Too many “buts” September 4, 2009

 

 

When I started to write my first post I began by brainstorming what I could possibly want to write about. After the first brain-dump draft I re-read what I had come up with.

I was shocked to discover that after each idea I came up with like yoga or books I had a sentence starting with a phrase like “But I don’t know much about that” or “But would anyone really be interested in that”. I couldn’t believe I was so negative about myself and my ideas. I was closing down every possibility, and I didn’t even realise it. As I was writing the first draft, I actually thought I was being witty by being self-deprecating. Instead I was limiting myself and my ideas – on the first attempt of being creative!

This inner monologue, which has been with me for a number of years now, has probably shut down many good creative ideas and possibilities. They never got to see the light of day and realising this is not nice. At least I have realised it though. Which means I can change it.

So my inspiration is this – if you are anything like me your inner monologue will always find the negative in a situation or you will often think something is impossible. We need to identify this and stop it.

 Write down what it is you want and why you think you can’t have it or can’t do it. Tomorrow, with a fresh focus, read what you wrote down.  Look at how silly you’ve been with all your negative “buts”. And then, here’s the best bit, delete the “buts”. You will be left with a list of what you want and it will be right in front of you and it will be possible.

Rebel birdie picture courtesy of  www.sudanesethinker.com/

My mission-and I choose to accept it August 15, 2009

OK. So.  I’m going to blog. Where to start? In the words of Maria von Trapp, at the very beginning, a very good place to start. I found Lorelle’s “how to” blog guide very useful and I’m sure I’ll come back to it.

Lorelle’s tip number one is my first stumbling block: “I recommend you narrow your interest down to a specific topic rather than rambling all over the place.”

So, what do I want to focus on? In my life I want to focus on (1) marrying my lovely other half (LOH), (2) buying a house with him, (3) having children with him and (4) finding a more fulfilling career. If I blog about these things though, I will be blogging about all I ever think about. It will not be an escape, and it won’t help me develop in new areas.

I would like to focus more on practicing yoga and pilates and my fitness. I really want to get into my bookclub more. One of my options for (4) above is to become a children’s librarian so being able to review adult books is at least a stepping stone. Ok, there’s a start.

Let’s dig deeper. Why am I doing this?

– A desire to be more creative, to develop my creative side. I know its in there somewhere.

– A desire to stimulate, expand and build-upon my interests.

– My friend’s new food blog which I think is fantastic.

– My favourite blog, French Essence. I enjoy reading all things (usually French) which focus on having the discipline to live a proper, fulfilled, balanced and beautiful life. I want to remind myself of this daily.

– The inspiration provided by Brahma Kumaris, who send me “Thoughts of the day” which I wish I spent more time taking in and appreciating.

Actually, Brahma Kumaris is amazing. The introduction to the Positive Thinking course has summed it all up for me “Making daily living a positive experience”. That’s what I want to do and I what I want to blog about (without turning into a hippy along the way).

So, that’s my mission and what my blog is about: positive thinking, French thinking, beautiful thinking.

Lorelle goes on to say: “People are attracted to positive energy. Create a blog filled with good content, positive perspectives, and meaningful content and you will attract readers. People want friends who are like them, but who also challenge them to be more. Turn your readers into friends and you build a loyal audience.”

Wow, that’s inspiration. I will bring positive energy to this blog and I will challenge myself to be more. I hope you become a friend and find yourself becoming more as well.