Guiding Star 2019 Exercise #1 - The Ments

You made it! Hooray! I'm so glad you decided to click through to get started on your Guiding Star 2019.

That's not a typo in this post's title. That's short for accomplishments and disappointments, which you'll be discovering in today's exercise. In other words, The Ments.

Exercise #1 - The Ments 

Materials: For this exercise, you will need something to write on or in. A journal, a computer, or scratch paper - doesn't matter. You are writing this for yourself. No one else will see it, unless you choose to show it to someone.

Time: I recommend that you set a timer for 10 minutes for each section; that's a total of 20 minutes. Want to spend more time on this exercise? Go ahead.

Pro Tip: I find myself contemplating my Ments for most of December. I try to store them away mentally until today, when I take the time to write them down. 20 minutes goes quickly for me, so I am open to writing more down throughout the day as they pop up.

Here we go:

#1 - List 5-10 accomplishments of the past year. Contemplate your personal life, your career, your relationships, how you spent your time. Examples:

Saw my sister graduate from college
Kept an exercise routine for 3 months
Feb. work project was huge success
Disney World :)
Ate more vegetables
Manifested a raise!
Spent a day hiking with Melinda

#2 - Now list 5-10 disappointments of the past year. As with the accomplishments, consider all aspects of your life. Examples:

Didn't reach my target income
Mom died
Still feel angry too often
Couldn't find the time for dance classes
Miss my friends

Congratulations! You're all done for today.

Feeling stuck? Starting January 1, 2019, one-on-one assistance is available at the discounted rate of $30/hour. This offer expires on February 7, 2019. (Click here to schedule a session).

Related Posts:
Your 2019 Guiding Star

Your 2019 Guiding Star

Ah, the New Year. I always have a mixed bag of feelings at this time of year. I'm certainly feeling good as I reflect on 2018, I'm certainly ready for fresh energy and new possibilities, but what if I fail? What if life throws strikes this year? Enough. I'm returning to my Guiding Star plan, and I invite you to  join me. 

Like me, Guiding Star continually evolves. Thanks to your valuable feedback, this version is more concise. I hope this will entice even more of you to join the Guiding Star movement. 

Bhutanese Prayer Wheel. I finally made it to Bhutan in 2018.
Guiding Star has helped me realize how important travel is to me.

The Guiding Star Plan

“I wish I had your life.”

I'm still stunned (and then grateful) when I hear these words. Stunned that people see my life as an ideal, and grateful that I do have my life.

A big reason for the life I have is my annual plan, which I have named the Guiding Star. It has become one of the necessary tools that I use regularly to create my life. Without my annual plan, Creatavita would still be a dream.

So if you want a life like mine, here's your chance.

The Guiding Star plan is a series of 5 exercises, each of which has been designed to take no more than 20 minutes. Using these exercises, you will craft a concise, realistic plan that works for you. You'll make all of the decisions. You'll follow the plan as you desire.  Working throughout the year with this plan, I believe you will have the same experiences I have had. You'll change your attitudes, you'll accomplish goals, you'll find a life filled with more of what you seek. Just like me, you'll get so much more out of living.

I can feel your skepticism about Guiding Star all the way over here. To boost your motivation, I've designed Guiding Star to be as simple as possible. Remember, there are only 5 exercises in this year's plan and each one takes an average of 20 minutes. That's less than 2 hours!

Starting tomorrow, I'll post one exercise daily. It's best to do them in the order in which they're posted. It's also best to do all 5 exercises, but they will sit here on Creatavita, waiting for you whenever you have time and energy.

Guiding Star is a gift to you from Creatavita. Feel free to do it on your own. However, if you feel stuck, one-on-one assistance is available at the discounted rate of $30/hour. This offer is available starting January 7, 2019 and expires on February 1, 2019 (Click here to schedule a session).

You in? Fantastic! See you tomorrow!

Singing with Jiu Jian Kenn in Singapore in 2010.
The experience that started my personal revolution.

Photo Friday Number 28

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

Oprah Winfrey

Photo: Bulgarian Woman, New Year's Day Celebration, 2009

Best Use

Bhutanese prayer bells

It's been abundant here at Creatavita all year, and these final weeks are no exception. This Thursday, I'll finally be performing Navigating The Middle, a cabaret/one-woman show/TED Talk with music/obviously I don't know what category this piece fits yet as part of the Neumann University Cultural Arts Forum. I'm also in rehearsals for Lend Me A Tenor with Resident Theatre Company (West Chester, PA). Full disclosure: I'm an understudy, and I've got more to say about that in the future, but this show is a riot. If you're in the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend it. Great cast and crew!

All of this activity means a full calendar. All of this activity means not everything gets done. All of this activity means I frequently ask myself this question:

What is the best use of the next 10 minutes of my life?

This question has encouraged me to reflect on what really matters, not on what my monkey brain tells me matters. Do I really need to answer that email right now? Do I really need to wash those dishes right now? What about exercising? What about meditation? What about breathing? What about passionate practicing?

Anybody else?

Bhutanese Festival