Not Today
The phrase, 'Not Today' can literally change our lives and how we respond to circumstances. Read on for more.
Surface dressing
Driving back from an afternoon tea party, I saw a road sign that said ‘surface dressing for one day only’. For some reason, it struck a chord. The road into my town is getting ready for surface dressing. How about that?
It got me thinking about the word ‘dressing’ and the importance of dressing the surfaces that we have.
When we hear ‘dressing the surface’, I am sure most of us will think about clothes and shoes that are visible to the naked eye.
As I thought about 'dressing the surface', I began to consider other things we can dress like our bodies, minds, our spirits and souls. So here are my thoughts on what and how we can dress.
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Dress your mind with the right information
You might ask, ‘how do you dress the mind?’. You can dress your mind with the right kind of information, knowledge and insight.
We are in an age where there are so many tools to help dress our minds, including phone apps, books, podcasts, TED talks and a whole host of YouTube videos.
There is information on any topic you want to learn. Now, it’s easy to adorn your mind in the right ways which could translate to improved decisions creating better results.
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Dress your mind with the right thoughts
Many years ago, I let my preference for introversion dictate what I did and I stayed in a mindset that told me I couldn't do any public speaking. This was until someone gave me an opportunity to speak without the option to say no.
I had to learn to think differently about my personal preferences especially when I saw the response from the audience. Today, I speak to audiences of any size without giving a thought to my preference for introversion.
The book, 'Quiet' by Susan Cain was really useful in helping me to celebrate and leverage my introversion.
You can adorn your mind by thinking the right thoughts and listening to the right information that will nourish you and change your mindset.
No one can be better than the information they feed on. So what do you think about?
We should think on things that are honourable and worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute. We have to replace negative thoughts with positive ones and align our mindsets to work for us.
Celebrating purpose, ambition and tenacity. Celebrating Christine!
My week has been one of special celebrations, first my son’s graduation followed by a friend’s 50th birthday celebration. This week’s post is inspired by someone who lives and breathes Purpose, Ambition and Tenacity. I have known Bukola Christine Olatunji for almost
Really?…………… It’s not coming home!
The World Cup brought a fair share of drama into our lives for a few weeks. Real life also has its own drama and there are some parallels we can draw from both.
A purposeful habit
I started my day by revisiting a habit that I had neglected – journaling. I have written in my journal on and off for some time. Recently I picked up my journal and realised it had been a few months since my last entry.
What happened? I had been busy and so, I stopped doing something that I found very useful. I need to change this.
Recently, I heard that it takes over sixty days to form a new habit which contradicts previous claims of twenty-one days.
This has got me thinking about habits that I need to re-introduce if I’m to achieve my goal of being a more purposeful me.
The first habit I want to take up again is focussing my journal on gratitude. Life often comes with challenges. If we are not careful, we end up only seeing the challenges and soon lose sight of the blessings.
Having a daily habit that focuses on the right things and the blessings of life will give us some perspective and help us to be more appreciative.
My plan this morning was to write ten things I was grateful for but the more I wrote, the more I had to write. Three pages on, I went over my notes and counted thirty-two things I was grateful for. As I finished my journal entry, I added a couple more things I was grateful for.
These were thirty-four things I had not thought about as I was preoccupied with a recent break in at my house. I thought of the invasion of my privacy, the destruction of the door and the unexpected money that we needed to spend doing the repairs.
As I meditated on gratitude today, I was grateful that nothing was taken, no one was hurt or traumatised and we are able to make the necessary changes. By focusing on what I was grateful for, I soon realised the blessings far outweigh the recent upsets.
On my journey to becoming a more purposeful me, I am bound to encounter some challenges and setbacks and there’s a risk of me losing sight of the bigger picture.
To keep me focused, I have decided to form a new habit of gratitude 'journal-ling'. My plan is to start each day with twenty minutes of journalling focused purely on what I’m grateful for. I’m committing to this for the next seventy days and by the end of this, I’m expecting this to become second nature.
I don’t know where you are in life, the current challenges you’re facing or the goals that you have. What I do know is that having an attitude of gratitude will help you to positively and better navigate life.
Instead of complaining about your job, children, boss or neighbour be grateful. Be grateful that you’re not alone, for food on your table and that you can get to work without any help. Be grateful for getting to work late because of an accident; remember someone was in that accident and lives might have been lost.
Location, Location, Location
I watched a video clip of a Google employee talking about Visual Positioning System (VPS) being the next step up from Global Positioning System (GPS).
I’m delighted about that as too many times, I have wondered what direction 10 yards SW is. Having a visual positioning system, that will use my location and identified landmarks to direct me is exciting.
This got me thinking about where we are going in life – career, relationship and business. Where do we need to get to from our current location? Do we have the right infrastructures to help us get there with minimal mistakes along the way?
