Life and a Hula Hoop

Let's keep things simple.

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then stick with what works.

Be happy.

Love, 

T

P.S. 

Duct tape didn't work. 

A new hose did.

:) xo!

The Comfort of Distraction

A friend's post said:

"Stop getting distracted by things that have nothing to do with your goals."

- @kanodadon2975 (Instagram)

Isn't it easy to get distracted? It's tempting to busy ourselves with silly things and conveniently create an excuse not to make progress toward our deepest dreams and goals. Are we afraid of failure? Or success?

Sometimes it's not silly things that distract. Aren't we capable of hiding behind real challenges and legitimate reasons why we never wrote that book? or song? or finished that project? or started that business? or put enough time and investment into that business to make it profitable and sustainable?

Perhaps it's more comforting to call a friend and commiserate about what's wrong in the world rather than brainstorming for solutions. Maybe anger is an easy route over creativity. It's plausible that our ambitions are so lofty, we just lack the discipline necessary for the little steps that need to be taken every day.

Who knows what our problem actually is. It's probably a combination of things. What if there is no problem at all! Possibly, we're just going along at our own pace, doing the best we can do.

Nah... I'm not buying that last one. I think there's always room for improvement. We can always learn. We can always do a little better. We can always Love a little more, try a little harder - or work a little smarter. 

The creative process requires embracing the unknown to a certain degree. Trying something new takes a bit of courage. Fear is a powerful thing. Distraction that forces us to stay inside our own little comfort zone offers a feeling of safety. Would a little DIScomfort be worth it though, if it meant being able to take off in flight, on a direct course toward everything we've ever dreamed of?

Let's change one habit, learn one new fact, consider another point of view, challenge one of our own long held beliefs - do something, anything DIFFERENT from what we're used to. I'm betting even one little step outside our comfort zone can have a profound effect on our journey.

Love,
T

Butterflies Continued...

I don't have long. The baby is taking a nap.

This lovely girl (I'm going with "girl") appeared outside the diner this week.

This one (above) was at the pediatrician's office. Hundreds more appeared in a National Geographic photo sent to my phone this morning (I'd post the link, but it seems to have disappeared). Maybe there's more to the story that I'm supposed to think about.

I've been taking some time out for myself every evening before bed to read. Just a few minutes is all I need - just enough so that I am taking some action toward my own personal objective of reading a book. Last week I actually finished the book. I can't tell you how many books I have started reading over the years and never finished. My bookshelves are full of them! This time, I finally finished. Then I started another. #gettingsomethingaccomplished :)

"God is within her. She will not fail"

- Psalm 46:5

This quote begins the book I'm reading now. The quote echoes points made at the end of the previous book about how important it is to take action, however small, toward your goals (or dreams). Reflecting about the butterflies, I'm thinking of the action of their flight. They must move, fly, spread their wings. That's what's up this week - action.

Ever notice how we put things off? Busy work crowds out things we want to do for ourselves and we never get around to doing some things that we really want to. My time is short these days with the baby. (Isn't everyone's time short for one reason or another?) To-do lists are always getting shuffled, and tasks get prioritized, often resulting in nonaccomplishment of some very important goals for myself. Adding to the obstacles, we can admit that fear of failure is a contributor to our tendency to put some goals on the back burner as well.

To transform as a butterfly, action is required. Transformation can be thought about, and we can evolve in our thinking all day long, but we must act if we want to continue the cycle. We have to spread wings to fly. I've been doing well with workouts lately. I've managed to get to the gym consistently and reached a goal of lowering my blood sugar through exercise and diet. Also, I completed a book by tackling one page at a time. Now, I think it's time to identify some more goals on the wish list and take some action toward achieving them. Any action toward the goal will be a success.

"There is no failure except in no longer trying." 

- Chris Bradford

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

- Paul Coelho

That is my continued lesson from my friends, the butterflies. :) xo

Namaste,
T

 Click here for more quotes on failure from forbes.com

Eight Tries...

Last week was filled with the practical tasks of learning Photoshop, studio recording, song writing, packing, traveling, scheduling and booking.  All the while, the haunts of last week’s “Fear Factor” blog lingered.  I realized (as if I didn’t already know) how fear can permeate every aspect of life, and TRUST becomes a critical aspect of moving forward.

Just as I had to jump out of a tree last week and trust that a cable would catch me, this week I had to trust that things would fall into place, that I would manage to get everything done, that my ideas would be good enough for the second verse of the new song, that my advice would be useful to a friend, that I would make it driving through that torrential downpour that lasted four and a half hours last night, that Russ would get to and back from Paris safely, that I would finally figure out how to get the text right in Photoshop if I tried just one more time, and countless other instances. 

To be without trust is to be without confidence.  To live without trust is to live with worry and fear, and THAT can be paralyzing.  

In relationships, lack of trust can be devastating - and what about trusting your instinct or your ability to make it on your own, if you know the relationship isn't right?

This week I say, “Go for it!”  Jump out of the tree, try something new, take that chance.  What’s the worst that can happen?  We fall?  We fail?  So what? 

“Fall seven times, stand up eight” – Japanese proverb

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” 

– Bill Cosby

WE CAN DO THIS!  LET’S GO!  JUST GO!  (This will be my mantra this week.)

“I ask myself: are defeats necessary?   

Well, necessary or not, they happen.  When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes.  The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.   

So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?   

Because, once we have overcome the defeats – and we always do – we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence.  In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life.  Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight.  We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure.  Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.” - Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist”

Here’s bidding you all a week of eight tries, and the joy of eventual triumph...

Namaste!

T