The Path to Personal Growth

Gratitude Quotes

Lena — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:28:49 +0000

It’s been one of those days today. I couldn’t string together two coherent sentences if I tried. So I am very grateful that others, older and wiser than I have written so much about gratitude that I can borrow a few of their words to share with you today.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes about gratitude.

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. ~William James

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears ~Anthony Robbins

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John F. Kennedy

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~French Proverb

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Thanks for being here! Don’t forget to share your favorite gratitude quotes in the comments!

Photo Credit: Burningwell.org

Gratitude: Remembering To Be Grateful For the Little Things In Life

Lena — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:59:01 +0000

I am grateful to wake up and see the sunrise.

Have you ever sat down to write in your gratitude journal and not been able to think of anything to write?

While it seems that we should never lack for things to be grateful for, sometimes we’re so focused on the fact that nothing really big happened in our day that we forget that we have a whole host of little things to be grateful for.

What do I mean by little things? Here are a few ideas for the next time you have trouble coming up with something to be grateful for:

the food you eat
the clothes you wear
a roof over your head
your friends and family
your pets
your internet connection
having cash in your pocket
waking up in the morning

It’s so easy to take for granted the things that are around us every day. That old saying, “familiarity breeds contempt” rings true in many ways. Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m certainly not implying that you are contemptuous of any of the things I’ve listed here.

What I am suggesting is that sometimes we get so caught up in the whole culture of wanting more, that we forget to stop and appreciate everything we already have in our lives.

Being grateful is such an important part of life. Recent studies have even convinced the scientists that having an “attitude of gratitude” can have a positive effect on health and well-being. It doesn’t matter what, or who, you are grateful for — large or small, it’s the feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for what you already have that gets the Universe sending more of the good stuff your way.

So, what little thing are you grateful for today? Feel free to share in the comments below.

I’m grateful for you being here!

Monday Movies – The Gentle and Forgotten Art of Blessings

Lena — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:03:11 +0000

Who knew that choosing one movie to start the week with would be so hard? I rarely spend time surfing You Tube so when I decided to do a Monday Movie feature and pick one video to start the week in a calm and relaxing way, I had no idea how many videos I’d end up going through to find the one that felt just right to post.

Enjoy!

What Goes Around

Lena — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 19:44:24 +0000

… always seems to make it’s way back around again sooner or later.

It’s been awhile — almost 2 years, in fact — since the last time I posted anything here. I almost let the domain go, and ditched the whole idea of running a personal growth site at all, but a little voice told me to hang on just a little longer and really do something with it this time. And over the years, I’ve learned to listen to that little voice — usually the hard way.

So here we are again. I don’t think my original purpose of wanting to help people find their own path to personal growth has changed all that much, and I still plan to provide as much information and as many tools as I can to help you do just that.

Personal growth is such an individual thing, and there’s really no right or wrong way to go about it if you are sincere in your desire for that growth. I just love it, though, when individual paths intersect and people share and connect along the way. That’s what makes this so much fun… opening the gateway to my own path and inviting you to connect here while you follow your own path to personal growth.

So don’t be shy — fell free to leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see here.

One of the things I’m planning is a webinar at the end of the month. Right now the plan is for a Q and A type session where we can get to know each other a bit. Please, over the next few weeks, leave your questions and comments either in the content section, or use the contact form if you are shy. (I’m kinda shy myself so I totally get that you may not want to ask your questions publicly.)

The other thing I wanted to tell you today is that I’m working on a really cool gift for you. It’s not ready yet, but you can go ahead and register for it, and as soon as it’s ready I’ll send you the download links.

I’m really excited to be back working on this site again, and I’m just thrilled that you’re here to be a part of it.

Thanks for being here!

Setting Goals: Knowing What You Want

Lena — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:53:00 +0000

In my post on defining goals the other day I mentioned five steps that are important for setting clear goals. This is the first post in a series that will expand on those steps.

It seems almost too simple to make a big deal out of, but the first step in learning how to set goals is determining exactly what it is you want to achieve.

You have to know where you want to end up in order to figure out how you’re going to get there. Makes sense, doesn’t it? But you’d be amazed at the number of people who try and achieve goals that are really nothing more than a vague idea. Consider these and think about how often you’ve heard someone say them, or maybe have even said them yourself:

I want to be rich.
I want to fall in love.
I want to lose weight.

