Abundance

Blue Ridge Vision                               2012
A painting inspired by my trips home

Let's see, my goals today are . . .

In order to get anything accomplished it's important to set goals.  Setting goals and daily actions have become habits for me since my experience with The Ultimate Game of Life. But I've found that if these goals and actions weren't tied to my values or my passions I didn't work very hard to accomplish them. What do I mean by values? These are the things that you naturally gravitate towards that aren't needs or wants.  I need clean water to drink, I want a new pair of shoes, but I value creating art.  Creativity nourishes me and brings me a great deal of pleasure.  When I find myself overloaded with daily actions that are only taking care of needs or wants my days end up lacking passion and enthusiasm.

So when I decide on my daily actions I refer to my goals for health, wealth and happiness.  My daily power walks and balanced nutrition move me toward my health goals which are to maintain my goal weight and continue to train for half marathons.  My business development tasks and financial monitoring are moving me toward financial freedom-my wealth goal.  Now comes the tricky part.  My happiness goals are to create authentic art and share techniques with others.

How did I arrive at these happiness goals and what daily actions do I need to accomplish to get there?  These answers have taken a long time to develop and  have required many conversations with my business partner and longtime friend Hobby Parent. I was searching for goals that were driven by my values and desires.  I didn't want to just make art as a product, but as a pleasure.  And I want to share the creative thrill with others. Here are some of the daily actions I do to help me towards these goals:  make art, research, try new techniques, read books, journal, gather images, write notes, take pictures, go to museums and galleries, talk to artists, talk to children, listen to music, take walks and open my eyes.

I've found that working towards authentic goals that are meaningful and inspiring make even my most mundane tasks (like laundry, bill paying and cleaning) easier to complete. I have a purpose to each day and a way to gauge my success at the end.  And I'm sure getting a lot more accomplished.

Consider setting some new goals for yourself. Sit down with a piece of paper, set your timer for 15 minutes and write down everything that you'd like to do in the next few days, weeks or months. Look at this list and decide what category each of these belong in - Happiness, Health and Wealth. Make sure you consider what you really value the most. Now decide on the next most important thing and get to it!