Fear of.....

I promised I would share my three resolutions so here they are..

I will lose the remaining 53 pounds I want to lose this year. I will achieve this by staying on track with what I eat and by working out a minimum of 4 days a week.

I will continue to eat healthy and will go macrobiotic once a quarter for 30 days which equals 4 months of macrobiotic eating.

I will finish the book. I will do this by working on for a minimum of 15 min everyday.

OKAY! Now that we have tackled that lets talk about one of the reasons why we sometimes make resolutions but fail to follow through on them.

When I became very honest with myself I had to admit that one of the reasons in the past that I have not followed through on weight loss was FEAR. I have addressed the fear and write down exactly what it was that I was afraid of. I have not conquered it but I have power over it now. So each time I am tempted not to follow my plan I look at why and if it is due to fear..I work through it and conquer that fear one day at a time.

I had to be very specific about what I was afraid of when it came to being thin again. It took a few journaling sessions and was not pretty but I was determined not to let fear of ANYTHING hold me back from living the life I was meant to live.

Your prompt today is to think about something that you are not doing or not addressing because of fear. Write down exactly what you are afraid of. Be very honest with yourself. Write it down even if you don't want to and then read it out loud to yourself. This is the first step in conquering your fears.

Peace,
Susan

A Firm Resolve

Resolutions are something many of us think about when the new year rolls around.
Many of us make a list of resolutions for the year only to be disappointed with ourselves by the end of January for no "sticking to them". Let's end that madness right now.

Today we will resolve three things that we want to change in our lives. Just three. We will be both realistic and clear.

REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS

An example of a realistic resolution is : This year I will lose a total of 53 pounds. I will do that by eating a healthy balanced meals and by finding an exercise program or physical activity that works for me and I will stick to it.

An example of an unrealistic resolution is: I will lose 53 pounds by March.

Did you notice how the unrealistic resolution is not only unrealistic but also vague? HOW does she plan on losing 53 pounds by March? She has absolutely no plan.

CLEAR RESOLUTIONS

An example of a clear resolution is: In 2011 I resolve to will finish the book I am
writing by committing schedule and hour each morning to write and work on the process of getting the book published.

And example of an unclear or vague resolution is : I am going to finish that book I have been working on this year.

YOU MUST PUT A PLAN OF ACTION TO YOUR RESOLUTION

Another key ingredient in following through on resolutions is to share that resolution with someone. Someone that will ask you how you are doing and hold you accountable.

You don't have anyone you trust that much?
You can always use me as your accountability partner.
If you don't feel comfortable posting on line you can reach me at smsummerville@hotmail.com

So are you ready to tackle this?

Write them down.

I will share my three with you on the 2nd before posting the next prompt as I would NEVER ask you to do something that I am not willing to do myself.

Peace,
Susan

2011

Before we get started take time to think about the reason you are journaling. It will help to direct you as you write or create.
There are so many reasons to jouranl. We journal for our health, for our mental health, for creativity, for release of stress, to heal our wounds, to document our lives for future generations, to SHOUT SHOUT get it all out, for self exploration, to find out what holds us captive so that we can break free. What ever your reason for journaling in 2011 I welcome you with open arms.


Please send me a note or post a comment when you have your journal ready and are ready to begin.Remember a journal can be anything from paper stapled together to a store bought blank book. We will start on January 1st of 2011. It will be easy to catch up if you miss a day or a few days by simply looking in the archive post.

Peace,
Susan



I am busy getting organized for you. I will let you know what that means on the 30th.

Bring It On

Bring It On..2011 that is.

I have the entire 2011 Your Life Spelled Out written so I should be able to stay on track.

The past few months have been a roller coaster and I want off. If ever I needed to journal through a time, it was then. There has been joy but also much sorrow and grief.

If you plan on journaling through Your Life Spelled Out in 2011 be prepared to forget about the fluff. We are going to dig and dig deep to discover all the things that we have spent years burying . That is the only way to be free of them.

Hope to see you here on the 1st. Let the journey begin!

Christmas Letter

A Christmas Letter to the People I Love

The Christmas letter will be a little different this year. The focus will be on lessons learned instead of what has happened in our family this past year.

My little friend Olivia passed away on December 11^th. She was a light in the lives of so many. She taught me so many things in our few years together. She taught me that

· You must love with ALL of your heart ALL of the time, even if you know you may hurt in the end.

· If you don’t like the way they cook your bacon, send it back.

· If you want to create art you should stop talking about it and just do it.

· Always think of others before yourself.

· Some rules really are there for a reason.

· No one else but you can put a voice to your opinion so voice it often.

· It’s alright to have more than one favorite color.

· You can love many people at the same time, all for different reasons.

· Some people are brought into your life for a special reason. Pay attention so you don’t miss it.

· Rocket Popsicles ROCK. Why have just one flavor when you can have three!

More than anything she taught me that one life CAN make a difference in the world. She left me with the desire to try to make a difference in someone’s life each day of 2011.

Oh and the family is beautiful and well. We wish you all a blessed Christmas surrounded by people you love.

I leave you with a favorite poem of mine. I was not surprised to find out that it was also one of Olivia’s favorites.

Hug O'War

I will not play at tug o' war. I'd rather play at hug o' war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, And everyone grins, And everyone cuddles, And everyone wins. Sheldon Allan Silverstein With Love and Hugs Too, Susan Luke 2:9-12

FOREVER IN MY HEART

Olivia Ward Obituary: View Olivia Ward's Obituary by Akron Beacon Journal

www.legacy.com

Online obituary for Olivia Ward. Read Olivia Ward’s life story, offer tributes/condolences, send flowers or create a Olivia Ward online memorial.

Back in the Saddle Again

For those of you that know me you know that I have been fighting illness since April. You also know that October and November are the most intense months of the year for me as I run and organize an auction dinner to benefit the pediatric Oncology unit at Akron Childrens Hospital. You can read all about it on my other blog www.yourprojectedbear.blogspot.com.

On average we have around 55o in attendance. This project, on top of my other schedule complexity takes over my life. We also have 25 children with cancer that attends and it is my job to make it an extraordinary memorable night for them in every way.

In addition to this a child that I am extremely close to is terminal and I want to spend as much time with her as I can.

So with all of that being said, I apologize for not posting prompts. I will start on Thursday and post prompts to update you.

I am also very behind on my Design Team duties. VERY UNLIKE ME! Again those of you that know me know that I am a SHOW UP girl and really have little tolerance for those that commit and do not follow through on things. This has been a lesson in humility , judgment and PRIDE for me. Ouch. I apologize to my design team peers and to Kelly and Luisa (owners of the teams I design for).It is so difficult to admit that I can not do it all.

Please stop back on Thursday with updates on ScrapFit and Scrapbooking Divas as well as some prompts to start you on the process of catching up!

Love to all,
Susan