A Glimpse Into A Possibility Of How Life Can Be

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This may seem simplistic. When I wrote it out I wondered if it was as amazing as it actually feels. There can be such a difference between hearing a theory that resonates with you and actually implementing it in your life...

Ever had that experience? For example, where you know that forgiveness is freeing, it sounds simple, but that actually doing it is sooooo hard? But when you do - when you forgive and let go, that 'free-ness' is amazing.

Or, one that is close to my heart, that when you allow the fear you feel in and sit with it you can get through it. You get more empowered and the fear diminishes. Yeah. Not an easy one but when you actually do it, it is true and liberating.

So the other day I had an insight into how life could be for me.

What if I just stop putting needless pressure on myself and design my day the way I really want it to go - so I can enjoy it and look forward to it?

Simple? Sounds like it should be - so why have I not allowed myself this before? I've come so far in making significant changes in my life so I can live a life that is more mine. Now that I am here why am I allowing myself to not enjoy the things I have chosen??? I'm ridiculous aren't I??

We all put shoulds, musts and have-tos into our lives that drain so much of the fun and enjoyment out of our everydays. What if we were able to remove this needless pressure and go about doing stuff in a way that gives us joy, bliss and laughter? Plus how about ensuring we work in some obviously pleasurable things?

What if we could change our perspectives on some of those less fun tasks and see how they fit into our bigger picture and therefore do them with more delight? If they have to be done, why can't we choose to do them with more pleasure and enjoy the necessity?

My **SPARKLY** (I emphasise that because she does sprinkle sparkle wherever she goes with her tiara and awesome self) friend Denise over at Concert Chick wrote a fabulous related post about being Peacefully Productive.

I find that because I'm looking at all the things that need to be done that I am not doing I think I need to make more time for them so I don't schedule the fun stuff - catching up with friends, going for a lovely walk.

So now...
I am choosing to stop putting that needless pressure on myself. I choose to enjoy my days a whole lot more! I choose to view my shoulds/musts/have-tos with more understanding and have more fun with them. This is all done with the view of peaceful productivity, gleefully working towards my awesome goals and joyfully waking up and looking forward to my day.

Sounds good, right?! Here we go!

How do you want to feel everyday? How will you make that happen?
 
Make it as you wish SSSs!

A Life Less Ordinary

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Back in the days before The Man danced into my life and I was a single gal, I remember coming across people's dating profiles.

So many of them stated, "I'm just a normal guy, looking for a normal girl..." or some permutation of the like.

My reaction was always, WHO WANTS BORING NORMAL?? WHO WANTS THINGS TO BE 'ORDINARY'??

Okay, so we might not be searching for abnormal, but don't we want something a little different and unique? And I believe this doesn't only go for relationships - it is relevant for life in general. We deserve the best.

I want extraordinary.

 

I want my life full of magic and the 'impossible'. Of love soaring to heights I didn't believe true.

I want to be the best I can be. To experience wonderment and awe in my everyday.

To be and see the spectacular and the fantastic.

So how do we do that?

So much of this has to do with our perception of the world around us and within us. We can make ordinary situations into extraordinary ones with how we engage with them.

For example, you can just see a weed growing in an unlikely place or you can see it and experience the wonder of it being able to grow there. You can accept breakfast in bed with a gracious thanks or you can super appreciate it and shower the giver with gratitude and feel how lucky you are to have that person in your life. Notice the difference?

Appreciate how you react to situations and deal with things. Feel you are capable and pat yourself on the back for accomplishing even the smallest things. See then how it makes you feel! We can take for granted our innate abilities or we can look inside and cheer them on :)

Another thing we can do is raise our standards and expect good. If you are forever expecting little out of life or yourself how will you see when great things come along? Raise your expectation bit by bit. Expect good and you will see more of it around you. Yes it can be challenging but give it a go! Trust me - it is worth it! Can you see the good in that?

Are you with me SSSs?? Make it extraordinary and as you wish!

My Portable Office

I mostly work from home, but also work at the 10thousandgirl shared space once a week and then at random places on an ad hoc basis when I just need to get out!

This means I have to have all my important stuff together so I can do what I need to wherever I am.

Some people are very minimalist. I am not one of those people.

I am visual - I need paper.
I need lists I can see and schedules that are in front of me.

So here are the items that make up my portable office (and yes, sometimes I am really daggy and I cart them around in a wheelie case - it was not sexy enough to photograph for this post.):

Phone & Headphones

I love listening to podcasts on the go and the headphones are also good for handsfree conversations.

iPad

I gave up on my internet dongler because it really was hopeless! Now I just quickly check and send emails from the iPad if necessary.