Sound familiar? They’re a good place to start, but until you put some defining characteristics to them, they’re not really goals are they? You have to define what the concepts “rich,” “in love” and “lose weight” actually mean to you before you can create clear goals around them.

So if we were defining a goal for wanting to be rich, you might ask yourself the following questions:

How rich do I want to be?
Do I want to be a millionaire? A billionaire?
Or would I be rich if I just had enough of a cushion to make sure the bills get paid and there’s a steady flow of cash coming in?
There’s no right answer. Only an answer that’s right for you. And once you know what that answer is, then you can set a clear goal around achieving the amount of money that will meet your definition of “rich”.

Once you know exactly what you want to achieve, then you can go on to the second step in defining clear goals: setting a timeline. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Defining Clear Goals for Success

Lena — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:58:56 +0000

Since one of the things on my to do list today is to review my goals and see where I’m at and what, if anything needs changing, I thought I’d write a bit today on what it takes to define clear goals.

It’s one thing to set goals for yourself, but it’s another thing entirely to define clear goals to make sure you accomplish what you set out to achieve. A lack of clarity about your goals can leave you feeling confused about the end result, and put you on a one-way track to being stuck in the mud. Having a clear goal, on the other hand, can give you a sense of purpose and a huge boost in momentum.

Here are five things to think about when you’re defining your goals:

1. Know exactly what it is you want to achieve.
2. Decide on a time frame for achieving it.
3. Make sure your goal is realistic. (So says the queen of unrealistic goals!)
4. See the details. A vague idea is not gonna get you where you want to go.
5. Did you leave room for change? (If you said no, you might wanna think that.)

Over the course of the next few days we’ll talk about each of these five areas in more detail. In the meantime, think about where you are at this midpoint of the year.

Are you where you want to be so far this year? Would redefining your goals help you achieve them more easily?

Five Reasons Meditation Should Be a Part of Your Daily Routine

Lena — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:09:13 +0000

One of the things I’d like to add into my daily routine is meditation. For me, it’s pretty much a hit or miss thing right now even though I know that it would do me so much good. And somehow I don’t think staring at the blank screen and wondering what to write qualifies.

Meditation has always been associated with feelings of peacefulness and well-being, and I don’t know about you but I can always use more of those feelings in my life. Experts say that taking even just ten or fifteen minutes a day to slow down and meditate can have great benefits. Here are a few ways that taking time to meditate can affect our lives:

1. Mediation makes a great stress reliever. If you can manage to relax and be peaceful for just fifteen minutes a day, the effects will be noticeable.

2. Meditation also can improve your physical health. Several studies have shown that meditation can improve overall health because lowering stress also helps to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

3. Meditation helps you control your thoughts. A lot of stress comes from being unable to control our thoughts. Taking time to meditate helps to stop negative thoughts in their tracks.

4. Meditation also helps bring feeling of happiness and gratitude. By taking the time to reflect on all the good things in your life, you draw even more good things to you, which results in even more feelings of happiness and gratitude.

5. Meditation helps improve your concentration. When you can achieve peace of mind during meditation it will have an effect on how you live because when your mind is less stressed out, it is better able to concentrate on the important things in life.

These are just a few of the ways that meditating can help to reduce stress and improve your life. It may take some practice to develop the habit but allowing yourself fifteen minutes peace and relaxation is worth adding it to your daily routine.

Conquering Fear of the Unknown

Lena — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:40:38 +0000

One of the most common setbacks on the path to personal growth is dealing with a fear of the unknown. Growth means that some change is inevitable, and if you’re afraid of not knowing what the changes will bring, it’s really easy to allow yourself to stay stuck. Part of what we need to learn, then, in order to advance our own personal growth is how to conquer this fear.

One of the first steps in conquering fear is to understand exactly what it is, and the effect it has on us. While fear can be defined in many ways, the most straightforward explanation is that it is an emotional reaction to impending danger or unfamiliar situations. We experience this reaction on both psychological and physical levels at the same time. For example, you might feel anxious, overwhelmed, or even terrified at the same time your heart is pounding and you have a hard time catching your breath. If you’re anything like me, your stomach gets all tangled up in knots, and you start feeling cold and clammy as well.

