"I am seeking the fullest expression of myself as a human being on Earth."
--Oprah Winfrey
Can you even begin to imagine if each and every one of us lived our lives with deep commitment to such a lofty vision? Why don't we? What do we make more important than manifesting our fullest expression?
It is easy to dismiss Oprah's success based on her vast fortune and to say, "Well, I could do great things with all that money, too!" But remember, Oprah started out as a poor, black girl in rural Mississippi, born to unwed, teenaged parents. Her early years were spent at her grandmother's farm with no indoor plumbing or electricity. Then she lived with her mother in Milwaukee, where she was sexually abused by several male relatives and began to act out as a troubled young teen. Next, she lived with her father in Nashville, and his stern discipline gave her the guidance and stability she apparently needed to flourish. She began to excel in school and by 19 had a part-time job as a radio reporter in Nashville. The rest, as they say, is history.
Even if any of us could argue that we have faced bigger challenges than Oprah, the question remains, "What are you doing with your life?" What is your contribution? What kind of relationships do you have with yourself and others? How do you give of yourself?
Each of us is born, we breathe in and out for an unspecified period of time and then we die. That's life. Each of us has our very own set of challenges, preferences and capabilities. What are yours, and what are you doing with them? Do you use them as excuses for failure or do you leverage them into greater wisdom and success?
As each new year arrives, many of us take stock of where we are in our lives and what changes we want to make. I am always amused to see how packed the gym is for the first few days of January and then how it gets back to normal in a week or two. It seems that the mere fact that it is a new year fails to provide sufficient momentum in most people to make substantive changes in their lives.
Having been raised Catholic, I am familiar with the experience of coming out of the confessional and feeling like I have a clean slate and wanting to keep it that way. Each new year has always had a similar feeling for me of starting anew, having yet another chance to direct myself through the trials and triumphs of life and wanting to lift myself up higher.
I used to work in strategic planning and learned to view the assets of any individual or organization as people, money and time. I now apply this perspective to myself in managing my own life. As I stand on the threshold of a new year, I am me and all that that encompasses. I have the money I have, no more and no less, and I have another allotment of 8,760 hours to do with as I will. The name of the game, as I see it, is to stay conscious of who I am, what I have and where I am going, and to be open to the possibilities that present themselves. I don't make New Year's resolutions or go to big New Year's parties. Most years, I choose to spend New Year's Eve alone using the vantage point of ending one year and starting a new one to pause and take a good look at my life. My ritual involves the following:
As captain of my own little ship on the sea of life, I get to choose my way through the opportunities and challenges that come my way. I do my best to keep on track or to revise my intentions as needed. It's a living, breathing process, not a rigid goal that must be achieved. I also have an overarching vision or purpose to which I am dedicating my life. This helps to guide my choices and to inform my life each and every day.
How did you celebrate and honor the coming of the new year? What are your rituals?
I wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy and fulfilling new year of 8,760 hours. I hope you will use your allotment well for the highest good of all concerned. And finally, my best wishes to Oprah as she leads OWN, her new television network, which launched yesterday, Jan. 1, 2011, at noon. Her mission is to help unleash the power of human potential by providing mindful, not mindless, television that helps people live their best lives. Thank you, Oprah!
Please feel free to leave a comment below, or contact me at judithjohnson@hvc.rr.com. You can also Retweet this post, share it on Facebook, or e-mail it to friends who may enjoy it. To learn more about me, visit my website, www.judithjohnson.com. For information on my future blogs, click on "Become a Fan" at the top of this page.
Janice Taylor: In Search of the Authentic Self
Jeffry Life, M.D., Ph.D.: 10 Ways to Reach Your Personal Best at Any Age
Ed and Deb Shapiro: No One Has Any Idea What Will Happen Next
Who are you trying to reach? I got it, but ...blech... really?? You bored me right away...Speak to the issue. "What Kind of Life Are you Creating for Yourself?" Wow, Oprah, is a great example... over and over again...... lofty vision? Are you kidding?
I apologize but just say flat out, if you want to create a life for yourself, slow down, take a breath, and when in doubt, don't do anything. You'll know when it's right to make a move.
Also goals are not necessarily monetary, fulfillment can be achieved through spirituality, loving family and friends as well as charitable works.
The article was ruined by the praises to Oprah at the end of the article. Telling her story at the begining is inspirational though.
Each year I seem to discover a new ritual when I'm not travelling. I celebrated the new year by developing my personal life mantra with Chloe Taylor Brown - it took 4 hours but it was worth writing down 25 words that describe you - 15 that others say about you and 10 that you use to describe yourself and then put it into a coherent phrase. You must have a dictionary handy to check the meaning of each word to verify if it's truly describes you.
For example, people have told me for years that I was courageous. It's not true. I am strong not brave. So by working with the dictionary on all the synonyms for courage, I ended up with the word Assertive instead which I definitely am. Fabulous process!
This was the end result of my 2010 review and the numerous lessons learned - it was some year! Now, we are in a new and infinitely abundant one so I wish you all that you wish for yourself Judith.
Catherine
Thank you for the thoughtful article. I like the framing you used. We have a similar process that we have been doing for many years. We review the year and our previous year’s process, and then spend time writing about:
- Acknowledgments and Appreciations,
- Regrets and Goodbyes,
- Hopes and Intents.
We share them and add any new thoughts we got from listening. And finally, we write a brief combined intent for the year, make it into a small art piece, and place it on our altar for the year (so we can review it often).
People here may be interested in these essays as well.
Our January essay is on being happier in the New Year (highlights from The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky):
www.create-the-good-life.com/happier_new_year.html
And here’s an essay on our general approach to designing your life for well being, yours society, and the planet:
www.create-the-good-life.com/slow_life_design.html
Happy New Year Everyone!
Eric Storm
www.Create-The-Good-Life.com
I'm not sure Oprah is the best example to use. Someone who achieves fantastic, mind-boggling success, like Oprah, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Bill Gates; for lack of a better word are, I feel, destined to do so. Why does someone, like Oprah who had such a bad upbringing go on to fame and fortune while Charlie Manson, Ed Gein, Aileen Wuornos, and how many millions of others with similar backgrounds end up as they do. Yeah, personal choice and responsibility and all that plays its part, but I think there is something else at work.
I have tried to teach my children how to use this tool to get done what they need to, it's really just mental perseverance......we all can achieve more if we believe we can.
Beyond our focus on our contributions large and small, I think we need to give thought to the environment (and world) we are creating for our sons and daughters through what we do, say, and don't do and say. We accept lower standards too easily, and an interpretation of success and failure that is about winning and losing rather than gaining knowledge, experience, emotional intelligence versus staying stuck.
Perhaps in the new year we can look to model examples of perseverance and character - not just the more "tangible" output of our labors.
http://dailyplateofcrazy.com/2010/09/08/permission-to-fail-i-dont-think-so/