Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Release and Renew
Release and Renew
Is the clutter in your home the monkey on your back? Is your environment:
• Chronically disorganized?
• Buried in stuff?
• Lacking serenity?
• Symbolic of inner chaos?
Join us for Release and Renew, an ongoing educational support group facilitated by professional organizer and lifestyle consultant Fran Piekarski.
This series is designed to help you un-clutter your life and uncover peace. In a safe, compassionate setting, Piekarski will empower you to find the tools you need to break free of the disorder that is holding you back in your life.
Beginning Wednesday, July 29, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
(continuing the last Wednesday of each month; join us any session.)
Monarch Landing Retirement Village
2255 Erickson Drive (Route 59/Interstate 88) Naperville
Cost is $35 per session.
For required registration, visit www.remedease.com or
call 630/940-0440.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Plague of Procrastination
It is in the quiet of the morning that I feel closest to God, The time of day when my mind is filled with inspiration and energy. All my thoughts and aspirations seem to culminate in this hour. Dr. Wayne Dyer says that when you awake in the middle of the night or the early morning that you should embrace those moments, get up and put your thoughts on paper because you are in the presence of God. So here I am. I awoke once at around 3:30 went to the bathroom and fell back to sleep. However, it was a restless sleep. I am always restless in the middle of the night when I have procrastinated.
This weekend I procrastinated on many things because I wanted to enjoy the holiday. I did enjoy the weekend but every so often the thoughts of the things I needed to do Monday morning just kept creeping in, to remind me of my inadequacies. I accomplished other things, not related to work, yet somehow they did not seem to be enough. I could have stopped and done the things that I needed to do but it was important to me to take the time to spend with my family and friends and to take time for myself. It was a trade off and I am not sorry I did it. I feel a sense of relief to be able to put those things that are important to me first and let God take care of the rest.
One of the things I was to do was to write this blog. Part of the reason I didn’t write it was not just the holiday the other part was procrastination. I had made up my mind that this would be the blog about procrastination so in the spirit of it, I procrastinated. I wrote on my Face Book page that I was procrastinating on writing on procrastination. I received some interesting comments. One reply was that I needed to visualize my blog already complete. He suggested that “most people procrastinated because they never fully see themselves accomplishing what it is that they want to do.” This is an interesting theory and I believe has much truth to it. Another commented was that I might think of starting with the most common reason why people procrastinate.
I have read books on procrastination (truth be told it is something I have fought most of my life) and all the speculation behind it: perfectionism, lack of goal setting, laziness, focus but the truth be told there are only two reasons we procrastinate. The first is a positive one. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I procrastinated on this blog over the weekend to enjoy my family and friends and the holiday. That is more about setting priorities putting something off because something else is more important. Yet I could have written this blog before the holiday, in the evening or early morning, etc. yet I didn’t because of the core reason for procrastination. The one and true reason for procrastination is FEAR! Fear that I will misspell a work or my grammar will not be perfect. Fear of putting my opinions out there and they will be rejected. No matter how you cut it, it all boils down to fear. We can talk ourselves out of anything.
So here I am, in the quiet of the morning, when I am closest to God and somehow in this moment my fear is gone. In the quiet and the stillness I listen and he beckons me to write. To impart to others that the ache you feel when you put off doing something that you are called to do is the voice of God calling you to take that leap of faith. Ivanla Vanzant in her book “One Day My Soul Just Opened Up” says that “there is a light that shines in all of us- some brighter than others because those that have the brightest light, in spite of adversity have not let the darkness of their thoughts dim the light.” I believe that in the hustle and bustle of our day our light can get dimmer. We allow our negative self talk and comments or actions of others to take hold and convince us that we are not worthy or able to produce results or carry out our dreams and desires. If only we can take a moment to quiet those voices down and keep the light shining we can allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit that shines in all of us and eliminate those thoughts so that we may move forward beyond our fears and overcome procrastination..
Let me ask you, what are the fears that are stopping you from letting your light shine?
This weekend I procrastinated on many things because I wanted to enjoy the holiday. I did enjoy the weekend but every so often the thoughts of the things I needed to do Monday morning just kept creeping in, to remind me of my inadequacies. I accomplished other things, not related to work, yet somehow they did not seem to be enough. I could have stopped and done the things that I needed to do but it was important to me to take the time to spend with my family and friends and to take time for myself. It was a trade off and I am not sorry I did it. I feel a sense of relief to be able to put those things that are important to me first and let God take care of the rest.
One of the things I was to do was to write this blog. Part of the reason I didn’t write it was not just the holiday the other part was procrastination. I had made up my mind that this would be the blog about procrastination so in the spirit of it, I procrastinated. I wrote on my Face Book page that I was procrastinating on writing on procrastination. I received some interesting comments. One reply was that I needed to visualize my blog already complete. He suggested that “most people procrastinated because they never fully see themselves accomplishing what it is that they want to do.” This is an interesting theory and I believe has much truth to it. Another commented was that I might think of starting with the most common reason why people procrastinate.
I have read books on procrastination (truth be told it is something I have fought most of my life) and all the speculation behind it: perfectionism, lack of goal setting, laziness, focus but the truth be told there are only two reasons we procrastinate. The first is a positive one. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I procrastinated on this blog over the weekend to enjoy my family and friends and the holiday. That is more about setting priorities putting something off because something else is more important. Yet I could have written this blog before the holiday, in the evening or early morning, etc. yet I didn’t because of the core reason for procrastination. The one and true reason for procrastination is FEAR! Fear that I will misspell a work or my grammar will not be perfect. Fear of putting my opinions out there and they will be rejected. No matter how you cut it, it all boils down to fear. We can talk ourselves out of anything.
So here I am, in the quiet of the morning, when I am closest to God and somehow in this moment my fear is gone. In the quiet and the stillness I listen and he beckons me to write. To impart to others that the ache you feel when you put off doing something that you are called to do is the voice of God calling you to take that leap of faith. Ivanla Vanzant in her book “One Day My Soul Just Opened Up” says that “there is a light that shines in all of us- some brighter than others because those that have the brightest light, in spite of adversity have not let the darkness of their thoughts dim the light.” I believe that in the hustle and bustle of our day our light can get dimmer. We allow our negative self talk and comments or actions of others to take hold and convince us that we are not worthy or able to produce results or carry out our dreams and desires. If only we can take a moment to quiet those voices down and keep the light shining we can allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit that shines in all of us and eliminate those thoughts so that we may move forward beyond our fears and overcome procrastination..
Let me ask you, what are the fears that are stopping you from letting your light shine?
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