Feeling Like A Kid

September is such a wonderful time to visit the beach.  The weather and water is still warm, yet there is a hint of fall in the air and light; and you practically have the beach to yourself.

While I love many things about the beach, one of my favorites is being in the water, expecially when the waves are strong.  There is something about the waves crashing at my feet as I stand knee deep that exhilrates me.  It is as if, in those moments I am transported back to my childhood.  I feel a sense of giddyness, wonder at the power of the ocean, and playfulness.  

What made this last experience even more fun was getting caught in a downpour while on the beach.  It always strikes me as funny when everyone runs for fear of getting wet, when we are already in our bathing suits!   For me, walking in the rain also brought me back, and I was enjoying the moment of getting soaked as we walked back to our hotel, just like I did as a small child (when my mother let me get soaked that is).

Being on vacation adds to the experience of feeling like a kid since responsibilities are put on hold, there are no schedules, and no expectations.

What makes you feel like a kid?

Seeing Results

I like to see results, evidence that my actions have produced some outcome.  The outcome could be a tasty meal, an organized home, a fun experience, a beautiful painting, and of course a thriving business.  For many of these activities, results come fairly quickly, but I knew that would not always be the case in my business.  Since patience was never one of my virtues I knew it was something I had to learn if I were to succeed in business (and life).  I knew I needed to trust that results would come and be patient as I created the environment for them.

My first year in business I dilligently and consistently “planted seeds” by focusing on becoming visible in my new community and making connections with great people.  I believed in everything I was doing, that all my marketing and PR activities would eventually begin to show results.  Yet, during those initial months I did sometimes question whether everything I was doing was “right” and thought maybe I was missing something, especially when the results were not showing up as quickly as I wanted them to (did I mention patience was not one of my virtues?)

Even though I questioned and wondered, I stayed true to my plan and kept moving forward.  Sure enough, all my activities started to pay off!  So I kept going with the same consistency and 4 years later my results continue…

What results are you seeking?

What environment have you created for them to come?

Just The Way You Are

Last week I posted this question on Facebook “What would it mean to truly accept yourself – just the way you are, just the way things are – for today?”

It came from one of my earlier posts, Accepting Yourself.  Some of the comments I received show how challenging this truly is so I thought it deserved more discussion.  Comments included – “I would truly have to push myself to accomplish this”, “It would be the ultimate accomplishment”, “I don’t think I have ever been in that place. Definitely something to strive for”. 

Why do you think accepting ourselves and our lives just the way we/they are today is so challenging to do?  Acceptance does not mean giving up on growth.   What it means to me is being OK with what is here now as we plan for what’s next.  It means focusing more on what we are walking toward rather than trying to escape from. 

When I was really ready to leave New York my dislike for where I was living intensified at first.  The thing was, though I was “ready” in my mind, we were not “ready” in reality since we didn’t know where we did want to live yet.  I realized this intense dislike was causing me more harm than good so I chose instead to make the best of where I was while we were planning our move.  This choice eased the rush to move and gave us the freedom to truly focus on what we wanted for our new home/community, to get excited about it and plan for it.  We were really OK just the way were were living for years, we just wanted something different – and we found it.  When we did, we knew it was right and not just an escape!