There are days from time to time when things happen or people behave in a way that cause me to become dejected and demoralised. When this happens, I 'drop my bundle', lose sight of my plan and withdraw from contact with people and attending to those things that move me forward. I generally don't find myself in this space very often nor for very long. But when I do, although I am reluctant to move on, deep within myself I know it is not where I want to be and counter-productive to what I want to achieve.
Over the last week, this is where I have been. Why? The weather was too hot, some things that I had planned did not happen or did not go according to my plan and a couple of people did not live up to my expectations or needs. On reflection, did I have a choice to react the way that I did or to rise above it all and push on for a better outcome? Of course, but I chose the wrong path and sunk into a period of withdrawal, blame and sadness. In hindsight, as is always the case when I end up here, I know that this was not the best choice for me to make. I lost direction, slowed my plan and missed out on opportunities to buoy my own life and to contribute to the celebrations and joy of others.
On the other hand, it did give me an opportunity to pause and reflect. As a result, I have gradually been able to identify things that I might do differently in the future as well as actions that I can take to exert some control in relation to some of those things that occurred. I feel as though (if I take those actions) the next time some or all of those impediments crop up, I will be able to react differently and therefore get a better result.
Life is full of challenges, particularly when you are living with a condition such as MS. Sitting back and watching others and how they tackle impediments with which they are faced I have learned much. It seems to me that people make choices every day. Some people elect to approach their lives in a positive way despite their circumstances while others choose a less productive direction. I have made to choice to go with the former, to have a plan, to work hard to execute that plan and to do it with the demeanour that attracts others to me and gives me the potential to inspire others and influence them toward a positive direction.
But where and how to draw inspiration for myself?
In the first instance, there are people and their stories right at hand that can provide that inspiration. I seek out people to be around me that are positive, work hard and strive for better outcomes for all irrespective of their circumstances. In the past week, two people have inspired me. One, who I know personally - my father-in-law Graham - celebrated his 80th birthday recently. He did not start out life with all the advantages and and opportunities that are available to many. Despite this, he has consistently seized opportunities and built relationships that have enabled him to build a successful life for himself and exert a very positive influence and inspire those around him. I am also currently reading a book written by Phil Jackson (most notably NBA coach for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers). He is not simply a success because of his knowledge and experience in the game of basketball. More so he has succeeded because of the relationships that he builds with others and the deliberation and planning that he undertakes in order to deliver successful outcomes on a repeat basis.
I have also developed a clear vision, plan and goals for my life. I started this process when I retired from full-time work last year. This month I have reviewed my performance for 2013 and concluded that I scored a 6 out of 10. Given that last year was my first in my new circumstances, I am comfortable that this was an acceptable result. I have just now completed my revised plan for 2014. I am happy with the experience and reflections that I have been able to bring forward to this plan from 2013. I feel confident that when I look back this time next year that I will be in a better place and achieved more than I did last year ensuring that my vision for life is top of mind and achievable.
Finally, I am drawing inspiration from time to reflect and ensuing changes to my plan or approach. Through mindful meditation and a sense of calm, I am gradually finding ways to improve my approach to life and my interactions with others. This path is not always 100% successful for me every time however I am greatly encouraged each time it does enable me to succeed as well as through the learnings I gain from those occasions when things do not go quite as I planned.
This week was clearly of the latter variety. Having levered myself from the mire and taken time to reflect, I feel stronger and much more focused on what I need to do next to deliver my plan. Thank you to those of you that have reached out to me in the past week. Your support and encouragement has been crucial to where I find myself now.
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As a part of my plan for 2014, I am aiming to achieve two things:
I have decided that every day this year I will make a comment or an observation via Twitter about my experience of life with MS. You can find my daily tweet either at andy_melb (Tagged as MS365) on Twitter or by friending me on Facebook. I hope that you might find these tweets insightful and in some cases helpful. I am also doing this for my own benefit so that the end of this year I can look back on the good, the bad and the ugly and identify my opportunities to build an even better life.
I also intend to work hard at blogging on a regular basis. Again, I hope you might find my blogs engaging and helpful. You'll find my blog posts either at "Andy's Life with Possibilities" in Blogger or via my Twitter or Facebook accounts as mentioned above. I hope you draw enjoyment and a sense of inspiration from my blog and will support me by providing comment and feedback.
For me, these two endeavours are part of my personal development. As part of my life plan, I see social media as a key way for me to stay connected with people, learn from others and remain motivated and active in all of my different 'communities'.
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