Being On Purpose
What does it mean to cast a vote for yourself? Watch this video to find out and to determine whether you’ll vote for you!
Arminda references Jason Goldberg of meometry.com and highly encourages you to check out the amazing work he’s doing.
Also mentioned are stickers and Arminda previously recorded an Ask Arminda episode all about sticker charts!
When a situation arises we tend to immediately see the negative and the LACK: what we don’t have because of what’s happened TO us.
Author Lynne Twist provides some invaluable insight around this tendency when she suggests,
“True abundance flows from enough; never from more.”
Join me as I break this concept down into four real-life scenarios and how we might apply the wisdom of “enough.”
Loving you,
arminda
Do you ever hear that voice inside your head challenging your worth, your value, your credentials to proceed in the direction you’re heading? Here’s a short video with a response you can use every single time that voice comes calling.
It’s always a choice.
Nothing is serious and boring unless and until we choose to make it serious.
Everyone around you notices how serious you are and they don’t prefer it.
Laugh.
Enjoy your world.
Insert fun back into your experiences.
Yes, even (and especially) your work experiences.
Choose now.
Choose fun.
When the big picture looms too large and we do nothing because the overwhelm gets us — what do you do?
When you feel stuck and unable to move forward — what’s the reason why? and what’s the workaround?
Eli the Pitbull is neurotic.
He eats furniture. He doesn’t play well with the other dogs. He won’t eat his food. He is terrified of small humans. He wets himself when he is too scared to do anything else. He has back-logged issues I can’t even begin to know because we rescued him only two years ago. He had five years of conditioning before we ever met and fell in love.
Our veterinarian encouraged us to tie a yellow ribbon on Eli’s collar as part of a broader initiative among dog owners as a way to alert others to approach with caution when they see the ribbon.
Unlike humans, dogs can’t always choose the way they behave. Depending on their upbringing and the way their humans have treated and taught them — their personalities and tendencies can become fixed.
Humans, unlike dogs, have a tendency to use yellow ribbons to excuse and/or explain their behavior as fixed rather than simply choosing something else.
Yellow ribbons come in all different shapes and sizes:
I’m terrible at remembering names.
You know me: I’m always late!
I don’t do well with change.
I’m such a slob; I can’t help it.
That’s the way it’s always been done!
I struggle with motivation.
This list is far from comprehensive.
Are you proudly waving any yellow ribbons?
Who would you be without the ribbon?
Untie it.
And then approach yourself with love.
If every smile is a direct achievement, then I’m well on my way to a lifetime achievement award because just like Buddy the Elf, “smiling is my favorite!”
Take time today to notice your face. Be consciously aware of what you’re emoting to yourself and to those around you.
When something pulls the corners of your mouth down and/or furrows your brow, borrow the advice from one of my favorite childhood songs: “If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay! Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away!”
The song reminds us that “No one likes a frowny face; change it for a smile. Make the world a better place by smiling all the while.”
Make your world a better place.
Smile.
Achieve that.
When I’m on the right path I know it because I’m all lit up. I shine. There is no dimmer switch and everyone around me knows it because they see and feel my light, too.
I’m in love with every day.
When I’m heading in a direction that isn’t using all of my skills and strengths and serving a higher purpose I know it because I’m disengaged. I say I’m not motivated when it’s not really motivation I lack, but purpose.
I dread getting out of bed in the morning.
What ignites your light?
What purpose is waiting for you to pursue it?
Whose world (your own included) will be better because you’re illuminated?
Be in love with today every day.
While the New York City bakery in front of which sat this brilliant billboard was promoting more cookie sales (an initiative I fully endorse), it was the message above the hashtag that struck me.
When we set resolutions, whether at the beginning of a calendar year or at the beginning of a new day, how often do we resolve to simply be happy?
What might that look like for you?
Often we think of happiness as an external something to be obtained, rather than a choice we make on the inside.
Are the goals, initiatives, objectives and resolutions you set for yourself serving you and your personal growth? Or are they overwhelming, discouraging, demotivating, and frustrating your progression?
For me, resolving to let myself be happy means asking myself whether my goals are truly serving me. If the answer is anything but a resounding YES, then I course correct and set a new resolution. No decision is ever final and I’m allowed to renegotiate with myself.
What does a happiness resolution look like for you?
Listen to your internal indicators and notice any red flags that might be trying to get your attention.
Is it time to renegotiate with yourself?
Make it simple: choose happy.
Thank you Bonita Leigh Fergus for reminding me that I am here — alive — to act, not to be acted upon.
“But most of us will live trapped inside our personalities for our entire lives, never knowing that we can leave. We are victims of our own invented limits. . . . I am the way I am.” — Steve Chandler
Given the choice, I would rather be a rushing river than a stagnate pond, always changing and evolving and in constant motion. I’ll get there when I get there, and I’m making life happen along the way.
She wasn’t afraid of dying, she just wasn’t finished with living.