 months and what we accomplished, the goals we met, and the challenges that remain before us.

The challenges that remain before us often wind up as bullet points on our New Year's resolutions lists, to (hopefully) be crossed off sometime before the end of NEXT December 31st. I've always scribbled my own New Year's resolutions as bullet points on paper which I then usually tape up somewhere that I know I'll see them on a regular basis (next to my bedroom mirror is good) and be reminded of the promises I've made to myself about my new objectives for the upcoming year.

Generally that works--I'm a list-maker, anyway--and I like crossing off whatever I've accomplished. It gives me a sense of forward-motion, a sense of satisfaction that I'm taking myself seriously, honoring my own wishes, and taking steps to achieve the goals I've set for myself, no matter how modest they might seem to others.

This year, I'm trying something different. As an artistic/creative type, I respond well to visuals and I've always liked making vision boards to visually clarify my objectives. Typically, vision boards require poster board, glue, scissors, loads of old magazines, and a lot of patience (as well as great spatial relations!) I love these sorts of day-long dreamy artistic projects, but don't always have the time to sit and do them. So I researched online vision boards and came across the "O Dream Board," an offering on Oprah.com which I currently use and enjoy.

I've made two vision boards so far, both of which I've exported to my computer as jpegs that I then set as my computer desktop photo; this way, my Dream Board pops up to remind me of my goals each time I turn my computer on. Below is the first one I made:

Health, romance, creativity, financial abundance and animals (lots of them!) are all a part of my life's vision for myself, and creating a Dream Board is just one (creative) way of manifesting my goals and clarifying my New Year's resolutions. If you're visual, it may be something to experiment with to welcome your own heart's desires in the new year.

So Happy & Abundant New Year! What are your own resolutions/goals/dreams for 2012?

Big Thinking

We Life Coaches often use a particular question (or variation thereof) to encourage our clients to think BIG about their lives and move past the fear and uncertainty that tends to hold them back from fully and joyfully experiencing an authentic, values-driven and well-lived life with few regrets.

The question is, "If you could do anything you wanted--anything at all--and money (or any other considerations/responsibilities/commitments) were of no concern, what is it you would DO?"

What picture pops into your mind? Where are you? What are you doing? How are you living?

I was asked this question last night as I sat talking with two other Life Coach friends, and I went with my first impression (because I have discovered that sometimes, first impressions/thoughts are the most accurate & truthful), which involved warm weather in some tropical locale with all of my friends and my beloved pets around me. That was what I came up with and that's what I wanted, in that moment of thinking big. Remember, money, time, and any other considerations--such as my friends' abilities to join me and their own responsibilities, etc.--were of no object to my personal vision; it's about letting go of "practical" constraints and allowing our dreams--which must start somewhere, with some "big thinking"--to take hold of us so that we may pursue them--or parts of them--in our lifetimes.



It's easy to believe that this "big thinking" is a waste of time and we write off whatever we come up with as daydreams or perhaps possible options only AFTER we retire from our "regular" lives, jobs and responsibilities. "When the kids are grown," we say. Or, "When I've paid off my debt." Or, "I have pets, they're too hard to travel with." Or simply, "It's just not PRACTICAL."

What do you tell yourself about your own "big thinking?" What are the beliefs that keep you stuck?

Often, we wait until we come face-to-face with the starkest reminders that our lives are a short gift; we wait until we, or someone we love, is very sick, and--understanding that we (or they) are faced with a limited amount of time, only then begin exploring our lives and doing everything we've always wanted to do, all the on-hold dreams and experiences we've told ourselves we'd "someday" do. Time becomes the precious motivator we need to "think big," especially when our "somedays" are suddenly limited in a way we had not foreseen.

I've always wondered why it takes such dire reminders to finally force us into action. I also know, as a human being first and a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) second, that I, too, need to walk the walk and not just "talk the talk" with my clients. I, too, need to always remind myself that my dance on this earth, in this precious lifetime, is a short one, and to continue my own "big thinking" in pursuit of my own authentic, values-driven and well-lived life.