Note from Stacey: Every Thursday we’re thrilled to offer Laura’s Mileposts in the Distance column. You can read more about Laura below.

I used to subscribe to a fitness blog in which the trainer would count off how much of the year had passed, then ask what you had done in that time and what you would do with the time left in the year?  In order for the rest of the year to be of any use you had to ACT NOW!

The stress of the questions made me drop the subscription.  After all, my head would chatter, if you have done nothing, why bother doing anything?

Gradually, I realized that the first question didn’t always have to be interpreted as criticism, perhaps it was better viewed as a moment to consider instead of rip apart what I had been doing (or not doing).  And the second was not a question that masked what I read as an unspoken “why bother?” but instead was a chance to consider positive steps that could be taken sensibly.

Those are more mature, unemotional looks at the questions I guess, though I would be hard pressed to re-subscribe to that feed.   I really don’t need to stir up the external stress since I am so gifted at the internal kind.

However, I do see the benefit at looking at how far you have moved toward a goal.  So it’s not a bad time to check back and see how connect has affected my daily life in the past 31 days.   I will say upfront that finding the opportunity to connect can be hampered by working in a home office. I’ve got the online connections going very smoothly, but face to face connections have to be actively sought out.  And when your first inclination is to not play well with others, it can hamper the effort of reaching out.

Then a couple of weeks ago, an acquaintance at the gym (one I am predisposed to love since she always tells me how fabulous I look) encouraged me to come to the Tuesday morning spin class.  A decade ago, I was a dedicated spin class fan.  I loved the music and the imagery that a good instructor created as you climbed pretend mountains or outraced phantom storms.  I competed only against my previous ride or the number on my heart rate monitor.  It was exhilarating.

But not exhilarating enough to withstand scheduling conflicts and when they cropped up spin was first erased from my calendar.  Every time I attempted a return, I tried to get right to the level I’d left, leaving me with quads that ached for a week and little inclination to go back.  The Lovely Daughter discovered spin as a freshman at university and I’ve gone with her to a couple of classes over the years, but never got back in the habit.

So my first instinct was to decline the invitation to the Tuesday spin, but then I remembered the responsibility of connect, and could see how this invitation was offered with energy and a generous spirit and so I ccepted.  This time I didn’t compete with a class that has been together for years, I listened to my knees and my feet and dialed the tension up and down as benefited only me.   My quads felt great afterward.  But the biggest reward is that some new people now know my name and encouraged me to come back.

I took the bold and daring step of putting the class on my calendar for the rest of the spring.  And this week, I was welcomed back with smiles and “good to see you!”  — a lovely little ripple effect of connecting, sincerely, with one person.

The bigger connection was listening to how my body reacted to the world around me.  In the middle of the month, I was decided to give the morning news shows a complete pass, other than a first check of the weather.  I read the New York Times every morning and that is truly enough.  I don’t need a flood of negativity first thing in the day.

Of course, I am nothing if not flexible, and I did lift the ban on morning news programs the day of the Oscar nominations.  There are priorities, you know.  And I connect with a lot of people about movies and what actors wear on the red carpet.

The far more daring decision was to cut off all sports radio and television once the teams for the Super Bowl were decided.  For two weeks, I am not listening to the same talking heads parsing the same subjects until the newsworthiness is bled out of the subjects and all you have left are the voices saying the same things.  I keep the car tuned to the local classical station, have the same station playing over my computer and I am peaceful.

Taking a cue from that trainer’s blog – those are some pretty good steps for the first 1/12^th of my year.  I plan to spend the next 11/12ths building from here.

 Laura Reeth lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with the man of her dreams. With kids off at college, she no longer plays the role of active, day-to-day parent, and has moved into the complex understanding-parent-of-nearly-adult-children role. The main difference is she gets more sleep now.

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

“The Great Way is easy. Yet people prefer the side paths.” – Tao Te Ching

I talk a lot about taking action, even very small actions. That will serve you well.

But equally important is non-action, or aligning your thoughts to achieve your desires.

By alignment I mean something specific. I mean focusing your attention in the direction of your desire. I mean allowing yourself to be, do, or have whatever you want. I mean feeling that you already have what you’re after.

