Life’s Too Short

This morning I received the following email from a very dear friend of mine – she lives in London:

“Life’s Too Short…

To be wearing panties that crawl, OR slip down as you're walking down the street and you worry they might fall to your ankles any time soon.

Hipsters = NO. Even if you only bought them in December (from Victoria’s Secret), admit your mistake, chuck them, and move on.”

I agree, on MANY levels, with this sentiment (after all, who among us hasn’t made a poor purchase choice that, at the time, looked FABULOUS but later turned out to be too damn uncomfortable. And yet we still, held onto the item because it cost too much, came from THAT store or whatever other reason you wish to insert here…? This is not just tied to clothing either - it applies to household gadgetry, furniture, automobiles, food, diets, relationships, jobs, habits, ideas and beliefs.

I’m not saying “chuck it all!” – I’m simply wondering WHY it is that we hang onto things (including relationships and ideas) long after they stop serving us? Is it because the evil we know is always easier to manage than that we don’t know?

I wonder.

I love “spring cleaning” - it gives me the chance to really rip apart my world, get rid of things that no longer serve me, rearrange my furniture, clean out and up my personal space and generally make my immediate surroundings feel new and clean once again.

How often, though, do we “spring clean” our minds, hearts and souls? And how, exactly, do we do that? Everyone has, I believe, their own personal catalyst that forces the process. Unfortunately, this is usually brought on by some hard and ultimately painful happening – one that forces us to evaluate who we are, where we are and WHY we are…

What if we actively CHOSE to spring clean our souls – without the nasty catalyst that tends to bring it on…? It would still be life-changing, but not forced on us. Instead of merrily going along, minding our own business, we could choose to change things ourselves. We could take proactive action, on our own behalf, and positively influence the outcome… making it, instead of a painful process, one of conscious growth.

Something to ponder.

Risk

I think of a risk as anything that makes me feel uncomfortable. Things that push me outside my comfort zone and force me to deal with that “ooky” feeling I get in my stomach when I think of trying or doing them.

I have taken a lot of risks so far in life. I have made multiple changes in jobs – some forcing me to learn and do things at work I had never done before, and in some cases, learning and doing some things I had never before considered. I have taken not one but two vacations - neither of which were what I had hoped for, both of which could have been utter disasters. I have, by myself, lived in places far from home and safety net. I volunteered to become “redundant” at work, after a career with them that spanned 18 some-odd years. I started life over, being a full time student.

Some of these risks paid off a thousand-fold, some of them didn’t pay off exactly as I had hoped, but they DID turn into what I fondly call “learning experiences.”

Why? Well, for me, it all boils down to this: Fear of Regret.

I am OK with looking back and thinking “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have tried that” or “I probably could have managed that better” or even “God, what was I thinking?” but I never want to look back and wonder "what if I had only...?"

I will never regret having tried things that didn’t turn out as I had hoped they would. Moves, jobs, clothing, vacations, and yes, even relationships. Especially relationships.

The reality is that all of these risks, whether or not they turned out as I had hoped, are the things that have bonded together to make me into the person I am right now – and the person I am still becoming. And without sounding like a total knob, I LIKE me. I’m pretty cool and if I wasn’t me, I would want to be my friend.

Am I scared sometimes? Hell yes! Am I happy all the time? Hell no! Am I willing to absorb whatever it is that I need to learn from places, people, situations and my dog? Of course – that’s what life *IS* - LEARNING!

Each and every person on this planet has a different ruler against which they measure their risk tolerance. What I consider a risk is, for some people, every-day “stuff” and in balance, what I will take as a risk is, for others, WAY too much to consider.

I encourage you to look at your world tonight. Is there something there that you are teetering on the edge of trying? Why not take that risk? What’s stopping you, fear of failure, or fear of success…?

Try it – go down that path. You will never succeed if you never take that risk.

SMART Goals

I first encountered the concept of “SMART” goals at the High Park Running Room when I started my very first “Learn to Run” clinic. Essentially SMART goals are:

• Specific - the goal should be as specific as possible - if manifesting a thing, get creative!
• Measurable - have numbers attached!!
• Achievable - whatever the goal may be, it needs to be something doable. a half marathon is doable in 3 months, with training... it is not doable in one week without training at all...
• Realistic - as for this one, I ask myself "is the goal realistic to my life, to what I am able to do for myself and for others and am I being honest with myself in the time frames?"
• Time Oriented - ALWAYS have a goal date - this allows for time lining backward. Project management 101 comes into play here - setting those time lines and milestones WORKS!

I also learned many years ago that, when setting goals, it helps to state them as though I have already completed the task. That part is all about setting the brain waves to that positive outcome and attracting the vibration of that thing to me.

Anyhow, I haven’t set any specific goals in quite some months now and I am feeling that it’s time to start setting some. What do I want to manifest in my world? A full time job, completion of a walking half-marathon, and a few other things. So here goes.

My Top Three Goals for the rest of 2010.

1. Before the 30th of September, 2010 I happily accepted a permanent full-time position, earning no less that $43 500.00 per year as my base salary, as the Branch Operating Officer with one of the RBC branches in the North Island Region.
2. I successfully completed my walking half marathon training program with the Running Room (online clinic) and on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 I participated in the Nanaimo Harbour City Half Marathon and finished upright and smiling in less than 3 hours 30 minutes.
3. Before the 31st of December 2010 I was able to purchase a beautiful home that was well within my budget. My new home is close to work, has more than enough space for me, a fabulous back yard that is fully fenced and, the first time I walked through the door, I knew I was finally *home.*

Some other goals I have for the next 6 months include taking Jasmine through a dog tricks class, spending time at the cabin whenever possible this summer, starting a new course in September (toward my A. BA degree) and yes, losing some weight and *finally* meeting Mr. Right.

Maybe the weight loss and Mr. Right aren’t actually goals as much as dreams…? I’ll explore the dreams in another blog. For now, to quote my friend Nan:

With love, from here to there.

Erin