Saturday, November 18, 2006
Dreams mixed with Awesome Integrity
A very critical attribute for realizing our dreams is integrity.
In a conversation about dreams, integrity is essential and can
be summarized this way: Say what you mean and mean what
you always say. Honor your word and agreements and you will
be living with integrity, where dreams really do come true.
Simple, yes, but not always easy. Vastly overscheduled, often
the person its most difficult to keep our commitments with, is
yourself. As you practice upholding your values, you are given
opportunities to show up or to sell out.
Whenever you are challenged, do you lose sight of what matters to you?
Do you have an internal pulse, a set of conscious principles that you
live your life by? If you are committed to a life of joy and abundance,
filled with love, generosity and contribution, integrity is a must.
Integrity creates trust and accountability. Surrounded by crowds,
you can feel lonely if youre not true to yourself.
If you do not have integrity, you can have great wealth and still feel
worthless. And lacking integrity, you wont trust yourself or have faith
in your dreams. When we leave things unresolved or incomplete, we
are out of integrity. You can recognize something as incomplete by
how you feel about it. Is the matter settled? Do you worry about it?
How is it impacting other areas of your life? When you are complete
with something you don't even think about it. There is no agitation or
energy wasted. Its up to you to decide if something is incomplete or not,
but its difficult to focus on future dreams when you are consumed by
your past. Incompletions can be notorious and contagious as one leads
to another.
Buried under burdensome annoyances we can feel lost, afraid or confused.
Take Jake for instance. He didn't pay his taxes for two years. The IRS put
a lien on his assets, so he was labelled a bad credit risk. He couldn't buy a
house or rent an apartment. Eventually he lost his credit cards. He was
caught in a downward spiral that also undermined his confidence and self
esteem. Linda let her parking tickets pile high and never got around to
paying them. She became afraid to drive her car because she might get
to wed. Concerned about driving to work, she eventually lost her job. A
small detail led to a bigger concern, which led to an even worse problem.
Carol had a room in her home that she called the "black hole," filled with
incomplete items. Since she and her husband were trying to sell their house,
she knew it was time to tackle that project. She came up with a list of over
one hundred "items to do." They included returning things she had borrowed,
writing letters, even mailing back an inexpensive bracelet she had stolen from
her local drug store when she was a teenager. It took some time and effort, but
with each item she handled, Carol felt lighter and freer. Within a few weeks of
completing her list, they easily sold their house. Completion creates freedom.
The First Steps - This powerful process of exploring whats been left unsaid, undone
or incomplete in your life is one of the most awesome things you can do to free
yourself and have more access to your dreams. If undertaken to the best of
your ability, this may be the most profound thing you have ever done. Look
at all these important areas and use this formula as a guide to scrutinize your
life. The areas to explore (but are not limited to) include your body, mind,
home, work, finance, and people (living and dead).
1. Write down what you feel incomplete about with anyone or anything.
2. List what you need to do to complete it.
3. Complete as many items as possible.
How do you complete something? You may need to write a letter or make
a phone call. You may need to forgive someone or just declare "it's over."
On some items, you might need to create a project plan or you might not
even know yet. Just do your best to get rid of anything that is weighing
you down. Removing clutter will give you greater clarity and energy for
the things that are important to you. As you complete what you can,
feelings of pride, accomplishment, and peace of mind, can motivate you
to take on even the tough things. Free to move forward, now you can tap
into the flow of life. The more your life is in order, the faster and easier
your ability to manifest dreams will become. It's just that simple.
A very critical attribute for realizing our dreams is integrity.
In a conversation about dreams, integrity is essential and can
be summarized this way: Say what you mean and mean what
you always say. Honor your word and agreements and you will
be living with integrity, where dreams really do come true.
Simple, yes, but not always easy. Vastly overscheduled, often
the person its most difficult to keep our commitments with, is
yourself. As you practice upholding your values, you are given
opportunities to show up or to sell out.
Whenever you are challenged, do you lose sight of what matters to you?
Do you have an internal pulse, a set of conscious principles that you
live your life by? If you are committed to a life of joy and abundance,
filled with love, generosity and contribution, integrity is a must.
Integrity creates trust and accountability. Surrounded by crowds,
you can feel lonely if youre not true to yourself.
If you do not have integrity, you can have great wealth and still feel
worthless. And lacking integrity, you wont trust yourself or have faith
in your dreams. When we leave things unresolved or incomplete, we
are out of integrity. You can recognize something as incomplete by
how you feel about it. Is the matter settled? Do you worry about it?
How is it impacting other areas of your life? When you are complete
with something you don't even think about it. There is no agitation or
energy wasted. Its up to you to decide if something is incomplete or not,
but its difficult to focus on future dreams when you are consumed by
your past. Incompletions can be notorious and contagious as one leads
to another.
Buried under burdensome annoyances we can feel lost, afraid or confused.
Take Jake for instance. He didn't pay his taxes for two years. The IRS put
a lien on his assets, so he was labelled a bad credit risk. He couldn't buy a
house or rent an apartment. Eventually he lost his credit cards. He was
caught in a downward spiral that also undermined his confidence and self
esteem. Linda let her parking tickets pile high and never got around to
paying them. She became afraid to drive her car because she might get
to wed. Concerned about driving to work, she eventually lost her job. A
small detail led to a bigger concern, which led to an even worse problem.
Carol had a room in her home that she called the "black hole," filled with
incomplete items. Since she and her husband were trying to sell their house,
she knew it was time to tackle that project. She came up with a list of over
one hundred "items to do." They included returning things she had borrowed,
writing letters, even mailing back an inexpensive bracelet she had stolen from
her local drug store when she was a teenager. It took some time and effort, but
with each item she handled, Carol felt lighter and freer. Within a few weeks of
completing her list, they easily sold their house. Completion creates freedom.
The First Steps - This powerful process of exploring whats been left unsaid, undone
or incomplete in your life is one of the most awesome things you can do to free
yourself and have more access to your dreams. If undertaken to the best of
your ability, this may be the most profound thing you have ever done. Look
at all these important areas and use this formula as a guide to scrutinize your
life. The areas to explore (but are not limited to) include your body, mind,
home, work, finance, and people (living and dead).
1. Write down what you feel incomplete about with anyone or anything.
2. List what you need to do to complete it.
3. Complete as many items as possible.
How do you complete something? You may need to write a letter or make
a phone call. You may need to forgive someone or just declare "it's over."
On some items, you might need to create a project plan or you might not
even know yet. Just do your best to get rid of anything that is weighing
you down. Removing clutter will give you greater clarity and energy for
the things that are important to you. As you complete what you can,
feelings of pride, accomplishment, and peace of mind, can motivate you
to take on even the tough things. Free to move forward, now you can tap
into the flow of life. The more your life is in order, the faster and easier
your ability to manifest dreams will become. It's just that simple.
