Envision, create & manifest our best selves with the help of friends on the same path; to hold each other accountable, to encourage, to inspire and to celebrate.

I’d love some updates on how people are doing with this goal~!!

I’m working hard to figure out exactly what I want & what my best self really is. That’s a little vague I guess. Right now I am just trying to earn a few dollars, keep being creative & not do what I think others want me to do.

Love to the team.

Since I wrote in here almost 6 weeks ago I have changed paths & am now enrolled in a Certificate in Design course that runs 4 days a week for 17 weeks. I’ve actually known this for a while but haven’t stated it in this special group.

I start next Tuesday! This is my last full time week at the medical college I’ve been at for almost 2 years.

I’m working part time on a contract for the same place which is great! It’s going to take a bit of adaptation to get used to the reduced income but it will so be worth it!

This course is very practical, I will be doing drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, digital design & more I’m sure.

It’s short but I am predicting a full on course! I can finish this & go into a Bachelor of Creative Technologies next year if I wish but I am just seeing how this year pans out for now.

I’m still going to be running my business too! I’ve got some investment lined up to grow it. I’m going to have a lot on my plate but I am excited about that too, filling my day with fulfilling activities!

Essentially I am working towards my best self who is a creative woman who has ultimate control over her life & chooses to live it well.

Today I quit my job (as it stands) & have decided to focus again on study, likely starting in July. I don’t quite know my ultimate goal but getting a Graduate Diploma is the first step. I first looked at doing this particular qualification back in late 2004 when I was still doing my BA.

I’ve got options with my current employer to take on a new role that is very part time. This is comforting. My Boss has said that he wants to keep me in the organisation but knows that I had exhausted my options in the role I have been doing. He’s intuitive, he knew that this was going to happen. I am lucky to have a supportive environment.

But what am I going to do next??

I see (ENVISION) myself putting more into my small business, growing it & investing time & a little money too.

I see myself pouring over my books, studying hard & getting great grades in my Graduate Diploma. I May actually change my course next year, it all depends how the rest of this year goes. These next 6 months are kind of an experiment to me… because my study will be extramural!! Kind of scary but I know I have the discipline to achieve it.

I’m looking forward to a schedule that is more my own PLUS the work that I do have to do being fulfilling. It’s going to be so refreshing.

If anyone is wondering, it is my intent to focus on History as this was a subject that I wanted to do in my BA but I was not captivated by the papers on offer. I’ve known about & been far more drawn to the classes at Massey University ever since I first read about them. It’s time.

I also hope that this will allow me more time for my creative hobbies but we’ll see how this all pans out. As of yet, I do not know whether I will study full or part time… I need to do further research :)

I feel so relieved & revived.

The first thing I’ve done to alleviate the lack of creativity in my life is to go through all of my photography & to upload all the backlogged & worthy pictures to my deviant art page.

It felt good to do this & I got an opportunity yesterday to snap 3 good photos in my back yard.

I’ve also had yet another good talk to my partner about how we can make things work better for us both in terms of our day to day lives. This was so important.

I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve hugged, I’ve held. I feel much better.

Thank you for your support.

since I wrote here on this goal & I think it is mostly because things have been generally quite good, most of the time.

But I am starting to feel a hole emerging.

I feel like I’ve lost my ability to express myself creatively… Women are creative by nature & expression.

I’ve been reading the book “Women who run with the Wolves” & it is awakening me to this void in my life.

When I was in high school I would stay there till 5pm each night working on painting & photography projects. I was thinking this morning how school ensures that you get time to be creative, time to be analytical & time to get exercise. These should be habits that stay with us for life.

I’m taking 3 days off work next week with the goal of reclaiming myself from this blank spot I’ve gotten into. While I do ‘nurture my spirituality’ – my top goal here – I do feel somewhat spiritually devoid. Like all that I am has been covered by something that I am not.

I am not sure how to rectify this exactly but time in meditation is going to be part of the nutting out process. I don’t know if it is a big change that I need, a change of day to day habit (I feel that habit is crushing me) or something else. Maybe I need to get all of the small little projects at home completed so that I can breathe past that & then think what to do to keep on track.

I’ve spent a little time talking about this to my partner. He was quite keen for us to go out to a gig last night, one that would be a big dollar investment for bands we don’t know but I told him that I did not think it would be good for me mentally to go out & end up with a maximum of 4 hours sleep before work… Once he realised the gravity of how I am feeling he discarded the idea entirely because he believes my spiritual wellbeing more important, as do I.

So I am very lucky to have that kind of support in my life. I think he knows that I have a lot I want to work on (My Best Self) & I think he will be surprised by what I will achieve in this time I’ve given myself.

This time of year, going into Winter, always seems vital & I always tend to re-evaluate. It’s also when I come towards my birthday & this year I will be 25. I feel this is somehow significant. I always evaluate annually.

My best self is a creative individual who is self-responsible for maintaining my sanity, my balance & who is capable & confident in the things she creates & does.

I’ve got to be unafraid to do what I want to do, say what I want to say. I need to use my time well. I need to decide on a new path, to be refreshed & passionate again. & that is what these 5 days off (including the weekend) shall provide.

Well, I’ve not really written anything here for quite some time but I have been enjoying watching the community spirit flourish here over the past few weeks! Delightful!

I’ve changed my mind about how to spend my year so many times that I cannot count them anymore. & I started planning 2008 about 4 months or so into 2007!! haha.

What am I doing right now? I’m working full time whilst also working part time at home on setting up a CD distro. It keeps me very busy. I have tonnes of ideas & it’s great fun but I’ve got to cultivate patience! Ordering stock from the US means I have to wait a while for orders to arrive & I just want to keep going going going!

