Hanging Out Online Success Team

[AthenaCat42]

OK. Change of plans. I am making it a "weekend".

Sore from doing the grocery shopping / dish washing thing yesterday, struggled hours to make simple food so I'm now all blood sugar whacked. So rather than fight it I'm calling it a "weekend" and will be doing weekend things today.

Holding in mind the essence, the phrases, the thoughts, the words, I came up with yesterday. Periodically I swirl them around in my mind, remember them, savor them, hold onto them ... but I won't write them, not yet. I know from experience that in this state I am not effective, it is better to wait.

So I am choosing to do something I WILL be effective & productive with. And continue to swirl ...

[krystalargo]

Athena, Thanks for the good current information. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

BLESS BLESS!

Krystalargo

[AthenaCat42]

Thanks Krystalargo!! How are you doing with your goals?

For myself it has been an interesting few days ... wrote up my ideas for my emails for my team to review, but no one responded. I thought maybe it was because of the Independence Day weekend (though not everyone in the groups are in the US), and I have been feeling out of whack with scheduling ... I want to work M-F, take weekends off & do chores & rest ... but, say, I hurt Wednesday and don't work, so then I feel like I should make it up on Saturday, etc. What that means is I constantly feel unbalanced an my house is a complete wreck, which makes things like eating on schedule challenging because my tiny kitchen is cluttered with dirty dishes & etc.

So I decided to "take a weekend" and continued working on getting my home cleaned up (which has not been done in many long months): cobwebs are down, dishes are washed, floor is mopped, rooms are dusted, bathroom is clean, sheets are washed, mattress is flipped. Bedroom needs attention. Did usual "weekend" things I haven't done in a while like copy off pictures from Dropbox to my computer, then deleting them from my phone & iPad. Backed up my TV shows & movies. VERY PRODUCTIVE, and my house feels really good to be in now, and it's super easy to immediately clean up dishes after use.

Buuuuttt ... wow I hurt. I took yesterday off and felt better by the end of the day, no gasping for breath, could actually move around, even picked up a bread twisty in the evening that I dropped on the floor at breakfast. Yesterday my whole body hurt, today it's my back. But I feel tired, spacey, out of it, and as much as I want to work, the idea of it actually makes me want to cry so I think I need to find other ways to be productive.

I have several projects I haven't been able to get to, like organize my pictures ... I want to write up my recipe blogs but I can't find the pictures that go with the recipes! I want to finish getting all my DVDs copied as MP4s and into iTunes. I have a box of papers & stuff I need to go through. I have decided to spend an hour each evening "after work" to work on each of these, and categorized them into 5 groups. Today's category is "blog".

As much as I want to work on my PPP, I know I need to have a brain, and I'm very out of it right now, so I think today would be best spent working toward Blog, which means typing up recipes & going through pictures folders ... and setting a timer so I only spend 15 minutes on the computer, and then take a 15 minute lie-down break. The irony is that I don't know if this is a good decision or way to spend my day because I can feel my brain isn't clicking right ... which sounds like it means I'm doing the right thing by not doing something "important" or "difficult" or outside my comfort zone.

As for the emails ... I REALLY really really REALLY wish I could get some feedback on my writing. I am apprehensive about it because it is hard for me / new to me, I haven't spoken to these people (including family) for 9+ years, most of them for more than 15 years, and in the past when people have reviewed my writings they commented how much my "pain voice" was coming through and what I was writing wasn't good ... which is in large part why I took a break from growing my business ... if I couldn't communicate effectively how could I possibly hope to get any business, any clients, coming in / coming back?


I hope you all are doing well, and I look forward to hearing about your progress!!

[AthenaCat42]

I have come to realize I need a vacation.

My last vacation was in 2005.

My life is so limited by pain & I accept that, but at the same time my life is always in my house: working or recovering from work, in pain or recovering from pain.

I have tried to go out and do things but it takes so much out of me that I stopped. I had other commitments then, I have different commitments now. I can take a day to do something fun, and take a week off to recover. I can go have fun.

