Tag Archives: motivational

What’s In a Name?

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Oops, I liked creativity365 and creative365 as possible names for our project but now that I’ve googled them I see there are lots of blogs by that name already. Figures. Guess we’ll have to come up with something a little bit different though I’d love to keep it short and snappy. Once again, ideas, input: most welcome.

Another idea that popped in my head regarding this 365 project is that nothing stops participants from showing works in progress or even maybe… things they find inspiring (would that open the door to all too frequent cop-outs, I wonder?)

In any case, I’ll keep posting ideas as they come along and and hope this might generate lots of feedback and will sum it all up in one neat post… well probably never, come to think of it because this is the kind of thing which by definition is a work in progress, but I’ll at least try to provide helpful guidelines and instructions when the time comes.

The Two Lists

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First of all, thanks to all of you who have sent me you well wishes today in one form or another. January 1st is turning out to be a tear-filled day for me so my apologies for laying low. Perhaps I worry too much that the first day of the year will impact the 364 others to come. There is a story that appeared in the DailyOm yesterday which I’d like to share with you all. Since I’m in no mood to be making any kind of New Year’s resolution today (maybe because there are too many to make), I thought the message of this story was very timely.

New Year’s Resolutions: The Two Lists
A Message from DailyOM Co-Founder Scott Blum

I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had.

“Now that you are becoming more aware,” Robert said, “you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don’t lose the momentum you have built.”

“Like New Year’s resolutions?” I asked.

“That’s an interesting idea,” he smirked. “Let’s do that.”

By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh.

“Tonight’s assignment is to make two lists,” Robert continued. “The first is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper.”

That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn’t gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. “Tell me about your two lists,” Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face.

“The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead.”

“Let me see the second list,” he said.

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

“And now, the first list.” Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands.

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it.

“What did you do that for?!” I couldn’t hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. “What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do.”

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

“Love.”

Photo by guillaumeo, Flickr.

The Job Jar

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After writing a post a few days ago about the difficulties I’m having in making even basic decisions (see Choices), I received a few good suggestions from my beloved readers. Three suggestion caught my attention. The “Job Jar” idea, which came to me via email from my mother consists in writing a bunch of tasks — big/small, fun/not fun, cheap/splurge, etc) onto bits of paper which are in turn put into a jar and then randomly picked. So on those days when I’m unable to make up my mind about where to concentrate my time and energy, I can just pick something from the jar. I’ll also give myself the freedom to pick as many tasks as I want if the ones I’ve picked don’t suit me for any reason. David’s approach involves doing those tasks that can’t be put off without unpleasant consequences first (good common sense), and my father, suggests I hire a cleaning lady on a regular basis (as I’ve been thinking of doing) so I can free up my time for other things. I think all three put together make for a great combo.

My first task was to work on the job jar itself and come up with a list of “jobs” to pick from. This I’ve done and decided I’ll also include several copies for those “jobs” that should be repeated most often. “Yoga” and “take a walk” for instance, would get up to 4 stubs, whereas “clean the fridge” and “buy a piece of clothing” only one. I’m so excited about the Job Jar that I was inspired to do several dull tasks today without any prompting whatsoever, just to make sure I get some of the boring stuff out of the way, which will increase my odds of picking a fun task. This system might not make sense to anyone else, but I love the idea of getting prompts which essentially turn the whole process of choosing tasks into a little game. I’ve already picked out a very pretty “jar” which is not a jar at all but a pretty red tin box which comes with a lid and is just the right size. Now all I need to do is write down the various jobs onto bits of paper and I’m all set to go.

Photo by Patrick Q, Flickr

On Motivation

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Lately I’ve been looking at the quotes coming into my in-box (I’ve subscribed to a few services) and while I love and relate to the great majority of those saying by brilliant people from various fields, it’s almost inevitable that the motivational quotes, or those that come from motivational speakers, just make me feel inadequate. I don’t like to be made to feel inadequate by something that is supposed to give me some measure of peace and well-being and so I either put them away in a folder that I will get back to eventually, or I toss them out.

