Make The World Move

I am excited to be contributing to a wonderful new website that has been pioneered by Clint Salter, called Make The World Move. Clint writes that, 'Make The World Move celebrates all aspects of life and inspires people from across the globe to lead extraordinary lives.'

It's a pleasure to be part of the website, providing inspiration to all those who would like to live their best life. I am also looking forward to being challenged and inspired as I read the articles that other contributors have posted. 

Check out my monthly articles at Make The World Move;

Embracing Your Limitations
http://www.maketheworldmove.com/embracing-your-limitations/

Taking It Slower
http://www.maketheworldmove.com/taking-it-slower/

2013- A Great Year

Maybe you have long since given up the notion of setting new year’s resolutions, but setting new year’s intentions can be highly effective and a great way to approach the year.

For some writing a list of things they would like to get out of the year, be it achievements or a particular mindset can be helpful, while others might like to create a vision board by cutting out pictures or words from magazines or other media that represent what their year would ideally look or feel like.

While these activities don’t guarantee changes in your life, they do help to see more clearly what you want in your life and that in turn affects the opportunities you look for and the decisions you make.

A few years ago I did my first vision board and when I found it at the end of last year I was amazed at how many of the things that made up my board had happened in my life. While I hadn’t deliberately gone out to achieve them, they had become my life’s intentions operating in the back of my mind and influencing my everyday decisions that came together in a way that reflected what I wanted for my life.  

It seems like the weeks, months and years pass so quickly that it can be easy to lose track of what you want to get out of each year and out of your life. Setting time aside to think about your life’s purpose and the things that give you joy can help to redirect you and set up 2013 to be a fabulous year.

Living in the Here and Now

With Christmas fast approaching, the stress that people are carrying has become evident in their faces, the impatience in car parks and the conversations overheard in shopping centres. At this time of year, more than any other, we must remind ourselves to breathe.

Engaging in mindfulness meditation, yoga, and breathe exercises can help to realign energy flow, bring awareness back into the moment and introduce calm. 

It is important to remember that Christmas is a time to celebrate the wonderful people in your life and all the blessings that have come your way during the year. Try not to get too caught up in the commercialisation of Christmas, but remember to find time to sit back and acknowledge all the wonderful aspects of your life and to tell those near and dear to you how much they mean to you.

Embracing Your Limitations

We all have one thing in common as people- we all have limitations. For some it may be an illness, for others a demanding job, difficult family relations, or financial strain. How you view your limitations, however, determines how you will experience and live your life.

The story of Jean-Dominique Bauby is the most poignant example of never letting your limitations define you or defeat you. Bauby suffered a stroke that left him with ‘locked in syndrome,’ a syndrome that left him completely paralysed except the ability to blink one eye. Once a high flyer, Bauby’s life was drastically changed. While his body may have been paralysed his mind was active and fully functioning.

It’s hard to comprehend how in the face of such drastic and all encompassing limitations anyone could approach life in a positive way, but he did. Using the two abilities he had left, one blinking eye and an active mind, he went on to ‘write’ a book through a devised communication system. Bauby would be read the alphabet and would then blink when the letter he wanted was reached. That letter would be recorded then the process would start again. This was how his whole book was written- a painstakingly slow process.

His book became the renowned ‘The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly’ which was later made into a movie by the same name.

Like Bauby, to get the most out of your life, you must look for the things that you still have, the things you can still do and then build on that capacity. By focusing on what is rather than what isn’t you can live your life from a position of power, motivation and positivity and create a life that you are proud of.