MaXIMIze - Moving Blog Sites

If you are looking for my MaXIMIze blog, please visit here.

I decided to consolidate all my MaXIMIze items to one account, which is maximize.beth@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading and namaste!

MaXIMIze - Reset for the New Year

We all know that the beginning of a new year brings with it a lot of new year's resolutions. Losing weight, getting fit, doing more of this or that or the other - most of us make them, and a lot of us fail. We fail because we are looking for a quick fix. Well, I can tell you there is no such thing. Did you get where you are overnight?  No, of course not. So why do we think that things will change instantly? Things worth doing, worth having, and worth being take time. And resolve and commitment.

This is the third year of this blog, and those who know me and have followed this blog during that time know that my life has changed quite a bit over the past few years. Patience, persistence, resolve, and commitment are key to gaining and growing in the long term, as is beginning things right.

So you've got a goal - something you want to change or do this year - great! Why? Why is that goal important to you? And a better question is does that goal fit with the overall sense you want for your life?

Here are some questions to get you started on making your life more authentic, for making it make more sense for you and who you really are, deep inside.

First, rank your satisfaction level in the following areas - 1 is low/non-existent and 10 is high/off the charts:

Your overall well-being

Your health

Your financial situation

Your career

Your spiritual life

Your relationships

Second, do you consider yourself optimistic or pessimistic? Why?

Third, more questions to ponder/answer:

What are your three most significant accomplishments? Why are they accomplishments in your view?

What are your three most significant disappointments? Why are they disappointments in your view?

Describe your top three strengths. Why are they strengths in your view?

Describe your most aggravating weakness. Why is it a weakness in your view?

When you feel happiest?

When do you feel lowest?

How would you describe your state of health?

How would you describe your state of well being?

What would you do if you could do anything?

What goals or desires do you have yet to fulfill? Why are these important to you?

What is stopping you from fulfilling these goals or desires?

What draws people to you - why do they like you?

Take as much time as you need to really answer these from the depths of that which is uniquely you.

Next week, we will ponder on our personal prose and what that is saying to our inner self and to others as well.

Namaste!

MaXIMIze - The Reason for the Season

There are so many holy days and holidays during this season - Hanukkah (which fell during Thanksgiving this year due to the lunar calendar), Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa, to name the ones I know of right off the bat.

This is a time to celebrate the return of the light and the Light, miracles, and those intangible things like love, life, friendship and family. Yet somehow we have translated it into a materialistic time of year. Shopping on Thanksgiving, Black Friday fights over things, really folks?

To date this season I have watched Rudolph, The Christmas Angel, The Christmas Box, A Muppet's Christmas Carol, and The Christmas Child, and they have all had the same message - love for thy fellow man - and redemption.

When I said something about the materialism of Christmas to my daughter, she told me a phrase for giving gifts - not only during the holidays, but for birthdays and other gift-giving occasions as well - that fits. Something I want, something I need, something I'll wear, something I'll read. The want and the need can be experiences rather than things. Time spent together, forgiveness, redemption. Emotional connection rather than material goods.

Now don't get me wrong - I like giving and receiving gifts as much as the next person. However, time spent with family and friends making memories to last through the years is much more valuable to me, especially as I get older and need less things in my life.

So, take the time out from the hurry and scurry, the bustle and worry and really look your loved ones in the eyes, give them hugs, and enjoy their company - they are what really matter in the big scheme of things, not that new gadget or toy or piece of clothing that will be forgotten by the turn of the next season.

Until next time, namaste!

MaXIMIze - More Questions to Consider

Certainly you didn't think the questions posted last week were the be all and end all, did you? Of course not! There are a lot of things to dig into when you are working to discover what matters, what gives your life meaning, and what you need to let go of.

Here are some more questions to ponder in this vein:

How would you describe your perfect job? What would a day in this job look like?

What kind of people would you be working with and/or for?

How would your work benefit you beyond earning a paycheck?

How would your work and you specifically doing your work benefit others?

How would you feel after a good day at work?

These questions just cover one aspect of your life, you know. The other aspects we will explore in 2014 include financial health, relationships, spirituality, physical well being, emotional well being, and your life as a whole. 

The remaining blog posts for 2013 to be on the look out for will deal with how to cope with holiday stress - managing expectations comes to mind, the reason(s) for the season beyond the materiality and consumerism, and a year-end wrap-up of the various topics covered in this blog during 2013.

In January, we will reset - 2012 was focused on letting go. 2013 added becoming. 2014 will add growing, particularly in the areas noted above.

I look forward to continued sharing in this blog - namaste!

MaXIMIze - Questions to Consider When Looking for Your Passion

As promised in last week's blog post, here are some questions to consider when you are finding your passion. Take some time, serious time, to consider these questions as you work through the process of finding your passion - finding what really lights your fire and makes you want to bounce out of bed in the morning full of vim and vigor ready to tackle the world!

Can you tell I'm passionate about helping others? ;)

What makes you happy? What brings a smile to your face, lightens your heart and lightens your steps through life? 