It took me a while to figure out that I could do that. Because of course the message contained in much of the motivational literature is a valuable one. But I’m going through a period in my life where this “can do” attitude — and I’ve been a proponent of it myself — can sometimes feel oppressive more than helpful. There are plenty of people who stress how important it is to get out there, be active, socialize, “fake it ’till you make it” and so on. But I decided that this time around, I’m just going to sit, or lie, or sleep this one off, and not concern myself too much which “shoulds”.

I’ve been lucky that I’ve been afforded the luxury to just do as I please whenever I please, not to mention the greatest luxury of all: time. I’ve been given time to just figure out how to find my way again one tiny step at a time. Not that there was any choice, since for all the strong medication they’ve got me on, my mind and body refuses to cooperate and bounce back to full functionality. But I’m rediscovering those quiet activities that I used to love more than anything as a child: reading and writing, drawing, taking pictures. I feel so spoiled and so blessed to have those hobbies.

Sometimes I catch myself feeling that I don’t deserve the happiness that those occupations provide me. But of course I do. Everyone deserves happiness, even me. It’s a question of growing used to feeling true joy again. Not the kind of joy that shouts and jumps all over the place and fizzed out as quickly as it came, but the quiet kind. The kind that, when you take the time to listen to it… you realize has been there all along, but you haven’t noticed it because you were busy with other things. That’s the kind of joy I speak of. That’s the greatest treasure of all. No one can ever take that from you, and once you’ve experienced it, I’m sure it gives you the ability to find it again and again. I keep having this image of a flower growing among rocks in my mind as I write this.

I don’t remember once seeing a motivational text that mentioned anything about this quiet, deeply authentic and personal joy. But it’s there. It exists. Through the best of times and through the worst of times, we always have access to it if we allow ourselves to feel it. When we’re lacking in the will to find motivation, I say it’s fine to just go wherever our heart takes us, and do or not do whatever we want to. It’s in moments when the dishes aren’t made, the floors aren’t washed and I haven’t had a proper meal to eat for weeks that I’ve sometimes been visited by the most beautiful waves of joy I’ve ever experienced. Just allow yourself to feel it, I have to keep reminding myself. And when I do, my heart and soul do a little dance, and I smile.

Motivational Quote of the Day

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“You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best
and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried.
If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set
high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try – you
don’t take the risk.”
~ Rosalynn Carter: Former first lady and author

A very lucky find

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I’ll bet you anything it never occured to you that someday you’d see a porcupine and say “AAAaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww he’s so adorable!!!”. Well I never thought I would anyway. I’m glad I found this little guy because I can use all the solace I can get tonight… it’s just been a crappy weekend and a crappy day. I’m trying to make decisions about my life when I have no business trying to get ahead of myself. My mandate right now, as prescribed by health professionals is to just “be” (and take a lot of pills, but that’s a different story). So: I am. What am I? I dunno. Right now I’m googoo-gaga over this little critter over here. According to the native Indian Medicine Cards, Porcupine represents innocence. And… yep, I can sure see that with this little puppy over here. He’s so cute I want to give him a name and adopt him. And suckle him. Or then again, maybe not that last one.

According to the medicine cards, Porcupine carries a very powerful medicine which is the power of faith and trust. The power of faith gives you the ability and the drive to move mountains, affording you the resources to accomplish just about any goal. Trust gives you the courage to trust in the Great Spirit, or the Higher Power, or God, or Buddha, or Jesus, or The Universe, or whatever you want to call it – knowing that there is a divine plan, or a greater purpose, or a field of infinite possibilities for us all. When you’re more trusting, you also encourage a willigness in others to trust more, which in turn allows you and others to be more open and eager to share love, joy and friendship. Porcupine reminds us that it’s important to connect with your inner child by remembering to let go of adult concerns like fear, worry, greed and suffering, and becoming a playful and fun-loving creature again. Porcupine gives you the personal power to appreciates each new day as an opportunity to rediscover the world and let your imagination roam free. “By honoring Porcupine, you honour the playfulness of spirit that lets everyone win”. That all sounds pretty good to me – and if you’ve stopped by here today, then you should consider yourself lucky too.

Photo by Mike Finley