A lot of the fear that we experience as adults can have its roots in childhood experiences. Mental and physical abuse, or unrealistic expectations put on us as children can cause us to develop fears that stick with us through adulthood. Unless we can overcome them, they can — and will — have a significant impact on our lives, especially when it comes to self confidence and the ability to live up to our full potential.

So just how to we overcome our fear change and the unknown that it brings?

One strategy you can use to help overcome fear is to learn to recognized when you are feeling fearful. When you know that what you are experiencing is fear, you are more apt to try and discover what’s causing it. You may need to take a close look at your life experiences in order to find the underlying cause, and that can be a pretty terrifying process on its own.

You really do need to figure out what causes you to feel fearful though, because once you’ve accepted your fear and you know what causes it, you’re ready for the grand finale — facing your fear.

What’s that saying… feel the fear and do it anyways… or something along those lines?

Push yourself outside your comfort zone, and confront your fear head-on. You can stretch your boundaries a little at a time. You don’t have to conquer your fears all in one go. But by taking the steps to overcome your fear of the unknown, you will open yourself up to new experiences and feelings with a sense of freedom you would never otherwise have.

Photo Credit: sxc.hu

How Much Routine is Enough?

Lena — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:45:51 +0000

When I posted last night that I was happy to be getting back into the routine of daily blogging, it was with the thought that I was doing a good thing for myself. This morning, I’m wondering just how good it is.

As a creative person I’ve always Detested — with a capital ‘D’ — any type of structured environment. Schedules and I do not get along, and haven’t been on speaking terms for years. Ditto with the alarm clock. I truly cherish my freedom to be able to go where I want, when I want, and to be able to write when the mood strikes.

However, as a creative person working at making a living as a creative person, I also know that I need some sense of structure and routine in my working life at the very least. Case in point — almost three months between blog posts. (Being a diabetic means I also have to have some semblance of routine in the rest of my life too if I want to keep it under control. But that’s a story for another day.)

So anyway, back to the story here… This morning when I was trying to decide what to write I went searching for a quote to sum up how I feel about creating a work routine that works for me. I was really shocked to find a whole raft of thoughts that portray routine in a really negative way. For example:

“Habit and routine have an unbelievable power to waste and destroy.” Henri de Lubac

“Habit is the beneficent harness of routine which enables silly men to live respectfully and unhappy men to live calmly” – George Eliot

“Routine is not organization, any more than paralysis is order.” – Arthur Helps

“The less routine the more life.” – Amos Bronson Alcott

“As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.” – Henry Van Dyke

That last one by Van Dyke really resonates with me. I’ve had some friends who schedule every minute of every day, and day in and day out never change their routine at all. They call it good time management. I call it no time to live, but they’re my friends and I love ‘em so I put up with having to make appointments to spend time with them. But I can certainly see the point that is being made here.

As a person who hates being labelled and stuffed into a box — whether of my own or anyone else’s making — being so bound by a routine that there’s no room for change would be a fate worse than death.

But I know that in order to be a good writer, I have to have some type of routine that requires me to spend time with my butt in the chair with a pen in my hand. So I guess the challenge is to find that happy medium that gets the job done and falls somewhere between the no-room-to-live, destroyer of creativity brand of routine and having no routine at all. I’ve come to the conclusion this is another one of those things that there’s no right or wrong answer for — it’s another one of those life choices that is unique to each one of us.

For me, I’m thinkin’ my routine will look something like this: write and work out in the morning, do client work in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day doing whatever the heck I want.

Oh, and I did find my quote finally:

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.” – Ben Nicholas

So what about you? Where do you fall on the routine spectrum? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Getting Back Into the Routine

Lena — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:48:59 +0000

You know you’ve been off your game when you log in to make a new post and you’re shocked to see that it’s been almost three months since you’ve even visited your own site! I’ve taken breaks before, but never one that’s lasted quite this long or left me feeling this disorganized.

I’m really glad that the theme for this months NaBloPoMo is “routine” because it’s painfully obvious that I need one. Whether I can find 31 days worth of ideas on the topic or not, I can say that I will definitely be creating a routine for blogging every day. And since I have more than one blog to take care of and get whipped back into shape it’s something that’s long over due.

So, it’s the first day of the second half of the year, my playtime is definitely over, and it’s time to put the butt in the chair and write if I hope to meet even half the goals I’ve set for myself this year.

How’s your year going? Are you where you want to be after the first six months?