​I confess...I tend to be a bit conservative. I think it was passed down to me from my parents. They were born in the depression so it's understandable why they were conservative. That's the way they were raised.
 
I am sitting at my desk, doing some writing, working on changing some paradigms, creating new beliefs and habits. This morning, my pen ran out of ink, so I got another. Both of these pens are just some freebies I got from somewhere. But I'm just using up extra things laying around, rather than using my "good" pen that I save for more important things. As I type this, I realize how silly that is! Changing my paradigm is really important! I'm switching pens right now! (This is a great example of how writing creates thinking.)

But what got me started with this train of thought was when I used up my notebook (it was so old the spiral was rusted – true confessions today - LOL) and got another notebook out of my box of half used spiral notebooks that I've saved. This is where the conservative awareness comes in (beside the pen). At first, I chose one, sat down and opened it. It had a nice stiff cardboard front and back and I thought, “I should save this for when I'm writing and not sitting at a desk.” So, I went back to the box and selected this pink notebook that my daughter used in high school, the pink one in the photo here with the miscellaneous pen. 

As I started writing in this pink notebook, I realized how nice the paper is. It took me back to buying school supplies and how normally I would begrudgingly buy her the supplies she liked even though they cost more than the 25 cent spirals that were on sale. She always has had a taste for the nicer things. It was an inner struggle for me, spending more money on these school supplies when we could buy some that didn’t cost as much. I thought, it’s just paper!
 
As I started writing in the pink notebook, I realized how nice the paper is. It is smooth, and soft, and the ink flows nicely. I thought of how nice it feels to write on this paper. That may seem insignificant, but I thought of her in school and maybe it made her feel good about herself. It's making me feel good about myself using it now. Doing something for ourselves that makes us feel good is really important. From now on, I am going to strive to be less conservative in that way and realize the "feeling" value in buying certain things.

Being conservative is a belief in lack. It’s holding on to something for fear the money won't be there to buy it later when it’s needed. For me, it often seems to be more of not wanting to waste, which is a big part of who I am. I'm big on recycling, repurposing and giving away for someone else to use rather than throwing away. With my increased awareness around my conservative nature, I will work on distinguishing the difference between being negatively conservative and not wanting to waste, and ask myself "why" when holding on to something.
 
I received two important messages today from my writing. First, sometimes the “feeling” value is more important than the dollar value. Second, to ask myself “why” when holding on to something and ask myself if I’m being too conservative in this situation. Both lessons give me a sense of freedom, knowing I can let go of beliefs that don’t serve me. I’m grateful for the awareness I've gained from my writing today.
 
This would also be a good time to say to my daughter, in the Hawaiian practice of Ho’oponopono, "I'm sorry. Please forgive. Thank you. I love you." She was ranked 4th in her High School Class, so she apparently knew the better notebook was important to her success.

​We’ve lived in our current home for three years, but up until this year, we rarely saw any squirrels. This year I have counted up to seven. I think it’s a family because some of them look young.
 
They love to feast on the bird seed, I use sunflower seeds. The bird feeders hang from the trees and we’ve positioned them where we thought the squirrels and the cat wouldn’t be able to reach them. But the squirrels seem to be acrobats. There is one feeder that they can still reach and will jump a good distance from the trunk of the tree to the feeder. He’ll feast on the seed until something scares him, then he’ll jump down to the ground and run off.
 
As I was watching these squirrels one day, I thought about the qualities they have, persistence being a big one. They come back time and time again. Then I wondered how many times did that squirrel look at the feeder before deciding to jump. I also thought, that for him to take the leap from the tree to the hanging bird feeder, he must really want what he is going after.  
 
I asked myself, do I have the same drive and persistence as I go for my goals? Have I really taken the big leap to go after what I want? Or am I still playing it safe, just getting the seeds that fall to the ground and going after what I think I can get?
 
The purpose of a goal is to make you grow. To have the kind of goal that will make you grow, will require you to stretch…out of what’s comfortable or within reach. It’s beyond what you think you can do. It should be something that will excite you and scare you at the same time. There’s no growth in going after something that you know how to do, or that you could do with a plan or under certain circumstances.
 
The goal that will require growth is not something that you know how to do. It’s something that you don’t have any idea how it will happen. You just want it so much that you will do whatever it takes. You want it so bad that you’ll take that leap to get there. You will stretch, jumping with faith, not fearing what could happen, but fearing what will happen if you don’t jump.
 
Not jumping should be scarier than taking the leap. If you don’t take the leap, aren’t you just staying stuck where you are? How long do you want to continue to feel unfulfilled? Do you feel like there’s more for you or that you’re capable of more but you’re letting fear keep you from moving ahead? Do you have limiting beliefs holding you back? You’re not alone.
 
We all have challenges to overcome in order to get to where we really want to be. That’s where the growth comes in. We have to grow into the person we want to be, into the person that is living the life you’re capable of and deserve. Everyone is living with unlimited potential that has not been tapped into. Don’t wait for the perfect time, it never comes. Don’t wait until “this” or “that” happens and then do it. You’ll wait forever.
 
If you have a dream, a heart’s desire, a big goal, that you really, really want to do, start now. Make a decision that you’re going to jump and go for what you want. Take action to move toward it. When you start moving toward what you want, it starts moving towards you. Resources and avenues will open up when you need them. No need to have it figured out first. All that is required is your desire, willingness to do what it takes, a decision and then action. Start with what you know to do, and you’ll figure out the rest as you go.
 
Be like the squirrel, persistent, determined and push past the fear to jump for what you want. It’s there for the taking, it’s waiting for you. As for me, I choose to go for the big goal and take the leap. I’m not going to play it safe anymore. It’s time to step out and really grow. Will you join me?
 
Helping people reach their goals is what I love to do. Contact me for a complimentary clarity session to discover how you can achieve your goals and live the life you really want. I’d love to hear what your goals are and support you on your journey. If you need someone to believe in you, to hold you accountable and you want proven strategies to maximize your potential, I can help you. Take the first step, let’s talk and discover what your next step is.

​My watermelon harvest hasn’t been what I hoped this year. It was my first attempt to grow watermelon and by no means do I consider it a failure.
 
I have learned so much from this year’s crop. I’ve learned what to do differently next year. I’ve learned what nutrients it needs, how much water it needs, what soil conditions it needs, how much space it needs. All good information I will use when I plant them again next year.
 
Continuing with harvesting the good, I’ve had very little waste because there has been enough good on most melons that I just cut off the bad part and give the remaining good to the chickens. And they really love it.
 
Instead of looking at some bad fruit as a crop failure, I am harvesting the good from it. I am grateful for what it has given me. I’m grateful for what I’ve learned. I am persisting and I still have hopes that we will have some good fruit to enjoy this year.
 
Don’t look at difficulties and let them stop you. Don’t get discouraged. Things are only failures when you give up. There will always be good to harvest. You can find the good if you look for it.
 
To help you through difficult situations, do these four things:
 
1.              Always find the lessons and learn from them
2.              Harvest the good, it’s there!
3.              Be grateful…for all that comes out of it
4.              Persist…never give up.
 
When you do this, you can turn any negative situation into a positive one.

​Remember to find the joy in everything you do.