Sticking To It

"This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything." ~Scott Reed

I love goals.  I could set 100 goals no problem.  My struggle is sticking to it.  There have been many times during baking projects that I have wanted to give up on my goal to open a bakery.  In fact I'm pretty sure that while we were working on the wedding cake a couple of weeks ago I decided to quit baking. 

It was late and I was tired and things were not going well.  I remember thinking "why am I doing this?"  Of course I couldn't quit right then I had a cake that needed to be finished and delivered so I decided that after it was finished and delivered, I was done baking.  I even told Bob this was it, I'm done after this cake.  He just looked at me and said nothing.

He knows me all too well.  Once the cake was done and I had gotten some sleep, the idea of quitting was gone.  We've had a lot of challenges over the last couple of years as we've decorated cakes, learned about donuts and worked to learn the "tricks of the trade." 

We've gone from our first cake:

To our most recent:

The best part is that I feel we've made some improvement and while there's still lots to learn and overcome, I plan to stick with it.

Unknown Struggles

"The dream you have inside is not there by accident. There's a reason it's calling to you."  ~Kim Luret

I'm not sure why but this quote hit me hard this morning when I read it.  I guess maybe it's because I've been struggling the last few weeks with my dream.  

I haven't been told that I'm crazy for wanting to start a bakery in a town of 3,000 people, but comments have been made that it would be very hard to make it work.  "There's not a big market"  "Would people really support a bakery in Goldendale?"  Things like that.
  
I thought I had blown the comments off but I guess they've still been in the back of my mind all this time. 

My goal isn't to be a millionaire.  My goal really isn't about the money.  Of course we have to have money otherwise we'd live naked on the street, and no one wants to see that.

"Each of us has what I call a 'Unique Package'; that singular combination of our unique inner and outer selves. And through that package comes our gifts. Discovering what our gifts are and then expressing and sharing them is what we're all here for. There are no 'better' sets of gifts and talents. They are all needed. We are all needed." ~Kim Luret

  

I've learned that we need to share the gifts and talents that we have been given.  Whatever they may be.  I often wonder about this desire I have to bake.  I don't know if it's a talent.  I do know that I'll never learn the lessons I need to learn if I don't keep moving forward. 

"It is no accident that you are YOU and that you're alive at this time.  There is a divine purpose and calling for your life."

Struggle

Yesterday started out pretty rough for me. Got up early to bake (working on those skills) and after two hours of making cinnamon rolls, they were over cooked. I have an old oven. I work really hard to adapt the recipes to make sure they cook but aren't over cooked. Well my adjustments didn't work. I was so frustrated and angry. Made me even wonder if my idea was still a good one.

Fast forward a few hours, I'm at work reading an e-mail that came in. Every Friday I get a inspirational story sent to me. Yesterday's hit home. It was about a 62 year old man who competed in a 350 mile race across the arctic ice. He described it as toughest thing he'd ever done. He even thought about quitting. But the thing about this race is that because of the cold he couldn't quit. Because if he did, he would die.

What he learned was that "We are capable of much more than we believe we are capable of."

It's so easy to give up, quit. But we are capable of so much more. My idea is still a good one. I have to keep going.

Faith

Sorry to be gone so long. Still no computer.

I am starting a new adventure. I want to open a pastry shop. Not sure where or when, but over the last few weeks I've been cooking up a storm. Donuts, bread, muffins, cobbler, all the good things that are so bad for you. Mostly family and co-workers are my taste testers but I'm branching out a bit to some other friends.

It's been difficult to stay positive about my adventure. I fight off the voice that tells me that this is probably the most terrible time to start a business. But I am ignoring it. I have learned that my thoughts are powerful and if I want this to work I need to see it succeeding and to push out those negative thoughts. It's a daily battle, but one I plan to win.

I'll keep you posted.

The Pursuit of Happiness

I just watched the Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happiness. It's one inspirational movie I have a hard time watching. It's not that it's a bad movie, it's just that the movie tells the story of a man who is trying to do better for his family. He feels that working for Dean Witter will get him where he wants to be, but the only way to get his shot with the company is to take an unpaid internship. Six months with no income. He and his son live in a homeless shelter, he sells medical equipment on the side, sells his plasma, and whatever else he can find that might give him a few dollars to survive a few more days.


I struggle with the movie because I tend to be a quitter. When the going gets tough, I quit. I love my comfort zone and I know that success takes place out side that zone.

"Periods of tranquility are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up." ~Alfred North Whitehead

I know that if I want to succeed I have to do something. I often wish success would walk up and knock on my door, but it's not going to happen that way. I don't have to do it all at once, but I do need to do a little. Everyday I do a little more towards my dreams takes me that much closer to where I want to be.