Are we using a GPS which sometimes doesn’t work or gives unclear direction that requires us to initially go the wrong way just to figure out what the right way is?
Here are some of my thoughts on this
Figure out your starting point and final destination
The two things every gadget needs to direct us are our starting and end locations. For any goals or life journey, we need to map out the road.
If our starting point is unclear, chances are we will waste resources and if our end point is unclear, we will miss our destination. So do an honest assessment of where you are, which might mean facing some denials that you’re currently living in.
Maybe you blame everyone, but you, for your current position, you believe the odds are stacked against you, you don’t have what it takes or perhaps it’s just not your luck. If so, it’s time to bin these thoughts and take a risk on yourself.
Doing nothing produces nothing but taking a risk could result in something.
Determine the best route to get to your destination.
Through my career, I had short, medium and long-term plans to help achieve my goals. I found that when I meticulously followed them, I achieved most of my goals in the set timescales.
How are you going to get to your destination? Do you have a plan and are you committed to it? Every step you take should move you closer to your end goal if you have created the right plan.
A plan is just a bunch of ideas until you follow through. Keep your plans in plain sight so you and others can hold you to account.
Find a mentor
Mentors have made a difference in my personal and professional lives.
Some have stretched and challenged me, giving me the confidence to put myself forward for opportunities sooner that I would have wanted to. This has resulted in fantastic outcomes and proving to myself that I am more capable than I sometimes give myself credit for.
Mentors can help get you to your destination, saving you time and effort as you learn from their expertise and experience. This is similar to Google app giving you directions that improves your chances of getting to your destination quicker.
Knock Knock. Who’s there?
My nephew came to visit a while back when he was about two years old. Many times he would knock on the door and I would ask, ‘who is there?’ he would reply, ‘it’s me’. Again I would ask, ‘who is me?’ And he would say, ‘it’s David’. I then get up to open the door to his delight. The truth is that I knew it was him before he even knocked. I recognised the sound of his tiny feet and his knock. He was the only child in the house and the only person who knocked if any door was closed. I enjoyed playing these ‘knock knock’ games with him throughout his visit. I am reminded of that game as I ponder what is knocking as we start a new year.
- What opportunities are knocking on our doors?
- Who is knocking on our doors?
- What will be on the other side of the doors when we open them?
- Will you hear and recognise the knocks when they come?
Happy new, limitless and purposeful 2018
It’s New Year’s eve and time for another post. It hasn’t been easy coming up with the right message given the significance of what’s just ahead of us….. a whole new year with 365 days. Everyday is a new gift to
Timing…. Why now?
I have asked myself this question on many occasions.
I worked in Banking for over 16 years. While this wasn’t a planned career path, I made the most of the opportunities I had. I got many qualifications, moved through different areas of the bank and worked with many amazing people as well as some challenging ones.
Through it all, I honed my skills and grew both personally and professionally with loads of exciting and truly joyful moments.
On the one hand, I wouldn’t trade any of it but on the other hand, I can't help asking myself. 'What would have been if I had figured out and pursued my purpose and passion all these years?'.
What would I have accomplished if I became organized sooner, facing my fears and tackling the insecurities that have kept me in my comfort zone?
As I asked myself, ‘why now?’, I took the time to think about the past two decades. I thought of the people I have met, my mistakes, the learnings and wisdom gleaned from others.
I realise my life is richer now and I have more to offer to the world. I know that instead of looking back, I've got to press forward, forge ahead and trust that now is a great time to start.
Discovering ‘My Why’
'Purposeful me' Why that name? I hear you ask. I wish I could simply describe it as one of those 'Ah ha' moments that people refer to. Yes, I had some 'ah ha' moments, more than twice actually but in each case, the name that popped into my spirit was already in use. I eventually had to apply some brain power to the task of finding a name that encapsulates what I believe the next phase of my life is to be about. So after hours of careful review of the dictionary and thesaurus, googling web names and scouring social media, I eventually concluded on the name, 'purposeful me'. Now that you know how the name came about, let's talk about 'the why'. On the 11th of November 2017, I was at a seminar and the presenter asked me what I was passionate about and I immediately replied, 'continuous Improvement'. I was thinking about my day job and what I enjoyed about it. Later that night, I began to ponder the same question again and I realised that, yes, I was passionate about Continuous Improvement but felt I had applied it to Businesses and processes for almost two decades. Suddenly I realised my passion was the same but how I wanted to apply it was different. I was now more interested in the continuous improvement of people. This is something I have always done effortlessly, in passing, without much focus and attention. I knew I had more to offer and felt that I had to take the opportunity that was handed to me to go after my passion with more focus and determination. After all, what is the price of a fulfilled life?