Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The 9 Skills Every Woman Should Master
As of now I am still in a very big place of not-knowingness and this just speaks to me. I am to act out of obedience to Christ and in doing so will reap His benefits of peace and love no matter the outcome. I see this article as a piece of what I'm desiring and hope to manifest these skills. In addition, in obedience I am showing Christ love for what He has done for me. I am nothing, He is everything. It's humbling, it's not fun but it's worth it.
9 Skills by Christine Kane
There's a popular Esquire Magazine article called "75 Skills Every Man Should Master." There's stuff about baseball, neckties, and other things that most of the extraordinary men in my life could care the least about.
It got me thinking about the happiest, coolest, most successful women I know. And how they would take the question of mastery about 40,000 leagues deeper than neckties and baseball.
In fact, it dawned on me that the burning desire beneath my outward goals is almost always the mastery of one of the following skills. The goals themselves - be they money, fitness, etc - are really the means to becoming a student of something much much cooler.
So, here are 9 Skills Every Woman Should Master...
1 - Reveling in your own preferences.
Taking the time to notice your delight. Trying new things, and honoring yourself enough to make time for them. (No matter how stupid they seem.) This is the key to the authenticity we women crave.
Unapologetically reveling in your own preferences gives you permission to be real - and serves others by letting them see your joy and choose (or not) to bask in it with you!
2 - Listening without judgment.
I'm convinced that suffering comes from judgment. Not just self-judgment. But ALL judgment.
That being said, many people think that "listening" means "waiting my turn to talk." Which means that much of our time is not spent actually listening. It is spent judging what's being said.
Learning how to truly listen without judgment - whether to another person or to yourself - awakens the intuition. It heals and empowers the speaker. It enriches the present moment.
3 - Discerning "Nurture" from "Distract."
Many of us lead exciting, challenging and sometimes stressful lives. We are serving children, clients, parents, co-workers. Our self-care matters if we are to be of true service in the world.
There's a huge difference, however, between nurturing ourselves with what we truly want and need - and distracting ourselves in order to stuff the stress or fill the time. Learning that difference, and honoring our true needs (ie, getting a massage vs. eating a sleeve of Oreos in one sitting) is crucial.
4 - Letting go of the need to "fix."
Most of us know that when we try to fix another person, we rob them of empowerment. (And often, our "fixes" are more for US than for them.) Allowing others to find their own wisdom, to make mistakes and to be exactly where they are on their path teaches us to accept the present moment as well as the mystery.
It also teaches us that we are not the ultimate deciders of what is right and wrong!
5 - Becoming an Imperfectionist.
Having a purpose, taking action, trying new things - all of these contribute to our deep satisfaction and joy. When we expect ourselves to be perfect before trying new things, we cut off many avenues to happiness.
When you become an Imperfectionist, you finally recognize your ego voice exactly for what it is: Your own personal Success Prevention Expert.
6 - Getting Out of the Comfort Zone.
Our growth and success are often proportional to how often we're willing to let ourselves be uncomfortable. We kid ourselves (and our souls) when we convince ourselves to play it safe.
Getting out of the comfort zone doesn't mean extreme sports or stepping onto a stage. Sometimes it can be as seemingly small as saying no - or trying a yoga class.
7 - Saying No with Clarity.
Learning to say no is really about learning to say yes.
When we say no to something we don't want to do, be, or have - we are actually saying Yes to our deeper desires. Many women don't believe they can have what they truly want, so they learn to settle, and their lives are filled with "maybe's."
Saying no - with clarity and without explaining - is really about honoring other people as well as ourselves.
8 - Allowing disappointment.
When we say no, or when we follow our dreams or true callings - people might be "disappointed" in our choices.
Life is not a campaign. We don't have to get votes. People can love us and still feel disappointed that we didn't do it their way. Too many women go on campaign trails to get others to agree with them before they take proactive steps. This only serves to rob them of the creative energy they need.
Allowing people their disappointment sets us free.
9 - Making support mandatory.
I can't remember NOT having a coach. It's now a requirement in my life in the same way it's a requirement for a world-class athlete.
I feel the same about hiring people and about asking for help. Too many women hope for the best and go it alone. (Been there, done that!)
Well, remember this little ditty from Einstein: The problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.
Translation? Get support, training and encouragement. Make it a mandate. You will soon discover a new level of lightness and velocity!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.
9 Skills by Christine Kane
There's a popular Esquire Magazine article called "75 Skills Every Man Should Master." There's stuff about baseball, neckties, and other things that most of the extraordinary men in my life could care the least about.
It got me thinking about the happiest, coolest, most successful women I know. And how they would take the question of mastery about 40,000 leagues deeper than neckties and baseball.
In fact, it dawned on me that the burning desire beneath my outward goals is almost always the mastery of one of the following skills. The goals themselves - be they money, fitness, etc - are really the means to becoming a student of something much much cooler.
So, here are 9 Skills Every Woman Should Master...
1 - Reveling in your own preferences.
Taking the time to notice your delight. Trying new things, and honoring yourself enough to make time for them. (No matter how stupid they seem.) This is the key to the authenticity we women crave.
Unapologetically reveling in your own preferences gives you permission to be real - and serves others by letting them see your joy and choose (or not) to bask in it with you!
2 - Listening without judgment.
I'm convinced that suffering comes from judgment. Not just self-judgment. But ALL judgment.
That being said, many people think that "listening" means "waiting my turn to talk." Which means that much of our time is not spent actually listening. It is spent judging what's being said.
Learning how to truly listen without judgment - whether to another person or to yourself - awakens the intuition. It heals and empowers the speaker. It enriches the present moment.