So as it stands, I am not currently engaged in any formal, institutionalised study which is kind of amusing considering that I planned off & on to do one of 3 separate courses this year! Don’t think I am not learning though! The school of life & the world of the library keep me going.

My business is going well after a few weeks up & running. I’m not about to give up my day job (yet) but I have high expectations that sales are going to soar! Yes, I am employing the Law of Attraction… Most importantly I am making money doing one of the many things I love & I’ve only just begun.

I’ve been presented with a very kind offer from my Mother which is that she will use part of an inheritance sum to help myself & my partner into our first home. She will get her portion back when we sell & it is intended as an investment opportunity for all parties involved. I feel so fortunate to be in this position as Robert & I are always talking about owning our own place. This won’t happen in the immediate future but I am intending it to come to fruition in my 26th year (26 is my favourite number!)

My day job is okay & has been busier which helps… but it’s my life outside of that that I am overjoyed & inspired by!

My spirituality has been experiencing a good level of attention from me too. I’ve got a lot of knowledge to both acquire & to bring forth from within myself.

Our garden is wonderfully productive & satisfying, I am so grateful to have such a special place. We are somewhat winding down our plans for it with the prospect of moving out next year but for now it is a great source of sustenance & pleasure.

All in all, my life is pretty great right now.
Thank you to all my 43T friends for you support & advice, it really means a lot. I <3 you Girls :)

This was a big entry!! I plan to be posting more regular little snippets of inspiration from here on in :D

Hey :)

I was just wondering… I know that some of our team members are currently on breaks from this site at the moment, how many of us are still active??

Hope all is well my sweets…

I’ve had good manifestational news in that after having decided this year that I am not going to live my life at a desk & computer, I have successfully found a way to balance my life out a bit better & head towards my better self.

I’ve got the agreement from my employers to work less & study more. This will allow me to learn & earn & get myself better equipped for running my own business in the future, something that I’ve always found appealing.

I feel so in control where previously I’ve felt despairing feelings. All we have to do is make the decision, muster the courage & then we can achieve our desires.

I’ve completed my degree but it’s taken me about 3 years since then to get to the point where I feel like I am in control of my future from here. Ultimately we are ALL self-employed, we sell our time & our skills so we may as well do so in a manner that is in line with our interests & our ethics.

Well dears, I shall cease the ramble, we all know this stuff already!

<3 to all :)

& sorry if this has already been discussed before I joined up but:

I was wondering, how do we define our “best selves”? What is meant by this phrase? & when does one judge it complete? Can it ever be completed?

So basically, what is your best self like? How do you imagine yourself when this goal is achieved? Can you even project yourself that far forward or is it more about little baby steps?

Bit of a ramble & not sure that I’ve articulated myself well.
I guess to put it simply, what does the achievement of this goal mean to you?

_~

& for me. My best self will be the self that is balanced & contented of mood, living off the abundance that doing something I love has created for me. Being in harmony with my partner, my family, my colleagues, my community as much as possible. To live in a creative but clean environment, to nuture & to feed myself & those I love. To give as much as I can. To not settle for poor treatment, to take care of myself. To be productive yet calm. To innovate. To make the lives of those I interact with better. I want to be good my planet for nature is only of the only things we can truly know, even if we cannot understand it completely.

Just some of my ideas. I am not sure at what age I can envision a life as I describe being reality but I know that aspects of it unravel daily.

Just writing this has given me some new creative & spiritual fire so this is good. Thanks for being there to see my words, even if you didn’t comprehend all of them! I work well with feeling & intuition & that is hard to convey online! I love words but words cannot successfully express what I want to say.

Thank you <3

Sorry if you see me post about this twice but I think it is a really good article that makes you think a lot about your approach to your ‘career’ which is something that at least some of us in this group are pondering.

I read this article yesterday & it resonated with me a lot.

It talks about the two main ways people approach career planning & talks about the pros & cons of both but with a likely bias towards seeking what we truly wish to express to the world through our jobs & how to tap into that.

Not sure if I am making sense so here’s the link for anyone interested!

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/11/career-planning/

To all you wonderful people who gave me support over my last entry here. Your suggestions gave me a lot to think about & I have made some choices to report back on.

I’ve realised that while doing another year of university would give me a sense of achievement, it would be a fleeting moment compared to the sense of achievement completing my long term goals would give. & my long terms goals are not in line with more study in this area…

My partner & I have had some good talks & I feel like now we are a team working together to achieve our shared goals of where we want to be in the future & also just generally more open about our thoughts on it. I have spent the last few months erasing fear in regard to our relationship, fear that I could somehow lose it (irrational fear btw) & now I feel that we are in a great space.

So I’ve decided to let go of the idea of another year at university & to focus on areas that will help me in the future. We intend to buy our 1st house together in 2012 so using money wisely until is a good idea.

& I’ve felt such a weight off of my shoulders since making this choice & this makes me feel like it was a good decision. I no longer am worrying about whether it was the right choice nor am I putting pressure on myself to get ahead by trying to get through an unfocused reading list I’d set for myself. I’ve added back to my 43T list lots of hobby type goals that I’d pushed aside in order to focus on university study. It feels good to have those things back on my list. I am actually very excited.

I am still looking at different courses to do but they are in completely different areas, I’m still gathering info so I won’t divulge too much here or now.

So thank you again, your support & thoughts have helped me a lot. The questions you raised were insightful & wise.

Lots of love & November HUG MONTH Hugs.
<3