 

 Laptop & Mouse

I don't like the mouse on the laptop so I always have my wireless mouse on hand. It is especially helpful when I'm fussing around with excel spreadsheets and jumping between different programs.

Diary/Organizer/Planner

I cannot live without my planner. It has all my important information in it and its where I schedule and prioritise what is going on in my week.

 

Blog Planner

Since I created my own blog planner I wonder how I survived before! It helps me plan what posts should be ready when and keeps it altogether and clear for my chaotic mind.

 

Notebook

While my diary keeps me on track I use my notebook to scribble out plans and details of the projects I'm working on. I prefer paper first and then I put things together and edit on the computer.

Pencil Case

It makes such a difference writing and planning in colour with nice pens as opposed to just boring old blue or black ink. That's why I carry around my pink polka dot pencil case. It holds all the important writing and work tools including:

Whiteout

Pens

Coloured markers

Highlighters

USB stick

Post its

So, that is my portable office!

Do you lug around as much as I do or are you much more minimalist or digital??


Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne

Life is Like A Bus (and a box of chocolates)

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My bus analogy for life's crap...

I was catching the bus a lot while making my daily commute to the admin office (aka the twilight zone and unfortunately not in the vampire kind of way) last year. While sitting there with handbag and jacket piled on me and crossing my legs and balancing my iPad on top of aforementioned mountain of things, I felt the sway and force of every corner.

I noticed that the more I tried to right myself against the turns the more I thought I was going to topple over. On the other hand, if I relaxed and just let the turns move me, I never fell off my seat and the ride became a lot more comfortable (well, except perhaps for the person sitting next to me).

Such a small thing, but I gained such an insight into a life parallel:

Lean into the curves life throws at you. 

By going with it, rather than fighting against it, the experience is actually shorter and smoother.

You might have experienced it when having to do a project you don't like but have to do. Or you might have been faced with a change 'forced upon you' (job redundancy, relationship breakup). By 'resisting' it, you make the process a lot more difficult for yourself and it becomes a longer-term shadow hanging over you.

On a deeper level you may be resisting some issue (fear, problem relationship, health concern) going on by ignoring it or suppressing it. Then,when it rears its not-so-pretty head it becomes a much bigger, painful issue than if you had tackled it head on.

Yes, the situation may be painful or uncomfortable but by refusing to accept it it can become a more drawn out, challenging time than if you surrendered into the experience.

Which leads me to a saying that I can now totally relate to:

"What you resist persists" - Carl Jung

How have you experienced this in your life? Have you had other instances where you've flowed through something, even though it was tough and nipped it in the bud? What was the outcome like?

So next time an issue arises, see if you are resisting it. Or if you could surrender into it and play with it a little to have a better experience through a challenging time. Remember how fun the game 'corners' was in the car when you were younger?? It's like that - lean into the curves. Life's more fun that way...

Ride life like a bus SSSs!
Arienne xo

Ch..Ch...Changes and Patience

There is a lot of change going on in my life. Changes that I am responsible for and excited about but that also can be exhausting!

I have been working towards a lot in the area of my career and business. Wonderful things have started to take seed and build momentum. People and things are appearing to help me, to support me and show me that this life I am building is right.

Sometimes through all of this (even though I know in my heart of hearts that I am heading in the right direction) I still have those vulnerable moments. Those moments where self doubt surfaces. Where I ask if I am enough to help others. Where I question if this is worth all the 'stuff' we have to go through to be the master of our own destiny!

I had one of those days this week. Then, literally the first picture I saw the next morning was an illustration about not giving up during the struggle. The FIRST thing I saw when I opened up good old facebook as I started to wake up to the day. Wow! I truly believe that wasn't a coincidence. I choose to recognise that as a sign of something amazing supporting me.

It reminded me that I need to be patient with myself. That even though I have planted seeds and am tending vigorously to my garden, it will take time for my flowers to blossom - to build myself and my business up. That some of the people I have been comparing myself to have been in business for years. That just because you start working out, it doesn't mean you will see results straight away..

A lot is happening at once - which is absolutely wonderful. But I just need to breathe through some of it. I'm also being more understanding with myself - that even though I plan for a lot, it doesn't always all HAVE to happen now. Yes, I have to work hard, but I can work hard in a way that helps me, not in a way that overwhelms and negatively effects me.

I'm proud that there are some extremely important things than I have managed to maintain amidst the craziness. I'm sooooo proud that I've maintained regular workouts because I know how important that is to my general health and how much stronger I then am to deal with everything that goes on.

