A New Year Dawns
My Friend Cathy Severson of RetireWoW wrote the following reflective newsletter heralding 2014 insightful thoughts from a woman I respect greatly we connected through my house sitting travel lifestyle articles she's produced an audio series called "Living the Dream" in which I had the pleasure of participating and would encourage everyone regardless of age, gender or attitude to life to take a listen ....
Perspective
"My mother started her spiritual quest in the early 1960’s. I always thought that was amazing considering my younger years were spent in a very traditional religion.
Among her many teachers was Laurel Elizabeth Keyes, who brought eastern thought to mostly middle class white women. I would go across town periodically to listen to Laurel in her living room talk about new ways of thinking and different philosophies than I was raised. I will never forget when she made the statement, “If you don’t have expectations, you won’t be disappointed.” It’s probably been close to forty-five years since I heard that phrase. I find that when I’m disappointed, it’s usually because I had unrealistic expectations.
As I shared with you, I’m so pleased with the audio series Living the Dream. There is some concern that people will read the title and infer that I advocate for some time of happy ever after. Retirement and aging, for that matter, is a work in progress. While I hope you’ll listen to the audio snippits and even purchase at the early bird price, I’m perfectly honest in telling you there isn’t a magic pill for retirement.
As we come to the end of the holiday period, and the commencement of the New Year, there is an opportunity to assess the past and prepare for what’s ahead. I don’t know if I ever made resolutions-talk about a set up for disappointment. But, I do go through a rather involved process of goal setting for the New Year. It started off relatively simply and has grown over the years as a new exercise seem to help with a sense of a fresh start.
I added a new feature this year as a result of a quote by Danielle Laporte, “The journey should be every bit as fun as the destination,” and a blog post by Dr. Adam Shack. To paraphrase, Dr Shack explains the focus of setting goals should be on the emotions we want to attain instead of more acquiring more things (even if they’re relationships, promotions, or cars.)
As I close out 2013 and I wish you a Happy New Year, I’ll ask you, “What would you like to feel more of in the coming year?” Take a moment to make your wish list."
www.retireWOW.com
Perspective
"My mother started her spiritual quest in the early 1960’s. I always thought that was amazing considering my younger years were spent in a very traditional religion.
Among her many teachers was Laurel Elizabeth Keyes, who brought eastern thought to mostly middle class white women. I would go across town periodically to listen to Laurel in her living room talk about new ways of thinking and different philosophies than I was raised. I will never forget when she made the statement, “If you don’t have expectations, you won’t be disappointed.” It’s probably been close to forty-five years since I heard that phrase. I find that when I’m disappointed, it’s usually because I had unrealistic expectations.
As I shared with you, I’m so pleased with the audio series Living the Dream. There is some concern that people will read the title and infer that I advocate for some time of happy ever after. Retirement and aging, for that matter, is a work in progress. While I hope you’ll listen to the audio snippits and even purchase at the early bird price, I’m perfectly honest in telling you there isn’t a magic pill for retirement.
As we come to the end of the holiday period, and the commencement of the New Year, there is an opportunity to assess the past and prepare for what’s ahead. I don’t know if I ever made resolutions-talk about a set up for disappointment. But, I do go through a rather involved process of goal setting for the New Year. It started off relatively simply and has grown over the years as a new exercise seem to help with a sense of a fresh start.
I added a new feature this year as a result of a quote by Danielle Laporte, “The journey should be every bit as fun as the destination,” and a blog post by Dr. Adam Shack. To paraphrase, Dr Shack explains the focus of setting goals should be on the emotions we want to attain instead of more acquiring more things (even if they’re relationships, promotions, or cars.)
As I close out 2013 and I wish you a Happy New Year, I’ll ask you, “What would you like to feel more of in the coming year?” Take a moment to make your wish list."
www.retireWOW.com
