Aaaaannnnd the energy has returned…thank goodness. The past two days my energy level has been below zero and getting through routine tasks was tough. But, this is how it works and I know it. Every time I’m fighting a cold (or some illness) I get really tired for a few days and then boom, my immune system has won the war and I’m back. Today, was that day for me and I’m so grateful. Which is a great thing because my body needs to understand I’m taking 3 classes this quarter and I need all of the defense I have to make it through the cold and flu season unscathed like I did last year. I really need to keep healthy…it’s the only way I can manage a full time work schedule and a full time school schedule. My strategy for doing so…..washing my hands (a lot) and a positive attitude (yes, I believe in this).

How do you keep your immune system strong?

Gratitude is all about attitude and this says it all. Appreciative of my mom and for her posting this wonderful reminder today:

When you own you attitude you own the way you react ~
When you own the way you react you own what upsets you ~
When you own what upsets you own the choice of calm ~
When you own being calm you create peace in your life ~
When you create peace in your life you are open to happiness ~
When you are open to happiness you are happy ~
When you are happy you make others happy ~
When you make others happy you spread joy ~
When you spread joy you shift your life and create opportunity ~
When you shift your life you inspire others ~
When YOU realize it is up to YOU ~ YOU have the POWER to accomplish ANYTHING ~ C.Nordyke

THANK YOU, two words I really enjoy hearing and two that fill my heart and fuel my soul. My life’s purpose is to provide value and I attempt to do this in a myriad of ways: an independent reliable staff person, willing to assist team member, available to assist others whenever it’s needed. I’m grateful to have heard these two essential words many many times today and know that despite the work that did not yet get accomplished, the work that did was meaningful.

How was your impact meaningful today?

PS-Incredibly grateful that my car started today in this frigid winter and -20 weather we are experiencing.

I know this quarter is going to be the best yet. How do I know? One of the first required reading focused on authenticity and living an authentic life. This topic is near and dear to my heart and has been a major focus of my life for the last year. I believe in being authentic and wish more people had the courage to live this way. I am a soulful, inspired, and honest person. My blog focuses on the experiences I have that I feel are valuable and impactful to others. I’m grateful to live with this level of authenticity because it’s very peaceful. I focus on positivity and appreciate the beauty. This doesn’t mean I don’t feel irritable, get frustrated, or even disappointed because I do like everyone else. I just choose to process it and express it privately and quickly. I don’t let it weigh on me.

Where is your focus and is it where you want it to be?

Yesterday, I began the next step in my DBA journey by starting my fourth course (in a series of twelve.) I’m mixed with emotions including feeling excited to enhance my studies by focusing solely on leadership studies this quarter to feeling anxious about the workload, to ecstatic to be refining my career goals through discussions and assignment, to grateful for the opportunity to participate in this program. Leadership development is a real passion for me and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to devote my time to this area. Today, I began digging into week 1’s objectives, discussions, and competencies. It’s going to be a very busy, but, fruitful next ten weeks. I can’t wait to grow as a leader.

How will you grow in the next ten weeks?

We don’t typically understand something until it’s gone and today that antidote was very true. For the last number of days (too many) our winter weather has been excruciatingly cold, but today it was 22 degrees. For many, 22 degrees is unbearable but when we experience such a deficit and then are given back it creates an opportunity for appreciation. Today, I was grateful for each one of those 22 degrees.

Isn’t this the case with so many other areas of our lives. I think the struggle becomes when our ability to experience such a drastic shift from one to the next is minimized. Change can happen so slowly that we acclimate and gradually shift. We get into routines and our normal becomes our ordinary. Our normal then becomes challenging to appreciate. This blog is my expression of gratitude and purposes me to keep my spirit alive.

How do you keep your spirit of gratitude alive?

Ever wish being completely honest wasn’t so hard? Some time ago I’ve committed to being authentic, as much as I can. What I mean is being honest, interjecting my thoughts when I think it’s valuable, but always being respectful during the process. Today, while it was hard to do so I am proud that I was honest and delivered news that might be hard for someone else to hear. Often, we receive opportunities to be better human beings and today was one of those days for me.

What opportunities were you presented with today and how did you use that opportunity?

Happy New Year and welcome to 2014! Are you as excited as I am for a new year, new opportunities, and permission to start on a new slate? While 2013 was utterly amazing I am determined to make 2014 an even better year. One with more kindness, giving, consideration of others, and greater level of soulful living. Today, I appreciated the opportunity to have no set plans. There was nowhere I needed to be at any given time and I spent the vast majority of the day in my pajamas. Which leads me to one of my resolutions…..which is to spend more time in my pajamas. I find physical comfort essential in my quest for emotional comfort.

I am grateful for the foresight to grow excited and plan for a year that will provide new experiences including international travel. My trip to Santiago Chile is one I’ve been planning for the last 9 months, another family trip to FL (YAY!), and another residency in Atlanta with my classmates. I expect to progress quite a bit this year with my research and dissertation while planning for new adventures in 2015 (including more travel).

What does 2014 look like to you? What are some of the things you hope to experience that you never have?

Happy New Year my friends! It’s been an incredible year…..I can’t help but be reflective during this time and excited about what life will bring all of us in 2014. Today, I’m grateful to have lived another year, to have loved even greater, lived more passionately, shared more memories, and treasured those who have blessed my life.

May 2014 bring you good health, many happy memories with your loved ones, and most of all more soulful living. Here’s to the best year of our lives.

PS- I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty today and it was nothing short of incredible and is so very inspiring and encouraging everyone to not words go unsaid, take more risks, and not waste opportunities. Here’s the trailer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359950/.

Today was so cold that black ice has formed from the exhaust that freezes just after being emitted. I was so grateful to have driven home after rush hour and little traffic but also safely. Do you ever drive somewhere and feel so much anxiety that just getting to your destination safely brings you such joy. It does for me and maybe because I’m focused so much on gratitude that the little things make me happy. Or maybe it’s just the little things that make me happy. You know, we’ve all heard the saying….it’s the little things that brings the greatest joy. Today, that was definitely the case for me.

What little things bring you joy?

PS-do you make New Year’s resolutions? Have you begun thinking about what you’d like to change in 2014? I’d encourage you to think outside your box and consider how you can become a person who lives more soulfully.