Mike Dooley said, “The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams, at once, to any degree that you possibly can.”

What part of living the life of your dreams is within your control at all times regardless of the economy or your spouse’s annoying habits?

It’s your ability to direct your thoughts to create a certain feeling you want. And when you become inspired to action from a feeling place of having already achieved your desires, the action you take will seem effortless.

If you feel like taking action is hard, it’s because your thoughts are not in alignment with what you truly want.

It may take some investigating but you will figure out pretty quickly where the resistance is coming from if you continually check in with yourself and make sure that you’re staying in alignment.

And how do you know that you’re in alignment, again?

Well, it’s simpler than it may sound. There really are only two emotions—feeling good or feeling bad, although we give them a lot of other names. If you feel good—about your goals, or even just the world around you—you are in alignment! If you feel bad, you are not!

And so with any thought you think, with any decision you make, you can check in with yourself and ask, do I feel good or bad about this?

It’s your emotional guidance system. It’s your own personal GPS. It will never lead you astray.

Problems arise, though, because some people don’t trust their guidance system—or they don’t know how to read it. But if you want to feel good, you can and will become better at figuring out, really and truly, how you feel about an action or decision.

Getting better at this starts today, simply by paying attention to your thoughts, especially as you go about the action part of your day. If something doesn’t feel good, try to modify what you are doing until you can find a place where you feel relief.

I have mentioned before that it might not be realistic to go quickly from feeling bad to feeling good, but at any moment you have the ability to feel relieved.

Notice patterns about what provides you relief. Is it going outside, breathing, relaxing, connecting with a friend, etc.? Understanding those patterns will give you quick go-to options if you feel stuck in the future.

Once you’re in a better feeling place, it’s time to listen to your inner guidance and take action.

Your Exercise:

What’s YOUR next step to creating a life you love? Tap into your inner guidance… and make a decision to act on it now!

And once you do that, take note of how it feels. And then repeat this process as often as possible. The more you do this, the sooner you’ll learn what brings you relief—and the sooner you’ll be able to rely on your guidance system in all aspects of your life. And pretty soon you will be living the life of your dreams.

I’d love to hear an example of how you listened to your inner guidance and where it led you— please share in the comments!

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

Note from Stacey: Every Thursday we’re thrilled to offer Laura’s Mileposts in the Distance column. You can read more about Laura below.

Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate. – J. R. R. Tolkien

The business of getting from one place to another is completely different from the business of movement.  In the 2011 Autumn of Car Travel, I used the same roads over and over, north to south and then back.  There was very little in the way of choice, other than picking the roads that offered the least traffic.

Currently, I am in the business of movement and as I strive for my daily 10,000 steps, I get to choose the routes that fit a day’s time frame or weather or my own particular mood.

When I drive for business, the main part of the journey is spent on I-95 with its roaring eight lanes of vehicles vying to beat the traffic or make good time getting where they need to go.  The next longest road is I-85, the tree-lined route that brings me through northeastern North Carolina lake country up to Petersburg, Virginia.  The former is a grind and passing every exit without hitting traffic is a triumph.  The latter is pretend bucolic – you may only see trees, but there is no meandering unless you want to be run down by an 18-wheel rig.

By far my favorite stretches were from Loudoun County (Virginia) to Washington County (Maryland).  The last 45 miles north (or the first 45 heading home) went from horse and wine country over the rugged shores of the Potomac into the gentle rolling green hills western Maryland.   Yes, there were school buses that interfered with the flow of traffic.  And drivers sincerely uninterested in maintaining a pace anywhere near the posted speed, but those minor annoyances were more than offset by the views.  There was always something to see whether it was mists playing over the trees in the early morning.  Or a setting sun could send shadows of grays and peach and pink playing over fields.  Or vineyards sleeping in the winter.

I saw sunsets mainly on the way north and sunrise on the way south and each and every time I was surprised by something new just around the corner, but I was always so conscious of the final destination that the surprise was taken in at a glimpse, not a stare.

But this business of movement has brought many different surprises.  My walking routes are usually loops that start and stop in the same place.  Some days I make a right when I hit the sidewalk, some days I make a left.  But every day I follow the path as it curves around the neighborhood or the river.  And no matter what, I may walk the same distance, but the trip is never the same.

