Last week a musical superstar, Prince- formally known as, passed away suddenly; the end of an Era.
I remember his curly, waving hair swinging in the wind as he played his music and dared to be authentic.
With no children to pass on his empire, I suppose there will be a time of great reward for those he held dear in his life.
Upon hearing the news I was reminded that life is fleeting for all of us...LIVE WELL!
Have you noticed that Thursdays have become the new Fridays. Around town you see restaurants filled with guests, theatres bustling with patrons, coffee shops to capacity and, on warm evenings, people heading to the lake.
I see a trend, you're not saving it all for the weekend anymore and that's great. Living with joy means that you embrace each day and intentionally deposit good times and moments throughout your day and week; it makes life so much more lovely.
As the weather gets better, plan ahead; pull out your calendar and your rolodex, I mean cell phone and begin to plan for the week nights too. Joy and laughter bring good health to the body, mind and spirit.
There are two emotions that are the root to all emotions; love & fear.
From love comes peace, kindness, joy, contentment, happiness, etc. With fear comes doubt, anxiety, hate, unkindness, worry, stress, etc. Both emotions create the life we are currently living.
F.E.A.R stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Often we imagine the worse when we are in circumstances that are unknown and create our own endings! These endings include complete conversations, behaviors and responses to events that haven't even happened.
The trouble is that the human mind cannot differentiate between fact or fiction when we vividly play fear on the screen of our mind. It believes it exists and prepares the body for fight or flight psysiologically.
Along with the psychological affect on you, F.E.A.R will manifest a chemical reaction in your body to protect you from harm. This is good when F.E.A.R is real but when it is imagined...often......daily.....without reprieve?
Science is catching up to the Bible. Phillipians 4:8 says:
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
This will bring good health to your body and mind. Constant toxic thoughts lead to sickness of the mind and body.
Capture your thinking today. Don't allow it to float around in F.E.A.R.; meditate on good thoughts, good endings, solutions not problems; love not fear.
Reinvent your life today. CHOOSE to live free from FEAR😊
When we think of a Sabbatical, we often think about taking several months to a year away from our place of work to take a course or see the world.
According to Meetplango.com, - "The term sabbatical actually is derived from the biblical Sabbath which serves an ancient human need to build periods of rest and rejuvenation into a lifetime. Traditionally you'll find sabbaticals in academic careers, but they are not just for teachers anymore."
For most of us, that's a dream. One, we don't have a job where we can do that without quitting or getting fired. Two, if we had that kind of job, we wouldn't have the money to cover us for that time. Three, if we had the time and the money, we wouldn't know what to do when we were away and probably use that time to do more chores....
I believe that you can take a Sabbatical in different ways if you are unable to do the traditional method due to the circumstances of your life. This sabbatical will involve change and commitment.
As you read above, a sabbatical is a period of rest and rejuvenation, but how do you do that here and now in your current life? This can be accomplished by making a determintion to fast from elements of your lifestyle socially and professionally such as extra committee work, extra-curticular activities daily, excessive social gatherings daily or weekly, etc.
This is basically a time of aloneness, not loneliness. It's a choice not a sentence. This aloneness can be for a week, month or several and, like a sabbatical that you would take professionally, it should be well planned with a specific purpose and goal and your loved ones should be advised to enlist their support and reduce their worry.
Try to use vacation time during that period to optimize your retreat from daily activities; if you are unable to do that, your time away from work, typically evenings and weekends, should be planned out with your sabbatical in mind. You can also utilize hotels, bed and breakfasts, a friends home or cottage for a short stay-cation to maximize your rest.
Periods of job lose can be reframed into a sabbatical; while your looking for work, this is an excellent time to reflect, take a course or begin to envision your life differently; utilize some time away physically and/or socially to rejuvenate.
Step one, think about what you want to do and why. Two, advise family and friends so they dont go into panic mode wondering if you're alright; you will need their support particularly if you have a family and obligations to others. Three, make specific S.M.A.R.T. goals for that period of time and, four, commit to a plan of action.
Be sure to journal written or audio during the time in order to reflect on your feelings, new ideas, revelations, plans and thoughts.
This time is about you and your life going forward. Pay special attention to those in your life that state they are supporting you but subtly sabotage your efforts; somewhat like giving a person a slice of cake when they know they're on a diet. This may point out their needs and enabling relationships which you may want to restructure.
If you are able to consider an actual sabbatical check out, www.careerbreak.com to begin to practically map out how it can happen for you.
