Devoted - being wholly committed, showing strong enthusiasm, involving deep dedication to goals and placing deep emotional and energetic investment into those goals. Each year, I choose one word that drives my focus on my actions for the year. This year, my word is DEVOTED. Being devoted to my wellness, my family and my school & studio communities is going to take commitment, discipline and focus. Each day's actions will be in alignment to my goals. Wellness includes mind, body and spirt!!! Each weekend, I've been meal prepping my breakfast and lunch. This week I've added a sweet treat. When I don't have a plan for what I eat, I end up choosing unhealthy and high calorie items that detour my entire day. I was on track through the summer, but then the stress of school and chaotic schedules messed up my diligence to my nutrition. I was munching on the office candy box, nibbling on lounge treats and stopping too often at Starbucks for a venti hot caramel macchiat...
This weekend I was doing a lot of weeding. I had mixed feelings of success and disappointment. There was an area of my yard by my garage that was getting overgrown, full of weeds and making our yard look extra messy and unkept. I got a great amount of satisfaction pulling the weeds out of the ground, especially after a rain they come out way easier. After I was done, I could see the beauty in that area and the potential for added beauty.
However, I was not as enthused with my vegetable garden. There were weeds everywhere!!!! This year I didn't put down the black garden fabric that I usually do before planting. I didn't think it would be necessary or that I could deal without it. Well, was I wrong. I got in there and pulled weeds from around all my growing vegetables. I could almost hear them thanking me for being able to breath now and get the light that they needed to grow. However, partly due to my laziness and not remembering how my garden was a mess before without the fabric, is where it got me now. I should have known better, planned better and instead of thinking the same overgrowth wouldn't happen again, take action and be prepared.
I find so many of life's metaphors in my garden. The saying You Reap What You Sow a proverb meaning that future consequences are inevitably shared by present actions, first and foremost comes to mind. In pulling the weeds around my garage, I was able to see areas of beauty and the potential for a wood storage area, extra flowers or a cute barn quilt picture. Being active in getting rid of the ugly, unneeded, messy stuff, allowed me to see the potential of what was truly there behind the mess. On the other hand, when I wasn't prepared, or acting as if the same thing wouldn't happen, even though I was a aware of a previous unfavorable outcome, but did it anyway. Then I got the results that I didn't want. The consequences of my INACTION was worse then if I would have put forth the effort to do it right in the first place and not have blind ignorance.
These same themes come to mind in so many different aspects in my life. When I'm totally excited and ready to take on the world, or when I've been neglectful and shoot myself in the foot. This is when I really take the time and reflect on my goals and what I really want in life or just what I really want to happen for the day. A strategy that I use in the GROW model.
GROW stands for:
G - Goals
R - Reality
O - Options or Obstacles
W - Will
The goal that you choose can be as big or small as you like, but it is best to break it down into manageable, Quick Win goals, that not only help you make progress along the way, but don't overwhelm you.
Reality can be a slap in the face. You need to evaluate where you current are and where you need to be. This could be close to your goal or nowhere near it. When reflecting on your current reality, you'll need to dive into your values, beliefs and current actions that are helping your towards your goal or hindering you from achieving your dreams.
Options or Obstacles can push you forward or derail your efforts entirely. Never underestimate the power of an idea. Some small action can put you on the right track toward your goal. However, you also need to be aware of the obstacles that you may face along the way. Obstacles can be external or internal. An external obstacle may be lack of funds or opinions of others. Where internal obstacles may be self-doubt or actions that are part of your current reality. It's important to identify those now within your process to either learn to deal with them or kick them out of the way.
Will is ultimately the actions that you are going to take to ensure that you reach your goal. This is where you take your leap, where you've planned for every scenario and lined your ducks in a row and are ready to make it happen. Its Ok to start slow and to start small. Actions do not need to be huge, but when you add them up they can make a huge difference. Take time to reflect after each action step. Some are going to take you in the right direction and some are going to lead you off course. The important thing is to try again.
You may need to go through the GROW process several times. Maybe after an action, you notice a slight change to your original goal, or your situation may change and you'll have to adjust. New opportunities or roadblocks may come your way. Your journey can not be linier, it will not be linier. There will be bumps and challenges along the way. Keep your goal front and center and work through the process as often as necessary to reach it.
So its too late for me to put down the garden fabric, or is it? I know I don't want to give up, since the goal is to have vegetables for my family and friends. Its going to take more effort on my part either way. I can either pick the weeds or maneuver around my already growing plants and lay down fabric. I need to adjust my actions to deal with the current situation no matter what. Ultimately the garden and myself will need to GROW!!!
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