This is a topic I've written on a couple of times in the course of this blog. A recent conversation compelled me to come back to this topic once more.
Hope is the little girl waiting for her Prince Charming or her White Knight to come rescue her.
I prefer the modern day version, found in the show Once, of Snow White and her Prince Charming - this is the portrayal of faith rather than hope to me. They each have faith that no matter what happens, they will always find each other again. Snow does not wait on her Prince to save her, she works to save herself as well.
Hope is passive; faith is active.
Hope is waiting for others to do for you. Faith is putting actions in motion to do for yourself.
Each has their place - however, as long as you have taken the actions you need to take to achieve certain things, than can you have hope that others will do the same.
That is what a victor does - takes the action to live her best life now rather than waiting for others to take that action for her. And yes, there is always an action to be taken, however small it may seem at the time.
So, are you waiting in hope that someone will rescue you or are you acting in faith that you are rescuing yourself?
CALL TO ACTION: What one thing can you do today, however small it may be, to move toward living your best life now?
CHECK-IN: We've gone over a lot in the last four months. So, let's review a bit.
How are you doing with moving out on your goals?
Are you remembering what it is you are grateful for each and every day?
Are you changing from the inside out or the outside in?
What can you do right here, right now, to take better care of your Self?
Are you reacting or responding?
Are you practicing the seven self care habits listed in the 7 Mar 16 post?
Are you journaling? Have you laid out your vision for living your best life now?
Are you pondering the 7 questions from the 20 Mar 16 post?
Have you created a manifestation board?
Are you identifying and figuring out how to deal with the roadblocks to living your best life now?
NEXT TIME: Well, this month showed how the best laid plans of mice and men get overturned by circumstance - and the right material is provided at the right time. We shall see what the month of May brings to this blog. My outline says Physical Health - and with the farmers' markets opening up in our area, we may just get to that topic!
Until next time, Namaste!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave a comment on this post or e-mail me at the address given below.
Beth Henderson, MaXIMIzer
maximize.beth@gmail.com
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
MaXIMIze - Extreme Self Care Are You Living Your Best Life Now?
The only one who is going to take care of you is You. The only one who is going to achieve your goals is You.
What is it that you feel the call to do but are not doing?
Why aren't you doing what you are called to do?
Fear?
What are you afraid of?
Failure?
The only failure is not getting back up and starting again.
Judgement of or losing others?
This is your life, no one else's. What other people think of you is none of your business. If you lose them, you never really had them anyway. If you are living your best life now, you have the best people in your life - the people who are truly meant to be there.
You determine your path - no one else. If the path you are on does not have heart, move to another path.
If you are not living your best life now, if you cannot honestly shout from the rooftops, "Life is Grand!", why not?
CALL TO ACTION: Identify five roadblocks to living your best life now. Figure out what you need to do to get beyond those roadblocks. Take one step every day to getting past those roadblocks and on to living your best life now.
Until next time, Namaste!
What is it that you feel the call to do but are not doing?
Why aren't you doing what you are called to do?
Fear?
What are you afraid of?
Failure?
The only failure is not getting back up and starting again.
Judgement of or losing others?
This is your life, no one else's. What other people think of you is none of your business. If you lose them, you never really had them anyway. If you are living your best life now, you have the best people in your life - the people who are truly meant to be there.
You determine your path - no one else. If the path you are on does not have heart, move to another path.
If you are not living your best life now, if you cannot honestly shout from the rooftops, "Life is Grand!", why not?
CALL TO ACTION: Identify five roadblocks to living your best life now. Figure out what you need to do to get beyond those roadblocks. Take one step every day to getting past those roadblocks and on to living your best life now.
Until next time, Namaste!
Sunday, April 10, 2016
MaXIMIze - Choices and Letting Go
This month's theme was supposed to be finances, however, circumstances led otherwise.
Yesterday, as I was gearing up to work on course work for online classes I'm working to get up and running, I wrote this piece instead of focusing on the course work. The issue that brought this forth is still chewing at me this morning, so I figured I'd post this piece instead of trying to focus on finances.
Judgement and Defensiveness
As I was preparing to work on course work for a class I want to teach, I was angered by someone else's judgement of my choices. I felt the negative emotion surge through my body, raising my blood pressure, making my muscles shake with unreleased tension.
I wondered at my visceral response as I was mentally lashing out in defense of my choices. I realized I do not need to defend my choices to anyone else. I cannot force someone else to accept my choices let alone understand why I do the things I do.