One way a curve in the river is obscured by a tangle of old forest growth, but if I turn around in that very spot where the view ahead seems obscured, from the new angle the view is open and the flowing water is framed by the branches. In one direction, the winter trees seem to gang up on the sides of the path leaving very little room for any other growth, in the other, the trees are spaced differently, allowing for grassy paths to merge along the side of the main paved walk.

Always the same, always different.

The weather these days has been a little gloomier than the start of this year.  Saturday, I walked while it was raining, but the canopy of trees kept the drops from really hitting the ground with any real intent.  On Sunday though, the rain was really mist and it was an insidious thing, creeping in and around the trees to settle on every surface it could find.

Unlike driving, nothing you see on a walk is glimpsed – everything unfolds as you approach and pass.  But if I turned immediately around to re-experience the view, it would be gone, replaced by something new, yet very much the same.

What I take away from these walks is this:  Savor what’s in front of you.  Drink it in.  Relish the feel of the air and the sky and the sun.  And then let it go because the next step will bring something even better.

Laura Reeth lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with the man of her dreams. With kids off at college, she no longer plays the role of active, day-to-day parent, and has moved into the complex understanding-parent-of-nearly-adult-children role. The main difference is she gets more sleep now.

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

“I get up every morning determined both to change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day difficult.” ~ E.B. White

When I hear people talking about the “current economic climate” like it’s bad weather, I get the urge to share one of the life lessons I learned from a sweet friend and Zen master—my dog Zoe, who died in 2008.

Zoe was a Golden Retriever, and she loved going for long romps in the woods no matter whether it was raining, snowing or sleeting. From her I learned that there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.

On one particular walk it was so cold that icicles formed on my eyelashes. At first I thought, “This is ridiculous!” But then I looked at Zoe and how happy she was and I just had to laugh and made a note to wear warmer clothes the next time it was that cold.

And then I noticed something amazing: looking out at the world with icicles on my eyelashes is like looking out at the world through a crystal kaleidoscope. It was absolutely magical. That walk was almost 10 years ago and I still remember it clearly. I’m immensely grateful for that experience and it’s only because of Zoe and her “no bad weather” philosophy that I experienced it.

Now I try to remember that walk when it seems like my life is less than ideal. Am I open to seeing what is amazing and beautiful in the moment? Or, if that’s not possible, can I glean the lesson that the moment is trying to teach me? If you are “experiencing bad weather,” remember that you can put on more appropriate clothing simply by changing your thoughts.

Now I know what you’re thinking—I know because when I told my husband about this article he looked at me skeptically and said that he didn’t think the weather analogy was apt. After all, he said, when the weather is bad you can always go inside your house. But in the current economy people are losing their homes and have nowhere to go.

O.K. Point taken. So let me be clear: Yes, negative events will happen to everyone. And when they happen to others I have enormous compassion for their suffering.

But when they happen to me, I want to focus as quickly as I can on the things that are going well in my life. I want to create more positive things. So, to return to my (I think, very apt) analogy: the fastest and simplest way to create more favorable weather is by changing your thoughts.

Whenever I get down I think of New York City. I love going to Manhattan. Everybody is busy in Manhattan, and everyone seems to have this amazing energy and courage (“ganas” in Spanish). And that ganas gets on you. It sticks.

Of course, I can’t pop up to NYC every time I feel lost, discouraged and overwhelmed—like my big dreams are hopeless and nothing I’m doing is working.

You probably can’t either. That’s why we’re going to talk about getting you into your own personal Manhattan from the comfort of your home.

I’ve learned that even if I can’t just walk out my door and into Central Park, I can pick up a Janet Evanovich novel and read about the spunky heroine, Stephanie Plum, and all the grit and determination she has.

I can watch movies about people with hustle, people who make things happen, like My Date with Drew.

I can read blog posts about people doing the mundane stuff and the scary stuff and the amazing stuff that makes their dreams become real, like Torre DeRoche’s story of going from self-published to landing a huge book and film deal.

I can listen to positive, uplifting songs. If they have a driving bass line, all the better. Take Mary J. Blige’s Just Fine and crank it when you take an afternoon power walk.

