It’s been quite a whirlwind adventure since I decided on reinvention. I reached out to some friends and got some wonderful advice on the path to adding more to my life. I’m slowly, but surely, working on those items and have gained more experience already doing more things I love. I also signed up for some webinars and classes that may help me along my journey. The first one has already inspired me enough to spread the lessons I took from it to a few close friends who are also looking for “something more” in their adventures. Don’t get me wrong – we’re all happy on our journeys, but each of us knows there is something more for us to be doing, helping, saying. My first “lesson” was a conference call led by Jennifer Bailey of Grace Street Group. I happened upon her through an article she wrote for Tiny Buddha, my newest favorite obsession. The call was amazing and I am now on my way to living a more intentional life. I highly recommend attending one of the calls to take your own thoughts from what she has to say. I can’t wait to delve deeper in to her site, offerings and words.

Jennifer gave me permission to share my notes and what I took from the call with you all since a few have asked. She poses some very good questions that we should ask ourselves often, if not daily. We should all be working toward living an intentionally-designed life, whatever that design is for you. These are very rough notes, mostly bullet points that I made myself to emphasize what I need to ask myself. If you have more questions about them or would like more information, you may contact Jennifer at gracestreetgroup.com/contact.

An Intentional Living means LIVING ON PURPOSE
Not on auto pilot

Most of us are too consumed with the business of life – bills, errands, carpool, etc. = auto pilot

Deathbed Regrets

1. “Wish I had lived a life truer to me and not what was expected of me.” (Are you living your life? Not based on what others expect of you or from 5 or 10 years ago….based on NOW?)
2. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.” (What would change if you were living your best life?)
3. “I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.”
4. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.” (When you think about what matters most to you, what needs to change in the coming months with those relationships?)
5. “I wish I had let myself be happier.”

 Don’t get to the end of your life and just have lived the length of it – live the WIDTH as well.

 What regrets do you have? Those are the answers for taking action.

Become an active participant and designer of your own life. Are you watching the action from the sidelines? Is life happening TO you, UPON you?

 Some obstacles people mention:

•  “I’m unhappy” or “Something is missing…I know what I don’t want, not what I do want.” (FIGURE IT OUT – Stop thinking about what you don’t want and think about what you do want.)
• “I don’t have the time or money.” (Focus on what IS possible rather than what isn’t.)
• “I’m too old or it’s too late.” (It’s NEVER TOO LATE to pursue your best life…around what matters most to you.)

Tolerations are things you’re putting up with that cause friction, take up space in your mind, and drain energy. They create a wall between you and your intentional self. Most people tolerate between 500-1000 things everyday. Minimize the tolerations.

Single greatest change I can make immediately: STOP WAITING FOR SOMEDAY!

Decide to be extraordinary – do what you need to do NOW.

• Set goals
• Manage goals

Those are the notes I took from her call and they immediately made me question all of my decisions and the path I was on – not in a bad way, but in a very positive way. I look forward to hearing your take on those notes and how you might use them to help you.

Getting back to the beginning….I am not sure how I happened upon Tiny Buddha, but I can’t get enough. Now I subscribe to their daily email and anxiously await the day’s thoughts and inspirations. I’ve quoted and retweeted them quite a bit since discovering the site and, in turn, others have been turned on to the hopeful words. I love our “little” internet community. 🙂

On the fitness front, things are going well. I had to reschedule a few workouts, but DID reschedule them – did not skip them. Granted – my G57 Fitness & Training guru – won’t let me, but that’s a good thing. 😉 I did need to take a scheduled day off this week to just recharge and recoup. I had a bit of a rough day and needed to go home and veg out. I’m not proud of skipping my workout, but I also knew it was what I needed to do for me that day. Back on schedule today and I’m going to kick some booty. During Monday’s workout, I set a new PR for a specific work out circuit we do even with some added exercises. I nearly burst into tears from disbelief and happiness. I’m excited to continue the success.

Last week was a great week for Birmingham. The weather is warming up and people are venturing outside more each day. A nice kick-off was the Earth Day celebration held a few weeks ago at our beautiful Railroad Park – it had something for everybody. Crestwood Festival and the Magic City Art Connection soon followed and the weather couldn’t have been better for either. Sprinkled in with those fun events was amazing local theatre, comedy and music. I saw Iron & Wine at the Alabama Theatre on April 26th and he blew me away. Last week a new local grocer opened their first brick-and-mortar store not far from where I live. Freshfully has been an online resource for locally grown fruits, vegetables and the like for over a year. I was very happy to volunteer to help out during the opening of the store in Avondale and that had a great turnout. I went 3 times! I can’t get enough of their meats, vegetables, snacks and cheeses. Last week, I also had a lovely GNO with some good friends that turned into a pretty late night of chatting, exploring, and supporting each other. And to top the week off, I finally had the opportunity to once again patronize a favorite music series – Moonlight on the Mountain. It’s a beautifully intimate venue in Hoover presenting primarily folk, Americana, roots, country and bluegrass artists. I saw an artist that I’ve been following for years – Pierce Pettis – after hearing him at a house concert in the late 1990’s. He is now touring with his daughter, Grace, whose voice is just as remarkable. It was such a treat to see him again after many years of missing his show. I plan to make MOTM a permanent stop on my concert listening sprees. I am going again this weekend to see one of my favorites – Dan Navarro. I’ve seen Dan in many places around the country, but never at home so this will be a very special show.

This weekend proves to be fast, fun and full of activity. Tonight is my workout and then possibly stopping by our new musical festival, Secret Stages. Tomorrow, I will be attending IronTribe’s Tribal Wars, the first annual Birmingham International Street Fair, Love Your Mama Fest and music jam in Forest Park, our first local Food Truck Throwdown, attending the Dan Navarro show and going to a doggy birthday porch party. Sunday will be visiting with a friend who recently had surgery and toodling around.

On a more serious note, I’ve had a very intense week. I’ve been very introspective, conflicted and struggling with a few things. I am still battling them, but hope to find peace and clarity within myself and for those involved soon. It’s been a lot more painful than I thought it would be. I’m still struggling……

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you on the flip side.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.