With Thanksgiving this month, it is the easiest time of year to focus on gratitude. So to make it a daily practice and something I would like to continue throughout the year, I plan to write a blog post every day this month about something I am grateful for.
Tag Archives: goals
A Letter From My Future Self
So in this exercise, the me of the future writes a letter to me in the present.
She is exactly where I want to be in my business. (Do I even know where that is?)
What advice would she give me?
What would she tell me to stop doing?
What would she tell me to start doing?
What else would she tell me?
Clean Pain vs. Dirty Pain
The reality of being a human and living with other humans, is that there are parts of life that are painful. There’s no way to avoid it, but what is avoidable is the additional suffering that we add on. Knowing the difference can cause a shift out of unnecessary worry and rumination; shame and blame. Understanding these two types of emotional pain can help you live a more peaceful life.
22 Birthdays Later
So why am I telling you all of this?
Because on that day in 2001 I didn’t think I would survive. I couldn’t see how that was possible given the events that had transpired. The emotions were overwhelming.
But I did survive. I survived the first 21 minutes. Then 21 hours. Then 21 days. Then 21 weeks. Then 21 months. Then 21 seasons. Then 21 years. I am still surviving. But I can do more than just survive.
And even though I don’t do it perfectly, that’s okay. It continues to be a work in progress. I have learned how to allow feelings. All the feelings.
Love, joy, frustration, anger, madness, happiness, wonder, guilt, sorrow, sympathy, compassion, regret, agony, grief, fascination, awe, sadness, disappointment, tenderness, kindness, worry, confusion, gratitude, empathy, anxiety, depression, relief, contentment, resentment, bitterness, hopelessness, peace, comfort, safety, powerlessness, despair, blessed, protected, alone, silently supported, heartbroken, renewed, hopeful…… and on and on and on.
Mental Weight – What is it?
Mental weight is an accumulation of those things that “weigh” on your mind. This could include things such as what you are worried about, procrastinating on, and feeling anxious towards.
4th of July – A Declaration of Independence
As I was thinking of The Declaration of Independence this weekend, I started to formulate my own Declaration of Independence.
What independence am I asserting for myself right now? What are my “grievances” that need to be formally adopted? Who do I need to tell?
The exciting part for me is that I don’t really need to tell anyone, and yet here I am telling you. 🙂
So in very rough-draft form, here is the beginning of my own personal Declaration of Independence. Really it is just the formative thoughts that will lead to my declaration. These are the areas of independence I am creating for myself:
Things My Brain Told Me Since My Vacation……
….. more than likely you have something in your life that you are not making progress towards. And more than likely it has to do with the stories your brain is telling you about your progress or lack thereof.
tray myself as any type of expert that can solve your problems if I readily admit that I have my own problems?
I have decided that it is better to risk looking like “not an expert” than not showing up as my authentic self. I open myself up for possible criticism and judgment, but the other side of that is I can show up for myself in ways that I didn’t in the past.
Rest vs. Laziness
Often our laziness is a result of the thoughts we have about the work that we think we need to do or want to do. In the process we come up with invalid reasons for not doing it. We call it “rest” ahead of time because we predetermine the difficulty that awaits us while we are really creating a greater amount of stress from our procrastination. This in turn makes us work harder to complete projects on a designated timeline.
But what if we didn’t have to create that sense of stress to accomplish things? What if we just determined that we could finish the task and then rest?
Obstacles and the Motivational Triad
Obstacles will always come up for us as we evolve. It is the anticipation of those obstacles that help us to meet them when they appear, not as flaws or weakness, but just as a part of being human.
1% Goals vs Impossible Goals
But my impossible goal is impossible more so because it requires me to show up for myself consistently, for a year…..in a loving and compassionate way. Not berating myself to do it just to say I achieved it.
The goal isn’t about “the goal” so much as it is about the person I become in the process.
Michelle Keil Coaching 