ReinventingLife

Purpose is Power

[jeffthehut-blog]

Random thought I just had on my favorite journaling app.

[jeffthehut-blog]

ReInvent Clarity

I have taken a break from drinking alcohol for the most part.  Except for one sensational night out with friends, I have not touched a drop since Christmas Day.  There are two really good bottles of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA still sitting in my fridge.  But something has happened.  An addiction has taken hold.  I am addicted to the clarity that has become present in my life.  My head has cleared. The inner being of my body has awoke and I hear it loud ... and CLEAR. Listen.

I love beer.  I’m proud of my badges on Untappd.  I love to drink wine with my lady.  I love being tipsy.  I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but I think alcohol has brought a lot of joy to my life and much more good than bad.  All that being said, I am willing to give it up for my new addiction.

I am addicted to clarity of intention.  I know how I want to live, grow, and prosper. I know what I want to experience.  Is this clarity related solely to my abandonment of the drink?  I doubt it.  Yet, I cannot deny how good my body feels and the messages it is sending me.  Not only that, the universe is conspiring with me.  It too is calling to me - conspiring to make IT happen.  What is your IT?  I challenge you.  Take the next 21 days (all the holiday parties are over).  Take a break from the drink.  See if a clarity emerges.  See if your mind and body sing a new song, one worth listening to again and again.  

[jeffthehut-blog]

Adios 2016! I was never more interested in saying good bye to a year like I was Saturday night. I went to one of my favorite spots and caught this shot of the sun setting on 2016 over Denver. 2016 gave me a final shot with one of the biggest fights I've had with my love. It was a doozy (and by the way I was completely sober). It has taken me a day and a half, but I'm back up off the canvas. 2016 did not beat me (as hard as it tried). I'm standing. Standing strong. I'm fighting back against time and 2017 has no chance against me. I have a vision and a purpose. I will not be taken off purpose. I may take some shots. We all do. I am ready for them. Prepared. Strong.

[jeffthehut-blog]

Reinvent (with) Meditation

I’ve been dabbling in practicing meditation. A while back “Meditation Studio” was the free app of the week at Starbucks. I have learned a lot from my practice. Such as:

(1) Meditation is powerful - I ALWAYS feel more alert more relaxed and more powerful after I complete even a short 3-4 minute practice.

(2) Meditation is never perfect - it’s a practice. I have never completely escaped the tension or struggles of my day - meditation doesn’t do that.

(3) Meditation is always perfect - it’s a mistake not to do it. Meditation is whatever it is at any given moment. It is the ability to change your focus. To let go of the external and reinvent the moment.

Part of reinventing yourself is finding your true purpose. Meditation and visualization are powerful often untapped tools (like a map and compass) for helping you find your purpose. Use them daily.

I saw an interesting mantra this morning that I will try in my next meditation practice. “Inhale confidence. Exhale doubt.”

[jeffthehut-blog]

It's a good feeling to move past a well worn belt hole. Even if it is to another almost equally worn belt hole. The next one will feel even better. It is amazing what you can do when you really pay attention to what you are putting in you body.

[jeffthehut-blog]

Reinvent Happiness

Why be healthy?  Why be financially fit and physically strong?

Freedom!  Pursuit of Happiness!

Money cannot buy happiness.  That is a certainty.  Physical health does not equate to mental well being.  You must first find satisfaction in who you are right now.  Being satisfied is not being happy, it is just about understanding that you are okay, good enough, lovable, and someone you are proud to be.  

That being said, once you are satisfied, you must have a purpose to your life. Note that your purpose can and should change as you grow.  In order to fulfill your purpose at any given moment, your mind and body must serve you.  They must be mentally and physically strong enough for you to pursue your purpose. Not everyone is gifted with a healthy body, but we have all seen people with a “disability” that are stronger, healthier and more able than most.  You must strive to use what you have to the best of your ability.

Likewise, if you are burdened by debt and if you are living paycheck to paycheck, then you are not truly free to serve yourself or others.  You are merely fulfilling the dreams of your debtors and those that have found financial freedom. Escaping this life is difficult.  It requires intensity and focus.  It also requires a change in perspective.  You must move from a position of consumerism - where you keep acquiring things to make you “happy”, to a position of satisfaction, where you recognize you already have it pretty damn good.  Understanding, accepting, and appreciating everything you have, is the first step.

I am on the path and know I will get there.  I am on my way to having a fit and healthy body that will serve me for the remainder of my days.  I already feel the changes physically.  More importantly is the strengthening of my mindset.  I have reinvented happiness, or my definition of happiness and it feels great.

[dreamsoffools]

✯ 

[jeffthehut-blog]

She will be missed.  A strong, independent, beautiful woman, Princess Leia was.  A tormented, real, beautiful woman Carrie was.

[jeffthehut-blog]

Reinventing the Resolution

A definition of “resolution” from Dictionary.com is:

2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc. (emphasis added)

I like to make New Year’s resolutions, but in general, I have been doing so in error.  Most of my resolutions are not actually resolutions, they are goals, or aspirations.  The classic one (which I seem to make almost every year) is to lose a certain amount of weight (i.e. I am going to lose 30 pounds or reach a goal weight of 200 lbs. this year).  That is a mistake and, without taking action, it most often is unsuccessful.

Goals are great, but they are not resolutions.  You should always have specific, measurable and attainable goals (SMART goals).  However, in order to reach these goals, you must take action, you must resolve to change.  And you know what? Don’t wait until January 1st to do it.  DO IT NOW.  Change now.  Take real action right NOW.  Why wait?  If you know where you want to be, why not start immediately on the journey to get there?

To truly make and keep a resolution instead of a goal, is to reinvent the way you typically look at goals.  You must focus on the action not the aspiration.  It is not about setting a goal or an aspiration.  It is about changing the way you act. It is about recognizing that the course of action(s) you have taken in the past no longer serve you and that to be the person you want to be you must take a new course of action, develop new methods and procedures for achieving what are your goals and aspirations, and reinvent yourself.  If you want to lose weight, take action now.  Get a journal, or download an app for your phone and start tracking your calorie consumption (there are lots of great/free apps out there - like MyFitnessPal and others - to help you do this).  Make it your course of action to track everything that goes into your body until it becomes a way of life. Many studies have shown that those who keep a food journal or log are far more successful at losing weight than those that don’t.

If you have some time today, or this week, sit down and really think about what actions you need to take to reach your goals.  Then resolve to change the current course you are on, to reinvent your life. Take a new action and make it a habit.  But don’t wait until the first of the year.  Do it now.

[purplebuddhaproject]

[jeffthehut-blog]

An excellent reminder.