The Navigator

Posts Tagged ‘balance’

I joined Facebook as a way to connect with people, real people.  I wanted to build and strengthen relationships, like most.  I love the real time information that comes my way each time I log on.  I love getting to see what movies people are watching, who they spent the day with, what the weather is like in different parts of the world.  I had a mission and couldn’t be taken off track until a warm day in the fall of 2009.  The day my children began talking about Restaurant City and other similar games and how much fun they were having (or something like that).

I remember thinking things like “what a waste of time”, “I’m so glad I don’t spend my time like that”, and “I’ve got better things to do”.  I was so proud of myself for staying strong, even when I saw all the posts on my wall.  People looking for new loot in Mafia Wars, people cooking new recipes in Restaurant City, people moving up levels in Petville and people needing friends in Happy Aquarium.   Then it happened…

I broke down.  I just want to check it out, I told myself.  I just want to see what all the hype is about.  It’s no big deal.  One look or two, I can walk away.  I’m strong and I’m really busy so I know I it won’t be a problem.  It started innocently enough.  I built a little restaurant in Restaurant City, my first drug of choice.  I decorated it, came up with a creative name and it felt so personal.  I was like a proud mom.  It was mine, all mine.  All I had to do now was come up with better food so people would want to eat at my restaurant.

I watched it grow and grow.  Soon I could plant a garden and nurture that.  I could buy and trade the food items I needed and I could decorate and redecorate any way I wanted.  After all, I was a successful restaurant owner – one of the most successful in my neighborhood.  After a while, my interest dwindled.  There weren’t as many recipes I wanted to develop and the people who came, they just left messes for me to clean up and I was tired.  My employees, if left unsupervised for long would stop working and take naps on the floor.  The bathroom was never clean enough.  It’s hard work running a restaurant, you know.

So I moved on and gave some other games a chance.  I didn’t want any of them to feel left out and I had all these gifts from my friends.  It felt so rude to not accept the gifts, so I just had to do it.  I tried Petville.  Dressed my pet up nice and cute.  Didn’t like having to visit other places, it was kind of a pain.  I tried some aquarium game but couldn’t keep my tank clean.  I tried some other pet game but my pet went to the pound when didn’t check on them enough because they were hungry.  I tried YoVille and didn’t get it.  I tried Farmville and my crops kept dying.  Then I found Cafe World.  Ahhh, another restaurant game.   My workers did what they were there to do.  They never let me down.  The recipes were easier to keep track of.  I was in heaven.  I fought long and hard to have the best restaurant in the neighborhood and then once I had that status, I fought to keep it.  Then I wondered why.

Then I found Country Life.  Such cute animals and for some reason the crops were easier to maintain.  I could even make it rain and watch my crops mature faster.  I was, once again, in heaven. Or was it hell?

You see, like many others, my addictions to these games runs deep.  Why?  I’m not sure.  It might be the mindlessness of it all.  An opportunity to escape?  Perhaps.  The bottom line, I got sucked in like everyone else does. It’d be easy to blame Facebook and on the companies and individuals who create apps for them (I am in awe over their creativity and drive).  It’d be easy to blame those who sent me gifts I just couldn’t resist but I know in the end it was me, just me.   But today, I’m taking back control of my life.  From here on out, I vow to stick to the occasional game I can play for little while and conquer – rather than the never ending, mindless clicking of the games on Facebook that goes on forever and ever.  I realize that my life is so much better without these games and, to play occasionally is not a big deal.  To begin to set my schedule based on when my food will be ready to serve, not ok.  Funny, but not ok.

So if I’ve shared a neighborhood with you, you will be missed but hopefully we can connect in other ways – the ways I wanted in the first place.  If you send me a gift, please don’t take it personally when I don’t accept it.  Today, my life is mine once again.  I’ve got great things to do and it’s time to get busy once again.

Happy holidays to all!  If you want to join my club, feel free.  Perhaps we can start a new neighborhood somewhere…

I can’t believe how fast time flies.  I’ve got too much going on I think but thought I would take a minute to catch up.

