A Mother-Daughter Kind of Thang

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Before I get to the news that made my day/week/year/life let me give you some context.  For those of you who are my new followers and for those of you who don't know me too well, writing used to be a terrifying assignment for me. I was never taught how to write well. Year after year my teachers taught the same thing.

Object. Subject. Verb.

No one taught me how to write in a structure that would help all my thoughts be focused. My parents and teachers all said the same thing to me. "You have great ideas, but your paper is very scattered."

Fast forward to yesterday. My mom is going back to school to earn her Ph.D. She had a midterm paper due today for a Freud class she is taking. This is the email I received yesterday:


Hi! 

I finally finished my midterm and thought you might be willing to give it a look and let me know if there's anymore editing I should do. It's supposed to be 3-5 pages and highlight some of the ideas we've touched on this quarter in Freud with our case material. It is supposed to show that we understand the concepts we are learning about. 

I'd love your feedback before I print it tonight, otherwise, we can talk about it another time, and I'll print it anyways. I don't think I can look at it anymore (I'm smiling).

I love you,

Briar

OKAY! First, she signed it Briar. That's her name but to me she is Mommy. That made me laugh. Anyways, the real miracle here is that she came to me for help. After I was done editing her paper we spoke on the phone. When we were done she said she was "grateful for my editorial mind."

Life really doesn't get any better for a mother-daughter relationship when your mom turns to you for help when in the past it was the biggest hurdle for the both of us; Me with writing the assignment and her staying up past midnight to help me edit it (a.k.a. redoing the paper).

That's all for now folks!

Setting Goals

There really seems to be very little reason to wait until December to look back onto the best and worst of that year. Instead, people should be focused on what they wish to achieve by December. Yes, it sounds easy, just say what you want. But it's much more than that.

Stand in the future, in December 31, 2011. What do you see? What do you have? Who have you helped? What goals have you achieved? Are you happy? Do you see yourself in a relationship or with more money? Whatever it is you want, picture it in the future. 

Great! See, that was the easy part. Now it's time to work backwards. Let's go back three months from December. Standing in September, what are you going to do in order to have all the things you saw in December? What last-minute or fine-tuning goals do you have to finish the year with a 'hoorah!'? Once you  have made your checklist for September, rewind until June, then March and finally, today. 

For any goal or goals you wish to have, stand in that future and create all that you desire. Nothing is too big or too small. Once you have created that list, rewind the clock (baby steps here) so you can begin to put yourself into action. When you are in the moment and you have created your future the way you see fit, meaning not your parents of your friends or your family, then you get to live a life of fulfillment, happiness and joy. 

Challenge yourself and set a goal for the future. It could for next month, next year or five years from now. Leave a comment of what your goals are and the steps you are going to take to reach them. The more you share openly, the more people you have to hold you accountable. 

Good luck!