So this week I am reminding myself of the positive things I can do that will support me - exercise, spend quality time with quality people, setting up the 3 most important things to complete each day and take positive action towards them and giving myself only 2-3 outcomes for the week.

And I'm aware of not doing the things that ultimately hinder me - overscheduling/overcommitting myself to others, planning in too many tasks for myself then getting into overwhelm and doing 'busy' work that really gets me nowhere.

What are you doing that supports you and are you aware of the things that can hinder you in the upcoming week?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Your True Life Vision Takes Courage

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When you start acknowledging that you want 'more' in your life, it can be scary. The questions start to come up. Does wanting more mean you need to change everything at once? Does it mean all the good stuff will change too? Does saying it out loud mean you need to make drastic changes immediately?

Then that bloody unhelpful voice kicks in saying, "you can't do it silly, you don't have enough skills or confidence or knowhow AND you're waaaaaaaay too lazy/stupid/unworthy. Besides, even if you did attempt it you would probably fail, fail, FAAAAAIIIIIILLLLLLL!!!!!!"

Does any of that sound familiar?

These questions, answers and thoughts often overwhelm us so much so that we stay in inaction.  The result is that you are left yearning for the wonderful possibilities out there but feeling like you just don't know how to reach them. That gap then exists between where you are now and where you would like to be and that void is often a source of unhappiness...

Does any of that ring a bell?

Change can be daunting. It is the unknown! Is full of uncertainty!  Breaking out from the status quo often is. It means stretching out of your comfort zone when sometimes staying in the 'zone' is well...comfortably warm and safe - like those favourite gungy trackie pants you have (comfy but really not really all that exciting). Plus, the future can feel like it is fraught with potential challenges and 'danger'.

But is it really safe to stay there? Well, if you want an 'okay' life then yes it is. But if you want an amazing life, one that you are truly enamoured with, then the comfort zone becomes a dangerous place to be. It becomes unsafe because you are already aware that there is a better option of life for you out there while you are where you are now. In my experience, if you know it but ignore it, 'things' (blocks barriers, frustration, mediocrity, sickness, unhappiness, unease) happen until you pay attention.

You have to ask yourself if the vision you see in your dreams is worth leaving the status quo and making the effort to get there:

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin

All I know is that I want a great life. A great life on my own terms. A life I can look back on and say, "Wooooohaaaaaa I gave it my all! I tried and I got more than I could ever dream of. Sometimes I attempted something and even though I was reaching for the stars and I ended up catching the dreamy moon and other times I tried and and I 'failed' but I learned and at least I wasn't left wondering...what if and kicking myself because I didn't have the guts to give it a go."


I am finding the courage to make my life the way I want. I am stepping out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there into the unknown. I am being brave in the face of difficult questions and challenging situations.  I am looking things in the eye and trusting myself that I will find a solution. It is not easy and I get scared. I question myself. I sometimes wonder if another way would be easier. But because I TRULY know it is worth the effort, I'm building my strengths in self-belief, courage and taking forward action. I'm enjoying my today while putting things in place for my tomorrow. For this I am being rewarded with so much magic and so much support showing up in my world.

Trust me, you want to do it without the need for life/death experiences to wake you up to what life can be.

Wake up now if there are parts of your life that are just okay. Wake up now if there are parts you love and parts you hate. Wake up now if it all seems not so fabulous. Because if you do, if you really stand up and look for it, there is a lot of great out there and your life can be so much more than you once thought was possible.

I say all of this as a person who was once in the darkest hell hole you could imagine and is now living in much more sunshine. I'm still on my journey with all its challenges and all its glories but I am so grateful I gave life a go.

What is something you can do today to take a step towards where you want to go and who you want to be? What could you acknowledge or admit that feels true to you without necessarily having to do anything about it yet? How can you give your life a go?

Make it as you wish SSSs. MAKE. IT. AS. YOU. WISH.
Arienne xo

The Savvy Sassy She Manifesto

I've always wanted to create a manifesto. I love them. They give me inspiration and lift me when my mood is down. It is a bit of a framework to guide my life.

On my wall of inspiration I have the Lululemon Manifesto, The Holstee Manifesto, Goddess Leonie's How to Be A Goddess and the Hip Tranquil Chick Manifesto.

So, introducing The Savvy Sassy She Manifesto! I can't seem to upload it for download via the blog so if you would like a copy please feel free to email me (savvysassyshe@gmail.com) and I'll shoot a PDF version to you. Then you can print it out if you so wish!