I think if I go have fun it will elevate my energy vibration and translate into the work I am doing. And even if that means taking 1 week out a month to go have fun for a couple hours then I think it is worthwhile.

[Elaine Glimme]

Congrats on all the accomplishments. This group rocks.

AthenaCat, isn't there anything you can enjoy that's fun and that doesn't result in a week of pain. I know exactly what you mean about having a good time, and then hurting and being exhausted for a week, but surely there's something . . .

I'm working on National Novel Writer's Month this month. My goal is to write 20,000 words (they don't have to be very good.) The writing is the easy part. I'm also trying to do some PR, and post on my Facebook page, and also on the NaNoWriMo page. The whole PR experience is not my cup of tea. So far, I've written 3111 words, and I've posted twice. My goal is ten posts in the month of July.

Happy success team, everyone.

[Elaine Glimme]

I've almost finished a short story. "Squawk, Or One Flew Under the Cuckoo's Nest." It's an okay story, but it really needs some pazzazz. (I've no idea how to spell pazzazz.) Anyway, it's okay, but not all that funny. I hope some inspiration hits soon. When and if I get it spiffed up, I'm going to ask all my friends to share the link on Facebook, or Twitter, or whatever they like.

[Elaine Glimme]

Hi,

I know you planned to have this success team going for one month only. I'll hang around for a bit to see if anyone is interested in posting here anymore. It sounds like you all got quite a bit done during June, so kudos.

[Elaine Glimme]

Hi,

I assume that you wanted the success team to go for one month and one month only. If there's anyone reading this who would like to join an on-line success team, scroll up to "success stories" and look at "July 2015 - a few steps per day" (or change the month, if you're reading this and it's not July anymore) We've been going for quite a few years now. We're a small but mighty group. And you'd be welcome.

[AthenaCat42]

Hi Elaine. If I can do something indoors at home like watch a movie, then that's something I can do without a week of pain. But even going to get mail takes 3-4 days, and going grocery shopping and making food takes 2-3 days. I'm learning to have fun staying indoors all day going nowhere, not even outside, but it does get tiresome at times.

We have actually rolled over into July from June on this team. I don't know why people haven't posted. For myself, it has been pain and exhaustion. I attempted to make modifications to my standard in order to have company, but not only did that cause a lot of pain, it resulted in no company, no longer talking to that person, and getting totally off schedule, my house being a wreck, so for weeks I've been trying to regain my footing from that painful and exhausting learning process.

Also I am in a fear-state about my next step. I wish I had the funds to hire a coach who has "been there done that" for some encouragement. I have gotten encouragement here, but at the same time not everyone understands exactly what I'm trying to do - and I get the jist of it, but not the nuts and bolts of it, so I'm kinda at the point of having to leap off a very high cliff and trust there is a net, or water, or something, at the bottom!

[Elaine Glimme]

Hi, AthenaCat,
I know Barbara Sher would say don't jump off of a cliff unless you know there's a net underneath. Don't take any risks that might have really bad consequences.
What I get from your posts is that your wish is to start a coaching business. I'm not someone to go to for business advice. I'm thinking that Hanging Out is a better place to get the advice you need. PattyN probably would have some good advice for you. My only comment is go slow. Baby Steps. For one thing, you're in pain a lot of the time, and baby steps are manageable. Giant steps are not. Be careful about starting something incredibly grand and not being able to follow through because you hurt too much. I hope this is helpful. And I hope you succeed. Good wishes.

[AthenaCat42]

Hi Elaine, I'm actually following a business building program, but some of the steps are like "write a juicy email" and that's where I would like a coach for help. For this place, it was intented simply to support each other and be cheerleaders for our goals and successes, to talk about, share, what we are doing. I do NOT expect business building advice here, I find very few people understand what it is I actually am trying to do.

And the fears are that my email isn't good, that I'm really putting myself out there, sharing a thing I tend to not share with anyone (or else my emails won't make sense to half my mail list), and of course ... the biggest is no one will respond.