Having a real good time, I’m not complaining
And I’ma still wear a smile if it’s raining
I gotta enjoy myself regardless
I appreciate life, I’m so glad that it’s mine.

Or take Jay Z’s Empire State of Mind and sing the chorus loud in you car, just like Alicia Keyes:

In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
The lights will inspire you,
Let’s hear it for New York, New York, New York

These are all things I do—and you can do the same thing. Look at the different ways you can expose yourself to ganas on demand, and keep those things handy. Go to them every day you need a boost.

It may sound silly, but have you ever noticed that the things people call silly are the things that actually work?

I’d love to hear what you do to cultivate an Empire State of Mind and get your ganas on. Please share in the comments!

Note from Stacey: Every Thursday we’re thrilled to offer Laura’s Mileposts in the Distance column. You can read more about Laura below.

Last week, we were deciding whether or not to head to the beach for the long weekend. There were good reasons for and against the trip so we left the dates on the calendar, but kept avoiding the guts of the decision: who would go and when. Finally on Thursday I said to myself as I left the gym, “There is no wrong answer, so I’ll throw it out there to the universe: if we really should go to the beach, I’ll see an OBX sticker on the way home. MDR and I will go.”

OBX stickers hadn’t come into my line of sight since I’d written about them before the holidays (and boy, did I see them the day that was posted – six random OBX stickers came into sight)! So I figured that the timing was pretty good to see another. Or not.

One block later a car pulled up beside me with an OBX sticker affixed to the top of the back window. It was a sticker I’d never seen before: the O was a smiley face, which struck me as a bit of taunting.

Really? Do I need a universe with snark?

We went to the beach early on Friday morning. I swear the magic of the place starts when we put the car in gear and head east, calming us with every mile we pass you.

I’ll give the universe its due on the going-to-the-beach thing. But this is about more than snarky stickers.
I ended last week saying that I was learning my lessons slowly, but that the goal of walking 10,000 steps a day freed me up more than I ever expected it to. And that is true. Checking the pedometer throughout the day gave me cues that I wasn’t moving enough or that I was hitting my goal. When the number was low, I arranged the work so I could walk before sunset. When the goal was surpassed, it came with surprisingly little effort.

I couldn’t wait to walk the beach road in the windy sunshine and headed out on Saturday morning, walking south, straight into the sun. I worked up a sweat and thought, “This isn’t so bad.”

Then I turned around and had to walk two miles into the headwind. Lesson learned: headwind first. (Was that why the universe sent me to the beach? To learn that sometimes hard things should be done first?)
The wind was even higher on Sunday, so I walked north into the wind to make the coming home easier. But there was no quarter on Sunday morning – the wind got me at every angle and I kept the walk to 2 miles. (Was that why the universe thought the beach was a good thing? To show that a chilly wind followed by a warm house and a mug of coffee is a very good thing?)

I was pleased as could be that I’d logged between 5,000-8,000 steps before noon both days. The middle of Sunday afternoon, I went to check the total steps on my pedometer and it wasn’t on my waistband. I thought back to post walk, maybe I’d left it on the bureau before my shower. No, wait, I’d left it on my sweat pants…which were…
In the washing mashine. Noooooooooooooo!

I ran down to the washer to see if I could find it. I did, right on the waistband of those pants, but it was dead. I did not lose hope. Perhaps I could dry it and let it be for a bit and it would resuscitate on its own. Or maybe at least by Monday it would work so I could put it on the docking station and my walks would still be recorded.

There was a fleeting moment of glorious joy when all the stats came back on line that evening, but by Monday it was a goner.

Why did this happen to me? Just when I found the key to mental health and stability it was taken from me. After all, why would I want to walk when I couldn’t count the steps??

I bought a new one. The meaning is back to my walks! And this one counts the stairs I climb as well as the steps I take, so more stairs!

Renewed, I set out today in the chilly sunshine after morning rain. I felt so much better knowing that a high number would be my reward. The magic of the movement helped me work through a couple of emails I needed to write: I was so back on track! Inevitably though, I realized the magic wasn’t in the total, it was the movement. That walk would still be the same even if I didn’t count the steps and the simple act of being outside, admiring the sky, seeing other people was the goal.

