My initial response was, I take responsibility for my life, but then realized that this is deeper than that.  I asked myself, how responsible am I for EVERYTHING in my life?

I am late, due to a slow vehicle or traffic.  If I was 100% responsible, then I am late because I did not allow time for this type of situation.  It is not the vehicle or traffic’s fault.

If I miss a payment on a bill because I didn’t receive the statement, 100% responsibility would mean that I should have either a system in place or should know when each bill is due, so that I could have known it didn’t arrive.  It isn’t the US Post Office’s or the company’s fault that I did not receive the statement.

How much was I blaming others or situations as an excuse not to take responsibility for my life?  Tough question!  Even tougher was the answer.

I realized that every time I did not speak up for what I wanted, thought, or felt that I was not being responsible for my life.

If I didn’t accomplish something, I could make excuses on why, who or what circumstances prevented it from happening – instead of recognizing that it was my responsibility to do whatever was necessary to ensure it did happen.

How much do we as individuals and society NOT take responsibility for our own lives?  How much do we blame the government, companies we work for, our bosses, family members, friends, and co-workers etc. for things in our life, circumstances, etc. that we are exclusively responsible for?

Just something to ponder!

Live BIG, Laugh LOTS!
Debbie

I spend some time reviewing what I didn’t accomplish — why?  Was it because it was not well defined?  Did my path change?  I need to know what happened so I can correct and get back on track or decide if it was not a true goal.

I also spend some time celebrating all that I did accomplish!

Three questions need to be asked and answered:

1.  What is working?

2.  What isn’t working?

3.  What can I change or what do I need to let go of that is not working?

I have spent 2008 doing a lot of learning about me!  What it is I truly want and really defining and getting clear on what that is.  2009 is going to be my year for implementing all that I have learned.  I intend moving fast and putting a lot of things into action.  I am very excited about 2009 — I hope you are too!

I have begun my New Year’s Day ritual a little early this year — shows you how excited I am!  I can’t wait to get started.

In 2008 I attended:

David Neagle’s — Experience the Reality of Success (ERS) www.experiencethereality.com and Ali Brown’s – Online Success Blueprint Workshop.

These both were very insightful and valuable to me.  At ERS, I learned what is holding me back on achieving my goals.  What I need to do differently — it is about being afraid and doing it anyway –getting out of your comfort zone, so that you can grow!  At Ali Brown’s I learned a step by step process (blueprint) for taking any business idea and researching and launching it.

2009 — I have joined a Mastermind Group — http://www.stefaniehartman.com/circle/ with Stefanie Hartman.  I have been looking for a group that is the right fit for me and I believe I have finally found it!

I am really looking forward to meeting the people she has put together, to help them accomplish their goals, get some fresh ideas on accomplishing mine, and working together to hold each other accountable for implementing our plans!

Are you ready for 2009 to be your best year ever?

Live BIG and Laugh LOTS!
Debbie

“The Passion Test” helped me to really look at all the things I wanted out of my life and helped me to prioritize which ones were the most important to me.  It is a simple and easy method to identifying your passions and creating the life you want.

“The Four Agreements” is about achieving personal freedom and discovering your authentic self.

1.     Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity.  Say only what you mean.  Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or  to    gossip about others.  Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
 
2.     Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you.  What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.  When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3.     Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.  Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.  With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4.     Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick.  Under any circumstance, simple do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Using both of these books helped me to begin the process of figuring out what I wanted and set the criteria for my making decisions.   Were my actions, plans, opportunities taking me towards my passions and what I wanted to create in my life or away from it? 

Was my perception of what I thought others would think holding me back?  Was I trusting my inner voice or worrying about how others were going to accept my choices?  Releasing myself from the judgment of others, as well as myself helped me to move forward with achieving my dreams.

I hope you will read both of these books and give me your insights on what you thought and how they helped you in creating the lifestyle you deserve.

Laugh LOTS and Live BIG!
Debbie

But, then again, I heard of people going back to college in their 40’s, 50’s and even 60’s to pursue their dreams, so maybe time wasn’t a pressure factor after all. 

So, I stopped and wondered how many of us make decisions based on how old we are?  What other people may think of us? Or maybe we what we feel others expectations are of us? 

How many times do we make excuses instead of decisions?

Excuses:
I can’t because I am too old?
I can’t because I do not have the time?
I can’t because I do not have the money?
I can’t because……

What I discovered is these are all excuses! In order to break away from the excuses in my life, I needed to release myself from needing the acceptance of others when what I wanted to do was different, the approval of others that my decisions were right, and the fear of things that were holding me back from accomplishing my dreams. I also needed to learn to trust my inner voice.

What excuses are you holding on to? What dreams do you truly want? What fears and beliefs are holding you back from taking action on them?

More thoughts in Part II of How Do You Make Decisions?

Laugh Lots and Live Big!
Debbie