What You See is What You Get!

My top ten thoughts moving into the new year...

1. If what you see is bleak and discouraging, fix it. It will take work and patience...a lot of it. Sometimes your efforts don't pay off in the ways you expect or as quickly as you'd like. This used to be less of a surprise to people, but then we became a society conditioned for immediate gratification and ease of operation. So make this a year for less whining and more working.
2. If you want to see more kindness, more love, more patience...then practice it. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted wishing a situation would improve without first working to improve myself. See number one.
3. If you don't like what you see everyday and option number one isn't working, see it differently. Maybe you've conditioned yourself to focus on the negative in a situation or a soul. Changing your perspective may even mean you see another person's view. (Yikes...that sounds so uncomfortable and awkward. And what if it means I wasn't completely right?) So go find a new view. Listen. Look with new eyes. Listen some more.
4. Transplant yourself. If you can't see yourself growing in a place, a job or a relationship, summon some courage and move on. If the transplant leaves you with all the same limitations, um, guess what? It might be...you. Determining if you're a victim of your circumstances or your own perspective sometimes is only proven by making a change. Gently uproot yourself and see.
5. Look for bits of joy. Joy doesn't come in big game show bundles--"and look Bob, a NEW car!"--it comes on gentle breezes, in the lingering notes of beautiful music, in a chuckle or shaft of sunlight. Bit by bit. Find your joy.
6. See, and then be, what it takes. If it is going to take some bodacious action to get you where you need to be...if it's going to take great intellect...if it's going to take a savvy and contemporary perspective, then see yourself as the bodacious, smart, savvy person you need to be! I am convinced we all have the inner resources to rise to the occasion, but we let our old voices and patterns convince us of our paucity rather than our plenty. See yourself as abundantly capable.
7. See need. Get out of your bubble. Get off your high horse. Shut up and listen. Needs are all around you and you're ignoring them. So go see what you can do on behalf of another.
8. See more. Stuff your brain full of new things. Select a magazine you wouldn't normally choose while you wait for the dentist. Who knew Motor Trend was so well written? Order something new off the menu. Grow, grow, grow.
9. Hmmm. I wanted this to be a top ten list, so why don't you complete it for me? What should we see as we move forward into each new moment? Perhaps we'll see a top 100 list!

P.S. Hope you took time to see six seconds of Stuart Smalley!

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RickManelius 8 pts

I gotta say... even weeks later, I still come back to this article... so it's now shared on google plus. Thanks for being a source of inspiration.

How are your goals going thus far in 2012?

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RickManelius 8 pts

Hey Mimi! Thanks for leaving us with a cliff hanger :) I do appreciate your no BS approach. I've definitely played the victim in several acts of my life... but your right. There is no sense whining about it and the only thing we can do is change our reaction (mental or physical) to the situation at hand.

Personally, I have selected my 3 words for 2012 and that is going to be my rallying cry behind my goals, actions, etc.

I know this may not have been the easiest year for you, but I can read between the lines that you have been strengthened through this process. May 2012 bless you and bring you rewards for your efforts!

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bdorman264 1935 pts

I am with you; I want people to enjoy being around me because I lift them up. I'm a realist and know everything isn't a bed of roses, but I tend to focus on the things within my control and the things I can appreciate.

We all know with just the right amount of money, it sure would take care of a lot of our concerns. However, I try to get away from that thinking and just appreciate what I do have and know I will figure out the other one way or another and life will go on.

Happy New Year to you and here's to more clarity and direction for 2012. It will be an interesting journey; hop on, I still have seats available.

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TheJackB 1510 pts

Hi Mimi,

I am going to be obnoxious and quote myself:

"And that leads us back to the point of producing a post about New Year’s Resolutions. It is not to create a nice document that lists all the things that you hope to accomplish. It is to create a blueprint of accountability for yourself. It is to put yourself on notice that these are the things that you want to do and the things that you HAVE to do."

I have been thinking about life and where I am at quite a bit and everything you wrote makes sense to me. The words I quoted above are really me talking to myself. We have to be our own advocates for change.

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MimiMeredith 190 pts moderator

TheJackB I like that, Jack! I quote me to me a lot. I just spent a 45 minute walk replaying the best advice from me to me, and I still don't remember it. So public statements of resolution are somewhat helpful in the regard that, when we fail to remember the direction we're headed, others can nudge us back on track. Happy New Year! Here's to being advocates and agents of our own change!

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