Become Who You Want To Be!

Take a few minutes to really think about the question below.  Take out a pen and paper even and write your thoughts down.

If you could DO anything, BE anything, what would that look like?

Think about what is keeping you from moving from here to there.  Might it be an internal thing like self-esteem and/or self-confidence?  Do you think your age makes it impossible to begin following your dreams? Oh money is so often a huge road block to getting where we want to be. Actually writing these things out will let you get a more concrete idea of where you want to be and what is standing in your way.

Next, write down what you need to move forward as a topic heading and fill in below each one.  For example, if you need money what might be some options for getting it?  A loan? Savings?  Sometimes making that sacrifice, biting the bullet as they say, is a means to an end in accomplishing your dreams.  Who do you need to help you?  Do you need the support of your spouse or family?  Will they give you the support you need?  If not, what other options might you have.  Friends can be an amazing support system to us.  Is it geography?  Do you need to physically be in another place to make it work?

Set a timeframe for success.  In thinking about all of the above, how long might you need to get these things in place?  Most often we can't just jump from point A to point B but with planning, time, effort and determination we can make the changes necessary to follow our dreams.  You'll find that the stronger your desire to make a change the more opportunity you will find to achieve it.

It's never too late to pursue your dreams!  I have only just begun my business at age 48.  I personally know another woman who graduated university and began a new career at a stage in life even beyond mine and she is very successful!

We can find any manner of excuses to keep us from finding ourselves, finding our dreams.  Sometimes simply being in a rut is enough of a crutch.  Well, the time is now to stop making excuses, stop sitting where you are dreaming and wishing about something different.  Start making changes and move toward the true you, doing and being who and what you were meant to be! 

Go on now, go!!!

Until next time,

Val

Noticeably You on Facebook

The Nurturing Project - Look How Far We've Come!

So here is my plant a little more than a month from the beginning of this project.  Just look at my little plant go! 

I have been faithfully watering and feeding this little plant and now it is becoming very top heavy with alot of new leaves.  Can you see how the weight is now shifting? In the first photo what stood out were the long, dead stems devoid of many green, healthy leaves. The plant quickly began to recover and started growing more and more leaves.The long, dead stems are becoming less significant in light of the new growth, the nurturing, that is creating healthy and strong leaves. So it can be with our lives. Sure we have a past and some are far more challenging than others. 

If our past has been, or our present is, less than ideal our focus may just be on the bare stems since there isn't very much new growth going on at the top. If that is the case we need to change our focus, to look at nurturing ourselves - good soil (surround ourselves with good, positive people), food (self-improvement workshops, personal development activities, challenging ourselves for growth), sun and air (have some fun, learn to live not simply exist! Breathe!)

We can overcome when we nurture ourselves, challenge ourselves to become strong, full beings reaching our fullest potential. Then, the challenging past, perhaps the less than ideal life can become much smaller and less significant in contrast to the new growth, the new knowledge, the new us.

Sure, the past is a part of who we are but it doesn't necessarily have to be a part of who we become if we decide to leave it behind, to overcome it.

So how do we go about nurturing ourselves? I'm glad you asked! Find something that you love to do and DO IT! Find your passion, and take time for it.  Even if you can't do it full time due to work, family, whatever.  Take care of your body. Eat right and exercise to keep healthy and strong.  Feed your soul.  Find faith, spirituality, whatever brings your inner being peace and happiness.  Challenge yourself to step outside the box, out of your comfort zone.  Surely at some point in your life you have had nervous excitement.  Didn't you feel alive and energized?  Wouldn't it be great to continue to have that feeling on purpose?  Educate yourself.  Take classes or free online courses to feed your mind and gain new knowledge about the world around you.

All in all, take time for you.  It's not about neglecting what needs to be done, simply putting importance on what is good, nurturing, for you.  The healthier we are, the happier we are the better we are able to nurture and encourage those around us.

You deserve it!

Until next time,

Val

Upcoming Workshops

Hello Dear Readers,

I am so very excited to let you all know that I will be holding workshops at the Women's Resource Centre in Beamsville.  To the left of this post is a link to the Facebook invitation.

It is very exciting to have this partnership with the centre and I look forward to meeting alot of new women who have an interest in their personal growth.

There is a nominal charge of $5 per evening to help offset the cost of the programs.  Please pre-register so that I know who to expect and I can have materials ready for you.

Come on and check it out.  Bring a friend for some great evenings of learning, growing, and sharing.

I hope to see you there.

