Can you see it? Forward Moving Friday 9/6/13

Can you see what it is that you want to achieve? Meaning, in your mind's eye, how clear is your picture of your end result? Taking time to imagine, sense and feel what it will be like when you reach your destination can make the difference between actually actualizing your goal and it becoming yet another dismissed wish.

When something really matters to you, don't skip the imaging step. Having a clear picture in your mind of your outcome can help you to stay focused when the going gets rough and all hope feels like it is gone.

The goal isn't to delude yourself, but rather, work as an anchoring mechanism for where to point your energy. In our day to day lives it is so easy to get distracted from our bigger endeavors that if we don't take the time to really see where we want to be we can and will get lost in the minutia.

So to keep moving FORWARD on this here Friday, take the time if you haven't already to truly paint that picture for yourself of what it will be like when you reach your destination. Take in all the sights, sounds and colors, see who is around you, smell the aromas that fill the air... detail it with all of your senses and then breathe it in. Give it a name and visit it daily for at least the next week to keep it vibrant in your mind.

If you are more of the artsy type, draw it out, make a collage or picture map of it and keep it somewhere you can look at it daily.

After all, "some things have to be believed to be seen."
~ Ralph Hodgson

Keep your dreams alive my friends... and then make them happen!

Heidi

It's Forward Moving Friday.. "How" are you moving FORWARD today?

It's Forward Moving Friday again... what do you have planned for the weekend that will bring you one step closer to your #1 goal? 

If you're not quite sure yet, try this on for size. Maybe this weekend instead of focusing just on the "what" of your goal, focus on the "how". By this I mean the process or quality with which you accomplish your task.

As an example, as many of you know, cycling is my passion and I spend many hours and many days in the saddle. Each day has a specific task that guides me towards my specific goals. And the goals are all very concrete and measurable. The irony though, to me, is that it is the process, state of mind, and "how" of how I approach each workout that truly bring in the results. If I go out on my bike with my head in the tank, thinking about how tired I am or how hard the workout is going to be, what do you think the workout is going to be like? ... well.. umm... HARD.. and probably slow.. and probably not to fun. It is important to consider the "how" when approaching both things that we love and things that maybe we don't love so much. If we can approach all things with an open mind and a little bit of loving energy we are more likely to find success, experience joy and positively impact those around us.

So regardless if you goal is focused on your training, relationship, personal life or work notice "how" you are approaching the task at hand. If you don't like "how" you are approaching the moment, then take a moment, pause, breathe and ask yourself, "how do I want to be approaching this task?" When the answer surfaces, take heed and move into the next moment.

Hope you enjoy the process =]

Heidi

FORWARD #2

I have been contemplating for some time now the contrast between being in the here and now and looking ahead to the next moment. Over the past few years I have worked diligently on practicing presence, being in the moment, accepting what is as it is, and allowing things to unfold before me. This practice has created considerable peace for me in many respects. Though, as of late, the word FORWARD keeps resonating in my mind.

At a race earlier this year, I caught myself being consumed by the present moment. In some respects I was pleased to have been so present, as at times in the past I have finished races and been like, “I don’t know what happened!”… almost like a moment of detachment or dissociation had occurred. This time though was different, I was there, fully there as I felt my legs begin to slow down despite my head yelling at them to, “Go! Go! Go!”  The next thing I knew, I was off the back. The pack had crested the hill and I was now chasing. At the time I felt I had given it all I had, but in retrospect I wonder,  “Did I really?” Not to be self critical, but in later examination of the course, I realized I was but a stones throw from the crest of the hill when this, what I like to call, “molasses moment” occurred. What would have happened if I had looked up?

This thought still crosses my mind today as I catch myself on my bike and in other situations in my life with my head down or consumed with the moment at hand. What would happen if I look up? I ask myself this often and when I do, I generally feel a physical shift in my body, a shifting of energy and a shifting of perspective. By lifting my head up I am giving myself the subtle reminder to take the next step FORWARD and move into the next moment.

Often times this little shift in perspective can make a volume of difference.  By picking our heads up, refocusing on our goal or target and taking the next step, we remind our bodies on a neurological level that there is more than the narrow focus of the moment at hand.

For now, personally, I have made it my practice to keep my eyes up and remember the word FORWARD both on and off the bike and, thus far, I am liking the results. So when my mind wanders to the things in life that I don’t like, the things that I would like to be different, the things I would like to change, I do my best to remember the word FORWARD, pick my head up and ask myself,  “If I don’t want this, what do I want? And what is one step I can take right now that will move me in that direction?”... then.. I DO IT!

As silly as it may seem, as one moment ends a new moment begins. This little truth has proved a priceless reminder to me and no doubt it may for you as well.

FORWARD my friends..

Until next time..

 

H