KTY | Day 7

Yeah, now and then, I'm gonna miss a day. Sometimes living happens instead of daily writing. Can't do it all. I can do a lot but not everything. I'm getting to be ok with that. I have limitations and shortcomings. They're all OK.

The last couple days' worth of writing has really given me a lot to think about. My values. Wow. That list really kinda rocked me. Deep in my core are the echoes of the words I've been writing and they are resonating in every fiber of my being. I have chosen to wake up to the things I've been ignoring & neglecting. Not beating myself up over them but really opening my eyes and SEEING my life for the first time in a while. Since the fire, for sure and probably since before then too. My family has needed me and I've been hiding at work. That ends now. I am so ready to shift things and bring them back to a more family-centered way of functioning and it feels so peaceful to have reached this decision.

Yes, this is an affiliate link but the truth I've uncovered about myself in the past week using the Kickstart the Year workbooks has been a tremendous gift that has equipped me with the "stuff" to make some pretty powerful decisions and changes. Good, overdue, life-changes. Don't you want to know how some of that feels? It's so exciting and rejuvenating, I can't truly imagine anyone NOT wanting to know that feeling. Please give yourself the gift of creating the life you've always dreamed of.

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31 Days 31 Ways - +Craig Jarrow
Don't Answer That Phone
Today, I snuck into my studio for a couple of hours to tie up the final few loose ends of the year. The phone rang but because I'm closed for the holidays. Also, because I would've been tempted to return the call, I let my voicemail take the call knowing it had a greeting that said the studio was closed until January 2. By not answering my phone, I managed to keep my stop in at the studio short, according to plan and didn't get into a call asking me to do something that i wasn't there to do at that time.

That's an important lesson - to not be a slave to the phone. If it rings while I'm with a client or working on a project with my kids, that dang phone can keep on ringing. It is a tool to make parts of my life easier, not so that I can drool every time it rings.

Reclaim Your Dreams +Jonathan Mead
3 Keys to Making your Dreams happen - #1 Give Up
For me, the fear of uncertainty can kick my type-A control freak brain into extreme overdrive. I love change but I also get a huge amount of anxiety when a new situation presents variables that I can't prepare for. It's completely irrational and I'm aware of that but it doesn't change the fact that it interferes with making a move. It can sometimes be the deciding factor to accept or decline an invitation or suggestion. And in the event that I take action to pursue the "thing" that freaks me out, I can make mountains out of molehills by overthinking and indulging the ideas that come in the shape of worst-case scenarios.

The best way for me to obtain real-world data to establish whether or not I'll fail is to ask trusted friends & colleagues with direct knowledge of my lifestyle, values, skillset and personality. By surveying a small number of friends or colleagues I trust, I can make peace with the parts of a decision that prove to remain unknown.

Three small risks that I can take to help me practice expanding my uncertainty threshold are:
-going to new places that I haven't yet memorized the layout/floorplan/design
-learn a new skill and have faith that the end will be less awkward and more fulfilling than the beginning
-spend more time talking to strangers. I already do this but can benefit from doing more.

Our family has a new giant change on the horizon which I'll share in greater detail soon but until then, I can say that in order for me to change my mantra from "I don't know" to "I'll find out" I will look to my kids for the strength and direction. Their pure little souls are totally ok with admitting that they don't have all the answers and I know there is much that I can learn from them, especially when embarking down a path for which there are no lights, maps or signposts. Also, if I do make the wrong call, drop the ball or screw up in some other way, they will still love me so that is about as safe & secure as any of it will ever get. 

In order for me to surround myself with more like-minded people with the same goals, visions and aspirations as I do, I can participate in forums, clubs locally, meetups and other forms of networking. Take what I do now and kick it into high gear.

Three places I might meet these kinds of people are::
-At organization meetings for groups who participate in the same activities
-Classes for the new skills to be obtained,
-hold my own events to share my knowledge with an invested audience.

To start making these connections, I'll be joining events, showing up at gallery showings, marketing classes taught by me, and sharing with strangers what I do, where I do it and how I do it.
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I really wish some of this stuff would hop into action overnight. I think I've managed to dig up some top-notch shit with these exercises and  I want to see it taking hold in my life experience beyond a blog post or twitter update.
But I suppose that if these revelations genuine then they can't NOT stick.

Please go buy the Kickstart the Year program. You will get so much out of this series and you honestly cannot beat the value. Money well invested, peeps! Then, once you get started, come back here and leave a comment sharing your blog address and I'll come by and give you some blog love :) Who doesnt' like happy mail, anyway?!

This is some seriously intense and awesome stuff here. Don't wait, go hook yourself up!! GO!

xo
V