Weeks 35 & 36: Review & MOVE Forward

"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life."  -Wayne Dyer


Just so you know, girls...I can't believe how FAST this past week went! Before I knew it it was FRIDAY and I had not posted Week 35. Shame on me, huh??:) So this week I am combining Weeks 35 & 36 and reviewing how far we have come so far with "Being Me". In case this is your first time here be sure and go here to learn all about "Being Me" and here to get all 34 weeks so far. Thanks for being here!!! Remember..."Being Me" is a completely FREE art journaling class for everyone. Enjoy!

Let's take a quick look back at "Being Me"...there is a lot to learn about ourselves don't you think?

In the early weeks of this year long challenge I encouraged you to create your Mission Statement. Do you remember what's in yours?? What is one area you really want to focus on TODAY? For me I want to remember these things..."When I do these things...I KNOW I am the BEST ME I can BE! *eat fresh foods *avoid sugar *workout *spend time outside *spend time alone *date night! *Family time *keep our bedroom clean and organized *go to bed with a CLEAN kitchen...When I do these things I KNOW I will be happy and full of peace.

Another topic we covered this year was the importance of saying Thank You to others. There are soooo  many people that have helped me on my journey and continue to be there for me. Most of them probably don't even know how much their love and guidance have shaped me into the person I am today. I think it's time they knew don't you?  Even if you did this exercise last summer I know there are more people you can Thank!! Take time this week to do that:)

Nobody likes REJECTION so we talked about that during Week 22. Here is a quote from that week...

Rejection is part of the job description for anyone in the arts... one must have a sense of purpose... of where you want to go with your art, and no one decides that but you.Seek relevance instead of approval. (Jackie Knott)

Passion and Fear...the two really do go hand in hand.  Did you answer these questions??

1. Think of a time you wanted something so much that our were willing to do anything to get it. What was the outcome? I have many examples of this throughout my life but the one that comes to mind is my determination to train, run and finish a marathon. I wanted nothing more than that for years...so one day I sat down and made a decision to just do it! I found a group to train with, signed up and focused on getting my body in shape and trained diligently for 9 months. Crossing that finish line was one of the proudest moments of my life.

2.  Do you feel exhilerated by your creative work right now? What ignites you the most about it? If you're not psyched about your current work, what would you rather be doing? At the moment what ignites me most is TEACHING...I LOVE teaching ART to women...LOVE it! Honestly it comes as no surprise as I have always known one of my missions in this life was to uplift and encourage other women to be their very best...I have done that for years with my writing and fitness endeavors and am doing it now with my love of art. I am so excited about my dreams and goals regarding this passion!

3.  What discomfort are you willing to endure to promote and experience your passion? What I need to work on now is just getting down to WORK. I need to be serious and set office hours and studio hours. I need to take time to work on class ideas and handouts as well as studio time for creating and sharing on my blog and other venues. I suppose the discomfort would be to let my housework slide a bit or delegate the work to my family and give up watching so much TV:)

4. What are your specific fears about yourself and your work? That I am not good enough. That my work and ideas will be laughed at. That I won't fit in with others. That people will say things like  "What is she doing teaching?" "She isn't creative enough" etc.

It has been quite a journey the past 34 weeks and we still have nearly 20 weeks left! I hope you are learning and growing and listening:)

 I hope you will take the next two weeks looking back at your projects/journal entries and find areas that need further work...maybe you need to go deeper with some of the weeks. I am going to focus on my Mission Statement and the questions I answered above. I am so ready to MOVE my dreams Forward!!

I also want to share some amazing women I am finding on the Web. There is sooo much inspiration out there!!

Shelley Rydellie
Pam Garrison
61 Daily Paper Prompts
The Documented Life Project
GREAT Postal Art Projects!

Oh and one more thing....in case you want to come and hang out on a BEAUTIFUL Beach with me and some other great girls and make ART...then sign up for THIS...Art Beach Retreat!!!  It's October 9-11th and sure to be TOTALLY relaxing and inspirational! And I would LOVE to meet you:)

Oh and one more thing...lol...join our Face Book group here. Lots of sharing going on:)