What Do You Want?

“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe”.
~Oprah Winfrey

A couple of years ago, I visited seven small schools that were run by the Head Start Program in my area. I volunteered to educate teachers and assistants about the benefits of meditation and stress reduction. As a nurse, I know that working with patients and students often cause enormous stress. Short staffing, lack of resources, pressure to follow protocol, and demanding family members can lead to chronic stress. This is not a favorable environment for a body with trillions of cells, a creative mind, and a spirit that wants to serve.

Stress impedes growth in all areas of our lives. When left untreated, stress turns into burnout, and burnout hinders inspiration. Without inspiration daily activities become colorless, especially if our job description include service to others.

Self-assessment brings self-awareness.

As we sat around the table and introduced ourselves, I gave them each a notebook. “In this you write your dreams”, I said. “Everything you want to become, everything you want to do, and everything you want to have, write it in your notebook, every day.” By taking time to journal, we automatically bring our ideas from the head, and into the world. This is the beginning of turning dreams into reality. By focusing on what we want, we not only shift our mindset from gap to gain, but we also create emotions that have a therapeutic effect on our entire being.

Keep your awareness on what matters.

Keeping awareness on what matters in our life is like fueling the sparks of a fire. Keep the fire burning by feeding the mind with dreams and good intentions. This automatically directs our energies in a sustainable way. “It makes life’s endeavors more manageable, and add meaning to life”, I told them. Meaning combats stress.

Daily assessment of where we are at, how we feel, and what is going on around us, help us to get a clear picture of where we are, and where we want to go. When we know where we want to go, we set goals. When we set goals, we make a plan on how to reach them. We give this process a specific time frame in order to see how it all unfolds. We then evaluate the situation. If we are on target, we continue. If we are not on target, we reevaluate the plan and change accordingly.

This is the nursing process. It is evidence based and I used in my daily practice for more than twenty-five years working in a critical care. It works. This is how you can make it work for you in your daily life. When our dreams are left unrealized, it is because the demand of doing overwhelm us. Instead of energizing our being with hope and vitality, we create more stress. Daily journaling on what we want to achieve keeps us centered and breaks the process down into small steps. With this sensible quote from Mother Theresa in mind, we can take manageable steps towards our dreams. Here are seven guidelines that can help you along the way.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one”.
~Mother Teresa

• If what you want is to lose weight and gain better health, start by including three fruits and three vegetables in your diet, today.
• If you want to write a book, sit down, and write for thirty minutes, today.
• If you want to go back to school and finish a degree, begin by researching schools with programs that inspire you, today.
• If you want to complete a Triathlon, swim for 10 minutes, bike for 10 minutes, or walk for 10 minutes, today.
• If you want to share your expertise and start a business, contact the Small Business Development Center in your area, today.
• If you want to become financially healthy, begin by assessing your spending habits, and stop the money leak, today.
• If you want to create clarity, better health, and more happiness in body, mind, and spirit, start a short meditation practice by focusing on your breath, today.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you chose”.
~Dr. Seuss

Stress is a health and happiness crusher. Health is multidimensional and affect every are of our being. Physical, mental, and spiritual health are all significant. By nurturing our cells with oxygen, water, and good food, feeding the mind with a creative thought process, and utilizing our spiritual essence to help others, we don’t only reduce our stress level, we give life meaning. But, becoming aware of what we truly want, makes life exhilarating.

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🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that we all have something to teach each other. Her contribution is to help adults over age 65 to gain better health and more happiness in body, mind, and spirit. Her expertise is based on her Norwegian background, experience in critical care nursing, and meditation practice. In her book, Say Yes To a Better Life, she explains that mindfulness nurtured by meditation and health literacy is the key to sustaining a healthy, self-actualized life, as well as inner peace and confidence. For questions , more information, or to purchase her book, reach her at www.northboundspry.com.