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday. ~Author Unknown

It's how you tell the story

Everyday I get e-mails with positive quotes or uplifting stories in them. Today I got a story about golf. It talked about these great things this golfer did. Then, he said this.

"What I didn't talk about were all the balls that landed in the woods and didn't bounce out. I didn't mention the trophy I won for the most lost balls in one round. Jim doesn't know I lost the hole-in-one ball in the woods on my next shot, and he doesn't know that the day I got four birdies, my final score was twenty-two over par."

He didn't share all the negative when he talked about his golf game, he shared the positive. We all have positive and negative things in our lives. Where is our focus?

I quit watching the news because out of 30-40 minutes of news, you get 5 minutes of positive and all the rest is the negative, nasty things in this world. But what do we talk about when we get the chance? Are we sharing the positive in our lives or are we dumping our negative experiences on our friends, family, co-workers?

"Life is hard - life is good. It's how you tell the story." ~Michael T. Smith

Patience

I used to think I was a patient person. And I guess in some ways I am but there are some times when I get so frustrated because things are not happening like I want them to. Or they aren't happening when I want them to. I think that is the most frustrating one. I want it to happen right now, actually yesterday would be better.

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”

What a wake up call. Right now things are stressful at work. It seems like my focus is everywhere but on the things I really want to do. I have all these ideas that I want to put into place, but I haven't been able to. Boo, Woo; Boo Woo.

I just need to keep going. Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all. Sometimes I just have to get a reality check to get myself back on track.

Poor Me

Some days I just want to have a pity party. I don't know why but I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.

When I get this way I've found that the best way to get past it is to count my blessings. It seems like when I focus on all the good things in my life, I tend to be less focused on what I think is lacking or not exactly the way I want it.

So, today I am grateful for my family; my husband and kids, my home, my job, my health, my opportunities to learn, my challenges (more chances to learn), my seminary class, my cars, my clothes, my freedom, my friends, and my faith

How can I feel sorry for myself when I have so much. I am blessed with so much I have no reason to complain.

Last Week

Last week I was just in a funk. Not sad really, but not necessarily happy either. I wasn't really able to figure out what was going on at first, then it hit me.

"Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions." Dale Carnegie

I needed to look inside me. I was focusing on everything around me without focusing on myself. Last week I took a break and didn't read and study like I should. It's amazing how letting personal development slide just a few days really effects all aspects of your life. Last week was an eye opener for me. It reinforced to me, the fact that I to take time each day to focus on positive things. I don't want another week like the last one.

Thoughts

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale"

Over the last four months I have been working to study more, to focus more and to be more positive. I will admit there have been many days that I have failed horribly. But, what I have noticed is a change. Most of the time I see things more positively. I am trying to look for the good rather than becoming upset or frustrated.

I had noticed some differences in how I felt about my life but I really hadn't noticed a change until I read this quote and took the time to think about it. What I've been doing isn't hard, it just takes some time and willingness to change.

Happiness

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln

I can decide whether I'm happy or sad. I know that so many times I find myself blaming others for my unhappiness. "If they hadn't said that, I wouldn't be upset." Maybe that person shouldn't have made that comment, but I control how I react, not them.

This is something I have to think about all the time. I have found that if I stop and take a minute before reacting to a situation or comment, I tend to have a better attitude.

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.
~Mildred Barthel

It's all up to me.

Staying Positive

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” ~ William James

Attitude: According to dictionary.com, attitude is defined as "a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state." This says to me that I can change my life by changing the feelings or emotions I have towards something. Sounds pretty easy, but then there's reality.

Some days are rough, like this morning. I had gathered up my clothes that I planned to wear today, but by the time I got to my room to get dressed, I had lost part of them. I was already a little late, so I looked around quickly and went and found something else. At lunch I found my lost clothes. I had stopped by our office to grab something and had dropped my clothes in there.

This morning I had a very strong feeling towards my day and it was not very positive. In fact I was in a bad mood for a while. Finally I stepped back and started to look for the positive. I started to look for things that would help me to change my emotions and feelings towards my day. This is the list I came up with to change my emotions:

• I have clothes - even though I couldn't find what I wanted to wear, I did have something to put on.
• I have a job - in today's economy that's a very, very good thing
• I have a roof over my head - The house I live in isn't my dream home, but I'm dry and warm.

Sometimes it is really easy to focus on the negative feelings. I've found that I have to put positive things around me all the time to fight off those negative emotions. I read a lot of positive quotes and books. I've also stopped watching the news. I know that I want to change my life so I've started taking steps to change that attitude. It would be easier if it was a one time thing, but unfortunately I've learned that its a daily, even moment by moment process.