setback

Well, I wasn't able to get to a computer for a minute, but I'm back now.  I totally understand the challenges of staying on task.  There is always something else that we can be doing.  However, there will always be something else, so if we are ever to achieve anything, we must eventually get to a point of maintaining focus and I believe that we are headed in the right direction now.  I have been working on completing my first qtr song all weekend.  I ran into a setback today.  While I'd thought that I would be able to simply record the song on a cassette tape and then burn this onto a cd, the sound is too distorted, so I'll have to find another way.  This is not good.  Still, I have a March 31st deadline...


                                                                                                              -Daphne-

Staying on Task

Why is it so hard to stay focused and stay on task?  There are so many distractions out there.  From watching Family Guy to surfing the net, it seems as if it's easier to waste time on mindless activities.  I must admit that this is one of my nemesis.  I can spend hours on facebook and channel surfing then get frustrated with myself for wasting so much time.  Some days are better than others.  On those days I have a my to-do-list and I'm checking off tasks.  Other days, I wonder what happened to the time.  I guess the moral of the story is I need to create more to-do-lists.

Even though, I am not always on task, I do feel as if I'm making progress.  I'm learning so much at work and I have committed to creating a 2 yr plan.  More to come on my 2 yr plan.  However, I can say that I have taken a step towards pursuing an aspect of my dreams.  In the past couple years, I have discovered a passion for teaching and sharing knowledge.  In 2009, I took the Teachers and Leadership Certification at my church so that I would be able to teach classes through our Bible Institute.  Though, I completed the course with an A, I had not stepped out to teach a class.  I was a co-teacher with the hubby but that doesn't count.  Anyway!  This week, I decided to teach a class during our summer session.  I am super excited and nervous at the same time, but I know this is what I want and need to go to the next level. 

~  Tonya

Progress Report

...so I figured that it's time for an update, a progress report.  In the last couple of weeks, I haven't done very well on working out.  I think that I have a pretty good reason-the weather.  I was doing pretty good, but whenever I stop, it's very hard to start back again.  Still, it ain't over yet!  Hopefully, I'll be able to start back up as soon as the snow and ice melt.

I have written and completely composed Shae's music (to the best of my ability).  The only thing left to do is to get the song copywritten, buy some cds, and make Shae's copy.  I've been working on this music for quite a while.  Surprisingly, working on my own music really helps me to play better than any music lesson can.  Anyway, my challenge has always been trying to play the tunes that I hear in my head.  While I still have a lot of work to do in that area, it is getting better and that makes me very HAPPY!

Finally, I still have my cooking event to attend in March.  I realized that I've cheated myself in this category by setting up only one event to attend, so I'll handle this differently next quarter.  I'll set up at least 3 events to attend, one per month.  This way, I can begin reporting something every month.  Well, that's where I am now.  I'm making progress slowly, but surely...

                                                                                                       -Daphne-

The Calming Effect

 In an effort to "carve myself out of the wall", I have to change my thinking as well.  In a previous post, I mentioned being an introvert.  This is a quality that I've never liked about myself.  I wished I could have been more of that out-going, boisterous, "life of the party" kind of person, but being shy and  slow to speak made that wish impossible.  Sunday, after church, I was talking to a set of twin teenaged young ladies and they made the comment that I was "so calm".  "You know, peaceful," they said.  This wasn't the first time I had heard this comment about myself but never really thought about it until later in the day.  It occurred to me that being "calm" was a good thing and that it was actually the outward display of being an introvert.

Earlier that day, Pastor Jeffrey A. Johnson, was the guest preacher at our church and he talked about turning your disadvantage into an advantage because "our disadvantage is the difference that will make the difference."  For so long, I felt that being an introvert was a disadvantage and that has kept me from going farther in life.  However, if I were to change my thinking and see it as "being calm", then my entire approach to pursuing my dreams would have to be different.  I will call it "The Calming Effect".

Now all I have to do is learn how to use it to my advantage....

~ Tonya

The other half of the battle

I read a scripture the other night that is slowly changing my life.  It read:  Be careful how you think, because your thoughts set the boundaries for your life.  It stood out to me that the passage read, "Be careful HOW you think."  I realized that "how you think" is very different from "what you think."  The word "how" focuses more on the way you think, what is behind your thoughts, why you think the way you do.  Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I have been my own stumbling block because of the way that I think.  I've come up with reasons why certain things can't be done.  Therefore, I am the reason why my life looks the way it does.  Nobody and nothing else can be blamed for it.

Now, I'm a very imaginative person.  I've always imagined my life looking totally different.  Things are not so bad now, but they could be better.  First, I must sit down and examine exactly which things I want to change.  Second, I've got to figure out what my thoughts have been regarding these issues.  Then, at last, I must change the way that I think about them.  I sort of envision myself undergoing a total makeover.  When I emerge, I'll look like someone totally new.  I won't even sound like the same person.  Certainly, if I my train of thought changes, you'll hear a new viewpoint and a different voice.  So, I'll actually begin thinking like the Daphne that I imagine myself being.  Hence, the question becomes: What does the Daphne (that I'd like to become) think about this?  How would she handle this issue?

Fear of failure has been an issue that I've battled with too.  I would venture to say that everyone has dealt with it in one regard or another.  I think that the main reason why this fear has held me back so long is because I've always viewed failure as a setback.  However, when I think about it, faulure can actually propel you forward.  It just may not happen the way that I'd like it to happen or the way that I think it should happen.  Fear of failure and the uncertainty of the outcome have worked hand in hand in holding me back from achieving what I want.  Well, if knowing is half the battle, it's now time to get started on the other half.

                                                                                                        -Daphne-