YOUR LIFE A-Z:QUEST

QUEST AND CONQUER ALL THAT YOU DESIRE

QUEST

Quest is a journey towards a goal.  All cultures have stories of hero journeys where the seeker is on a QUEST of an important object or a person.  This QUEST is depicted as arduous, adventurous, as well as dangerous.  Many obstacles appear along the seeker’s path discouraging and attempting to defeat the seeker from his/her goal.  The Twenty –Minute Coach calls these obstacles, life.  Life is often arduous, causing us to question the meaning of our existence, whine about “why is this so hard,” and declare that we quit.  But that flame of the QUEST finds its way out of the ruble and reminds us that there is an adventure ahead and we must keep putting one foot in front of the other and overcome the obstacles in our path.  Life is dangerous, but fortunately we have a healthy sense of denial.  We drive weapons, climb shaky ladders, and sometimes just jump out of perfectly good airplanes because the QUEST to conquer challenges, fears, and obstacles keep us moving forward.  Native Americans speak of the vision QUEST where the Native person leaves the comfort of the tribe and goes off into the wilderness, often without food or drink; and sometimes with the shaman or medicine person to QUEST after his/her calling purpose in the tribe.  The QUEST is intended to take us above the ordinary and into the extraordinary in order that we might live our daily life in mindful and purposeful ways.  QUEST after that which fulfills you. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z HONEST

A MUST READ FOR PERSONAL HONESTY

HONEST

In the word Effort I spoke about being HONEST with yourself. The word HONEST is more than not lying, stealing, or cheating.  HONEST implies congruence between ones actions and words and how one actually lives his/her day-to-day life.  When I asked the question are you being HONEST with yourself, it is a bold question inviting you to soul search your motive for your Effort.  Is the Goal you set in the last word, really what you want or is it a “should” imposed on you from your inner judge; society at large; a family member; or friend?  If the Goal is not yours and you are forging ahead with it, I promise you that you will fail or even if you succeed you will not enjoy the positive energy of succeeding.  More than likely you will feel underwhelmed and joyless at your accomplishment.  Why?  Because it was not your Goal.  You achieved it for someone else. They may be ecstatic and joyful for you, but you are thinking, “what’s next, now what do I have to do to win your approval?“  Give yourself permission to be HONEST, very congruent with your GOAL.  If it is not your desire, toss it, at least for now.  Maybe once you give yourself permission to toss it then you will Discover that there is a larger percentage than not that also wants this GOAL.  You will not be able to answer that question with the naked HONEST truth until you give yourself permission to toss that which does not come from your inner most self.  

YOUR LIFE A-Z :HAPPY

HAPPY

What is happy to you?  What are you really saying when you say I just want to be happy?  As I have said,  “Happiness is not an illusion, but neither is it a destination.”  I see it as a space within you.  The dictionary defines contentment as a place of happiness and satisfaction.  Being HAPPY is a space or place wherethere is a reservoir of positive energy, decorated with fond memories, and an invitation to sit and enjoy the present moment, using all of your senses of smell, taste, touch, hear, and feel.  Experiencing the moment is a space within you as the moment passed already, so it is a pause button of HAPPY.  HAPPY space is a choice.  We can choose to focus on bad memories, ugly situations, and things in the past that were not fair.  Or we can choose to be anxious and worry about every possible thing that can go wrong in the future or we can place the present moment on “pause,” and allow ourselves to switch channels in our head and enjoy the creation of HAPPY.  If we did this as often as we check our Facebook every day imagine how lush, lovely, and exhilarating our HAPPY space could become.  We would enjoy going there to experience the joy of being alive, as well as the moment of sweet contentment in the facts.  These are the facts: If you are reading this you are alive, be grateful.  If you are grateful you will count your blessings and if you count your blessings you will enter your HAPPY space.  Yep…that is fact.  

YOUR LIFE A-Z: ADVENTURE

MOON LIGHT MAKES ALL ADVENTURES A BIT MYSTERIOUS

ADVENTURE

Warriors are always looking for an adventure because they are always in training to be the best they can be.  In order for them to be on guard, focused and alert, adventure is important to their daily life.  Life is an adventure and the more we enjoy the daily grind the more we can create enthusiasm in our daily life.  Adventures create psychological arousal allowing the brain to get out of its box and explore options and possibilities.  However, a key component of any adventure is that the outcome is not guaranteed and often unknown.  If one is going to skydive, you do everything that you are supposed to do to prepare, from checking out the reputation of the company to following the instructions in your pre-flight.  Tandem is absolutely a must for new divers, but there are unusual things that can go wrong.  No guarantees.  But if you really allow yourself to break out of your denial, there is no guarantee that you are going to be alive by 6:00 p.m. this evening regardless of how safe you live your life. There are no guarantees.  Therefore, stay out of that box of yours, be a little zany and take a risk today.  What adventure do you want?  A vacation to an exotic place? A new hike that you have not explored yet?  Create a new dish for dinner.  Be adventurous regardless of what limitations you think you have; discover the gusto of life by making it a daily adventure.