Thursday 30 April 2009

Reflecting On Our Words - April

It's a beautiful morning.........and here we are AGAIN at the end of another month. Hope the month of April brought you much abundance, excellence, discipline, faith, joy, balance AND success, adventure, courage, love, laughter, healing........

It is time again to reflect on our word for the year with my beautiful blogging buddies Annemarie, AVT Coach, Julie and Roban. It all began in January and continued in February and March.

This time we are each writing a short story about our successes our WORD is affording us. The quote below sums up exactly what I feel the word success means:

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success."
Thomas J. Watson

Here are our thoughts about our WORDS.

Roban words are JOY and FAITH

Joy seems like such a simple three-letter word, but it is really so much more than that to me. It's not about being happy. It's not about everything being right in my world. It's just an internal sense of well-being that, despite what happens throughout the day, remains a part of me. I just have to be aware of it and look above, below, and through the din of daily life to see it sometimes.

When I chose my two words for the year, "faith" and "joy," I barely thought of the connection between the two, but as the year progresses, I am more aware of how faith and joy go hand-in-hand. To have faith means I can worry less. To worry less opens a window between my soul and the joy that surrounds me. I won’t say that I am now leading a worry-free life. No. I still worry. But I do know that needless worrying is using up more of my energy and crowding out the joy of life. So choosing to walk in faith and embrace the joy that is given to me is something I am learning to do… one step at a time.

Annemarie's word is DISCIPLINE

Discipline can sound like such a harsh word. It often conjures up thoughts of detention, grounding, the principal's office when actually it should be just the opposite. A person who lives a life of discipline is living a directed and goal oriented life - setting their sites on the prize and making sure everything that she does will lead toward that end.

When I chose Discipline as my word for the year, it was because I saw my life spinning out of control. I was completely living in the moment which is not always a bad thing. However, I was letting circumstances dictate my actions instead of the other way around. It was a life full of excuses and shortcuts. For example fast food instead of cooking because I had too many things to do.

A Disciplined life does not come over night. It is long journey, but it is one I am glad to make with my supportive bloggy friends.

Julie's word in EXCELLENCE

When I chose 'Excellence' as my word for 2009, I had a broad sense of how that directive could be applied in the upcoming year. I knew I wanted to bring a bit more care and finesse to some smaller areas of my life, such as housekeeping and chores. I knew I wanted to instill in the kids a deeper level of respect for working on their lessons with better attention paid to their penmanship, smaller assignments and the like.

I hoped to apply seeds of excellence to those more hidden areas of our lives. And I believe those seeds sown will bring a fuller harvest.

So often in pursuing excellence I have found myself focused on the big items, committing time and effort and high standard to those things that are most obvious, most seen, most noticed. But I've come to see that excellence requires a pervasive attitude that must wash though all aspects all of life, that the excellence I want to find in the grander projects must first be practiced on the smaller stage—a smaller stage in which I act for the benefit of the One who created me.

Because, really, that's what true excellence is, the commitment to doing one's best, even when no one is watching. When excellence is practiced at the smallest level, it becomes a true aspect of character. Anyone can act, on occasion, with great skill and adeptness, but true excellence should be found consistently, a thread of character binding all the pieces and patchwork of one's life.

And so our pursuit of excellence in 2009 continues.

AVT Coach's word is ABUNDANCE

The way I see it, I’ve lived a life of fortune: A college degree, a close immediate and extended family, and a quality group of close friends. These are the aspects of life that I had considered when I thought of abundance.

Still, I had the thought that I would “seek” abundance. I would “strive” for it. Since choosing the word I have intentionally lived my days with a certain assurance that my abundance was evolving. I put feet to it. I began new routines: yoga, more reading, more contact with friends and scheduling play dates with family and friends.

I can say now that I HAVE a life of abundance. I now have a habit of abundant living that carries me through even some stressed days. It is not that my life is perfect, I don’t live in perfection but I do celebrate each moment that I smile when I could frown, say a good word when I could speak ill, listen to music, read and meditate when I could fill my hours with slothful acts.

I love that no matter my financial or relational state my life of fortune continues. I will grow and evolve in many other ways on the journey but I do so abundantly.

My word is BALANCE

Leading a balanced life I have discovered IS in my control!

Very bold statement.....but when all is said and done it is not as difficult as we make it out to be. Let me explain how it works for me.

I begin each task with a purpose and give my attention fully to that task. Some tasks are easier than others to focus on, so I have learnt to slow down, whether it be driving, talking, entertaining, working, exercising......
I recognise when I am off balance and this is when I stop and reflect and often ask for help.

For example my love of blogging sometimes interrupts my other interests/chores/work and when I feel it is taking over I discuss the problem with a friend who helps clarify what I want to achieve and gives me other options to ponder upon.

The easiest way to lose our balance is to cling to fixed beliefs or notions of how things should be. The only constant in this world is change, so the more things we cling to, the more we will be thrown off balance when they disappear. It is like trying to ride a bike while balancing an enormous weight on your shoulders. It is much easier to maintain our balance if we lighten our load.

