Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 8, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life You may or may not have noticed that I’ve been feeling a little discouraged. Yesterday I posted an excerpt from the 10th anniversary edition of the Freedom Writer’s Diary as a reminder to myself of how far I’ve come.
I needed the reminder because I was starting to feel like I haven’t gotten much accomplished so far this year (yes I realize we’re only a month and eight days into the new year, what of it? I’m an overachiever, I’m used to rocking the shit out of everything I do) < --- It's this thinking right here that has been getting me into trouble. I mean seriously, can I expect to have accomplished everything I want to do this year in a matter of 40 days?
I think not.
So it was exactly what I needed when I saw this tweet from Carla Young:
Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams & reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so. – Belva Davis
That space between the dream and reality is something I’ve come to know as the GAP: God’s Area of Preparation. Every goal, every dream, every accomplishment takes time and preparation. It takes time. And how one manages the GAP makes the difference between failure and getting to where you want to be.
What the heck am I talking about? Read more…
Tags: GAP, Getting Things Done, Goals, God's Area of Preparation
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 7, 2010 in
Books,
My Life I’ve had several people ask me what is “freedom writing” and what are “Freedom Writers.” It started as a bunch of kids writing their stories in the hopes that someone might read and find hope. Funny thing is that sometimes I have to go back to my own story when I’m looking for hope and motivation to persevere through hard times and achieve my goals. To wit, I share with you this excerpt from The Freedom Writer’s Diary: 10th Anniversary Edition.
Dear Diary,
I was five months pregnant when I graduated from high school. I wasn’t worried, though, because I had a plan. I was going to college and I was going to make something of myself. For a while the plan worked and I worked the plan. Spring semester came around and I jumped in full speed ahead, ready to conquer the world. But as time went on, and the plan didn’t seem to be taking me any closer to my goal of graduating from college, my vision started to grow dimmer and dimmer.
It was 30 minutes before my intro to mass media class; a course from which I was on the verge of being dropped because I was either late or absent on a regular basis. I spent the previous 30 minutes trying to scrounge up a few bucks to put gas in my car. I dumped my change jar and counted almost four dollars in pennies. Then I dug in the couch, under beds, in junk drawers, in my purse, and checked every pants or coat pocket until I had exactly five dollars. I put them in a ziplock bag and headed to the gas station, hoping I could get to class on time.
“I can’t take that,” said the little Asian woman, when I went to hand her the bag. She didn’t even move to it. “How do I know it’s five dollars?” Read more…
Tags: Freedom Writers, Goals, Perserverence, Struggles
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 7, 2010 in
Goal Setting It’s sad when you do nothing all day and you still forget to post a blog.
Yep, that’s what happened yesterday.
Well…not literally nothing, but it’s not like I was super busy and didn’t have time. I just…forgot. And you know what? I’m not going to beat myself up about it. The real goal is to write every day and that I didn’t forget. I’m also not giving up. I may miss a day here or there, but I’m still determined to get through this blasted 365 project.
I won’t call it a fail because I’ve posted more days than I haven’t, and I plan to keep it that way. I’d much rather post when I have something to say, but since the goal is to write every day and using this blog is a good way to keep myself accountable, I won’t use the I don’t have anything to say cop-out.
I’m sure there will be other missed days, but I’m going to keep on plugging along.
Who’s with me! 
Tags: 365 Fail, 365 Project, Goals, Writing
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 5, 2010 in
My Life,
Parenting,
The Boy Making plans, getting my ass in gear and guess what…today I’m at a complete loss for what to say.
It was a craptastic week. Stressing about money, ambush at work, injury from working out…I’m tired, cranky and I just want to isolate myself in my room. I want to lock the door and watch TV on the internet until I fall asleep.
Unfortunately, the boy has other ideas. He wants me to play and watch him dance and sing. He wants to sit with me and watch TV but I just want to be alone. I snapped at him a couple times because I tried to tell him politely. But really, its just me and him, so I totally understand why he just wants to sit under me. Read more…
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 4, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life That’s right! I took a good look at what I want to get done, what it’ll take to get there and made a quick list of goals. I even set deadlines for some and a schedule for others.
