Monday, January 19, 2009

Validation and A Pity-Pot That Will Leave a Mark

Apparently up until about a week ago, I had been utilizing a pitypot built for my convenience, since I had been spending so much time on it. First of all I was stressed because I had an extra marketing project to get done, working in an arena in which I hadn't been for several years. Then I was pissed when they removed it from me after a week. Then I got stressed about jumping back into, complete immersion as it were, my own business I've had for the past seven years, and taking complete responsibility for making it work. I haven't lost all hope, but I am very concerned about finances. As they say, have said, and most likely forever will say, Things right now are tough all over. My industry is particularly cut-throat-- that is disheartening in itself-- and at this point there are so many of us who were accustomed to making a good living and have had to learn to w-w-w-w-o-o-o-o-o-r-r-r-rkkk harder for it, that when you finally get a good prospect, it is tantamount to throwing a bone into a pack of starving Dobermans.

So I'd been struggling within myself all week to stay off that PityPot, when I got an uplifting comment from a drive-by encourager the other day on my Sparkpage, that reminded me even when life gets crazy, how GOOD it feels to at least be in control of one thing, and for me, right now, that's being on track with food and exercise. It refocused me on the things I can absolutely control...how much time I spend working in my business productively (as opposed to just working at it) and how much time I spend planning and executing a healthy lifestyle. Then I got another email right after that about a video on YouTube called Validation. If I could figure out how to embed it, you could see it right here, but you'll just have to click the name and link over to it! Validation is a short narrative "fable" about the magic of free parking., starring TJ Thyne (from Bones) & Vicki Davis, by Writer/Director/Composer Kurt Kuenne, and well worth the 16+ minutes you'll spend to view it. Seeing it, really lifted my spirits, and I resolved to spend more time and energy on trying to make life easier for other people.

I set about acquiring and implementing some new marketing tools. I'm designing a new campaign, and began getting back in touch with previous clients. I got back to eating and exercise-walking consciously through planning. I joined a couple of walking groups, the Clearwater Recreational Walkers and Friends, Fitness & Fun, which have interesting outings, and imported the planned walks and hikes into my calendar. I began calling and checking on people I had not heard from in a while. I renewed a habit I had begun years ago of always acknowledging aloud that special something you can see in every human being you meet-- thanks Kurt Kuenne, for reminding me! I, in essence, began validating my own life again by simply infusing it with positive, productive energy and remembering the importance of others in it. By crikies, after only a week of trying out that "new" plan, I feel about a thousand percent better!

Oh, and I did away with the more enticing pity-pot, and installed one with a STUDDED SEAT.


Monday, January 5, 2009

FREEDOM's Just Another Word for Something Left to Lose

I'm hot on FREEDOM today... the fear of it, the responsibility of it, the sheer joy of it! I collected a few quotes that really spoke to me.

Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom. ~Marilyn Ferguson
As far as your self-control goes, as far goes your freedom. ~Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson
Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better. ~Albert Camus
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

I have been thinking a lot about the missing link in my weightloss program, and what I really desire. First, I still have pounds left to lose, weight of which I want and need to get FREE. I decided I really desire to feel FREE, inside and out...as free as I did when I was a child! I figure I can have that feeling, but now I must pay a steeper price for it. I must pay the price of honoring all my obligations to others and myself, and in doing that I find freedom. In that freedom, I find the impetus to do the most positive thing for myself and release these toxins that are imprisoning my body. But as I pursue this freedom, I want to do it lightheartedly, without a sense of being driven. More with a sense of joyfilled determination. Pressing on, firmly yet with ease. There is a fine line between being enthusiastically engaged, and being an unbalanced zealot.

One of my obligations to myself is to put myself in the best position possible for success in regaining a healthy body. That includes putting into practice on a daily basis ALL the things I have learned and doing it NOW. If I know clutter leads to confusion... leads to despair = depression = emoeating, I have to tackle clutter immediately. Same thing with things left undone. Same thing with tempting foodstuffs.

Today I'm making a list of the things I know lead ME to failure in my healthquest/weight-release, and use them as a personal challenge for the next 21 days, along with my Liquid Feast cleansing, which I LOVE to do when I am prepared for it! So here goes, prepping for THE LAST DAY ONE:

FREEDOM LIST
  • Clutter
  • Things Left Undone
  • Free Myself From Gnoshing In Front of the TV
  • Trigger Foods Out-of-Sight
  • Healthy Raw Food Eyelevel in Fridge
  • LEARN how to use Juicer!
  • IF IT MAKES ME FEEL GUILTY, GET FREE OF IT!
OKAY... I ended up with seven on my list, which is a perfect number, so the Monk-side of me is satisfied and at peace with that. I may not end up with seven every day, but hey, I'm FREE to have as few or as many things on my Freedom List as I want. I put these on a yellow legal pad-- doncha just LOVE a yellow legal pad?-- so I can have my personal focus list separate from my business calendar. Should further eliminate some of the complication which will invariably throw me into limbo about taking specific action. Limbo is the single most dangerous place I can be in this journey, and not a destination that is healthy for me, ever.

I'm excited to see how the rest of the day and tomorrow pans out!

Oh heck, let's just go ahead and say it: I'm excited to see how the rest of my life pans out!