bonnieandtilly

"Everyone has the power to impact the outcome of his life."
~ John C. Maxwell

The way to do this is to focus on today.  Today is the only time we really have, isn’t it?  Let’s face it, it’s too late for yesterday, and who knows what might happen tomorrow.

John Maxwell teaches a 12-step process (no, this is not AA) to gain control over and learn to manage our daily lives. 

He asks, "Do you have enough time available to spend with and on the people you love?"  I don’t. 

He asks, "Have you found success in your career?"  I’m getting really close on that one.

I’ve been following his lessons and have begun to take stock of myself.  He tells us we can make a masterpiece out of each and every day, and I am beginning to believe it.

I try each morning to prioritize my agenda, so at the end of the day, the tasks that are inevitably left undone are of the least importance.  Some of these tasks have been held over for days, and before I started practicing Maxwell’s process, that would have driven me crazy, but I realize now that no one really cares, or even notices.  When they become a high-enough priority to move up my daily list, they will get done.  That will still be on time, or, as is often the case, I eventually realize that there is really no need to do the task at all.

And it feels SO darn good to scratch it off my mental list and throw it away — like I’m getting away with something.  Grins!

I am a high-creativity kind of person to begin with, but now I make a conscious effort to generate new ideas every day.  When I owned my company it made me a more flexible entrepreneur.  When I managed others it made me a more valuable supervisor.  Now, as a “professional volunteer” it is making me very well-excepted within my organization.

There are some commitments I have made to myself — some of them many years ago — that I have never let up on, or have re-invested in.  I make a point of reinforcing these commitments every day.  I have them written down on a notecard by my mirror so I see them every morning and every night.  I have gone to bed realizing I did not take overt action on some commitment or other a few times, but it has such a profound impact on me that I am certain to make a greater effort to do so the next day.  It’s pretty much a habit now.  I don’t have to read it, I know it by heart.  Just looking at it causes me to run a quick mental inventory.  In the morning I ask myself what ways I can slip into my agenda actions to fulfill my "vital commitments" for that day.  At night, I run a quick summary of my day and look for times I could have acted but did not, or commitments I failed to act on at all.

I realized a while ago (because I was forced to) that I can manage my own money.  I am not frivolous, nor am I a miser.  That said, I HATE DOING IT!!!!  So, I usually have one or two priorities regarding my finances that I want to procrastinate if at all possible.  I consciously put those at the top of my To Do List so I get the “nasties” out of the way and can then move on to more enjoyable activities.

Maxwell tells us we need to always be strengthening our faith.  I have had some poor experiences related to the church I belong to, so that area has been difficult for me.  But, I have found ways to strengthen my faith outside of church.  I have a strong testimony and my life story is a rather interesting one, so I owe it to myself, other women, and I suppose God, to tell my story at some point.  Many people who know me are encouraging me to do so, but I’ve been putting it off.  It’s on that list, but still toward the bottom.  I believe, when the time is right, I will be compelled to make it a priority.  Until then, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy!

Another of Maxwell’s steps involves reaching out to others, making connections, and building relationships.  I’m really having a difficult time with this one.  I moved to Texas to spend a year in service and, I suppose, to find myself again.  After having spent my entire adult life being what my family wanted and needed me to be, I felt it was “now or never” to do what i believed in for myself.  That said, I feel moved to make as much of this year as I can and sometimes I forget that there is more to life than work and study.  I need to force myself to socialize – odd for me.

Lastly, and the purpose of this journal, I am searching within myself every day to find ways to make myself more valuable — to my community, my peers, my family, my totally awesome dog, my church and, most importantly, God.