The realization continued that for now I need that motivation to make my walks ingrained habit. The ultimate goal is to miss the act of walking itself, not just the number on a small LCD readout.

And while I won’t go so far as to say I needed to go to the beach to ruin a pedometer in order to appreciate the complex simplicity of a daily walk, I will say that universe isn’t only snarky, it’s kind of sneaky too.

Laura Reeth lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with the man of her dreams. With kids off at college, she no longer plays the role of active, day-to-day parent, and has moved into the complex understanding-parent-of-nearly-adult-children role. The main difference is she gets more sleep now.

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

“There are joys that long to be ours. God sends ten thousand truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Paying attention to the news often results in anxiety, helplessness and other emotional states that interfere with happiness. Today I would like you to consider a one-day news fast.

Why a fast? Well, fasting—abstaining from food for a while—is a time-honored way to help cleanse one’s body. At the very least, fasting for a time—even if that just means intentionally skipping a meal—makes you much better able to be present the next time you eat.

“There’s no salt like hunger,” goes the expression, and part of that comes from the fact that when eating ceases to be automatic, what we eat rises higher in our consciousness. We pay it more attention.

Just as with food, many people fail to pay attention to what they allow into their consciousness—what messages they bring in through their eyes and ears. As a result they become overwhelmed by negative messages.

When that happens, I believe the answer is a media fast—a certain length of time spent away from all those sources of depressing news that we surround ourselves with these days. I believe that if you start a fast of this kind, you’ll discover that you have the power to decide what kind and how much of any message, media included, you want to let in.

In fact, I’m guessing that after today’s fast you will turn to the news only to find information you really need. You will no longer check the Internet indiscriminately and get emotionally triggered. You will be more in tune with your body and will recognize the symptoms of being bombarded before it becomes a state of agitation or helplessness.

Media doesn’t just sap our optimism; it also saps our attention. Have you ever found yourself “hooked” by some media event, hunting around for the latest updates, allowing your curiosity—and the emotional charge that the news brings—to intrude on the tasks you have at hand?

It happens to us all. And one of the great things about a media fast is that it plugs those leaks in our attention. And when that happens, you’ll find yourself more adept at using another important tool for creating more good things in your life. What I mean is that a media fast is the perfect time to start Segment Intending.

Segment Intending is one of the most powerful processes for engaging the Law of Attraction. You’ll find it described in detail in Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

The idea of Segment Intending is to set specific intentions for specific segments of your day. Every morning when I get up, I set the intention for accomplishing my morning routines with ease, meeting my family with a cheerful attitude, and getting to work in plenty of time.

Then, when I get to work, I set the intention that I will be happy to see all of my patients and I will serve them well. Then, as I meet a patient, even one who is in pain and struggling, I set the intention to soothe her and guide her to an outcome she desires.

As you set your intention for any part of your day, you take a moment to envision the outcome and get into the feeling place of the specific intention. (Remember: I set the intention of feeling positive and capable, no matter what; once I get to that feeling place I know it is time to move into action.)

The power of Segment Intending lies in its ability to help you continuously monitor and align your thoughts and emotions with your specific intention.

The key to effective Segment Intending is to recognize when you are moving into a new segment and taking a moment to reset your intention and, if necessary, modify your thoughts and feelings to be in alignment with the new intention.

I have found that it is a simple and powerful tool to start my day with intention. And then I always end every day in bed with this intention: “I will fall asleep quickly, sleep soundly and wake feeling rested and refreshed and ready for another great day.” Since I started Segment Intending I have not been disappointed. So you see, it’s a powerful tool, and combining it with a media fast can produce incredible results.

Your Exercise

For the fast: starting now, commit to avoiding your usual sources of news and entertainment for the rest of the day. Throughout the day observe any differences you feel in your state of mind and body when you opt to omit the news from your daily diet.

It’s possible a media fast seems like a drastic step for you. So I suggest you start this way: create a “script” for your perfect day, similar to the one I outlined above: “I wake feeling rested and refreshed and I accomplish my morning routines with ease…” Write the script in your journal.

By the way, you can create scripts for anything you want to see happen in your life—write a script for attracting the perfect client, or book publisher or record producer.

