One of the questions I pondered today was, "What would have become of me had I decided to go to college and complete a higher education?" Now, there is no answer to this question or better yet, there are an endless number of answers, which is worse! After many hours of thought on this I decided that all along life's way, I've had the freedom to decide what I wanted to do or what would happen to me. Sometimes the decisions seem almost too easy to make, but ultimately, I'm the one who decides. I decided that instead of a college education, I wanted to flee home (that's right...I didn't leave home, I fled) and see what it was like making it on my own. Maybe I thought I was going to suddenly become Mary Tyler Moore or something, but I decided and I made it happen. That is what I kept coming back to today as I thought about all of the decisions I've made over the years; everything that has happened to me, I made it so! As the product of two of the worst decision makers ever born, I think I've made a nice life for myself. In the words of my sister Gena, "I'm a happy person!!" Nowadays when I take the time to reflect on past decisions, I'm better about claiming my mistakes and working to glean some nugget of learning from the experience. In thinking about the question above, there is just no limit to what I might have done, but then again, I wouldn't be this Nancy in this world today, had I made different decisions. So, the life lesson I took away from today: Don't waste too much time trying to beat yourself up over the decisions you've made in the past. Use the time to look to the future instead and make a better path for yourself tomorrow. If you are like me and secretly wish you had made some different decisions, do some investigation on the subject and see if you can bring about what you desire for your future. It's okay to plan your future. In fact, it's what everyone should do. How will you know you've gotten where you want to go if you have no map or plan for getting there? Write a plan for the future and then execute against that plan. I call it, "Write your plan, work your plan!" Oh, honey!! I'm a planning addict!! Let me give you an example. I used to be the host of the family Thanksgiving Dinner each year (well, most years for awhile there) for Mr. Hemati's family. This is a major event where I would usually set a table for at least 12. For any king of party or get together like this I ALWAYS write an event plan. The plans were not fancy, I just used (and still do, by the way) a spiral notebook and wrote out by hand my plans. I would prepare the following:
- Grocery shopping plan
- A house cleaning/decorating plan
- A menu
- A cooking plan
- A serving plan
- A clean-up plan
These plans are always my map of what I need to do, when I need to start each segment and what to expect along the way. In 2009, we hosted the family for a Christmas breakfast. Breakfast is my FAVORITE meal to prepare and great for Christmas. Here are a few snaps of my plans for that event...yes, I still have them in the spiral!
I know you can't tell much from these crazy photographs, but I just wanted to make the point that there isn't a right or wrong way to do this. As you can see, there are lists of things in pencil and then I've marked things out in pen on the day. Plans are in pencil so I can erase as I make the plans, but on the day every other note and mark is in ink so I can tell the difference between plans and execution notes. Besides the spiral, pencil and pen, I used highlighters and post-it notes. Just get tools that you like, bring them and your brain to the table and dream up whatever plans you like. Then, execute against that plan and I promise you, you'll get results and close to what you expected when you wrote your plan, too. Notice the follow-up note I made to myself on the page in the top right. In case you can't make it out, it says, "Party was a hit! Tired but feeling great! Merry Christmas, 2009!" The plans were made way in advance and I had things to do every day for the week running up to Christmas. These two spiral notebook pages kept me on track and in the end, I felt like I gave my best to my family. Part of my Christmas gift to them! The day gave me the opportunity to see the happy faces of my family smiling the whole day! It was great!! Now, you can do the same thing for yourself, only instead of planning a party or an event, plan your life. What do you want in life? Write a plan that gets you what you want and then execute against the plan! Should I say that again? Nope...you've got it? Okay!
Only Nancy would give you a photographic collage of hand-written plans for a Christmas party! Maybe it doesn't help you, but it helps me. Remember, I'm still planning my future too! Sharing what I've learned here in this blog helps me for my future. What's Nancy's plan for the future? Well, I can't share all my secrets with you. I need to remain something of an enigma. Just know that I do have my plans and they are crazy looking. Besides lists (oh Lord...I love lists), I also use a little thing called Mind Mapping to help me think through ideas. I used to do this on paper too, but now I use an app on my iPad called iThoughts. Here is a sample Mind Map from iThoughts:
With a Mind Map you start with a main idea. In this case it's "iThoughts Help." From there, the subject branches off into more granular detail. Think of a linear outline. I have trouble putting my thoughts into an outline form because my mind just doesn't work that way. Mind Mapping is just another way to outline a subject or idea. I would then be able to translate the Mind Map above into a linear outline for my more straight-forward thinking friends!
So, do we have that straight now? Ask questions, make plans, write them down and then...okay, say it with me, "Execute against those plans!" Now, as in the repeated line of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) on Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Make it so!" Until tomorrow, when GOD only knows what I'll write about, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
No comments:
Post a Comment