Our family is vacationing in Park City, Utah this month.  I enjoy sitting on the deck which overlooks a large pond that is frequented by ducks and geese.  It’s a peaceful, quiet place to sit and ponder a meaningful life filled with passion and purpose.  The other day, I noticed the gardener mowing the enormous piece of land around the pond.  What I found most interesting was how he created a boundary between the land and the pond.  He left the grass and weeds a bit high between the pond and the ground around our deck.  It created a “boundary” for people walking by.  As a matter of fact, I’ve noticed that my children will not cross that area.  Greg and I have not said anything to them about the pond and yet, this “boundary” created the idea, “do not trespass.”  This got me thinking about the “boundaries” that live within us as we walk through life.

The journey from being a child to becoming an adult is one that can be filled with lessons and advice that do not always benefit us later in life.  Although these messages may be filled with love and good intentions, they can sometimes keep us from crossing our own “imaginary boundaries” into realizing our Big ideas, dreams, and goals.

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Last week, I was having a conversation with another smart woman and we found ourselves on a familiar topic to many people with children:  schools and education.  This woman has children in middle school and high school and she was sharing with me that the schools have two tracks in which to receive an education.  As you might imagine, one is perceived as better than the other.  As I reflect on this conversation, I had to smile.  It seems our children are really no different than we are.  We, too, must stay on the “right” track with the “right” environment and the “right” teachers around us if we are to realize our dreams, goals, and ideas.

Last week I shared with you some thoughts on why creating the “right” external environment is essential to leading a meaningful life.  Having a home, office, and relationships that provide harmony will help you create more of what you want in life.  Today, I want to share some ideas with you about your internal environment.  What’s an internal environment?  It’s your internal voice, your authentic self—your core.  As in our home, office, and relationships, we need to clear away the clutter in our own self-talk to allow abundant thoughts to flow into our lives.  We become what we focus on.  If we find ourselves focusing on negative thoughts and judgmental self-talk, we tend to project this into our world and the world around us.  I often take time to listen to my own internal voice.  I’m curious to learn what I might be thinking but not actually saying outloud.  I ask myself a couple of questions to gauge where I am:  Are my thoughts positive?  Negative?  Judgmental?  Am I in a place of possibility thinking or is it “doom and gloom?”  In my work with women, I encourage them to stay in possibility thinking.

How about you?  Do you have an inner critic?  Does she carry on a positive conversation with creative thoughts and calming words or is she judging you in every situation you encounter?  Does she have empathy for other people that you come into contact with or does she say something like, “You think you have it bad, wait until I tell you my story!” 

I invite you to take an inventory of your internal environment.  Your internal voice needs to be “right” if you want to manifest a new way of being.  If you are ready to step into a new journey and want to create something different in your life, your internal voice needs to speak the same language.  Practice creating a regular habit of gratitude.  One immediately comes to mind.  In Los Angeles, parking is a premium.  When all of a sudden a space opens up, I take a moment to give gratitude and if there is time left on the meter–wow, double-gratitude!   It’s about finding the silver lining, even in simple things.  Dwell on your accomplishments more often.  Review what’s working rather than criticizing what’s not working in your life.  Focus on finding simple solutions in your life to improve a situation and make it better.

If you have a BIG idea, dream or goal that you want to realize, it’s essential that you create the “right” environment in your home, office, relationships, and with yourself in order to make it happen.  I will leave you with a familiar quote that I’ve been thinking about this morning that seems ideal:  “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi 

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you. 

© 2008 Joy Chudacoff

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Recently, I took a road trip with my family from Los Angeles to Napa Valley, California.  During my visit I learned that it takes a different environment (soil, temperature, irrigation) to grow different types of grapes to make wine.  For example, you cannot create a great tasting chardonnay when you are in an environment that creates great Pinot Noir.  This got me thinking about how important our environment is when we are creating something new in our lives.

We all have dreams and ideas that we want to manifest.  It could be starting a new business, a new relationship, a fitness routine, a new career, etc.  What I have observed in many people (including myself at times) is that we make a plan to accomplish our dreams and ideas, but often neglect to create an environment that supports our road to success.  We have both an external environment and an internal environment.  What’s the difference?  Your external environment is your home, your office, the community where you live, and relationships you have with other people.  Your internal environment is your authentic self, your internal voice – your core.  Today I’m going to share some thoughts with you about your external environment. 

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The other day as we were driving to school, my daughter Jenna boldly stated, “Mom, for my birthday, I want a Pogo Stick.” This statement made me curious so I asked her, “Jenna, why do you want a Pogo Stick?” Jenna’s reply was “Mom, it’s easy. You just get on, fall off, get back up, and get on again. Then you learn how to do it.” Very true, my adventurous 5- year old. As we continued down pacific coast highway, this answer got me thinking about achieving goals and dreams and the process we need to go through before really making the impossible possible in our lives.

There are times when we have a big idea or goal and we might take a step toward making it happen. However, we will often come across a challenge or obstacle that stops us in our tracks. Unfortunately, we may give up on our goals, without getting back on our “stick.” Didn’t we all go through this process, as kids, learning how to ride a bike without the training wheels — lots of skinned knees!? (more…)

This past weekend, our family went on a camping trip with my daughter Jenna’s pre-school class.  There were 30 children, ages 4-5, along with their parents and teachers.  Needless to say, my daughter and her classmates had a terrific time and created many lasting memories.  When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, “climbing all those trees, Mom!”  If you have ever been camping, then you are well aware that you put your tent up, roll out that sleeping bag, and prepare to live in nature.  Then, of course, when the camping is over you begin the task of taking all of those items and getting them back into their small, tiny, itty-bitty bags.  As soon as you begin this process, you immediately wonder - how in the world did they ever get that sleeping bag into that tiny carrying case in the first place?

On Sunday, as we all began to pack up, my friend and smart woman, Margie Glick, said with a chuckle, “This is a morning about packing a lot into a little.”  Well said Margie.  It also got me to thinking about how busy women do this act most every day.  We look at the “to do” list and we try to pack as much as we can into the smallest amount of time.  At the end of the day, we end up late, exhausted, and cranky.  After all, we are wives, partners, moms, entrepreneurs, daughters, friends, volunteers—did I miss anything?  And we take each one of those roles very seriously.  As a matter of fact, we take them so seriously that it can become hazardous to our well-being.  “Getting it all done” can be a badge of honor that we wear.  To be able to check off the “to do” list at the end of the day can feel liberating, or, over time some of it can also begin to feel like a burden. (more…)