 |
| Flying home from our weekend mini-break to Auckland for my father-in-law's 82nd birthday |
Some weeks I love to write about pretty things such as
wardrobe planning or ‘how to be chic’ and others I just can’t tease anything
out. What I really love is the deeper
stuff, finding out motivation and how we can become more successful by the way
we think, and that really is what consumes most of my time. Just how is it that some of us find it easy
to do the right thing, and some find it a real struggle?
I feel fortunate that I am right in the middle. I’m not completely bogged down and my own
worst enemy, but neither am I the type that everything comes easily to. Even though that would be great, wouldn’t
it??, but would you really appreciate things you’d achieved if you didn’t have
to earn them?
The things I am most proud of in my life have always
involved effort, both in mindset and action.
Having achieved changing
our lifestyle by moving from the city to the country and being debt-free
for the most part, and before that even, meeting
my wonderful husband after divorcing from my first marriage and wondering
what was wrong with me. Writing my books too have taken a lot
of mental fortitude and changing my way of thinking to know that it is okay and
permitted to write a book; plus the
action of writing tens of thousands of words and working out where to put
everything.
I truly do think we create our own luck, yes, some of us
have better starts than others, and I am grateful that I was born in a country
that has given me many benefits. There
isn’t a country other than New Zealand that I would rather have grown up
in. I asked my husband that once too; I
said if he could have been born anywhere, where would he choose, and he said
New Zealand. That’s pretty cool to want
what you have.
Sometimes when I forget to be grateful and the day seems
anything but exciting, I remember all the good things I have created in the
past and it inspires me to create more in the future and indeed on this day.
We forget that we are limitless, I certainly do from time to
time, and we think that we are stuck where we are. But it’s not true! Everything we can see around us has been
created from our own mind. Sometimes
literally in the case of something we have written or made like a handcraft –
or a child! And sometimes we have
created it indirectly, by purchasing something with money we have earned.
In the beginning though, it all starts as a thought in our
mind. Even something as intangible as
our lifestyle change. One day we started
dreaming about what it would be like to have a different life. One where it was easier, warmer, more fun and
more abundant. We shaped it and now it
is shaping us.
All those ‘Dream it, do it’ cliched motivational posters are
actually telling the truth! Dream it
then do it, what a way to live. Look
around at your environment and see how you have created it. I hope it makes you smile with happiness :)
Wishing you a wonderful week full of possibility; what do you choose to create? And if you are in the south-east of the US, please keep safe.
Fiona
Join my mailing list to receive free excerpts of all my books (including
my newest, Thirty Slim Days: Create your slender and healthy life in a fun
and enjoyable way, as freebies when you join my email list. In
addition, you will receive my exclusive mp3 recording and pdf written version
of 21 ways to be chic.
I send out my blog posts by email each week. If you would like these freebies, you can join up here.
You can find me here too:
Hi Fiona, One of my biggest achievement goals will be reached when my daughter graduates from college with no student debt. Second, that my husband and I will reach our retirement funds goal sooner rather than later. Beyond those two things I am content, even if we don't end up moving somewhere slower-paced like I would like eventually. I'm content knowing I can't get everything I want, I have everything I need (isn't that a Rolling Stones song? Ha! :) I guess it helps that I know I have so much already and I've achieved a lot through my 52 years - including going back to college in my 40's. That one was big because it was something I left incomplete from when I was 18 years old and I finally, decades later, decided I wanted to go back and finish.
ReplyDeleteD.
D, that is an amazing achievement. Sadly I think your daughter will be in the minority :(
DeleteGood for you finishing up your study too, what a fantastic goal to reach!
(((((Best wishes to you and your loved ones)))))
ReplyDeleteWe can achieve things when we really try hard, Fiona - you have shown us that with your books and your total change of lifestyle. You are indeed an inspiration to us all.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
You say it so well, and thank you for acknowledging the role of luck. We don't get to choose our parents or where we're born. For some people, the stars align; for others, circumstances--luck--either dictates the dreams or constrains them. I spent time as an aid worker in Africa and met many people whose dreams revolved around just surviving--they all dreamt beyond that and strived to reach beyond, but just kept getting dragged down by events beyond their control, things like drought and famine. We are very, very lucky to live in places where the sky's the limit.
ReplyDeleteAfter I "happened" to find the book The Secret at a used book sale and read it, I found myself nodding and saying to myself "That explains everything to me!" I've read other books as well that held the same theory, which is: WE create our own reality by what we choose to focus on. If we focus upon positive things that bring us joy, then we receive more of things that bring us joy. If we focus on the negative, we are basically praying for what we do not want. The negative is always there... but so is the positive. What we concentrate upon is a choice, not an accident. It makes sense to me that energy follows thought. I have had a lot of experiences where I have not deliberately set out to achieve something. I just put the thought out there for what I wanted, then turned my attention to other things. Where some people run into trouble with this is that once they put the thought out there, they second-guess themselves: "Oh, this isn't going to work" or "I have to actually take action on this... it's not going to just come to me." You'd be surprised how often it does "just come to me", and how often "taking action" brought me results I did not want.
ReplyDeleteI know this all sounds rather "woo-woo", but I found it explained a lot of things that have happened in my life -- things I did not set out to achieve, but did nevertheless.
Great post! Yes, Luck does play a role - but you have to have the courage to take the opportunity when it presents itself. We just totally changed our lives when we retired and moved to a senior living community. BIG change...but wonderful. We are among the youngest in our building but we are amazed at the wealth of experience and energy of our neighbors. It was a big decision and we are glad we made it. Love reading your posts...have a great day!
ReplyDeleteWhat an appropriate post on my birthday! I was just thinking about what the year ahead will hold and how I can work on some goals. Your life, your blog, and your books are such an inspiration! I keep a few of your books by my bedside; just seeing them there keeps me motivated and are a reminder to live a chic, simple, grateful, satisfying life.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday!! 💝
DeleteFiona, I opened my book again yesterday after not having written in it since last December, and started writing again. It feels good. We have to tell those negative harpies in our head to shut up!! Thanks always for the inspiration. xo
ReplyDeleteWise words - thank you, Fiona
ReplyDelete