Until next time,

Val

Dog Days of Summer

Wow, it's so hard to believe how fast summer is passing by.  It is a busy time for all of us yet it is supposed to be vacation, isn't it? 

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer so far and are remembering to be good to yourselves as well.

It is important to make time, take time for yourself to rejeuvenate and fill your spirit so you can be the best you!

What do you do to relax? How do you find your inner peace and sanity?  Do you take care of you when you are sick?

I'd like for you to answer the questions above in the comments section so we can share with each other.  I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time,

Val

Here I am, Now What?

There are many times in life when we find ourselves in situations or places that are foreign to us.  Things such as the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, divorce or even moving to a different area or perhaps even a new country may leave us feeling displaced or alone.

During these times, these situations, we will run a gamut of emotions; fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, perhaps in the case of moving even excitement.  You get the picture.  What is our best defence in these situations?  Finding a support system in people who are either going through a similar situation or have gone through it.  My belief is that experience is the best teacher.  When you have UNDERSTANDING of a situation rather than EMPATHY for it, you have so much more to offer.  Knowing the emotions and feelings of a situation is a much more effective way to help another, more effective than any book knowledge.  We all need someone we can turn to or rely on to help us through the most difficult of times.

Believing in yourself and your strength to get through it and get on with it is also very important.  When we are challenged we learn about ourselves and our strengths.  Think of a situation where your initial thought was, “I don’t know how I’m going to get through this!”  Now think about how you did get through it, who did you rely on, what resources did you use, what strength or determination did it take for you to get there?  We are far more powerful and capable than we ever would imagine.

Make a plan, set some goals, and take charge of the situation to the best of your ability.  Some situations we create ourselves and we have to live with the consequences.  Other situations just seem to happen to us, an unexpected death in the family for example or being downsized or fired from a job.  In any case, if we take charge as best we can we will at least feel like we have some say in what happens next.  We cannot change the past, we can only deal with the present and prepare for the future.

So here you are, now what?  Let’s say you have moved to a new country.  (A wonderful new friend of mine has specifically asked for me to include this in my blog) Unfamiliar territory, new faces, and foreign languages are some of the challenges one will face.  Just think of a newcomer trying to understand the idioms of our foreign language. 

For example, a newcomer might hear the following:

·         “What’s the damage?” and wonder who did something wrong when in reality it means, “How much does something cost?” 

·          “Put on your thinking cap” this means you think very hard about something.

·         “In the dark” means you don’t know what is happening around you.  Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

·         “Full speed ahead” – If people do something with all their enthusiasm and energy, they go full speed ahead.

·         “Don’t knock it” (often used with “Till you try it”) – don’t criticize it.

·         “They wear their heart on their sleeve – means that their feelings/emotions are very obvious. You can easily see them

There are many resources online to assist us to understand the idioms that are used in our English language. I just did a Google search and followed some of the links.  I found this site that has worksheets that might be of use http://www.stickyball.net/idioms/199.html  Again, there will likely be many others.

Now in fairness to all of my readers there are other situations that we find ourselves in that are foreign to us.  The unexpected death of a loved one or the end of a marriage, which in and of itself is like a death, an end.  This becomes a foreign land.  You are suddenly a single, no longer a couple.  There is a foreign language – widow/widower, single parent.  There are many new emotions – fear, anxiety, stress, loneliness, uncertainty.  Your future seems unclear and what once was familiar is now unfamiliar.  Even the simple motions of getting through the day, socializing, and coming home to an empty house – it changes everything.  I know I’ve experienced this firsthand.  Even if it wasn’t an ideal situation you still mourn the loss and go through a grieving process.  

My encouragement in any challenging or unfamiliar situation is to find support.  In these times there are support groups for everything, seriously!  You never have to feel alone or foreign in your own situation.  Once you find others who have gone through, or are going through, what you are you will no longer feel like a foreigner but a part of a group, a family if you will.

We all need someone we can relate to, depend on to help us through our most difficult of times.  Sometimes that can be found even in strangers who become our biggest source of support.  Get out there and find yours!

Until next time,

Val

Seize The Moment

I had a most wonderful experience in the Chapters Store in Ancaster last evening.  I was looking for resources for preparing and promoting a keynote presentation.  I was working with the sales lady trying to find suitable material.  In doing so, I had the opportunity to tell her why I was looking for such material and I shared with her a bit of my journey to where I am today.  She was very interested and was inspired by what I am doing and the journey I have taken to get there.  She took down my information for this blog and my Facebook.  Unfortunately I didn't get her name.  (I sure hope you stop by to read it!)

