As I am about to embark upon another weekend of travel, I share with you that it is OK to do what you want in your free time. You don't have to always be responsible, occasionally you can just throw caution to the wind and escape for a bit. It will be fine, trust me! Go ahead! Take the painting class you've been thinking about. What about a long bike ride at sunset? Finish that book you've been wanting to finish and then take a long nap. Pop that popcorn and watch movies all day...the laundry will wait.

I've been accused of traveling too much, but I ask by whose standards? Travel is something I highly value and it is a shared passion of mine and my husbands. I honor the call to travel as often as possible. What is something you value, that has been calling your name like a soft whispering breeze? Will you respond or will you play it safe? Let me remind you ~  you don't need permission from others to do something that will Awaken Your Spirit. Coming to this realization a few years back was absolutely life changing for me!

I challenge you to do something this weekend that will do just that...Awaken Your Spirit. Then, please feel free to share your experience here and perhaps you can inspire others to do the same. Have a GREAT weekend!

Here's to your Awakening!

Recently I was blessed to have the opportunity to be able to cross two
things off my bucket list. I just returned from a 16 day trip to Europe, and
though many of the places we visited I have been fortunate enough to visit
before, there were two things I have had on my bucket list and been wanting to experience for years now. The first one was to tour Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany. My husband and I love castles. Our wedding was a castle theme and to date we have toured at least 20 castles together. Our bedroom is decorated in a royal romantic castle theme, including a framed picture of Neuschwanstein castle. Being able to walk the halls of this amazing romantic castle hand in hand with my husband was definitely a dream come true!

The second experience on my bucket list was to take a ride on a Gondola in the canals of Venice with my sweetheart. I had been to Venice one time prior, years ago when I  took a 17 day whirlwind bus tour of Europe. I had won two first-class round trip tickets and I took my dad with me as a thank you for helping me with some finances while I was a single mom and decided to change jobs and become a travel agent. He supported me in my decision and I wanted to say thank you for his constant love and help during a difficult transition in my life. We were only in Venice for part of a day and I always dreamed of returning with the love of my life to take a romantic ride as a Gondolier sang to us in their beautiful Venetian dialect.

What is a bucket list you ask? It is a number of experiences or achievements a person hopes to accomplish or have in their lifetime. It is a list of things you want to do before you die, before you "kick the bucket." You can add to it at any time and cross things off as you achieve them! Your list should have meaning to you. Each list is unique to its author. My list will differ from your list. Your list can include things as simple as bake cookies and deliver to the senior home to starting your own business, writing a book, run a 5k, earn your degree or meeting a famous person you idolize. But gather them all in one place and write them down. I read once that the simple act of writing down your dreams gives it 100 times more likelihood of coming true! Just by writing it down! That sounds like pretty good odds to me!

I suggest you use a journal, a book with blank pages or some sort of log to be used specifically for your bucket list. I have a hard cover book I found at a Barnes and Noble years ago simply titled 'My Life List.' Of course, action steps will be required in order for you to check things off your bucket list, but a dream has to start somewhere, right? 

I've had a bucket list for years. Currently it holds 39 dreams, or wishes of things I hope to see, do, become, experience or have in my life. 12 of those things I have been able to cross off the list so far! Things such as becoming a Life Coach, to being self-employed to having an organized home office to becoming a Big Sister.
So what's next? Ride in a Hot Air Balloon? Go to Australia? Hike down the Grand Canyon and back? Own a log home? Who knows, but I sure know I'm willing to add to my bucket list as inspiration hits

 What's on your bucket list? Go ahead, grab a pen and write it down!

Most people desire change because they are currently experiencing something in their life that does not have an outcome they are happy with or proud of. Congratulations! Realizing that your current outcome is a reflection of your negative behavior pattern, is the first level of awareness and acceptance needed to make the changes necessary to have the results you desire. 

When it comes to desiring change in your life, tracking what you are currently doing brings a level of awareness and clarity so you will know what you need to change, and how. When the inconsistency's start to show up you begin to realize without consistency you will never reach your goal. It's like using a GPS. The reason it works is because it has to track where you are in order to help you reach your target destination. You have to program it and then follow each step until you arrive at your destination. If you continue to go off course, it tracks where you are and then it will recalculate in order to get you back on track. What if you keep turning it off and then back on? You keep starting over and you will never reach your
destination.

What are some areas you feel you would like to track? Your spending habits? Fitness or hygiene routines? Not getting enough sleep? Eating or drinking too much? What about amount of time you spend on something or the number of times during a day you smoke or bite your nails? We all have wishes for better habits or behaviors and realizing where the start line is will help you reach the finish line.

By being aware of what it is you don't want in your life, you can recalculate and make the necessary changes needed to obtain what it is you do want. Having a chart, graph or timeline in front of you is proof of what is or is not working.

There are many systems out there designed to help track and calculate your habits and efforts.  There are a multitude of online resources, you can create your own journal, office supply or book stores offer a number of resources to log and track. For today's technology users, here is a resourceful website with some suggestions for the best goal setting apps: http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/habit-building-apps Some are free, some are offered for a fee. (A few apps I
personally use when it comes to health and fitness goals are http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and http://www.mapmywalk.com/my_home/) Ask someone else who is successful in the area you want to improve on what tracking systems they use and then give it a try. 

The important thing is to find a system that works for you. By tracking and measuring, you will learn along the way what your current habits are and where you can cut back or where you can increase. After all, it is a different result you want, isn't it?

Suggestion: Don't take on your entire life all at once, it will become too overwhelming and more than likely lead you to give up. Pick one area of your life to focus on and accurately and consistently track it for just one week. You may find the results to be enough motivation that you will recalculate your personal GPS.