Years ago, we bought a Tony Robbins CD set. At the time it was his latest series, intended to cheer you on, assist you in changing your habits, help you deflect failure, and spur you to think positively.
Rah! Rah! Rah!
I loved it.
Before then, I had made resolutions and written goals, but I never really had a set of credos for myself. I didn’t have affirmations that I posted in visible and unavoidable places. There was nothing stuck on my bathroom mirror. Nothing forced my accountability. I could deflect.
Tony changed that.
I don’t recall the details (yeah I know, you’ve heard me say that before), but I had focused on my physical, intellectual, and spiritual selves. I probably had a few other categories for good measure to ensure that my entire being was somehow covered and prodded to make progress. Anyway, the number of categories is not the point.
I posted these. I read them every morning. I checked myself against them. I worked hard to replace a negative thought with a positive one. I was diligent in taking small steps to complete a large task. I had a rhythm going.
Tony changed that. For a while.
Some things just don’t stick. Keeping my desires in focus certainly didn’t. While I could verbalize what I wanted and what I wanted to do, there were no reminders or gentle nudges. Or glaring declarations for that matter.
Time went by.
Last year, I came up with a list of life lessons in my women’s group and posted them here. I can’t quite recall (I know, I know) how the discussion turned us toward capturing those things that we came to understand as being true, but it did.
The path of a line is not always straight. Good energy draws good energy.
Call them lessons. Call them affirmations. Call them mantras. Call them whatever you want to call them. They are the realities about life, and my life in particular. So in the spirit of never-ending lists, truths to live by, personal chants, and the gospel according to Maria, I share my current list of life-changing to-dos below… and on my bathroom mirror… and on the orange sticky on my desk lamp… and on the yellow post-it on my dash…and…
- Don’t forget to chew
- Generate your own light
- Change your mood with a smile
- Spend time between the opposites
- Be more playful
- Notice the metaphors
- Stare out of the window
- Read history
- Dance at least once a day
- Take as much time to eat the meal as it took to prepare it
- Set aside quiet time
- Create daily
- Actively listen to music
- Be as good a friend as the friends you have
- Be active