Then, when I caught up with Stan again I was relaying my most wonderful experience to him.  There was a lady within earshot and she heard me saying how the young lady was inspired by my story.  So she boldly asked me to explain to her what I was talking about. Her daughter joined us shortly after our meeting.  I then took the opportunity to share with them what I am doing and why.  At the end we shared contact information and she would like to keep in touch and learn more.  I see this as networking - perhaps she will become a contact to run a workshop in the Hamilton area - who knows?

The sense of wholeness I now feel and the inspiration I am gaining from this experience and the ladies in my workshop is simply incredible.  It's definitely a win/win situation.  As I have told them, I am increasing my self esteem and self confidence as I go along and I am very hopeful that they are gaining the same.

The way I see it, my journey has just begun and I have so many aspirations, hopes and dreams that I will purposefully move toward.  For example, I am in the process of creating the outline for my book.  It will be a challenging but extremely rewarding undertaking I am sure.  I've been researching the publishing of a book which is quite interesting in and of itself.  I know that I am a very long way from that but knowledge is power and it is wonderful to be learning something that I really hadn't given thought to before.

Another aspect of finding oneself or validating oneself is personal branding.  I have had a Graphic Designer from Thinkink Graphic Design http://www.thinkinkgraphicdesign.ca/ come to design a personal brand for my "business" card.  As I don't actually have a business it is simply my personal brand, my contact information.  I am extremely excited to release it when we have the final product ready.  Thank you to Candace Armstrong - you are a creative genius!

So, as you can see, I am seizing every moment, every opportunity to inspire and encourage others.  I'm utilizing every opportunity to network and find opportunities to do what I am loving to do in this moment.  Thank you to everyone who is taking this journey with me and I am so privileged to be a part of your journey too.  If I can inspire you, encourage you or network with you in any way, please leave a comment and I will surely do what I can.

Until next time!

Val

What's Your Story?

My workshop today was just amazing!  I showed a video of Nick Vujicic.  He is a motivational speaker who was born without arms or legs.  What an inspiration!  You can find the link to the video in the upper left side of this blog.

In viewing his video he spoke of writing a book.  Something I, myself, aspire to do.  This led me to think about our lives as our own book, our own story.  So in your story of life are you sitting comfortably in whatever space you occupy, having your life story read to you?  Are you reading the book waiting in suspense to see what will happen next?  Or are you the author; writing each chapter deciding each step of the way what will happen, who will be involved and where the story will finish?

I encourage you to take charge of your life.  Become your own author, write your own story so that you have choices in the outcome.  I do believe that we have what some call destiny for our lives.  I also believe that we sometimes make choices that lead us in a direction different from where we were intended to be.  That is ok.  Even with that, we can find our way past the detour - learning and growing as we go along.  This just gives us more experiences, more tools to use on the path that we are intended to be on. 

Take notice of most 'motivational speakers'.  What are they talking about, what tools are they using to get their message across?  They are using their own experiences often, but not always, challenging.  It seems the more we are challenged the more we learn.  That in part gives us more knowledge and information to share.  So, all of our life experiences be they good or bad can certainly be used to the betterment of the human race.

So go ahead, write your own story.  Take your challenges and successes and use them to guide and strengthen those around you.  That may be in a public forum, much like my workshop, or in a private setting while having coffee with a friend who needs a listening ear.  We can't tell people what to do and make them do it.  But we CAN share that which we know to help make a difference.

Until next time!

Val

The Longest Journey Begins With The First Step

What is your first step? Where will your journey take you?  Do you have a plan?  A dream?  So many questions in this crazy thing called life.

I'm not entirely sure where my journey will take me but I have plans and dreams that I intend to work on making happen.  Today I took what I believe is the first step in a new direction.  I once again stepped out of my comfort zone and into a new element.  I created and presented my first workshop on self esteem.  In so doing I feel like my experiences to this point in time finally have purpose.

It ain't always easy and in many ways I've taken the long, trying road.  Bad decisions, guilt, and insecurity were once the determining factors in how I lived my life.  It wasn't until I decided that changes needed to be made, that I had to take control of my life and really create a plan that things started to come together.  With that I had to learn that I counted, that what I wanted really mattered and that is ok.  I AM WORTHY!  There was a time when I didn't feel that and wouldn't have believed it.  Now, my self esteem is much better aligned with my self confidence - there is a difference you know!  I'll elaborate on that, and many other topics in future posts so come on back!

Until next time,
Val