Active Reflection

Hind Sight

My goodness time goes by so fast! This week has flown by and that is both good and bad. As always, crazy busy and productive. One thing that struck a chord with me this week and is usually in the back of my mind all the time is active reflection. It is easy to get caught up in day to day life and often lose sight of the bigger picture. I am sometimes so busy that I need to remind myself why I'm putting myself through all of this! We all know that hind sight is 20/20, if only we knew then what we know now, and so on. Unfortunately, this saying is cliché for a reason… It's true! What I use to combat this is active reflection, basically a way to think about the future in a reasonable way to shape the decisions you make today.

Regret

We have all, at one time or another, made bad decisions (or a series of them). I personally have a laundry list of poor decisions from my past. I have accepted these decisions and used them to shape the person I am today. Reflection is normally used to describe contemplation of the past. Active is used as a synonym of the present or currently engaging. So I am currently thinking from the perspective of how I'll view these decisions in the future. When I reflect back to the decision I made at 22 to go back to college after dropping out at 18, I knew I would look back 10 years later and be happy with that decision, and I am.

The Future

It sounds simple, right? I go to school in order to become more knowledgeable and grow personally and professionally. But this can be a hard thing to remember when I am sitting inside on a beautiful weekend doing homework (like right now). I know, through active reflection, that my goal to graduate next year from Walsh will be accomplished by what I do today. So what about the goals we have with less concrete boundaries? The decisions we make everyday make up who we are. I have many goals and aspirations, setting aside time to ensure my peace of mind through meditation, yoga, or other means is very important. Being aware is also very important to me. What do you do to ensure you stay on the course you set for yourself? Have you ever had to take a step back and create a new path? Check out the blog below, for some true inspiration and thought provoking posts. Enjoy!

"There are only two ways to advance your life: move forward when you can, or step backwards and try something else when you can’t. The greatest mistake to make is standing still." Oliver Emberton

(Photo credit to Oliver Emberton)

Growth

Stress

It has been a long week! Between being able to visit my first convention with my new job, regular school assignments, making time for family and friends, it's easy for me to see how important "down time" really is! I realized that in order to commit to leading a healthier lifestyle I had to look at my life in a different way. I mean that so often I hear people tell me they don't have time leftover for themselves. That they don't have time to meditate or relax or exercise. Viewing time spent on your mental and physical health as "time leftover", is the root of the problem! If you left your well being in the hands of motivation alone, would you achieve your goals? Despite battling a busy schedule and a bit of a cold, I finally managed to commit myself to meditating everyday! I literally had to set a time, for me it was right before bed, where for only 10 minutes I sit in a comfortable place and position, and focus on my breathing. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in myself that I haven't done this regularly sooner, but that's ok, when you know better, you do better! 

The plan

So don't leave your health up to chance. I don't know many people that don't rely on an alarm clock to wake them up. If you didn't have any deadlines or due dates would you get much work done? My personal plan sometimes includes some pretty stringent scheduling. I knew that I lacked motivation in some areas and I was horrendous at time management. Make your weakness your strength, if you don't come by something naturally it just means you have to work harder at it, it doesn't mean you can't do it. If you need to schedule your time like I do then I would recommend it, what ever works best for you. Look at it this way, you wouldn't call yourself a dancer if you didn't dance or you wouldn't call yourself a writer if you didn't write. You have to MAKE time for the things you love.

 The outlook

Life is amazing in the sense that, to a certain extent, you get to decide and be whoever you want, so why not take full advantage? I would highly recommend taking responsibility for yourself. Take pride in your accomplishments and your curiosities. I didn't know how to meditate, and before that, I didn't know I needed to!  I found this article to be really informative of the basics and it also gives you some great ideas http://bit.ly/1tgcvGk. For me, I really enjoy breathing exercises because I find it very difficult to clear my mind. By focusing on my breathing, I can take my mind off of my responsibilities and re-center myself. What are your thoughts on meditating? Do you schedule time for the things you love? Pass along some tips in the comments or send me some on Pinterest, I would love to hear from you!

My lotus flower reminds me that it is possible

to start in unfavorable circumstances and 

emerge beautifully.

Don't stop growing.

Welcome!

So even though it a required class assignment to start blogging @WalshCollege with a great instructor! I am still excited to share a piece of my journey with everyone in hopes of learning more along the way and maybe even inspiring someone to do the same!

My Plate

Sometimes I think my eyes were bigger than my proverbial stomach when I decided to load up my life with things to do! I have just recently found a career that I love, I am working on my Bachelors in business, I try desperately to maintain friendships and a relationship, and I have an amazing family that I try to spend as much time as possible with, just to name the basics. That doesn't leave a lot of time left over for focusing on physical and mental health!

My Goal

So in the spirit of living life to the absolute fullest, I recently decided to take action in doing all of the things I have just been talking about for many years. This means that balance, in the mental and physical sense is even more important than ever! I will chronicle my trials with a regular yoga and meditation practice and also share some insights I've gained along the way in maintaining a balanced life!

My Blog

I am hoping to share with you what I have already learned about balance, to learn from you how to find peace, and eventually even feel and share serenity. Welcome.