If the pic is too small and you'd like to actually be able to ready what it says here it is:

THE SAVVY SASSY SHE MANIFESTO

Be You.

Define your ideal life and go about making it happen.

Get yourself inspired.

Feel the sunshine.

Review and plan regularly. Then prioritise and focus.

Be spontaneous.

Do things with enthusiasm. It makes a difference.

Give back.

Acknowledge and thank those who have helped you.

Trust in this moment. And in the future.

Celebrate and rejoice.

Write and dream in your journal.

Go natural.

Stop sleepwalking. Live on purpose.

Make time for you.

Improve all areas that are important to you.

Dream big. Take massive action to make them a reality.

Surprise people.

Make things your kind of beautiful.

Have a bucket list and start checking things off.

Nurture your strengths and talents.

Create memories.

Cherish loved ones.
Let go of things that don’t serve you.

Question the status quo.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Believe in yourself.

Breathe deeply.

Show up.

Listen, then respond.

Define success for yourself.

Learn.

Surround yourself with things that make you beam.

Start traditions.

Stop beating yourself up.

Be grateful and appreciate the small and the big.

Take responsibility for your life.

Receive.

Give compliments.

Approach everything with a creative flair.

Leverage your skills.

Add value to everything.

Connect with yourself.

Do the things that make you feel great. Without guilt.

Feel it, then let it go.

Smile.

Laugh a lot. Laugh at yourself.

Create.

Care for others, but put yourself first.

Move your body.

Eat well, then indulge.

Sing loudly.

Reach out.

See the good.

Sip nourishing liquids. Green juice it up.

Love.

Ask.

Be adventurous. Try new things.

Give things a chance.

Be passionate.

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year SSSs!

Get excited and get involved in 2012.

Make it your year.

Make it the year you finally did .....................!

Make it memorable.

I wish you every joy and happiness.

Make those moments count.

Laugh. Cry. Celebrate. Dream. Love.

Be you and take steps to create a life that is more you!

Make it as you wish!

Love, Arienne

 

My 2011 Highlights and Events

My favourite moment of the year came on the 28th December when The Man asked me to be his wife

 

So as part of my 2011 review I went through my organiser and picked out a few highlights and events of the year. It was a really great exercise to appreciate what I experienced and accomplished in the year and it also gave me hints as to what I want to achieve for 2012.

JANUARY

   At the chalet with family

   Flew premium economy

   Weekend away to Taree for Miss C's birthday

   Miss C living with us

FEBRUARY

   Joined Toastmasters

   Started raw food experiment

   Started exercise routine – Bootycamp

MARCH

   UN Women’s Day Breakfast

   10thousandgirl Launch

   Spoke at government department

   Completed 3 weeks of raw food

   Fantastic friend's wedding at Port Macquarie

   Co-facilitated 10thousandgirl Life Planning workshop

   Dale Beaumont Seminar

APRIL

   Dad arrives to stay!

   Decided to revamp my 10thousandgirl role

MAY

   Started Issey contract

   Co-facilitated Canberra 10thousandgirl Workshop

   30^th birthday – dinner and Party

   Immigration Visa granted!

   Co-facilitated Sydney 10thousandgirl Workshop

   Did Joie de Vivre e-course

JUNE

   Started content role with 10thousandgirl

   Third eye meditation workshop

   Went to Perth

   Theta Healing workshops – basic and advanced

   Did first 10thousandgirl podcast

   Reached goal weight - yay!

JULY

   Weekend away in the mountains with Lissanthea, Bryanna and Zoe

   Joined JCI

   Got Zander

   Bucket List Podcast included in Canadian textbook

SEPTEMBER

   Weekend away at The Entrance to celebrate 2 year anniversary

   Decided to seriously focus on SSS

   Seminar – Kiyosaki, Robbins, Trump

   Aunty arrives

   Good friend has baby

OCTOBER

   London trip

   Qantas strike

NOVEMBER

   One of my best friends has her baby

   Last steering committee meeting

   Facilitated Geelong 10thousandgirl Workshop

   T Harv Eker Millionaire Mind Intenstive

   Started temp work at Notre Dame

   Decided to write book

DECEMBER

   Family Christmas in Sydney (minus the sister Liane)

   Lil sister Tatiane visted for holidays

   Started family recipes and tradition

   Engagment!

   NYE at good friend's house with Family

What were  your highlights SSSs? Why not go through your diary and pull out a summary of events and highlights that were in your 2011?

Make it as you wish SSSs,

Arienne xo