Best Year of our Lives

I can’t believe half the “new” decade is over. This thought re-energizes me. So my wish is that 2005 will be the year we redesign our lives, our careers, our businesses and our social lives to reflect who we are and what we truly want.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

So as you can see, my Coach Talk comes to you redesigned – sleeker and shorter. I know we lead busy lives, so I made my newsletter take less time for you to read. On the other hand, I commit to sending it to you twice a month. So please pass it on to whoever you think may enjoy it.

Best Year of Our Life

Has this scenario ever happened to you? It’s January 1st and it feels good to have all the resolutions written down. You feel hopeful and refreshed. “2005 will be a great year!” Then six, five, four or perhaps even one week later, we find we have already broken many of our resolutions or have not taken any steps to getting what we want. Perhaps next year?

NO, let’s make 2005 the best year of our lives! So instead of making resolutions, how about taking a three step approach to creating the best year of your life by truly designing the life you want.

1. Envision It – get a clear picture of the kind of life that would give you joy, fulfillment and amazing energy.
2. Plan It – create a cohesive, realistic plan that you would actually enjoy implementing.
3. Live It – live your life with a vision of what you want ,while implementing your plan by taking the small steps everyday towards it – one small step at a time.

The best year of your life is already here. No more living on a small island called Someday. Live in the expansive world of Today. Embrace the moment.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it!” -- Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Exercise

Here is an exercise that can put you into action to create The Year of Your Life:

1. Write a letter to yourself or any of your loved ones as if it was written on December 31, 2005. In it, describe all of the amazing things that happened to you in 2005. Include items about your career, your financial situation, your love life, your health and your free time. Make it bold and exciting to you. Feel what it would be like to have lived that amazing year.
2. Pick 2 or 3 things from your letter that you most want to attract in 2005 and begin writing a plan for attaining those things.
3.Start implementing your plan by doing one thing every day that will get you closer to what you want.

Life Balance

The bliss of being on vacation is allowing ourselves to go where the heart leads. It allows us to escape the world of “shoulds” and enter the magical world of “wants.” It could lead to a twelve hour sleep marathon. It could lead to curling up with a great book, a roaring fire and a nice blanket. It could lead to an all-night dance party where you shake your bootey with pure abandon. It leads us to something unexpected, to something spontaneous and often to blissful experiences of the unknown. Isn’t the world beautiful in this state? (BTW, today, the spontaneity led me to write the majority of this newsletter at 7 in the morning. Who knew?)

I wanted to share with you a tiny excerpt from a great book by Jonathan Carroll, “White Apple.” He is making a reference to our life being like a big puzzle. “Your whole life you’re moving your pieces around and around, always trying to get the big picture just right. Sometimes it looks okay for a while, it looks perfect. But then you get older, or the things in your life change, and suddenly the pieces need to be shuffled again.” I love this passage and I loved the book. It is by turns surreal, romantic, beautiful and irresistible. It is a tale of love, fatherhood, death, and life that will leave you looking at the world with a new quirky perspective. I highly recommend it. The protagonist explored these five questions with the love of his life. I thought these were great questions to ponder, so I wanted to share them with you:

• “What three meals from your past would you like to eat again?”
• “What two objects would you like to possess again?”
• “What is the one act in your life you wish you could take back or erase?”
• “What one person would you like to see again?”
• “What one experience do you wish you could repeat?”

Personal Reflections

Christmas Day this year was not a time to celebrate for millions of victims of the tsunami and millions more who felt their pain. As I sat pondering the worst natural disaster of my lifetime, I was extremely aware of the vulnerability of life. I wanted to know what I could do to help. As I experienced compassion for everyone effected by the quake, I became re-energized to make the most of my own life and to do as much as I can to positively affect my own personal sphere of influence. The tiny positive ripples I can create today in my own life and in the lives of my clients, of my family and friends, can become the waves of the future.

I also read that most of the animals living in the areas hardest hit by the tsunami escaped unharmed. It left me wondering why it is that we (as humans) are so out of touch with nature and the signals we get from it, that we don’t anticipate the dangers of world. This not only applies to nature, but also to our personal interactions. Conscious awareness while being in the moment seems to be the key… it seems to work in the rest of the animal kingdom.

I donated to the American Red Cross. Here is the link if you feel inclined to donate - www.redcross.org.