Week 8

            This last week has been a little rough.  My hours at work are increasing which I plan for, but I was also battling a cough which turned into something only treatable with anti-biotics. I was also asked mid-week to speak when one of the speakers could not be there. Let’s just say I was overwhelmed and thought about just crawling into bed and staying there. But without trials where is the challenge to push through and succeed?

            In Elder Hollands talk (not that my little crazy week compared to anything in his example) his quotes and his story give courage and strength to continue.  This is my second year working through this season while continuing my education, it is tough.  I hit a period in the middle and I just want to quit. I’m tired, overwhelmed, stressed and I’m not sleeping well. I cannot seem to shut my mind off at night. Then I am reminded that I can do hard things. With the Lords help I can meet goals and achieve dreams.  I just cannot quit. “Victory, Victory through Him that redeemed us Victory, Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I’m going to be ok and I’m not going to quit.  Each day is a new day, a day to do better, try harder and to succeed.

Week 7

            Stephen R. Covey states, “Our character is basically a composite of our habits.” He then adds, “Habits are powerful factors in our lives because they express our character and produce our effectiveness.”  

            We all have good habits and bad habits. I think the challenge is to keep the good habits going while breaking or changing the bad ones. I find myself looking back to how I got to where I am.  What changes have I made and what do I need to do to improve? I would like to think my character is good and strong but we don’t always look at ourselves through clean and clear mirror.

             President Gordon B. Hinckley said is his talk to the Young women “Be true to yourselves, my dear friends. Be true to one another, your friends and associates. Look for the good in those about you, and emphasize that good.” Staying true to yourself is one of the biggest challenges we are faced with. It is too easy to allow others to dictate how or what we are going to do. Finding the good in others helps to remove the focus from ourselves and the sometimes selfishness I get caught up in. When I am aware of those around me who might be in need I am looking to help them and losing the self-absorption in my own life.      

Week 6

This week we covered a lot of material pertaining to self-mastering. How do we choose the path and stay on the course. A few thoughts have been on my mind about this.

  I started back to school a few years ago in the Pathway program.  I registered basically out of the blue when the opportunity came.  I have always wanted to get a degree and I decided to give it another shot. In the beginning it took a bit to find my footing. I had not been to school in several years, it was new and intimidating.  But I found my rhythm and everything smoothed out.  I have sense hit a few turbulences but I have not quit, even though the temptation was there.   

 I am no longer a spring chicken, or let’s say I am a grandmother, a young one but still getting up there. My heath has been ok but over the last year I have had to make some adjustments in my life.  These include medicine, diet changes and being very consistent in my exercise.  The medicines and the exercise I have done a while so this was not a problem, the diet on the other hand has been a challenge.  I love dark chocolate. I could eat it every day, in fact I did.  But for the last month and a half, no sugar or chocolate. It was tough in the beginning I will admit but as time went on it just became part of an every day normal. 

Self-mastery comes in different ways and for different reasons but they are good and worth it when they change your life for the better. It is deciding what we must do to become who we are meant to be and then dong it. 

Week 5

            “Do I have the faith and courage to find my entrepreneur calling?”  Will I lose sight of what is the most important thing in my life? How will I stay on track? This week has been enlightening in how to live your life.  “Live every moment of your life like it matters, because it does”, “what matters most is not what the hero wins but what the hero learns in the end”. Living a life of meaning is so much more important than just making money.  What are you willing to sacrifice for money?

            Money is not the most important thing, we need money to live and survive but I know what’s most important is how much money we think we need. Sure I want to earn enough money to be comfortable, but I do not want to sacrifice everything else for it. I want to spend time with my family. I want treat others with respect. I want to look in the mirror every night and know I have made good decisions. I want to be honest, trustworthy, friendly and kind.  I want to treat others how I want to be treated.  This is a lot of I wants.

            Do I know what my calling is yet? Not really. I am hoping as I continue watching and reading about others I will find a little clarity.  

Week 4

            This week the question was certainly the most thought provoking, “How will you measure your life?”  It stirred great reflection and not a small amount of doubt. When you add these three more precise questions I do feel more at ease.

1.    Will I be happy in my career?  For the most part my career has been wife and mother.  Was I happy? Yes, I loved doing it, I still love it even though I have moved on to being a grandmother.  What about the outside the home part. I have had the opportunity to work at a direct selling business which allows be to be creative, meet new people and earn some extra funds when needed. Does it make me happy? Yes, but I now also work for a small CPA firm and I like this as well.

2.    What about my relationships? This crosses the boundaries from family and friends to work and other outside relationships. I have some great friends, I love my immediate and extended family and we see each other often.  I also enjoy the new relationships I have made working. 

3.    How do I stay out of jail? So far so good!  It is about the priorities in your life. The most important things to me are my relationships and especially with my family, but also friends. When you surround yourself with good people you will be good also.

Reflections are good for us.  We need to look at ourselves in the mirror under direct sunlight.  Take a really good look and hopefully you will like what you see, if not it is time to do some changing.