At any time of your life you can begin to change it; there are no rules; only the ones you make based on your own, or most often, others plans and expectations for your life!
Here's to new beginnings!
Happy Monday!
YOU MADE IT! You've completed the 21 Day Make-Over. Congratulations🏆
It takes 21 days to make a habit so you're well on your way to your new life; Body, Mind and Spirit.
This is not the end but the beginning. You will be tempted to go back to your old ways but don't, you've worked too hard.
Over the 21 days, what have you learned about yourself; discipline, self control, commitment. Have you found your Joy? Did you open your mind to intellectual pursuits? Take your challenges and turn them into successes.
Be committed to achieving new goals; you can FLY!
I had the most wonderful conversation with a friend about this coming summer.
He had already started planning all of his family trips both here and abroad; how exciting!
It's so great to have something to look forward to.
Take sometime in the next few days to do some planning of your own. Ontario Travel is a good start, check out Travel Zoo and Groupon; 6 weeks to bathing suit weather👙....just sayin'
Montreal Jazz Festival!
So far, so good. I trust that along this 21 Day Make Over you've learned a lot about yourself; your commitment, determination, strength and potential.
You've also learned what you need to improve about yourself, not physically but mentally and emotionally.
Were there times when you sabotaged yourself? Bought foods that you knew you shouldn't eat, called that toxic friend to talk about junk or 'accidentally' forgot your running shoes so you couldn't go to the gym.......hmmmm.
The 21 Day Make-over will technically end in a couple of days but that's when it really begins. Have you formed good habits? Are you different from when you began? What is your thought, intellectual and spiritual life like now?
It's your life and you own it 100%, the good, the bad and the ugly....but choose the good!
Why is it so hard to exercise? When it's time I think of any and every excuse not to do it; after all it's my body.
If I choose not to exercise, it's my life not yours....
Hmmm, are you plaqued with these thoughts? WELCOME TO THE HUMAN RACE!
One of the hardest things to do is to discipline the mind to work towards meeting your goal. Often it seems like it wants to sabotage your own very plans.
If you've exercised so far, excellent; we're almost finished the 21 Day Make-over.
The Best is yet to come!
Yesterday, I had a number of errands to run around town and I decided, at the last moment to invite a friend.
We went from one end of the city to another talking and laughing about life; what a blessing!
At our last stop, downtown Toronto, we were in the nexus of rush hour traffic and we were faced with sitting in the car for a couple of hours and then my friend suggested, 'Why don't we stop and grab some dessert and let the traffic go by'. Now if you spend time with me you know that my motto is; life is too short, eat dessert first!
SOLD!
We stopped at the Grenadier Restaurant embedded amongst the trees in High Park. I was treated; we had Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, vanilla ice cream and tea; we sat and talked for a couple of hours, just over the 'rush' hour then took a scenic drive through Toronto!
By the way, why do they call it rush hour, it should be called slow hour; oops, I digress!
AWAKENING TO REINVENTION is about creating those moments in the midst of your circumstances; finding lessons in the events along our life journey.
Make up your mind to live a good life in spite and despite your circumstances.
A Moment Became a Memory☕!
One of the most challenging things is keeping to your new routine. It's so natural to fall back into comfortable patterns of behavior and thoughts that you've spent a lifetime cultivating.
You may need to enlist an accountability partner; someone who is not afraid to challenge you regarding your commitments and tell the truth.
Likewise; it's important that you choose someone that you won't railroad or get angry with if they begin to question your inconsistencies.
It takes 21 days to create a new habit; for the mind and body to adjust to the new expectation. Anything worth anything will be hard work so be prepared to walk the talk.
By now you should have lost a couple of pounds if that was your goal, be midway through a book or training program and adjusted your eating habits; time and content.
There should be a daily schedule that you follow incorporating waking and bedtimes, exercise, eating and joy of course.
Share this 21 Day Make Over Blog with someone and become accountable to each other!
AWAKENING TO REINVENTION AVAILABLE APRIL!
Welcome to the second quarter of the year. Let me ask you; what have you accomplished in the first 3 months. Have you kept any of your resolutions? Has anything changed in your life for the better? It's time to plan for the next quarter.
Take some time today and commit pen to paper or text to PC. You now see how quickly the first 3 months went; we're now speeding into summer! University is out, school is almost over and the first long weekend of the summer (Victoria Day) is quickly approaching.
Your 21 Day Make Over is half way through; how's it going?
Review the past 3 months today.
Only you can change your life!
AWAKENING TO REINVENTION AVAILABLE APRIL!