Funny thing is I’ve been telling myself for weeks it’s time for a plan but I haven’t taken the time to actually create anything concrete or measurable. I think part of that is fear that if I make a plan things become all the more real. I suppose that goes back to Carla Young’s 30 day game changer post about self sabotage and those things that scare the shit out of you. Read more…
Tags: 30 Days, Fear of Flying, Getting Things Done, Goals, Making a Plan, Shout Outs
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 3, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life Yeah, I know you’re supposed to consult your physician before starting any fitness regimen but what healthy person actually does that? And truthfully, these last few weeks, I’ve felt better than I have in a very long time. I’m positive its a result of healthier eating and regular exercise.
So you’re probably wondering what I’m going on about.
I started having pain in my lower back which got progressively worse until finally I decided to go to the doctor. When you have pain radiating across your lower back and shooting down your leg, your body is trying to tell you something Read more…
Tags: Catch-22, Fitness FAIL, Goals, Health/Fitness
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 2, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life I wish I had the flexibility and freedom to just say fuckitall.
Nothing in particular, just feeling the weight of life and the daily grind on my shoulders. I want to fire my boss and my best friend. I want to drop the boy off with his dad and leave him there indefinitely. I want to get rid of the damn cats. I want to snuggle under my covers and cry.
Precisely what I don’t need to do, since nothing’s wrong. Read more…
Tags: Bad Day, Discouraged, Fuckitall, Goals, Stream of Consciousness, Work/Life Balance
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Feb 1, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life I’m playing around with some ideas regarding where I want to take this blog. I’ve gotta come up with something if I’m going to keep up a 365 project. I have some plans to grow this blog, to build a community, but I’m not sure what type of community I want to build.
Part of me wants to build and become part of a single mom community. Super women who work, raise kids, cook, clean, have social lives (what’s that?)…For the women trying to balance it all but knowing that having it all is too much of a sacrifice and we will not sacrifice happiness and fulfillment for someone else’s dream.
Another part of me wants to avoid pinning down a theme. A theme means no (mostly) random musings. Read more…
Tags: Finding Focus, Goals, Making a Plan, Stream of Consciousness
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Jan 31, 2010 in
My Life Some days it seems like life leads you along. You don’t need to know where you’re going because the path finds you and all you have to do is walk it.
Other days, the way isn’t quite as clear. You know there are things you should be doing but you’re either too unfocused or too scared to get anything done. You flounder in uncertainty and paralysis.
Today is one of those days. Ironic considering that yesterday I wrote about how productive this month was. Thing is, that this was a very unproductive weekend, spent mostly catching up on Lost and taking long naps.
I don’t get the chance to veg out often, so when I do, its definitely a luxury these days. Still, the lazy days feel like stolen time. Time I should be using to get something done instead of loafing about.
At least I’ll go to work well rested tomorrow.
Tags: Goals, Productivity, Weekends, Work/Life Balance
Posted by Kimberlee Morrison on Jan 30, 2010 in
Goal Setting,
My Life If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can’t help it the road just rolls out behind me
– Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
Wow, this has been quite a productive month and start to a new year.
Still hanging in there with the 30 Days change series with Sarah Robinson of Escaping Mediocrity (though I haven’t been as engaged as I probably should be) and working out multiple times a week. My life hasn’t changed dramatically, but it’s a process and I’m working it.
Not that I have an official plan or anything. Just a skeleton outline of what I want to get done this year and what it’ll take to get there. I’m proud to say that some of my goals are already under way and I feel great.
The thing is that I’ve been itching for change. I knew that my transformation was not–is not–complete. My vision is not fulfilled and I have a long way to go before it is. But I love the feeling that I’m on the right path.
Tags: 365 Project, Goals, Making a Plan
