Reformat Your Life Today
Motivation
The Year of Living Dangerously: England Awaits
0358 days
Obligatory Phone Box Photo
The Year of Living Dangerously
So, what will make this trip part of The Year of Living Dangerously? Since I’ve done it before, it isn’t really outside my comfort zone. However, this time, I am responsible for another human being. But, she’s 17 and quite capable of watching out for herself. So, what is different? This time, I’ll be chronicling my journey for my other blog, Divorce Your Travel Agent, and researching a possible book.
After writing my first book, I’ve been toying with the idea of two different types of books for my second. I am trying to decide between mysteries, which I love, or historical fiction, which is another passion of mine. This journey to the UK will help me decide which will win out. I’ll be researching at two castles for a possible book on a supposed ancestress of mine, as well as picking up a reader’s card at the British Library.
Year of Living Dangerously: Researching Risk
When I come back, I’ll be dedicating my summer to working on research so that I can actually start the writing process. I am excited, but a bit unnerved. I’m really tough on writer’s of historical fiction about getting the facts right, and I’m a bit worried that I might get a fact or two wrong. This has a crushing impact on my creativity. Not much is known about the woman I’m writing about in the general historic record, and I won’t have time to access the charters, etc. to verify everything. But, part of living dangerously is taking risks, and that is what this book will mean to me.
I still have another book on the backburner, and that story will get told eventually. But, the Year of Living Dangerously has started with a bang, and I’m excited to jump right into it.
The Year of Living Dangerously
2385 days
by Kristie Dean
in Motivation
Danger, Will Robinson – Risk ahead.
Danger Ahead! Risk Accepted.
Danger and risk are words that we are programmed from birth to avoid. During my life, I have stretched the boundaries of my comfort zone, and this has usually been a blessing. I completed two solo trips to a foreign country, wrote a book, created two seminars, and taught classes. So, I have accepted risk. But rarely have I gone further than a gentle stretching of that zone. Today, that will change.
From my posts recently, you probably have gathered that this has not been a particularly good year for me. I’ve lost several people close to me to death and have suffered through a very traumatic experience. Read more here. As a motivational author and speaker, I know several ways to bounce back. So, today, on my birthday, I am cancelling 2011 and instituting a new year. The Year of Living Dangerously. In addition to my normal posts, I plan to post at least monthly on my adventures of living dangerously – I will add more risk into my life.
What is Living Dangerously? Risk Accepted!
Well, to start with, I will tell you what it is NOT. It is not reckless, impulsive behavior that could get me killed! It is stepping beyond my comfort zone to do things that I’ve avoided – it is accepting risk. Writing a book pushed past my comfort zone, but promoting that book will smash my comfort zone to bits. So that is one thing I’m planning. I have also wanted to white water raft down a turbulent, riotous river, and that is one on the list. I’ve wanted to zip line, and that is also up there.
Risk Suggestions
I’m taking suggestions from readers and will choose at least ONE reader’s comment to complete. The reader who is chosen will get a free, autographed copy of my book, Reformat Your Life, and will be included in the follow-up blog once I’ve completed the task he/she has given me. So, get to commenting on this blog – I can’t wait to see your suggestions. I plan to craft my “Year of Living Dangerously” into separate segments and craft it like a Year of Renewal. Each month between now and next May will have a theme. I’ll set those themes while I’m away for work over the next few weeks.
I will choose a winner within the next two months. To enter the contest, comment on this blog with your suggestion. Check back here to see if you won. Remember, you have to comment on the BLOG, not Facebook. To risk is worth it!
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Perseverance: Run the Short Races!
0397 days
Perseverance: Run the Short Race
Perseverance is Vital
Perseverance is what makes the difference. Today I did not want to go to the gym. In fact, I wanted to go home and go to bed. It was an exhausting, arduous day, and I just felt like relaxing. That wouldn’t be a problem on a regular day, but I took the day off on Saturday because I had errands to run. Today, I had to persevere and go to the gym despite my fatigue. It turns out that I was rewarded for doing so. I had one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time. I came away from the gym in a much better frame of mind and with more energy to tackle the other items in my life that needed me – such as going to the grocery store.
Perseverance is a Series of Short Races
Elliot was right when he said perseverance is not a long race, but a series of short races. Each day, anew, I have to make many decisions to keep going, to keep working out, and to keep writing. Each day is its own race. You can’t win the long race unless you win most of the small races. You just have to keep plugging along, knowing that the time will come when you will see the finish line for the day. And that is its own reward.
Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net
What took you so long, spring?
0413 days
by Kristie Dean
in Motivation
Renewal for Yourself
Springtime Renewal
Springtime also brings the opportunity to sit back and reflect on my own life. If the plants can come back from a season of being dead, so can I. This year it seemed to take spring forever to appear. I’d have to say that this has been one of the toughest years on record for me. I have gone through one of the toughest battles in my life, and to be honest, I’m still going through it. But, God is good, and spring is here. Like the flowering buds on a tree, I will spring back to life, too. It’s not always easy, this journey we are on, but it is always worth it. There is a point to our lives, we just need to seize our purpose and live with meaning. Renewal gives me the chance to become the best “me” that I can be. And that’s what I’m going to do! What traditions have you set up as part of your springtime renewal?
Renewal Traditions
One tradition I have is to simply “be”. It’s hard for a type-A, have to do it all now, person like me to simply sit. But when spring gets here, I drop everything, go outside and sit in the sun and watch nature put on her A-game. What glorious flowers appear, seemingly overnight. I don’t like gardening, so I can’t participate in the renewal. I’m just a patient observer. This centers me and helps me to calm down.
Renewal is a Process
Life always goes on. If you are in a time of transition, take some time to sit quietly and enjoy the day. Renewal doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process, but you have to start somewhere. Start now. Turn this season into a season of renewal.
Becoming More Confident
0491 days
by Kristie Dean
in Motivation
Becoming More Confident
Have you dreamed of becoming more confident? How do you feel about yourself? Are you always deferring to other people because you see them as better than you? It’s time to stop.
There are a few things you can do to build your self-esteem and become more confident that are quick and easy.
Quick Steps to Becoming More Confident
1. Ask a trusted friend to list your top five character traits. This is a confidence builder in itself!
Don’t trust just anyone. Ask someone who has known you for a while and whose opinion you trust.
2. Look at the list. If you really believed you had these character traits would you feel inferior? Then why do you? If you trust the person whom you asked to help you, why would you not believe what he/she says?
3. Keep a success journal. This is my favorite way to help my clients build their self-confidence. Start by writing down your successes over your entire lifetime. Then start keeping a list of successes for the day EVERY NIGHT. At first you might have to write down small successes. For example, “I turned down the cheesecake at work today.” Later, though, as you begin to see yourself as you really are, you will find yourself writing things like, “Asked the boss for a raise and got it!” This is key on your journey to becoming more confident.
4. Look at all the good around you. Keep a gratitude journal as well. List everything that is good in your life. Each night, update the list with the things you are grateful for THAT day. Knowing what is right in your life can give you courage to be yourself.
5. Don’t be a doormat! Learn to say “no” to things, people, and events that do not build you up. If you always feel bad about yourself after being around Jeannie, then avoid her like the plague.
For more ways to becoming successful, see Achieving the Dream.
Becoming more confident takes time, so start today to build a happier you!
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