I would not achieve BALANCE in my life without DISCIPLINE....thankyou Annemarie for choosing that word and explaining how important your word is in all aspects of life.
Keeping the FAITH that balance is achievable and not to give up when the going get tough...and JOY that it brings when successful....bless you Roban for those words.
Of course an ABUNDANT life is then possible.....so grateful to you Coach for leading the way.
And then EXCELLENCE in all aspects of a balanced life becomes possible.....Julie more than anyone I know shines through with this word.


Please join us in reflecting on your word by commenting or posting on your blog and linking to this post. The blogosphere is a wonderful community, a place to share, dream and smile!

"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere". Barack Obama


This is a photo of my gorgeous Aunty Mary who reached the wonderful milestone of 97 years young on 30 April 2009.....to me she apitimises how to live a successful life.

16 comments:

Zz... said...

strange...so timely that you should mention success and failure with a quote epitomising my conclusion exactly right as I finished blogging about it!!! we seem to have some strange connection...you even posted at 11:11 which is a number I get ALOT.

Cozyflier said...

Well Peggy, you always intrigue me. This is a wonderful post and I so look forward to your blog. I'm learning how to link blogs in mine! I'll try to do it.

Stop by mine, you have an award. Silly I know, but still, it is yours!!

Congrats to your Aunty, she looks great!

Thank you for your timely post as I am struggling with family issues at the moment.
Carrie

Wendelyn DeMoss said...

I love how you introduced our posts and the quotes on the end, I had not seen Obama's quote, I love it! Your Aunt is vivacious like you! Blessings to you!

McMGrad89 said...

How wonderful that your Aunty has experienced 97 years of life on this planet. She seems to be doing it with savoir faire.

I have been having fun checking out our personal take on sharing each other's words.

I am glad you have to have a lot of failure to reach success. I must be far on my way to being successful.

Roban said...

What a great way to begin your post; I like how you linked back to our others. And the photograph of your aunt is splendid! She looks like an amazing lady who embraces an abundant and joyful life!

Sarah Lulu said...

Doesn't Auntie Mary look like she knows joy?!?!?

I think perhaps I need abundance as a word ...just pondering ...

Silver said...

wow...what a picture of life!

i've got to meet her, huh?

PS you've got "our song" too, huh?
;)

miruspeg said...

Sarah - You are already leading an abundant life! Yes Aunty Mary sure does know Joy....she was conducting us while we were singing Happy Birthday.

Silver - Yes our song "On my way here" was very appropriate for this joint post....thanks for introducing me to it.

Anonymous said...

Your Aunt Mary's word must be 'vitality'! However, I have a feeling that you take after her in that respect!CJ

Anonymous said...

Such a great post Peggy. I love how each of you elaborates a bit more about the meaning of their word choice. I need to be like Annemarie and place a bit more discipline in my life. I feel like the stream of life is pushing my boat a bit too fast and I actually need to paddle to gain control. Thank you for this today!

miruspeg said...

Cazjane (CJ) - Vitality could definitely be my Aunty's word for the year or lifestyle. As I visit her every week I hope a little bit of her positive attitude rubs off. It is wonderful listening to her childhood stories.

Caroline - I want to thank YOU for encouraging us to focus on one WORD for the year that would empower us throughout 2009. You are a great inspiration to me.

TheChicGeek said...

Peggy, this is the most wonderful post ever! You have given me much to think about and be thankful for today. So many wise words and so many beautiful people :)
Thank you!
I must find a word for myself and link up...all those chosen are absolutely perfect!

You are a sweetheart :D Have A Happy Weekend!
Kelly aka TheChicGeek
xox

Sherer said...

I am reading a book on Market Trading (I read all kinds of books and the markets facinate me). Many of the traders lost on average between 30,000 and 100,000 before understanding how to play the game. Failure maybe be the key to success!

Thanks,

Jesse

miruspeg said...

Kelly - It is amazing when we focus on one word how empowering that word can be...AND I get to focus on six words at least once a month! Please join us and let me know how your WORD will guide through 2009. You always write such lovely warm comments....bless you.

Jesse - I got caught up in the thrill of the tech boom back in 2000 and lost quite a bit of money on the share market. I have since learnt from my failed efforts(which I must say was a very expensive lesson to learn) to in future seek professional advise. I have a healthy portfolio now so I guess you are right in saying "Failure maybe be the key to success".

Lance said...

Hi Peggy,

Wonderful and uplifting. And it's reminding me to focus on my word for the year, and make sure I keep it in the forefront of my mind. Thank you!

Lilly said...

Aunty Mary knows how to wear red!!!! Just gorgeous. And I am looking at those two cakes as well, yum. I guess you deserve two when getting to that age.

Great post, uplifting and inspiring.

Somehow I think you will be around for a long time with thoses genes.