Tuesday, September 25, 2007

inviting miracles to find goals

Of the blogs I enjoy reading, an entry on Operation Simplify has inspired this morning's post. The writer of O.S. is this beautiful woman with an amazing family that she shares with us blog readers. As seemingly amazing a woman and mother she appears to be, in a few of her posts she really beats herself up beyond recognition. After commenting on her most recent self-attacking entry, I decided to write and share this tool with you guys as well. It is something I use with clients and myself on occasion.

It's a simple question with a potentially complex answer. I pose this question to you: If a miracle were to happen overnight and you wake up tomorrow with your life (and you) being exactly how you want it, perfect to you, what would that look like?

Take some time to really think about this. Be honest with yourself. There are no right or wrong answers, even if some parts of it are impossible. (Even the "impossible" parts can give you good insight.) Write it down, in detail. Draw it. Record it in whatever way feels right. Take some time to examine what you came up with, what you wrote or drew. Put it away for a day or so, then come back to it and read it again; as many times as you need to.

What are the parts you truly want to attain or become in your life? Break it down and decide what you can do (one piece at a time) to get your life/yourself from "today" to your "perfect" life/self. And try to be kind to yourself in this process (and in life of course). Like I mentioned, there is no dream, idea or goal that is wrong. Even if it's to be a superhero, that is insight. Break it down even more: What does being a superhero mean? Parts of superhero-ness are doable. You can be someone else's hero.

You can use this tool to figure out goals and discover things about yourself. You do not have to share this dream with anyone else if you choose not to. This is for you. If this post inspires just one person, I will be happy with that. If you try it and find it helpful, please let me know. If it is the worst idea ever, share that too. Good luck!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

you are so cute!

thanks for the pep talk. i think most of my issues stem from a lot of guilt that i am harboring. our family seems wonderful and right now it is but we've been through a LOT of things in the past 7 years to get to where we are. and i have done things that i am not so proud of because i didn't really know how to handle all that i have to deal with. so i learned. and now it's great. but i still think that i'm crappy for not being super enough to handle everything. what woman/mom thinks she can handle it all? i don't know any.

but like i was saying other than the guilt thing, my issue is that we live away from family. i'm extremely close with my family and also with my husband's mother & family. so being in colorado while everyone else is in utah makes life harder for me. i keep wondering why we are over here when we could be there. my kids enjoying their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...etc. i feel very isolated and away from everything i am close to except for my husband. so it's difficult. i've spent most of my life trying to escape the clutches of family only to find out they are the very people i need to be around the most.

thanks for the help though. i'm trying not to be so self degrading. it's just so easy! i will work on the goals thing though...i'll keep you updated!

Mercie said...

I like this a lot and am thinking of an answer to post over here. Thanks!

Melissa said...

ann michelle - yes, being away from family is amazingly difficult. I, too, went through some difficult (but incredibly growth encouraging) hard times the four years I lived in Denver. My family is all in NY. Even talking on the phone with them is not the same as having them right there.

mercie - I hope you find it helpful or at least insightful.