Start there—with the script—so you’re clear in what you want from a day. And then, maybe, if you find your days drifting from your script, you’ll be ready to take on Segment Intending. And if you’re having difficulty there, try the media fast. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.

Are you aware of feeling less anxious? More positive? More hopeful? Please share your experiences in the comments!

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

Note from Stacey: Every Thursday we’re thrilled to offer Laura’s Mileposts in the Distance column. You can read more about Laura below.

Writing about facets of my life and sharing it with people is an interesting experience.  Through writing and editing, I find that I distill moments, good and bad, until they look like shiny nuggets of wisdom that I polish and hold close like Gollum when he had the ring.

My precious, indeed.

To be completely honest, right now my life feels more like Gollum scrambling in the dark to find Frodo and take back the ring.   And no, I’m not a Lord of the Rings geek, in fact, I tend to ignore the Gollum scenes.  It’s just that I feel like I am scrambling about with very little light at the end of the tunnel.

I’ve railed before about having to learn things over and over again before they actually take a fingernail hold on my life.  I believe I’ve mentioned that I’m not keen or overly accepting of change.  I know I’ve shared the “I don’t wanna” moments in the past.   And while I would encourage a friend to take all experiences in stride and enjoy the journey, right now I am a little weary of checking off something on the list, then having to erase the check mark and start all over again.

If my life were purely my own, I might use this space to rant, rant, rant.  But through choice and good fortune I have threads that are entangled thoroughly, messily in other peoples’ lives.  Some threads have been formed by blood, others by friendship and work, and others by pure, joyful coincidence.  And while they are welcome they are also ties to people with their own lives, leaving me with no choice but to filter all of our actions and polish them until the nuggets that remain are the lesson.

I feel like change is staring me down across an invisible line in the sand, but I can’t quite necessarily discuss what change might entail in a public venue.  I can air the hope that all the next steps lead everyone involved to the right place at the right time.  That everyone I love finds themselves in the best position to take their own next steps.

And that I can learn to take the change in the air and find it to be sensible, even beautiful.

But I find myself resistant and clinging heavily to the belief that I can control all things around me to everyone’s comfort and benefit.

In a Greek tragedy that sort of hubris would probably lead to some excruciating, painful death.  But in reality, it just leads to uncertainty and a fragile sense that nothing will ever find balance again.

What I will say is this: in the face of upheaval movement has become my greatest refuge.  I didn’t expect to find so much freedom in committing to 10,000 steps each day but it’s there.  I can walk as fast or slow as I choose, but it all totals up to one number at the end of the day.  And the process of getting to that number affords me space and time to think, plan and figure out how to settle into the changes.

And darn, if there isn’t the lesson of this piece.  I hate when that happens

Laura Reeth lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with the man of her dreams. With kids off at college, she no longer plays the role of active, day-to-day parent, and has moved into the complex understanding-parent-of-nearly-adult-children role. The main difference is she gets more sleep now.

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

Here are my Top Ten Moments of 2011—the moments that I will look back on and say, “That was a very good year.”

1. I RAISED OVER $1,200 for The Girl Effect (an organization dedicated to changing the lives of girls all over the world).
2. I QUIT my job.
3. I acquired a literary agent and worked steadily on a new manuscript.
4. I held TWO sold-out MfYL weekend-long retreats.
5. I launched THREE new successful coaching programs.
6. My family and I went to my brother’s wedding (and enjoyed a wonderful trip to California)
7. I took a trip to Beach with my family.
8. I took my son on his first trip to Disney!
9. We took many weekend trips to connect with family. (Griffin loves his cousins!)
10. My family’s annual Christmas trip to NYC.

After putting this list together, I thought about what made those moments so special. And I found 3 distinct threads that wove through them: Meaningful connection with others, novelty and challenge, and joyful appreciation.

From those insights I came to realize that I don’t need to publish a book or travel all over the country to be happy (although it would be nice!), I just need to focus on the actions available to me right now that will bring me those feelings.

Meaningful connection with others? I settle in to read a book with my son. Or I make a date for lunch with my friend. Or I spend an afternoon at a “paint your own pottery” place with my mom.

Novelty and challenge? I host a radio program. One of the aspects of creating the Multi-Passion Mama Program I enjoyed most was interviewing other multi-passion mamas. I had never interviewed anyone before in my life, but I was good at it, and now I want to take that challenge even further by committing to a weekly program.

