Happy New Year! I hope you are as excited about the New Year as I am. It is a wonderful time to set goals and to contemplate all that is possible in the next twelve months.
As I was sitting around the table enjoying brunch with my family today, we started talking about New Year’s resolutions. Whether you are a fan or not setting New Year’s resolutions, it’s difficult to deny the feeling of “beginnings” that is so clearly present this time of year. As we all took turns sharing our goals for 2010, my son asked a question half poking fun, half serious, “Weren’t some of those things last years’ resolutions?” As we continued to joke about “rollovers”, resolutions that never really made it into action last year, I knew my goal for this year was right on the mark. My goal or resolution if you will, is Consistency.
So often we resolve to start or stop something. This year my goal is to simply be consistent. Now some may equate consistent with boring, or lacking imagination. I think of consistency as discipline in setting the foundation for building your business or your life. Problem is, in the multi-faceted, multi-tasking, multi-media world we live in, consistency seems to be the first thing to go when we are stressed, rushed, overwhelmed, or up against the wall. It’s easy to lessen, or skip all together the things we know are important, but just don’t seem to have the time or energy for, only to later find ourselves playing catch up.
Years ago a mentor of mine made a comment that has stuck with me, she said,
“Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.”
I’ll add to it two other well know clichés:
“Practice makes perfect.”
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
Such simple advice to live by, but oh, how hard it can be to practice daily discipline and consistent action in the little things that will yield us big results. I have learned, (mainly through my mistakes) the pains of not being consistent, and know that consistent action is the best course of action.
Consistent action will result in less reaction.
Consistent action is more efficient and more effective than inconsistent action.
Consistent action is easier than inconsistent action.
Consistent action will yield greater results than even the strongest inconsistent action.
So as you settle into the New Year, I invite you to think of two to five things, that if you did consistently, would allow you to achieve your goals in 2010. Whether in your business or your personal life, what consistent action could you take daily or weekly that would really make a difference?
I invite you to share your thoughts and comments…
Wishing you a fantastic New Year!
And as always, thanks for reading.
Wishing you all the best,
- Diana
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Recently I wrote an article on Gratitude for my November Newsletter. If you missed it, Click Here to read it, and be sure to join my email list for inspirational and informational emails. Here are a few of my favorite quotes on Gratitude:
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” ~Cicero
“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.” ~Anthony Robbins
“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” ~Lionel Hampton
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~John F. Kennedy
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~Cynthia Ozick
“Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.” ~Alfred Painter
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward
“Thankfulness is the tune of angels.” ~Edmund Spenser
“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” ~John Henry Jowett
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart
“The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.” ~John E. Southard
“If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.” ~Robert Quillen
“There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it.” ~Seneca
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” ~Eric Hoffer
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~Epictetus
“(and) Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.” ~Leroy “Satchel” Paige
“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” ~W.T. Purkiser
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~Thornton Wilder
”The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” ~Eric Hoffer
“Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.” ~Author Unknown
“Gratitude is the best attitude.” ~Author Unknown
Thanks for reading. Wising you all the best,
- Diana
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It was a beautiful September afternoon. The Orlando sun was warm but not too hot, just perfect for sitting by the pool at the resort. I had picked up a new novel to read and was allowing myself to be swept away into another world, when I came across this line in the book, “…the days were indistinguishable.”
I’m back home now, in Chicago in October. The golden kiss from the Orlando sun has long faded, but the words I read that afternoon have not.
I think about how easy it is to get caught up in the business of living. Every time I hear myself saying, “The month just flew by…where did the time go?” I instantly think of when I was a girl and I would hear grown-ups use those expressions. “Wow” I think, I must be getting old.
And the truth is, I am getting older. We all are. Life is lived one day at a time. Those lines in that novel made me wonder, “How do I make my days distinguishable?”
So often, hours fly by, days turn into weeks, and weeks into months and soon you are ringing in another new year. Sure, the big events; birthdays, holidays, and special times often stick out in our mind. But,
How do you live everyday with passion and with purpose?
I believe the answer is,
“On purpose.”
I took some time to think about how I can live each today and each day, making the most of it, and not let the day go by, indistinguishable.
Here is what I came up with. Five things I will do on purpose today, to live my purpose.
Today I Will Live On Purpose:
1) I will live in the present. I will observe and be aware of the thoughts I am thinking, the actions I am taking, and the conversations I am having. I will relax and be present and enjoy all that today is.
2) I have a gift – I will share it. Today is more than about getting things done and following a schedule. I will take time to nourish, to express and to share my unique talents and skills.
3) I will exercise the power of choice. I have options. I will allow myself to explore and choose the choice that is aligned with how I want to live my life today.
4) I will take action. Today I will do more than just think about what I want my life to be like, I will take action today. Small or big, I will do something today to create the life that I want, to live my purpose.
5) I will do what I can do. For all the things that I feel that I can’t do, for whatever reason, I will find what I can do – and do it. There is always something that I can do today.
What are 5 things you can do to make your day a day lived on purpose?
I would love to hear your thoughts –
Thanks for reading. Wishing you all the best,
- Diana
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