Back to Your ‘Self’

Hi Everyone!  I’m reblogging a post from Ellie at Invisible Sun today.  In order to help each of us find our Inner Hotshot, I think we need to find our way back to ourselves and Ellie’s post is just the ticket to help you start!  Please enjoy and make sure you click on her link so that you can subscribe to her blog!  Thanks Ellie! ♥

The Art of Finding Your Way Back to Your ‘Self’

http://blog.myinvisiblesun.com/the-ar-of-finding-your-way-back-to-your-self/

While getting settled in our new home, I stumbled across a bin of memorabelia I’ve been lugging around since I left my parent’s home when I was 18.  Stuff like yearbooks, awards, pictures, letters passed in the hallway, report cards, and a few projects I did along the way were tightly packed in this time capsule.

Eventually I came across a report that I did in 4th grade on the State of New Jersey, and I immediately noticed many qualities about my work.  My cursive handwriting was impeccable, stylized and artistic.  (Ahh, the lost art of cursive writing!!)  The report had beautiful presentation, with lots of colorful, detailed drawings of various images relating to New Jersey.

Now that I have kids of my own, I could clearly see that this was impressive work for a 4th grader, and my teacher thought so too as he gave me 4 A’s on the project.   After viewing my work from the perspective of an older, wiser version of myself, what immediately came to mind was my mom telling me just a couple of years back that my elementary school had mentioned to her on several occassions that I was very artistic.  I then began to retrace the years in my mind, and realized there were so many clues along the way to validate my talents, interests and passions but for whatever reason they were not pursued.

Why didn’t I continue on a path to pursue my passion for art and presentation?  Where did I get off track?  Why did no one, myself included, pick up on the recurrence of these clues?  Instead, I went on to study Finance in college, feeling unfulfilled by a career in Financial Services.

Interestingly, since being at home raising my kids, I have ventured into several creative endeavors.  I opened a small boutique for the home in Reading, Massachusetts, and I launched Invisible Sun in November of 2011.  After having a chance to explore creative opportunities, returning to a career in Financial Services is so far off my radar at this point.

Finding this report and launching myself back to a younger version of myself shifted my perspective of myself today and how I should guide myself (career-wise) into the future.  It was an absolute validation that my passion for art, creativity and presentation was present very early in my life.

The source of our creative expression, our purpose and our passions resides in the essence of who we are, and it is my belief that the essence of who we are is in its purest form when we are children, before external factors influence our behavior, gel our limiting beliefs, taking us farther and farther away from who we are.  The exercise of making a reconnection with an earlier version of yourself can truly short-circuit you to the essence of who you are.

One way I stay connected is by keeping a picture of myself as a little girl on my desk.

As you try to reconnect with the essence of who you are to, ask youself some questions:

• What did I love to do as a kid?
• What was my favorite subject in school?
• Where did my interests gravitate?
• Did something come along that mesmerized me?
• What did people compliment me for?
• Who were my friends?
• What attracted me to those friends?
• What what did my friends and I love to do?

As you look at your answers, ask yourself if you still feel a strong connection to yourself as a child or is there a disconnect?  If there is a disconnect, try to pinpoint the stage of your life you may have gotten off track.

If you’ve been lugging around bins of memorabilia like me, dig them out!  Reacquaint yourself with an earlier version of yourself.  It’s like coming home, and once you open up the ‘vault,’ you’ll find yourself peeling back more layers every day.  I liken the process to loosening up the soil before planting a new plant.  Sure, it takes time and energy to unearth the essence of who we are, but it’s a interesting journey worth taking.

Another great way to help unearth your ‘self’ is by listening to music you listened to as a kid because it will bring many great memories to the surface that will offer you more clues!  I’m always amazed by how I can still recall lyrics to songs I haven’t heard in decades.

Let me know how it’s going for you, and if you have any other tips about how you’ve made a reconnection with your ‘self,’ leave a comment!

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Hopefully you’ve found something that clicks for you!

Tomorrow’s the day we begin to stretch out of our comfort zones!

Do you know what your baby step is?

Shine On!

xo

100 Posts ~ Gratitude Goal!

Thank You!

Today celebrates my 100th post on my blog and I want to begin by thanking all of my readers.  I started this blog to reach out to others, to inspire, to be of service and to spread the knowledge I’ve gained through my life experiences.  Using cards as my springboard, I’ve tried to bring an inspiring message to you with every post.

I’ve had a bit of time to think lately as I’ve been recuperating and I’ve come up with a goal that I am hoping you might want to participate in.  I’ve been talking a lot about gratitude these days and I’ve got a lot to be grateful for in my life…and I’ve a lot of people to be grateful for in my life.  I’ve written a ton of thank you notes recently as many people have come to the aid of my family and me by bringing dinner over, sending flowers, sending little gifts in the mail, sending prayer cards and even just sending ‘thinking of you’ cards which have brightened my every day.  Truly I am blessed.  I loved getting that unexpected card in the mail among the bills and junk mail.  My eyes lit up every time someone brought me an envelope with my name on it because to me, it was like a little piece of Heaven…you thought of me enough to pick out a card, write a heartfelt message, address, stamp and mail it to me so that I could have something special to open…how fantastic is that!

There are many books out now, like The Magic, which reiterate that we should be grateful, be cognizant of the blessings we have already and as you concentrate on those multitude of blessings that you already have, more come your way.  I agree with counting your blessings and living a life of gratitude.  I’ve kept a gratitude journal a la Oprah which has helped to keep my positivity in check…and has grown my blessings and miracles enormously.

But I’m finding that I want to do more, globally and reach out to others with that gratitude.  A smile, a polite thank you in our daily lives to those who show us kindnesses is one way to show gratitude, but what if we were to take it a step further and say it…say thank you with a card…a heartfelt message to someone to whom you are grateful?  Imagine the amazing benefits to you and to the recipient if you were to write a heartfelt message of gratitude to a friend and the priceless feelings it would give that person when they opened a special card from you saying thank you.

Maya Angelou wrote,

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

My goal is to send a heartfelt card a day to someone whom I am grateful for ~ I’m going to do it for 30 days ~ a card a day.   I will post my journey each day so that you come along with me.  I’d love for you to join me as my goal is to get 100 people to send a card a day for 30 days.  Imagine what we could do by sending out love & gratitude  everyday for 30 days to 30 different people?  Imagine the impact it would make on our little world…of course, my mind races with what if’s…what if 1000 people did it for 30 days and so on…

If you’re interested in joining me, let me know…it’ll cost about $1 a day, you can do it from you computer and you may even change your life…what if we started a movement of gratitude?  A wave of gratitude which knows no bounds…

Join me on this journey…let’s change the world, one card at a time…

Thank you for reading my blog…I am grateful to all of you!

xo