We are reaching the end of our first week of the New Year. The shimmer and shine of the voices in our head that dream and hope for new opportunities is struggling to survive against the negative and discouraged voices that tell us nothing has really changed, that this year will be no different and that resolutions are dumb anyway.
Which voice is winning? Are you encouraged or discouraged? Still plodding along? Still running full speed into the new future? Or maybe grinding to an early halt?
The category you find yourself in may be a direct result of how much you feel you are in control of the choices you are making.
When we feel in control of our world, feel like things are going according to plan, it is easy to find the momentum to continue the journey. We can check off the accomplishments, see the progress and celebrate the victories.
When we feel out of control, it’s just the opposite. We feel hopeless and powerless to create change. We feel blown apart by the winds and strife of life, or maybe even worn down by the monotony of everyday tasks. It is easy to quit, give in, and procrastinate because a small but powerful voice inside our heads is telling us that is doesn’t matter- nothing ever really changes anyway.
NEGATIVE VOICES ARE LIES
You DO have choices. You are making them every minute of every day. Nobody and nothing has control over your destiny and future but you. You have the power to seize back your future at anytime, any moment.
I KNOW that sometimes it doesn’t feel like that statement is true but it is.
Can you have what you want this very minute? Maybe not. Somethings take time. But you can set a goal, make a plan and take baby steps to work on it. You can change your attitude, your self-talk and your habits that are leading you down the wrong path.
EXCUSES ARE LIES
Every day, in every way, the *world* is going to conspire against you to thwart your plans. Telling yourself that tomorrow you will have more time, more energy, more ability is a form of procrastination and denial. The fact is that EVERY DAY has enough trouble of its own and piling today’s trouble on to tomorrow is creating a Mountain of Trouble you don’t need. It’s a lie. The ONLY time, energy and ability you have is what you have this very moment and you need to squeeze every drop out of it that you can.
TODAY IS THE TRUTH
New Year’s Day is over and gone. But that doesn’t mean your ability to start over is gone as well. The truth is that EVERY DAY can be your New Year’s Day because you have the power to choose to start over every day. In fact, you have the power to start over every hour, and every minute of every day.
ACTION IS THE TRUTH
Writing out your long term and short term goals and creating action steps to put them in place is a great start but it won’t create the new life you want for yourself. A Plan is only a dream until you put action into it. GET UP AND START MOVING! What is the one thing you can do today, this hour, this minute to make your plan happen? One Baby Step. Then another. That’s all you need to get the ball rolling.
FAITH IS THE TRUTH
When our hope is lost we are lost. When we stop believing that change is possible and choices do exist, depression is on it’s way over to claim control over our lives and future. We begin to sink into a dark, empty hole. Give yourself positive affirmations. Get out a pen and write down all the times in your life that HAVE gone well. The big successes and the little ones too. YOU made those happen. And you can do it again, and again and again. We all have the power to be successful. There is no such thing as a looser except for someone who has given up. BELIEVE in the future that YOU want to have!
I believe that 2009 is going to be a year of new opportunity, fun, good health and love. Why? Because that is what I am going to focus on. That is what I am going to take action on. That is what I am going to make happen. And I won’t settle for anything less.
How about you? What are you going to make happen in 2009?
Wendi,
Nicely said. I’ve done so many things one baby step at a time (and I have so many more to do!). It works, and I think it’s one of the only things that does. Big huge goals can be ominous and scary. Little teeny chunks are pushovers. “Of course, anyone can do that!”
When I get big jobs or goals down to the point when I say “anyone can do that,” then I’m at the right level. I hate to stop when I’m in the middle of something so small, and then, one chunk at a time, poof!
One of my favorite phrases: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” It’s a little old and a little tired, but always true, and kicks you in the behind all year long instead of waiting for New Year’s.
A beautiful 2009 to you.
Regards,
Kelly
Excellent post, Wendi.
So far, 2009 has been a mix for me.
On the blogging and writing front it’s been great. Lots of things happening.
Outside of blogging, times are a little tough. I went in to 2009 unemployed and I’m still unemployed. (Hurray for the credit crunch). I’m not really sure where I want to take my career. I’m thinking the fire and rescue service or a policeman, but my local forces aren’t recruiting right now which has left me hanging in the middle, not sure what to do.
Still, this is just a very small part of my life and I’m sure eventually I’ll find a career that is right for me.
In the mean time, I’ll carry on loving and rocking the blogosphere. 🙂
As for my goals for 2009:
There’s talk of me and a few blogging friends cycling the length of the UK (top of Scotland to bottom of England)
I plan to organise a weekend blogging event for Northern England alongside Chris Garrett
I plan to get my drivers licence and move in to my own apartment
And I plan to have at least one trip abroad, probably New York or somewhere hot in Europe.
Thanks for the post, Wendi. You probably didn’t mean this to happen, but it gave me a chance to outline everything going on right now. It suddenly seems easier to manage when down on a screen. 🙂
Jamie
Jamie Harrop’s last blog post..How Long Have You Been Blogging? – Poll!
Great post. “Excuses are lies.” I love that. Thanks!
Blake’s last blog post..Write it Down
“How about you? What are you going to make happen in 2009?”
I’m going to resolve to become one year older.
Heheheheheh.
(Ducking and running, now). 😀
Oh, Friar, please don’t remind me!
Kelly’s last blog post..Building Your Business With a Map
@Kelly
Oh, you’re just going to say 39 forever.
It’s people like me who have to worry, who’ve moved past the big Four-Oh.
But like my Mom says…growing old, you can’t help. But growing up: that’s OPTIONAL.
Hi Wendi,
Welcome back – I hope the play went well for you!
For me, 2009 is the year of courage. Courage to step beyond some of the fears I have. Courage to take risks. Courage, really, to be true to my being. That may seem vague, yet – I think it goes to my core – and that’s a great place to start.
Here’s to a great year ahead!
Lance’s last blog post..And The Word Is…
So easily said and so much more difficult to accomplish….yes, my depression is already setting in for 2009.
It’s great to be able to start with the basics…a spouse, a great paying job, friends who care to check up on you and include you (well, I guess I did win out there a few times)…
Perhaps having things be under your control has been doable in your life, but certainly it has not been my experience.
Carry on, Wendi. Maybe I just need to have you pound it into my head more.
Welcome back, Wendi!
I agree- every day is a chance to start over. I set a lot of intentions for 2009 and for the end of week 1 I have to stay I am VERY encouraged…a lot of introductions and conversations have already started to take me in the direction I set out to travel. I, too, and looking forward to 2009! Without, of course, getting too far ahead of myself.
Stacey Shipman’s last blog post..A (Brief) History Behind Let it Flow
Hi Wendi – I’ll be focusing on the same things as you and know 2009 will be fabulous.
It’ll be a pleasure reading your blog and following your progress through the year.
Happy 2009!
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Good afternoon everyone, apologies for not getting a response out to all of you yesterday. I wrote it, hit send and then went out the door to make one of my dreams come true!
More about that later!
In the mean time…..
Kelly,
Thanks again for quoting this in your post today. I really think that having that Mantra:
“What is the one thing you can do today, this hour, this minute to make your plan happen? One Baby Step. Then another. That’s all you need to get the ball rolling.”
Has been a huge secret of my successes. And when I don’t follow it? Less success… That old saying-eat an elephant one bite at a time or else you will choke on it- fits well here!
Jamie,
Someone ( also unemployed) said to me yesterday, “Without a job, there is no dignity.” I totally disagree. Although I know it feels like that some days. What is your purpose in this world? There is enough value there to support you forever. There is great dignity in finding our purpose. When you have that…a job is just a job and a career is something you do because it is helping you fullfill your purpose. I’ll say a prayer for you to find clarity!
Friar,
I am quite sure you will succeed at your goal. 🙂 IF someone doesn’t gobsmack you first!
Hi Lance,
I LOVE, LOVE, your word for the year. I am working on mine. Coming up in a post soon.
Irish,
There is only ONE thing holding you back. Here it comes, right between the eyes from someone who loves you with all of my heart. You give to everyone on the planet except yourself.
You want to change your world forever? Make this the year that you put YOU first, above everything else. ( I say this publicly because you are not alone, and there are so many others who need to hear this too…they just didn’t have the courage to be as honest as you!)
Hugs.
Stacey,
Thanks for the welcome back, I took off time to spend with family. It was rejuvinating. You are going to have a great year! I can just see you off and flying!
Barbara,
isn’t it nice to know that we will be focusing on this stuff together. With our Blog Friends, we are never struggling alone.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Reading this post made me sad, even more sad than I already am and that can be dangerous. In reading this I felt like someone was standing in front of me and yelling at me that all the choices I have been making are just plain wrong and I can change them if I want to. Let me tell you, the depression part has got a hold of me so tightly that I can’t even begin to wiggle free. I don’t know what I am doing, but that feeling of control is long gone. It easy to read the steps you outline, but actually implementing them has me in way unfamiliar territory. I’ve been trying to get the help I need but I’m wondering if it’s coming too late.
Jenny’s last blog post..My Christmas Spirit
Hey, Jenny,
Hang in there. I won’t claim to know how you’re feeling, but please, ignore everything else here but that one baby step. You made one, sending out a comment at a dark moment. How about a phone call to someone you can trust? A scream in your back yard?
One baby step. There are lots of folks who would love to help you wiggle free, and Wendi I guarantee hopes to be one of them, not a yelling voice.
I’m thinking of you, sending good thoughts, though I know you only a little bit.
Warm wishes,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: Have a Lobstah
Jenny,
I’ll send an e-mail and respond to you more more privetly, but for any other person feeling a similiar way, there is no yelling intended here. NOT for anyone. And choices aren’t wrong, they are just choices/ Learning experiences. And they take you along, teaching you and when you have learned enough on that road, you will start down another one.
I would NEVER yell at anyone for the path they are on, except unless they were standing in front of a freight train and then I might yell MOVE NOW! BUT…
I really believe that we have more power then we think we do.
I also believe that we can’t do it in big steps, it has to be one small step at a time or we feel powerless and overwhelmed.
And we can’t do it in a vaccum all alone. We need community and people who care.
As for the third one…back to you ,Jenny- I KNOW FOR A FACT that you have that. You just have to remember it.and hang on to it.
hugs and love.
Kelly,
Thanks. 🙂
I know you weren’t yelling, it’s just the way my head explained it to me. You are always encouraging and inspiring here!
Jenny’s last blog post..My Christmas Spirit
Welcome back Wendi! This is a great post and reminder that we do not need to rely on one day of the year to make life changes. I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions because I view every day as new, a blank slate, and opportunity to learn, grow and take another step toward my goals. Every January the churches and gyms are filled and by the third week, the crowds have thinned with only a fraction of the “new” people remaining. Adversity tests our desire to really change. Failure is normal but all too often people use it as an excuse to just give up. My goal for myself is to live fully, wholly and with purpose.
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