3 - Discerning "Nurture" from "Distract."
Many of us lead exciting, challenging and sometimes stressful lives. We are serving children, clients, parents, co-workers. Our self-care matters if we are to be of true service in the world.
There's a huge difference, however, between nurturing ourselves with what we truly want and need - and distracting ourselves in order to stuff the stress or fill the time. Learning that difference, and honoring our true needs (ie, getting a massage vs. eating a sleeve of Oreos in one sitting) is crucial.
4 - Letting go of the need to "fix."
Most of us know that when we try to fix another person, we rob them of empowerment. (And often, our "fixes" are more for US than for them.) Allowing others to find their own wisdom, to make mistakes and to be exactly where they are on their path teaches us to accept the present moment as well as the mystery.
It also teaches us that we are not the ultimate deciders of what is right and wrong!
5 - Becoming an Imperfectionist.
Having a purpose, taking action, trying new things - all of these contribute to our deep satisfaction and joy. When we expect ourselves to be perfect before trying new things, we cut off many avenues to happiness.
When you become an Imperfectionist, you finally recognize your ego voice exactly for what it is: Your own personal Success Prevention Expert.
6 - Getting Out of the Comfort Zone.
Our growth and success are often proportional to how often we're willing to let ourselves be uncomfortable. We kid ourselves (and our souls) when we convince ourselves to play it safe.
Getting out of the comfort zone doesn't mean extreme sports or stepping onto a stage. Sometimes it can be as seemingly small as saying no - or trying a yoga class.
7 - Saying No with Clarity.
Learning to say no is really about learning to say yes.
When we say no to something we don't want to do, be, or have - we are actually saying Yes to our deeper desires. Many women don't believe they can have what they truly want, so they learn to settle, and their lives are filled with "maybe's."
Saying no - with clarity and without explaining - is really about honoring other people as well as ourselves.
8 - Allowing disappointment.
When we say no, or when we follow our dreams or true callings - people might be "disappointed" in our choices.
Life is not a campaign. We don't have to get votes. People can love us and still feel disappointed that we didn't do it their way. Too many women go on campaign trails to get others to agree with them before they take proactive steps. This only serves to rob them of the creative energy they need.
Allowing people their disappointment sets us free.
9 - Making support mandatory.
I can't remember NOT having a coach. It's now a requirement in my life in the same way it's a requirement for a world-class athlete.
I feel the same about hiring people and about asking for help. Too many women hope for the best and go it alone. (Been there, done that!)
Well, remember this little ditty from Einstein: The problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.
Translation? Get support, training and encouragement. Make it a mandate. You will soon discover a new level of lightness and velocity!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
His comment Today
So we're eating cottage cheese and pears and he simply looks at me and says, "How was your day?"
Saturday, July 23, 2011
First Movie: Winnie the Pooh
We went to Ian's first movie today and it was great! He was very astute and into it and asked questions or enthusiastically stated what was happening. We couldn't have asked for a better experience for his first one in a theatre. He wasn't sure about the "suspense" but did really well. Mark encouraged popcorn so they had a little bit of that and it was a lovely time.
We'd love to have him see Cars 2 but it would be too stimulating at this point in time I think. So it was a great experience! Just waiting for Mark to upload our photo to facebook so I can update this post. :)
We'd love to have him see Cars 2 but it would be too stimulating at this point in time I think. So it was a great experience! Just waiting for Mark to upload our photo to facebook so I can update this post. :)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Not Knowing
It's a fact of life that most of the time we really do not know as humans what is going to happen. We just don't. We plan, plot and assume our lives will move on as planned or predicted but when the unknown happens and it sneaks up or bites you or even progresses towards you, it's hard to know how to handle it. I react in stress often and then have to decide what is the most beneficial decision that I can make in this moment? (including seeking God) Sometimes I do it and sometimes I do not...but I have a feeling that tomorrow.......something is going to change. Something is going to happen and for that, I cannot sleep just yet. I wait in the darkness assuming, hoping and wondering...all I can do is wait.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Just a thought...
In the scheme of things, life in and of itself is often hard and pretty uncomfortable at times. I have found that when I am most comfortable is when I'm just settling or simply going through the motions (and enjoying it mind you) but not really pursuing God or moving foward in growth.
Part of life is being uncomfortable and it seems the more you draw nearer to God and your relationship with Christ, the harder your circumstances may become. Just a thought...
Part of life is being uncomfortable and it seems the more you draw nearer to God and your relationship with Christ, the harder your circumstances may become. Just a thought...
Recent Experiences
As usual A LOT has transpired since my last post, whenever that was.
- Ian & I visited my parents over the July 4th weekend, see some pictures below (LOTS of stories)...
- had some very close friends (i.e. part of our family) visit for a couple of days... (a later post)
- am deciding to change the way I eat completely... (another later post)
- am still running long runs (i.e. 9-13 miles)
- career changes are potentially occurring
- having a lot of vision & purpose talks with friends & family
- losing motivation to mow due to the heat
- listening to Ian as he states full sentences now & shows our expressions on his face!
Lots of reading with Grandpa
Planting flowers with Grandma
Driving the John Deer Tractor!
A First: Riding in Grandpa's convertible
Making Fruit Pizza with Grandma
The Best Pick-up Stick's worker!
Baby birds Mommy!
HI!
A First: making homemade ice cream with Grandpa and Mommy
The privilege: eating homemade ice cream off of the scoop.
Walking a Trail
Placing flowers on Grandpa's head, a must.
"Grandpa I have to tell you something!"
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