Crafting a Mission

Hola! Everybody... [Note: Today imma try something new... ]

Too often I find people stuck in terms of direction. Ask anyone (including yourself!) right this moment what they deem as their mission in life and you will most likely get a confused look, or the opposite: a jumbled mass of vaguely related (and unrelated) ideas and notions.

If you have no real direction, then how can you expect to arrive at anything? The point is that you don't have to know exactly where you're headed or even what you want to be when you grow up. It's more important to know what you value and how you express those values. If you're clear on that, the rest comes more easily. (I don't believe in a God in the traditional sense, but maybe we can pretend that God = Good Orderly Direction.)

If you fill out the following carefully (read the instructions!), I will help you create a simple one-paragraph mission statement. You can list your answers in the comments section or send them to me in a PM. Believe me when I tell you this is crucial whether you're looking for a job or just trying to find a way to center yourself in this postmodern world gone slightly mad.

One last thing: everybody who does this exercise feels some initial uncomfortability. That's a good thing. It means you're doing something outside your comfort zone -- outside the box.

Got it? Well then, get to it! LOL

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-=[ Exercise: Creating a Mission Statement ]=-

In order for us to succeed, we all need to stand for something, or we’ll fall for anything. One way to create a vision for success is to create a mission statement. Most of us were already on a mission, though not in a positive sense. What we need to do is create a positive mission. Please follow the instructions carefully before doing this exercise.

Positive Qualities:

Enter 5 positive qualities that describe you:

For each quality on the left, describe something you do that expresses it

Example: My willingness to learn	By committing to going back to school
1.	By
2.	By
3.	By
4.	By
5.

Goals: Enter 5 personal or professional goals you would like to accomplish by one year from now:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Please select your Top 3 qualities and your Top 3 goals from those you listed earlier:

Top 3 Qualities	Top 3 Goals
1.	1.
2.	2.
3.	3.

The Journey

¡Hola! Everybody...
I’ve become so accostumed to posting a blog everyday, that it doesn’t feel right not posting. LOL I didn’t write something new today, but here’s something I wrote some time ago...

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-=[ The Journey ]=-

He who is outside the door has already a good part of his journey behind him.
-- Dutch Proverb

Sometimes, when we look at how far we have strayed from the kind of people we want to be, we are overwhelmed by how far we have to go to pick of the pieces and get back on track. Perhaps for the first time we see clearly how unfair we were or how much we hurt ourselves and our loved ones. Just maybe we see more clearly the power ineffective patterns have had over our lives and how much we have missed as a result.

It is at this time that we become most ready to do the work of becoming a more integrated human being. What is probably most helpful at these times is to remember that life is a journey not a race. In reality, the path is the goal. The past is a memory and the future is but a fantasy, but if we look closely, we spend too much time lamenting past mistakes or wishing for a better future. Life is like a dance: the importance is in the dance itself, not reaching the end of the song.

One day I had what I now call a “spiritual awakening.” No, there weren't any angels, no God tapping me on the shoulder or striking me blind. No burning bushes or lightning. My spiritual awakening occurred at the most darkest, most desperate time of my life. My spiritual awakening was coming to terms with utter, hopeless defeat. In time, with a lot of help from many different people, I have been able to pick up most of the pieces of the wreckage of my life.

There were times when it seemed that the distance was too long -- almost impossible. But I just put one foot in front of another, one day at a time (sometimes one breath at a time) and when things seemed really bleak, I used the power of a support network -- men and women who were there for me and gave me what I needed and not what I wanted. I learned that the important thing was to stay on my journey and to allow things to unfold on their own. You put in the work long enough... shit happens.

If I look back, I can say “I” (meaning the “I” encompassing my family, friends, and community) have come a long way since that dreadful time eighteen years ago. What I have learned is that if I’m on a path of a positive and spiritual direction, that I have a good part of my journey behind me. Once we start, outside the door, we are progressing. And we will continue to progress if we remember that it is the reward of the journey itself that we seek, not merely the destination.

Eddie