RSS

Monthly Archives: March 2011

Relaunch of My (Life) Relaunch

29 Mar

Welcome to my new website ashleyscwalls.wordpress.com.

As you may or may not have realized, I am working diligently to be the ULTIMATE me. While blogging, I have continued to research other blogs and discovered that the website I was using was not as efficient for the direction I am headed. So, I switched to this GREAT WordPress site. I will keep my LiveJournal site for a few more weeks until I have fully transitioned.

A long-term friend of mine recently asked, what was the endgame for my blog? After a quick thought and a promise to clean up my elevator spiel, I ultimately realized that I wanted to create a blueprint for people on how to live their lives inclusive of their passions, skills, loved ones, AND have peace of mind at the same time. I am approaching this subject from the perspective of a person that has not been doing this, BUT that has the skills, personality, access, and knowledge to do so. I also am fully committed to taking on this task!

As I am learning, I will share with you my discoveries and at times, I will repeat, retract, and revise my opinions and plans so that eventually the blog will become a point of reference for life planning. In addition to my opinions, I will include a link to another source that supplements my comments, and at times even contradicts what I am feeling. The blog will grow as I do.

One thing you will find is that I often correlate business practices to the same habits used to manage self.  I use this strategy because I have personally shown a commitment to excellence to every organization and employer I affiliate with. I am now learning that my hard work to a company or even education, does not replace the time, effort, and development that I must continue to put into myself; MY PLAN. I will occasionally refer to myself as a business because it is through this concept that I am able to process how I can turn my passions and strengths into a sustainable service.

I believe that SUSTAINABLE businesses/services are crucial to communities as both a physical entity and in the more theoretical concept of community. I want my abilities, my skills, and my presence to be a sustainable addition to the people I serve. I pride myself on this!

Ultimately, my blog and the plans I will detail on this shared space, is the best way I know how to live out my personal mission statement:

To creatively impact urban change by designing sustainable communities. 

Below is a link to an article that discusses how your personal reputation can influence your career options.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_8_32/ai_83317318/

 
2 Comments

Posted by on March 29, 2011 in Life Planning, Personal Processing, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Beginning Your Life Plan

29 Mar

You are ready to create your life plan. Of course there may be a million templates on the internet, but I am going to share with you some tips and a format from the author, Michael Hyatt. Hyatt provides examples from his life plan and says that,

“When things get chaotic, it serves as a map, telling me where I am and how to get back on the path to my intended destination.”

You are encouraged to change the template to a format that works for you. No matter what your choice and how you change the template, give yourself plenty of time to think about this fresh start of your life.

Preparation

Think about the major categories/ priorities in your life (family, work, education, spirituality, etc).

  • List your target audiences.

Hyatt selected:

God, My Spouse, My Children, My Parents, and My Friends.

  • Determine the outcomes you want to see in the major categories of your life. Outcomes are tangible ideas or the eventual end results. Hyatt encourages us to think about outcomes as the lasting impression or comments that people would say at your funeral or the process of beginning with the end in mind.
  • Prioritize your target audience.
  • Create a purpose statement for each life category.

Hyatt’s example for his Health category (or account as he calls it) is:

My purpose is to maintain and care for the temple God has given me.

  • Detail your ideal vision for each category. A good question to ask yourself is- what does success look like for me? You need to describe the account when it is functioning at its best, using the present tense as if it is already a reality.

An example from Hyatt relating to his vision for his health is:

I am lean and strong, possessing vibrant health and extraordinary fitness. My heart is strong and healthy. My arteries are supple and clear of obstructions. My auto-immune system is in excellent condition; I am disease-, infection-, and allergy-resistant. I have more than enough energy to accomplish the tasks I undertake. This is because I control my mental focus, workout six days a week, choose healthy foods, take supplements as needed, and get adequate rest.

  • Detail your current reality as it stands with each life category. During this part of the process you are to describe in detail, what your current situation looks like. (Refer to my weight loss update on March 27, 2011).
  • Create an action plan for each outcome- these are the actual practices you will add into your life, take out, or continue doing to reach your goal. Be specific and think S.M.A.R.T. List the resources you have or need to make these actions happen as well.

We should review our life plans quarterly AND make changes. Life plans should change as we grow and make progress.

I will be revealing my first stab at my life plan in the near future. If you are looking for an accountability partner, feel free to post your plan to my blog and/or email them directly to me at ashleyscwalls@gmail.com. I am happy to help keep you encouraged and on your path.

Below is a link to the life planning template by Michael Hyatt.

http://michaelhyatt.com/myresources/life-plan-template.doc

Related articles
 
6 Comments

Posted by on March 29, 2011 in Life Planning, S.M.A.R.T. Goals/ Planning, Uncategorized

 

Tags: ,

Weight Loss Update- S.M.A.R.T. Planning

27 Mar

So….I should have lost 2 pounds this week according to my S.M.A.R.T. plan.

Hmmmm, let me reflect on what I have done so far to make this happen.

1-    I have opted for walking to the store, bank, or other locations in walking distance, weather permitting.
2-    I have taken the stairs up to my 12th floor apartment two times this week.
3-    I have actively and HONESTLY been keeping track of my eating and exercise habits with my free account on mynetdiary.com.
4-    I have been drinking more water, thus not buying pop to keep in the house.
5-    I have cooked and/or ate leftovers on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
6-    When I wanted a snack, I made a homemade smoothie instead by using only yogurt, soy milk, and strawberries.

Now, here are all of the things that I SHOULD not have done as I am working towards my S.M.A.R.T. weight loss plan.

1-    I snuck in some burger king WITH a pop.
2-    I only exercised on my elliptical for 10 minutes.
3-    I have not cooked or purchased any green vegetables.
4-    I have had SEVERAL alcoholic beverages during pre-game and a fun gal’s night out.
5-    I also had all you can eat fried chicken wings at a bar in Wrigleyville.

So…..At least the good habits are winning (This is what I tell myself. As I am finishing this post I am going on the elliptical for at least 10 minutes).

One important thing that I have not consistently made time to do is to visualize the weight loss. When I told my acupuncturist that I wanted to lose weight, she told me to meditate and visualize the weight being removed from my body and to think of my body as a machine that works to push the weight through and out. Of course she mentioned exercise and diet, but our discussion primarily revolved around vision.

I asked my poetry mentor for some advice about his path to spoken word greatness and he explained to me that he visualized what he wanted every step of the way. He knew what he wanted his life path to look like three months out, five years out, etc.

Both the acupuncturist AND poet mentioned vision as the key factor for two of my current goals. Vision(ary) seems to be the word of the week for my blog.

This week, I am going to continue my positive steps toward weight loss as listed above and I will add 5 minutes of VISION planning to my S.M.A.R.T weight loss plan.

Below is a link to a humorous story about weight loss. Enjoy!

http://www.onlyfunnystories.com/Weight_Loss_Plan.asp

Related articles
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 27, 2011 in Personal Processing, S.M.A.R.T. Goals/ Planning, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older posts
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 507 other followers

%d bloggers like this: