Altering Expectations

On this path to mastery I believe we all have a high level of expectations for ourselves.  We have decided on a list of goals that are personal and are chosen with the intention of adding to and bettering our lives.  What we forget is that life will happen and sometimes the goals we strive to reach have to be altered.    

Like most of us I have a level of expectations for myself whether it’s in my family life, job, kung fu, around home etc.  To be honest sometimes the expectations I set for myself are not the most realistic for the time.  I find it extremely easy to get discouraged when I lack the time or energy to work towards meeting the level of accomplishment I believe I should.  After a couple of conversations this past week I have been led to think on the fact that I may have to alter my expectations some for certain things.  I’m not talking about giving up because it’s hard; it’s supposed to be, but rather changing my perspective, approach, time line or possibly my goal all together.  Life happens, things change and the reality is that in order for me to continue to progress in life, I’m going to have to roll with the punches a little.  Injuries happen, life circumstances happen and people change and with that I may need to be a little less rigid on sticking to what I wrote down on paper at the beginning of this year.  I need to learn to give myself a little grace from time to time, not an excuse but rather grace.  I need to accept the things I can’t change and continue to work to change those things that I can.  There are moments where I will have to accept that I will not meet the level I strive to but be grateful for every step forward I am able to make.  Sometimes I may have to go two steps back in order to get one step forward; it’s the journey I need to focus on rather than the destination. 

As easy as it is to say ‘I need to…’, I’m not exactly sure how to go about it completely.  I am very much a work in progress!  So if you see me walking around in circles lost as to direction or asleep in the corner please don’t hesitate to point me in the right direction or pinch to wake me up.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Something To Think About

I have to first apologize for being a couple of days late with my blog.  I can use the excuse of life is crazy, and it is, but the truth is I haven’t been getting much sleep and am tired beyond tired and with that my ability to think straight and make a sentence one may understand is a long shot, no guarantees on this one either.

“I’ve learned people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou

This quote came up in a workshop I attended last week, I’ve heard it before, liked it then and still like it.  It’s a statement that spoke a little louder to me with the extra awareness of acts of kindness this month.  It is so very true that we can have the best intentions with our words and actions but can miss just how these are sometimes perceived by those around us. We can give of our time and energy to a person and yet forget to take the time to say the words “I love you.”  We can do the paperwork to help someone get a better deal or work out a problem but never take the time to truly listen.  We can send quick texts checking up on friends or wishing a happy birthday but rarely pick up the phone to really talk. 

As we come closer to the end of the month I encourage everyone not to focus only on the ‘doing’ acts of kindness but to take the moment to think just how you make people feel by your actions. Have a great rest of your week everyone!

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Mindset

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Property Awareness Safety Training.  The intent for sending our group was to help make each of know the importance of being aware of our surroundings and to help us to make wise decisions when dealing with possible situations that can be dangerous in our jobs.  I have to say for the most part a lot seemed like common sense; however, common sense to one person differs greatly to another.  The added fact that most of us after doing a job for any length of time have a tendency to become complacent and therefore not take the necessary precautions in our everyday tasks.  During the entire presentation I saw repeatedly different lessons I have learnt in my Kung Fu.  Hearing them mentioned outside of the kwoon had a way of reinforcing just how valid they are in different areas of my life. 

A large portion of the presentation focused on the importance of mindset.  As our instructor said, “Prepare your mind like you would prepare your body.”  The point of how important the mental preparation is was not lost on me.  I have realized and continue to be reminded of that on a regular basis in all aspects of my life.  A proper mindset requires me to be more engaged with the moment. Where I am mentally in all I do determines how successful I will be. 

The points made on mental preparation:

-         Complacency is your enemy

-         You need the ability to adapt and change

-         Continue re-assessment

-         Confidence in skills and abilities

-         Elimination of distractions

Many of these should sound vaguely familiar to most of us J.  The mental component of our training is huge and to some underestimated.  I know for myself that in looking back at my greatest failures, I can now see that I had the wrong mindset.  For some I believed that the physical was all it took and in others I approached with either a negative or just an unprepared mindset. Although many of those moments were humbling and frustrating, they were the lessons I needed to and actually did learn the most. Being in the right place, at the right time and for the right reasons will help you to find success in the goals you have set out for yourself.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

A New Routine...Again.

Well the sun is shining, frogs are croaking and the geese are back to stay, I hope.  Work is back in full swing and I find myself trying to get into a new routine once again.  There seems to be a shortage of time most days and the evenings and weekends go way too fast.  With Kayden playing on two soccer teams, track and field, kung fu and just everyday life stuff, Sunday is our family’s only day of rest or so we try. It seems once I feel I kind of have things figured out they change and I get to start all over again.

As mentioned in our last meeting, the two things we can count on are that we are going to get old and we are going to die.  The past couple of weeks I’m kind of feeling the getting older part a little bit more.  Nothing seems as easy as it did in my 20’s and there seems to be many more creaks and crunches with any movement.  With all that being said I’m even more certain that I need to change how I do a lot of things, many that I have just done without much thought up to now.  My job is physically demanding and has me needing to find new creative ways to accomplish some things.  I love what I do.  Being outside is the best office in the world and dealing mostly with plants is a pleasure; they never talk back and offer no drama. 

So as I try to develop a routine that is sustainable without going a little crazy, I am enjoying this time of year.  Best sound in the world is frogs croaking and kids laughter, best smell is fresh cut grass and the best view is the new life of everything around me coming back from the long winter.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca