Just Start

To Do Lists are so helpful.  And often, they include things we just don't want to do.  It's so very rewarding to be able to accomplish a goal and eliminate an item.  But sometimes, just noting progress toward a challenging item is liberating.  Getting started is frequently the most difficult step for a project that we don't want to do.

Setting a timer works well for me.  I often choose 15 minutes because it is such a doable time frame. Happily, I'm often so motivated by the start, and the option to quit, that I do far more than anticipated.  

Starting is the first step toward achievement!

No Limits!

This month has been a blur of positive energy, successes, possibilities, encouragement, advancements, challenges overcome, teamwork, creativity, initiative, compassion and innovation.  Though there are countless things over which we have no control, this reminds me that there are no limits to the way we react, respond or take charge of the situations we encounter.

I've previously shared insights from several of these events, but feel inspired to share some thoughts from some of the exceptional women I've been privileged to hear in the past two days:

• Kathrine Switzer - 1st female Boston marathon runner
• Kay Bailey Hutchison - 1st female to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate
• Sheryl WuDunn - 1st Asian-American Pulitzer Prize Winner
• Dr. Bonnie Dunbar - Astronaut who flew the first docking flight between the Russian Space Station and the Space Shuttle
• Bonnie St. John - 1st African-American ski racing Olympic medalist

Each of these remarkable women has chosen to use her accomplishments and wide public acknowledgement to become positive, outspoken role models and change agents.  

My loving parents encouraged me from birth hat I could do and be anything.  So many of our young women and men need external encouragers.

When we positively pursue our passions with hard work, commitment and obsession for excelling, there are no limits!

175 Miles Stronger

My joke before becoming a runner at the end of February was that I might run the equivalent of a marathon in a lifetime, but couldn't imagine anyone doing it in one day.  It's still hard to imagine anyone running 26.2 consecutive miles, and I'm as surprised as anyone that I've now run over 175 miles (the equivalent of 6.75 marathons).

Some lessons learned from becoming a runner include:

• we can do and enjoy things we never thought possible, practical or palatable
• it's only possible, practical and palatable when we're not injured (when we accept our limitations we set the stage for new milestones)
• disconnecting electronically allows us to clear our minds and in so doing create new ideas
• opportunities to connect with others expand with new these new venues

What's on Your Mind?

Challenge yourself to quickly write down 25 things, not people, then see why these came to mind.

My list contained:

• celebratory words: birthday cake, ice cream cone, wine glass, pumpkin (Halloween)
• pampering/comfort words: bathtub, lotion, nail polish, cat, ice maker, potted plant, red mitten (childhood)
• entertainment/exercise words: airline ticket, fishing rod, movie, book, monopoly game, bicycle, tennis shoe
• connecting words: telephone, coin (Lucky Penny Experiment) 
• putting best foot forward words: shoe, bracelet, snowflake (being best unique self)
• necessary words: umbrella (Houston's 2.5" above average rainfall)

This was simply an exercise that I did to stimulate creativity, and it's interesting to me that every seemingly random word on my list related to things that are meaningful to me.

What's on your mind?

One Small Move

I got stuck while working a particularly challenging Sukoku puzzle this week.  There were so many squares remaining with 2 or 3 possible answers.  After reviewing every row, column and section I finally found one more answer.  This small move was all that was required to be able to solve the rest of the puzzle.  In life as in Sudoku, sometimes one small move creates the positive momentum to finish a project. 

Turn-by-Turn Directions

I'm the only directionally challenged individual in my entire family.  Turn-by-turn directions are a godsend to me.  The only time that north, south, east and west are meaningful to me is when I'm in my own driveway or on I-10 or one of the major thoroughfares that run parallel to this interstate highway. 

Julia shared the most amusing turn-by-turn directions that her friend discovered in Google Maps.  There are 82 steps to get from Japan to China.  Step #43 is by far the most challenging - jet ski across the Pacific Ocean. 

Even when we have turn-by-turn directions, getting to our destination may not be as easy as 1 to 82.