Joyful appreciation: I’ve talked about it a lot, but I think there’s no faster shortcut to living a happy and satisfying life than appreciating what’s going well in your life right now.

I had a lot to appreciate in 2011 that had nothing to do with my own interests and accomplishments, like my son thriving in school, or walking through a silent forest after a deep snow, and I want to be even more consciously aware of looking for and finding them in the future.

In short, all the feelings I got when I experienced my Top 10 moments are available to me every day—I just have to be on the lookout for the opportunities to feel them in my daily life. In short, A Very Good Year is made up of 365 Very Good Days. And if you take the time to figure out what you’re looking for from your life—and then take the time to look for the things in your life right now that match what you’re looking for—A Very Good Day isn’t hard to find.

So what about you? Are you ready to find “peak moments” every day? Well, here’s an exercise that may help.

Think of your Top Ten 2011 Moments. Now write them down.

YOUR TOP TEN 2011 MOMENTS

Remember how happy they made you feel. Then think about why they made you feel happy. See if you can find the common feelings underlying some—or, preferably, all—of those moments. Write them down.

The Common Feelings

Now put this list somewhere where you’ll see it every day. You want to look at it every day because those common feelings are what you’re going to want to look for in all of your actions in 2012.

Keep thinking about them, remembering them, and returning to them. When you have a choice to make, think about which action would be more likely to generate those feelings.

Studies show that writing these sorts of things down will keep you accountable for taking actions based on them. And that’s why if you do this I promise you’ll have a better year in 2012 than you did in 2011. And you know what else? It’s fun!

I’ve designed a postcard based on this exercise, suitable for taping to your bathroom mirror, kitchen cabinets, car sun visor, or anywhere else you’d like to remind yourself of these feelings. Just send me a note at moc.efilruoyrofefiwdimnull@ofni to let me know if you’d like me to send this card to you.

Note from Stacey: Every Thursday we’re thrilled to offer Laura’s Mileposts in the Distance column. You can read more about Laura below.

In my word of the year post, I said that the first steps would be meditating and moving in order to connect with myself.  Fortunately, those were practices already in place when 2012 dawned.  I have been working on meditating for over a month and I started moving more during the holiday break.  I may prefer to push hard by running, but walks have proven to be planning in action as I move fast and think faster.

But I spend more time inside than out and it gradually dawned on me that I was turning my back – literally – on what I most need to attend to:  my work space.  When we moved into this house I commandeered the bonus room over the garage.  It’s a wide open space, but I placed my desk in a nook by the stairs, facing the windows to the woods behind our house, with more windows to the left.

The grand idea was that I could open the shades every morning and watch the year unfold through nature.

In the way of all grand ideas, it didn’t take into consideration how I would have to awkwardly reach over the desk to open the blinds.

Or worse, walk a bit around the desk to do so.

Sure, I could have left the shades open all the time since the exposure is east and the sun isn’t blinding at all during the day, but I am a city girl at heart and even two floors above ground, who knows what is lurking on the edges of the woods at night?  And what can they see???

So, ok, I could open the shades at the side of the desk, looking up the street.  But since it does have a southern exposure, I bake every afternoon.

Bottom line, more often than not, for the past two and half years, I’ve kept the shades closed.

With all the travel last year, I found myself creating piles of paper to deal with “later.”  Yes, they were neat-ish, but still they were static piles.  It was far easier to say, “I’ll handle this when I get home” then start a new pile.  Of course, once I would get home I would be scrambling to catch up here and readying for the next trip and the pile would just gain a companion.

A couple of times in the fall I took phone calls on the couch that’s nested under the dormer.  A lovely, calm place – I thought.  But it had the vantage point of looking over those neatish, static piles and made me uncomfortable.

So I brought down a couple of Rubbermaid boxes and put the piles in there.  I couldn’t see them, but would deal with them later.  And since I could always put my hands on whatever I needed, mainly through a weird visualization process of what was also contained in the pile and my ability to call up the action of putting it in a pile, I didn’t worry so much about my filing method.