Behind those fears are my fears of having enough content and my ability to follow through given the level of not only how much pain I am in, but how my pain affects my ability to speak, and sometimes comes through in my writing.

But I have to succeed some how, some way because I need to pay my bills!

[Elaine Glimme]

Hi, Athena Cat,
I think, if you write the worst e-mail in the history of e-mails, you'll still be better off than if you don't write anything. But the odds are - your e-mail will be good. If you look at it a day later, you may find ways to improve it and it will be even better. And be sure to check and check and check for typos and other mistakes. We tend to overlook them in our own work. Even better, have someone else proofread your work.

I'm a writer, and I'm afraid of all the things you talk about. This is true for me: My first attempt is usually bad, very bad. This is not my critical self talking; this is a fact. Then I get to work polishing it and hopefully it ends up much better.

Like most writers, I have the critical voice inside of me that says "Your writing is no good. You'll never get anyone to read it, etc. etc." I have just discovered a new approach to that voice. I listen to it. Then I think about the message, and decide whether there is any merit to the criticism or not. And once I've logically thought about the message, I can decide whether to ignore it or take the warning.

If you try this, make sure you don't let that voice suck you in, though. Know at the outset, that you're listening to the voice, but not accepting it blindly.

For example you do have pain and you can't just ignore it and plan a sixteen hour project with a lot of physical work. But if you think about it without fear and without bravado, you can decide how much work you can actually handle without hurting yourself. And that's exciting.

Also, I'm not a coach or a psychologist. What I wrote is true for me. You have to look at it and see if it's true for you. If not, please ignore me.

So yay, you! You have started. You've taken some steps. And I hope your business happens.

[AthenaCat42]

Thank you, Elaine! That was very helpful!

[AthenaCat42]

I am sharing in the hopes this helps others as well ....

Lately my back pain has been especially bad, to the point of near total bed rest, and it has been frustrating. And in general, I cannot do most kinds of activities or exercise. I have been "playing" on Facebook so I stay at least in some contact with people, not totally isolated, which I am now coming to see is beyond playing and may actually benefit my business.

I love to be physically active. Honestly it has been one of the challenges for me all these years with my back injury - to stop being active. Stop hiking, biking, running, walking, sailing, dancing or just plain going places. Somehow or another I found myself following an Ultra Runner page ... Ultras are 50 mile and up marathons, many are 100 miles. They often have other challenges as well, like the Badlands Run, which is a 100 mile ultra in Death Valley, where it can literally get so hot it will melt the soles of your shoes. I can't walk around the block right now, but it still remains something I am interested in, something I want to do one day. (Maybe not the Badlands one though!)

The point is, that just because I cannot run right now, doesn't mean my knowledge about running, my experience with clothing, shoes, marathons, heat, cold, is suddenly not valid. I can't exercise for fat loss, but it doesn't mean that my knowledge and experience about food, nutrition, exercise suddenly becomes invalid. Likewise, I cannot garden right now, but still - all the "stuff" in my head about it is still true.

I am coming to really see it, "get it" about these things ... when it comes to things like my business it is so important to me, so close to my heart, so it has been harder - my "right now external" doesn't match what I really want, or the success I know can and will be possible for me some day. I have struggled with this "what do I have to offer?" given all my particulars, but these groups I have been joining and participating in helps me see that I DO have a lot to offer.

[Elaine Glimme]

Interesting information on your post.

You said you enjoy Facebook. I don't really like it, but it's one of the ways I promote my writing. A friend said I should post on Facebook two or three times each week, and on Twitter four or five times per week. Yikes! And not just advertising, that gets boring. I should post interesting dibbles and bits so people get to know me.

If you have any ideas about how to use Facebook, I'm interested.
Today was a really slow day for me. I finally decided I had to get something done, so gave the dog a bath and changed my sheets. And I'm going to play with my novel a little tonight. Hope tomorrow's more productive.

Good vibes to you.