How do people who know you describe you? You'll have to get feedback from those closest to you to answer this one, since we have a tendency not to see certain facets of ourselves the way others do.

What are your core values in life? During a Creative to the Core meeting nearly two years ago now we did an exercise where we each came up with 10 values that are important in our lives. Then we pared that list to five - my five were: trust; freedom; respect; honesty; and passion. Then we pared those down to three - mine were: trust; freedom; and passion. Then we pared those down to one - the most important value/principle in life to me at that particular time was trust. That doesn't mean the others I listed weren't important - they very much are (as those who know me know). It is just that at that particular time in my life, trust - and having people and things I could trust in - was paramount. Now, freedom and passion are paramount in my life, yet trust remains a constant as well as respect and honesty.

If you need help coming up with values, you can Google them on the internet and make a list of those that call strongly to you.

What things am you good at accomplishing - at work and at home?

What things do you dislike - at work and at home?

What things are in your spheres of control and influence to do something about and what things are beyond my spheres? Definitions from the Web...

Sphere of Control – things over which we have the final say; we determine the outcome. 

Sphere of Influence – issues that we can influence, although we alone do not determine the outcome. 

Sphere of No Control/No Influence – matters that are out of our control or beyond ability to influence. 

What do you really want to be known for? Actually, the answer to this question should align with the values you chose from a previous question - if it doesn't you may want to reconsider what is really important in your life to make that alignment possible.

I think that is more than enough to ponder for now...until next week, keep your light shining through the chaos!

Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Finding Your Passion

So, a dear friend is going through a passion crisis of sorts. I think we all go through these at least once in our lifetimes, if not several times. As human beings, we grow and change over time and what we thought we wanted to do, to have, to become can change as well, particularly if we've really never given much thought as to what really drives us, what makes us feel alive, what just feels right no matter what.

In the film The Legend of Baggar Vance, Baggar (the caddy) tells the golfer, "Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing. Something we were born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be taught to you or learned. Something that got to be remembered."

Remembering is sometimes the hard part - remembering what it was that lit us up from the inside out when we were younger, before education, society, and even we ourselves put us in boxes.

So, if finding your passion is an area you need to work through, here are a few questions to get you started.

What did you enjoy doing when you were younger? What did it make you feel like?

What are you good at - what do others see as your gifts?

What excites you, lights your inner fire now?

What draws you as a moth to the flame - what you do read about, learn about, teach and tell others about?

Passion lives in your heart, not in your head. The flames of passion are fanned by engagement, not by thinking. What feels right in your life, right here, right now? What makes you feel alive?

As you are working through the deep contemplation these questions deserve, remember you bring into your life what you put out into the world. So commit to and love what are doing right here, right now. By doing your best in whatever you are doing today, you will uncover the light and passion within you to shine forth tomorrow.

I'll post more questions to consider here over the next couple of weeks. And, for those of you who haven't found my page on Facebook yet, click here to check it out.

Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Find Your Passion

How do you feel when you're living your passion? This quote pretty much sums it up:

“You will wake up every morning with a limitless reservoir of energy and enthusiasm. All your thoughts will be focused on your definite objective.. You won’t have time to waste time. Valuable mental power will, therefore, not be wasted on trifling thoughts. You will automatically erase the worry habit and become far more effective and productive. Interestingly, you will also have a deep sense of inner harmony, as if you are somehow being guided to realize your mission. It is a wonderful feeling.” ~ Robin Sharma

Today, I have two questions for you to ponder:

What is it that you love to do so much that you would pay to do it?

How much would it take for you not to do what you are currently doing for a living?

These questions came from listening to a couple of Brian Johnson's sessions from the En*Theos Academy - either his Philosopher's Notes on the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz or Optimal Living 101 Q&A, Session 19, I can't remember which at the moment - and a discussion with a co-worker after I said in a smart-alecky tone, "I LOVE my job!" one day in the office.

Now it should be noted that I do enjoy my current job very much. However, do I truly love it? No. Why not? Because most of the time it does not feed my fire, it does not fulfill my passion.

My passion is helping people realize that we are all human beings first and all else comes second, and from that base helping others become the best human beings they can be. I pay to learn how to express that passion more fully in life by the classes I take, the group functions I attend, and most recently attaining my professional coaching certification. I share my passion by helping other people grow, either directly by mentoring and coaching or indirectly via my Facebook page, this blog, my poetry and/or my fiction.

As to answering the second question, if I brought income in that matched what I currently make at my "day job" plus 20% doing what I truly love to do - helping others grow as human beings - I'd retire from my current job tomorrow. Heck, I 'd give my notice right now!

How can you tell the difference between doing a job you like and doing what you love? Doing what you love feeds the fire inside. And, you cannot not do what you truly love to do - you may be able to bury it for a while, ignore it, or neglect it for a time, but your passion will always boil to the surface. If you don't feed the fire that feeds you, you'll feel more numb and depressed than alive and invigorated.

So follow the light and path of your passion and the fulfillment of feeding the fire!

Namaste!