December, such a dark month to begin with, ended up being a series of days in which I worked at my desk, with one lamp  and a computer screen giving off the only light, shades closed, back turned to the rest of the room (which had become gift central in addition to the land of piled up paper).  Honestly, I was Bob Cratchit and Scrooge in the same person, working in dark, moody conditions.

When I turned around on December 30 I realized that my deferred paper debt had come due with a vengeance.  I am not traveling until February, and unless I get a hold of the clutter, I will never connect with anything, least of all myself.

The real first step (the only one in my mind) was to turn my desk around.  It’s still in the nook, but now it sits diagonally, not squared up to the walls.  My back is to the windows and the view when I look up is directly over the room.

Guess what?  It’s easier to open the shades and so I do.  I can spin around and check on what’s going on outside for a break, then spin back to the work at hand.  I can easily open up the shades and lower them in the afternoon.  And I can see the room in front of me, judge what needs to be done, make a list of 5 short things each day, and complete that list.  So far, there’s a little more breathing room and just the tiniest connection between me and calm space.

Laura Reeth lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with the man of her dreams. With kids off at college, she no longer plays the role of active, day-to-day parent, and has moved into the complex understanding-parent-of-nearly-adult-children role. The main difference is she gets more sleep now. If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!

“Stop thinking and talking about it and there is nothing you will not be able to know.” ~ Zen Paradigm

I consider my body my most-trusted advisor. I think it assimilates information from the Universe that I can’t understand fully at first. You see, I know the Universe wants me to live my best life, but sometimes I don’t heed its advice—sometimes I’m convinced I don’t even hear it.

It’s like Oprah says: “Life sends you messages—first it will put a pebble in your path, then a rock, and then a brick wall.” If I don’t hear the plink of the pebble, the rock shows up—usually as a bodily symptom. I pay attention because I really want to avoid hitting that brick wall.

If I ignore my body’s messages, it’s capable of great drama. In fact, I’ve seen my body produce some Oscar-worthy performances.

I sometimes care for women who have what are deemed high-risk pregnancies and I routinely consult with physicians about these patients. Occasionally, I don’t agree with the physician’s plan for managing a particular case.

One night I told a doctor that I was disinclined to follow his plan and he responded by saying, “That’s why I’m here, to tell you what to do.” Those weren’t his exact words, but that was how it came across.

I knew the doctor’s plan was not going to cause harm, and I didn’t want further conflict, so I followed his orders. Within a few hours I lost my voice. My throat hurt and I couldn’t speak above a whisper.

As soon as I got home I looked up laryngitis in my well-worn copy of Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life. I believe the book provides clues to understanding the messages underlying an illness. If you decipher these messages and, more importantly, act on them by changing your thinking, you can improve your life.

For laryngitis she writes that the probable cause is “So mad you can’t speak. Fear of speaking up. Resentment of authority.” I was struck by the truth of this. I was mad. I had been afraid to speak up to the doctor. And I resented that he didn’t seem to value my expertise.

The new thought pattern she offers is “I am free to ask for what I want. It is safe to express myself. I am at peace.” I drank it up like a healing balm and got my voice back quickly after that.

The affirmation also helped me gain insight into the fact that I don’t need to compel the doctors to agree with me or even to see my side. All I can do is use my best judgment and present a plan of care. And trust that all is well.

For me, being at peace means that my worth is not predicated on others valuing me. I value me.

Since that epiphany I’ve had other differences of opinion with my physician colleagues but I haven’t had that sense that my value as a practitioner was diminished. And I’ve never lost my voice again.

You don’t need a copy of Louise Hay’s book (although I highly recommend it!) because all you really need to know is that if you ignore the wisdom available to you, then your body can create a painful drama.

On the other hand, the Universe wants you to know that you are worthy of love and respect and you can have a life filled with health and happiness. You just have to listen.

So as you go through life, be on the look out for “pebbles” and write them in your journal. It can be helpful to look back and see the pattern if the rock comes. The more skilled you become at identifying the pebbles, the easier the walking will be.

Do you think your body is trying to tell you something right now? If not, remember a time when you experienced a health crisis—can you see that it had something to teach you?  Please share your thoughts!

If you liked this post, I think you’ll enjoy the free weekly Special Delivery eZine. Just sign up here and it will delivered to your inbox every Tuesday!