Others will judge no matter what. However, their judgement does not matter in the long run. It truly doesn't. What matters is your judgement of yourself, and whether that judgement is a reaction to the voices of others or a response to that small still voice that comes from your inner Self.
Once we learn to truly listen to and learn from the Self within us, we can move from reacting to responding, from judgement to love, from defensiveness to giving, from lack to abundance.
How to learn this is the question.
Focus is the answer. Determining the focus of our reaction or response will help us discover the root of it.
If we can determine what we are focusing on with our reaction or response, we can figure out why we are reacting or responding the way we are.
In my case, the choice was about an adult child and his current domestic situation. I choose not to become embroiled in the drama that is in his life right now.
Others do not accept or understand my choice, and therefore judge me harshly for it.
Does that judgement hurt? Yes, it does.
Is it going to make me change my choice? No, it will not.
Did I learn why I was reacting so strongly to the judgement of another? Yes, I did.
I raised my children with the idea that family comes first, and one of my children feels my choice in respect to his brother's current domestic situation goes against that idea.
My choice of non-involvement, however, is based in the belief that adult children have to deal with their domestic issues on their own. To the best of my ability, I've given my children the tools to deal with life. Like a horse chooses whether or not to drink the water he is led to, my children have to choose to take on the responsibility for their choices in life and work to make better choices for themselves and their children.
And so the anger and defensiveness at the judgement of another of the choices I made in this situation ebbs away as the root of my reaction to his judgement is brought into the light of day.
Was the process easy? No, it was not.
Am I in a better place for going through it? Yes, I am.
I hope that sharing this experience with you helps you work though your reactions and responses to the actions and judgements of others.
Until next time, Namaste!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions? Comments? Feel free to share on this post, or email me at the address below.
Beth Henderson, MaXIMIzer
maximize.beth@gmail.com
Yesterday, as I was gearing up to work on course work for online classes I'm working to get up and running, I wrote this piece instead of focusing on the course work. The issue that brought this forth is still chewing at me this morning, so I figured I'd post this piece instead of trying to focus on finances.
Judgement and Defensiveness
As I was preparing to work on course work for a class I want to teach, I was angered by someone else's judgement of my choices. I felt the negative emotion surge through my body, raising my blood pressure, making my muscles shake with unreleased tension.
I wondered at my visceral response as I was mentally lashing out in defense of my choices. I realized I do not need to defend my choices to anyone else. I cannot force someone else to accept my choices let alone understand why I do the things I do.
Others will judge no matter what. However, their judgement does not matter in the long run. It truly doesn't. What matters is your judgement of yourself, and whether that judgement is a reaction to the voices of others or a response to that small still voice that comes from your inner Self.
Once we learn to truly listen to and learn from the Self within us, we can move from reacting to responding, from judgement to love, from defensiveness to giving, from lack to abundance.
How to learn this is the question.
Focus is the answer. Determining the focus of our reaction or response will help us discover the root of it.
If we can determine what we are focusing on with our reaction or response, we can figure out why we are reacting or responding the way we are.
In my case, the choice was about an adult child and his current domestic situation. I choose not to become embroiled in the drama that is in his life right now.
Others do not accept or understand my choice, and therefore judge me harshly for it.
Does that judgement hurt? Yes, it does.
Is it going to make me change my choice? No, it will not.
Did I learn why I was reacting so strongly to the judgement of another? Yes, I did.
I raised my children with the idea that family comes first, and one of my children feels my choice in respect to his brother's current domestic situation goes against that idea.
My choice of non-involvement, however, is based in the belief that adult children have to deal with their domestic issues on their own. To the best of my ability, I've given my children the tools to deal with life. Like a horse chooses whether or not to drink the water he is led to, my children have to choose to take on the responsibility for their choices in life and work to make better choices for themselves and their children.
And so the anger and defensiveness at the judgement of another of the choices I made in this situation ebbs away as the root of my reaction to his judgement is brought into the light of day.
Was the process easy? No, it was not.
Am I in a better place for going through it? Yes, I am.
I hope that sharing this experience with you helps you work though your reactions and responses to the actions and judgements of others.
Until next time, Namaste!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions? Comments? Feel free to share on this post, or email me at the address below.
Beth Henderson, MaXIMIzer
maximize.beth@gmail.com
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