goals | The Sunshine Factor

September 8, 2013
by Debb Stanton 4 Comments

English: Imagination (1896). Olin Warner (completed by Herbert Adams). Bronze door at main entrance of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.

— Albert Einstein

I agree with this one. Without my imagination, I would not be a writer today. My imagination fuels my dreams and aspirations, gives substance to my goals and all around is a very pleasant thing to have.

The photo I have chosen for this post is very fitting, as this person is holding a musical instrument – maybe a lyre? It seems the Muses in Greek mythology always had music going on, too, along with their creative ideas. 🙂

Albert Einstein Quotes (jackikellum.wordpress.com)
Imagination is everything (marielastewart.com)
On Imagination. (practicingparadoxy.com)
“We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings.” (darkyetbeautiful.wordpress.com)
HOW THE VIOLIN ALTERED OUR VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE [Strings] (hispanicbusiness.com)
Einstein, Lao Tsu, Imagination, Intuition, and Art (jackikellum.wordpress.com)
Albert Einstein Lived His Life for Others (1879-1955) (harmonykeysblog.wordpress.com)
Creativity quotes by Svetlana Bilenkina (alesandrab.wordpress.com)
“if we can find out how to make things easier for them, that’s worthwhile.” (themadnificentmike.wordpress.com)
Einstein: The Formulation of the Problem by Sebastian (sebastianmarshall.com)

April 6, 2013
by Debb Stanton 1 Comment

Day 6 – Antiperfectionism Series

Whose heart are you following?

It is good to dream and plan and work toward goals. The only time to be careful of that is if you see others’ wishes for you as the end-all and be-all. If you were born into a doctors-for-many-generations family, but you choose to head up a nonprofit group or work out in the bush, then THAT is the good thing. Other people can tell you what to do or what to become, but it is ultimately yourself you have to live with. I believe you can find contentment and happiness when you follow your heart.

September 25, 2012
by Debb Stanton Leave a comment

Two At a Time Is Just Fine

English: Greensett Tarn Hmmm. Reminds me of a very well known antipodean country from here. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was talking to some wise friends the other day, and I suddenly discovered how I could stop spinning my wheels.

How do I spin my wheels? I get so enthusiastic about life, and I’m curious about so many things, that I seem to want to try everything new or different – all at once! Not a very practical way to go, I admit. It turns out that I get a few things done or tried and the rest are running around in my mind, waiting for me to get “organized” so I can do everything!

Hmmm, case in point of a perfectionistic mindset. I have become less of a black-and-white thinker in the past couple years, but I still tread the path of striving to knock perfectionism out of my life. I’m learning that “good is good enough” and “you are where you are, so start there.” Superwoman I am not, and I no longer try to be. Yet, (and this is because of my cancer experience) I am so afraid that I won’t achieve my goals and dreams before my life is over, that I want to do everything now. (My cancer, incidentally, is 100% gone, and my life expectancy is as long as it was pre-cancer. So, I’m guessing this is just another perfectionism thing rearing its ugly head.)

AND NOW – this is what I learned from my friends, and I am on Day One of living this way:

Choose the one or two most important habits or goals you want to work on. Only one or two! You will have time for the rest!
Keep on doing whatever else in your life works for you, and also concentrate on these new habits. (Being consistent with a small amount is better than floundering at many.)
After three weeks (the average time it takes for a new habit to be more ingrained), choose one or two more habits while keeping on with the new habit you’ve already adopted into your life.
In three more weeks, choose another habit…

I’m wondering if a person keeps on adding new habits, when will they run out of time each day to incorporate all of them? I’ll let you know when I find out, as my list of possibilities is very long! Be sure to comment here if you can inform us on the subject. Maybe some of the habits can be brought down a notch to “every other day” or “once a week” to make room and time for the new ones…that seems un-perfectionistic to me. 🙂