Where do you find inspiration? Do you seek guidance from Within, from Nature, from God? Do you find inspiration in the color and light of a sunrise? Do you feel peace when in nature? Do you look for those quiet moments to refresh your soul?
Inspiration might be unique for each of us, but many experiences are common to most. An inspiring story can carry inspiration to many. Have you had the experience of listening to someone who has overcome a challenge, is fighting a good fight, or who has touched the lives of others? Are you moved by their story? Do you gain a greater persepective on your own challenges because of their story? Sometimes we realize that our own path is easy in comparison. Sometimes we gain the strength to keep going when our own challenge is formidable. We are gifts to each other in this way. We are meant to share our stories, our dreams and our challenges. We are a gift to another when we risk being vulnerable, allowing another person to see our pain, our struggle and our success. In your willingness to share your own journey, you become the gift of love, acceptance and inspriation to another.
It might be easy to confuse what "allowing" really means. There's lots of different ideas here. Some people think that allowing means to passively wait for something to happen. Some people send a wish out to the universe and hope that somehow circumstances will change and they will magically receive their wish. I wish I had a Fairy Godmother too but that is not how the universe works. The last time I wished for a five pounds of weight loss, my Fairy Godmother must have been on vacation! Waiting for someting to happen is the equivalent of being asleep. Nothing gets done.
Allowing can be compared to mowing your lawn or planting a garden. To keep your yard neat, you have to put some effort into it. But mowing the grass doesn't stop it from growing. Even if you don't pay much attention to your flowers they still bloom. There is a natural cycle of things. These cycles occur whether we are awre of them or not.
Your ideas evolve in a similar way. An idea may pop into your awareness. You may even spend a little time thinking about how that idea is useful or how it might work out. Or you might imagine what it would feel like to have that idea blossom into fruition. But without mowing, and nurturing, without taking action, your idea will be strangled by the weeds of distraction.
So let's carry the metaphor through for your success. An idea requires mowing: refining it into a specific goal or outcome. This gives you a clear direction upon which to focus.
An idea requires nurturing: specific, targeted actions that bring your idea to full bloom. Allowing means to step into the natural cycle of how things work out and to fully participate in your thoughts, beliefs, and actions.
Are you ready to make those goals for your New Year? If you've evaluated what you don't want and listed what you do want, let's make those goals statements! Before you write down your goals, consider: your goal has to be personal. It won't work to write out a vague statement or one that is too broad. Make your goal statement one that is personal and specific to you and the you you want to become.
A goal has to be an outcome, something that when you've achieved it will leave no doubt in your mind that you have done so. Think about that for a moment: How will you know that you have acheived your goal? What will that do for you or how will you be different? Include that in your goal statement.
And finally, your goal has to be something you can achieve. Now anything is possible, that's not what I mean. You can only achieve what you believe is possible. So do you believe this goal is acheivable? If not, rewrite it. Do you believe you deserve it? If not, set a different goal, one that involves changing your sense of worthiness. I know you deserve whatever you dream of, but do you? Sometimes you'll need a smaller goal at first until you train your brain to accept even greater possibilities. Don't give up on your goal, just understand that there may be stair steps to get to it.
So now, write your goals down. Make them personal and specific, measurable, and achievable. Once you've got them on paper, write several copies and put them everywhere: your bathroom mirror, your nightstand, the dash of your car, the door of the refirgerator, the screen of your computer, in your daily planner. Post them anywhere you spend more than a few minutes. You want your brain to see them them multiple times a day. Once you start reading them several times a day, your brain naturally begins to look for ways to achieve them. And your beliefs begin to align with your desired goal.
That's it! You've done it: Awesome goals for your New Year! Go For It!
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