I’m in the process of moving my website to a new program and hosting site.  I am really excited about the new options available on this new system and can’t wait to share it with everyone.  It has things like alternating content, the weather, quotes, a calendar, newsletter and you can import your wordpress blog right into your site.  I haven’t decided if I’m going to do that last one since I’ve had this on it’s own for quite a while but we’ll see.  Right now I just need to worry about getting all the content over.

I’m also switching my newsletter manager away from Constant Contact.  I have no complaints about Constant Contact – it’s a great program and their customer service is also great.  I have just found another one that has more options and is easily integrated with an event management system, a survey program and social media.  This will make it so much easier to get things done and they’ll take less time!

I’ve finished my second quarter of school which was a lot tougher than the first – many of you have heard me comment on that!  This is definitely an example of “be careful what you wish for”.  I thought the first quarter was too easy and was worried it would feel like that the whole program and I wouldn’t feel like I’d “earned” my degree.  I know that doesn’t make any sense.  It’s a belief I’ve been working on for a long time that I just haven’t seemed to clear completely yet.  It’s that nasty belief of “I have to work hard to get anywhere”.  Do you have this one?  (Thanks Mom and Dad)  Now, I’m just moving along like Goldilocks, looking for the “just right” option.

As many of you also know, my oldest daughter moved out a couple of months ago.  We’ve done a lot of painting upstairs and down and began to make the entire house our own.  It’s been fun getting to do some redecorating.  My favorites are the new paint in the stairway going downstairs and the hall at the foot of the stairs because it makes it so much brighter in an area that is kind of dark AND the paint in the upstairs bathroom – also much brighter and cheerier.  It’s the simple things, isn’t it?

My youngest, Kayla, off with a friend shopping today is starting drivers ed in a week.  I can’t believe she’ll be driving soon.  She keeps asking about driving my car…I am such a nervous passenger as it is…I don’t care what car she drives but I can’t be in the vehicle.  I know that much.  I would not be helpful in her learning process.  I don’t think I rode in the car with my older daughter for years after she got her license.  Thank God for husbands and siblings.

We had a great Christmas.  New tradition of fonduing was great.  We had way too much food but it was all so good.  One of the favorites was the shrimp cooked in the broth.  It had this incredible flavor.  I’ve made notes for next year and bought a few things yesterday so we could do it on a smaller scale more often.  The oil and the broth both heat up so fast and it’s a fun way to cook and eat.

Lastly for today, my desk is in my new home office, ready to go.  I have a lot of bins to go through to get things organized and a couple of things to get out of storage to make it complete but it feels good, I love the paint color and I’m excited to start working in there finally.  I know that having a nice work space will be a big help in staying organized and getting some thing complete like the 2 eBooks I’ve had almost done for most of the year (LOL) among other things.

I am really looking forward to 2010 and all it has to offer each of us.  Enjoy what’s left of the 2009!

You will never find success if you can’t define it.  This is one of the topics in my new book, Inspiring Success.  Success means different things to different people.  It’s usually based on your individual values. 

How do you define success?  Have you defined it?

I recently came across a quote and I can’t remember the author for the life of me but it said something along the lines of this: 

“Success is having everything in life that money can’t buy
and some of what it can.”

Yep, that’s it. 

There are so many things in life that are important to me that money can’t buy.  I want to be happy.  I want to be healthy.  I want to be free to be who I am completely and to share that with others.  I want to have balance in my life – however I choose to define balance.  I want to spend time in the sun, time finding beauty in my surroundings.  I want the same for my family and friends.  I also want to spend time supporting others in their healing and time helping them to be successful – whatever that means to them. 

I want to know that I can pay my bills.  I want to know that there is food on my table and gas in my car and some left over for a movie and popcorn with a friend, for my daughter to play tennis and my husband to go hunting.  And maybe an occasional vacation wouldn’t hurt now and then.

Pretty simple and yet so important.  You’ll never find something you can’t define.   How would you know when you achieved it?  I invite you to spend some time defining success today and then go get it!