Focus on change
Filed under: Journal, Self Help - admin on July 26th, 2009
In light of the idea of having a plan (written of in the last blog entry I posted), I was thinking today…
I am going to write down everything that I don’t like about my life.
I am then going to make a list of all the things that are within my power to change.
I am then going to put them into one of five columns:
Today | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months | Beyond
The goal is to take all the many things floating around in my soul and put them into a clear and concise document so that I can look at it all in one glance. Then I will put my plan into motion. I will begin making all the changes. And I will not stop until they are all done which of course means it will be a life long journey. But most of the things will probably fall into the Today to 12 months columns which means that by this time next year I will be quite a different man sitting in this chair. And the key is to keep it up, anytime I find something enter my life that I do not like, if it’s something I have the power to change then I will take immediate action to change it.
I would like to invite you to do the same. Sit down and make your list. Life is too short and too precious to live it with a bunch of unnecessary things weighing us down and holding us back. It’s up to us, we are our own best friend or our own worst enemy. So let’s not focus another second on negative feelings about the things in our life we don’t like, let’s focus on CHANGE starting RIGHT NOW.
This is about taking control. It’s about not letting circumstance dictate to us who and what we are going to be and do. It’s about defying that which defies us. It’s about being wise. It’s about being a person of action.
I will close this thought with something we have probably all read at some point, it’s simple but so true…
The Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Here is a template I have put together for filling in details about things you want to change in your life. You will need Microsoft Word or Word Pad (which comes with every computer that has Windows) to open this file.
RIGHT CLICK and choose Save Target As CHANGE.dot
Your words have led me to an epiphany! “Reckless abandonment”. It
connotes two meanings; one not good, and the other, good. I’ve been
shrugging the wrong things. While I’ve avoided, or procrastinated, on
those things that would make my life easier (household stuff, taxes,
paperwork) I’ve held fast and consistently to a safe and routine life that
has kept me from a greater purpose. No doubt, many people would think the
security of routine; job, house, family, friends, etc. would be ideal,
(and I am grateful)but I’m finding it to be the very thing that’s keeping
me chained to ORDINARY. Homeostasis.
I’m understanding it! We all have self-imposed chains. True, there are
other circumstances that become obstacles, but just like my friend who is
a quadraplegic, he simply incorporates his disability into a different set
of chains to break free. We can’t all be dancers, or artists, poets, or
musicians or athletes, but we CAN be something. It ties in with living a
purposeful life; one that others have no right to measure our own as being great,
or small.
One of the things I don’t like about my life is the very thing I’m talking about. I hold myself back because of blah, blah, this and that. DAMN. I’m sick and tired of
being dormant. I’m going to start living like I need to; want to, MUST.
It’s either that, or I’ve nothing to look forward to and I will continue
to live a “quiet life of desperation” and confused dissatisfaction.
One aspect of my life that I need to abandon (firmly,but without cruelty) is people who pull me down and drain
my energy; some co-workers, neighbors, some family members, some “friends”. Too
much of my time is monopolized by stagnant moments. I don’t want to be
cruel or snobbish, but part of my plan will include the art
of eliminating clutter, whether it be objects, or people.
I’ve a lot of thinking and planning to do. It scares the hell out of me
because there’s always that fear of failure. There it is again; fear. Damn
that fear. I’ll slay it, yet.
The Serenity Prayer – We’ve all heard these words and brush them aside until the time comes that we realize that they are the first step towards happiness … Regardless of individual circumstance, they are the path to personal freedom. There is ALWAYS a choice … life is about choices … perhaps not always in what happens to us … but in what we do with it. Reclaiming the power to decide ‘What happens next’. Not to say that rising up against the obstacles is easy but there is peace in acceptance; victory in overcoming. I don’t have all the answers on how to get others there … but I know that for me the simple acceptance that I can CHOOSE to change many of the things I don’t like has brought freedom. The others, the things I have to live with, I no longer fight against … but accept them as part of my journey. It is what it is.
hello, I read your text and saw my desire for a long time …
There are times I have made lists and lists of what to do, change and delete it from my life.
But over the days, months, and major strokes in life I can only think of the well wishes.
So I hope that you can (from the heart)do their list and let down a very beautiful poem of a great Brazilian writer and poet who has died: Carlos Drummond de Andrade. I apologize for the translation may not be perfect, but I think you can understand.
“I wish you …
Fruit of the forest
Smell of garden
Dating gate
Sunday without rain
Second without fretfulness
Saturday with his love
Movie Carlitos
Beer with friends
Chronic Rubem Braga
Living without enemies
Old movie on TV
Have a special person
And she likes you
Music by TOM and lyrics by Chico
Rustic chicken pension in the interior
Hear a kind word
Have a pleasant surprise
See the band pass
Night of full moon
Reviewing an old friendship
Have faith in God
Not having to hear the word no
Never, never and not goodbye.
Laugh as a child
Listen to bird song.
Heal a cold
Write a poem of love
You will never be torn
Form an ideal pair
Bathing in Waterfall
Get a tan legal
Learn a new song
Expect someone in the
Cheese with guava
Sunset in garden
A party
A guitar
A serenade
Recalled a former love
Always have a shoulder friend
Clapping for joy
A pleasant afternoon
Wear an old slipper
Sitting in an old armchair
Playing guitar for someone
Listen to the rain on the roof
White wine
Bolero de Ravel
And my great affection “
nice topic