Identify yourself

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."- Albert Einstein

When it comes to the question of what I do and who I am?, I prefer to always ask myself who am I? I know it is common for what we do to take up so much of our identity. How do you identify yourself? I have made a transition from defining myself by what I do to who I am as a person. I believe the above quote describes this well. Raising your value and investing in yourself can only lead you to success.

I am grateful that who I am matters in my inner circles. Who I am takes note of the smallest things that ignite happiness; collecting smiles from strangers, the joy in the colors of the sunset... Who I am is interested in growing and learning new things about myself and the world around me. I appreciate my power circles for exploring how we can live our best lives.

There are so much more ways to identify yourself. The layers among us all are endless. We are mothers, daughters, sisters among other things. We take on many identities at one time. I think it is important to let yourself choose as opposed to be assigned identities. From the moment to the next we may make a choice to take on an appropriate identity for a given situation. We pull from these lenses to make the most out of any situation.

3 choices that can change your life

Choices are key to all of our lives. We make more choices than we realize. Everyday, moment to moment. For the best outcomes, I rely on 3 activities that I continue to engage in regularly:

Being open: Choosing to be open is about learning how to be secure enough in yourself to go with the flow. Learning is a life long duty. Being open allows for learning to take place. It is a learning choice. For openness to work for you, you must know when you are getting tense and starting to close yourself off. You must raise your awareness of how you are present.

Taking quiet time: the most popular way to carve out quiet time is probably meditation. I do prefer this method and I also literally can use a moment without noise. A moment with silence, without movement, without reacting to anything around me. Quiet time is about listening out for any messages that may arrive within you. For me, this is done successfully with training the mind to silence the many other voices and focus on the one I know I need to listen to.

Trusting yourself: Our biggest obstacle can be ourselves. It is up to you whether you choose to drink the water or not. Trusting yourself in how you respond and what choice you make. No one knows yourself like you do. No one else feels what you feel. No one else can make decisions for you. You get to choose and can make a choice in all situations. Going with your instincts and overwhelming feelings usually lead to the best outcome.

Now there is more awareness surrounding your choices, will you drink the water or not? It is always up to you. Gain confidence in your choices and how you arrive at them.

Anniversary

"Do you know what today is?, it's our anniversary."-Anniversary by Tony!Toni!Tone!

I recently completed two years of posts! Thanks everyone! This makes me think about anniversaries and how we celebrate. Celebrating the smaller milestones help us to get to the larger ones. How do you set anniversaries? Are your relationship milestones celebrated at an equal or larger rate than your career milestones? or any other areas of your life for that matter?

We tend to think of couples when we think of anniversaries. Anniversaries are usually associated with relationship celebrations. The couple chooses the date and celebrates around the date as much as they want to or don't want to. The date might be their first meeting, or a day they decided to be partnered up. Much like birthdays, I guess except we did not choose that date. Thanks to social media and sites like linkedin.com, anniversaries don't only have to be about couples. Work anniversaries are recognized. What other anniversaries do you celebrate?

Anniversaries are great to set to celebrate small and large accomplishments. Celebrating the small ones, help work up to keep us motivated for the big ones. A friend of mine just recently purchased her first home. It is great to watch her celebrate by hosting people. I can see that her closing date will be an important anniversary to celebrate. What are other ways in which we can celebrate significant milestones?

Everyone deserves a celebration. Celebrate all that you are. Regardless of setting dates or not, you still can celebrate. Setting dates is a reminder for us to celebrate. What will you choose to set anniversaries dates for? Put your dates on the calendar and dare to make actual plans to celebrate. Don't wait for others to celebrate you, honor who you are and take the initiative.