Wonder Day 7.8.15

I want to stop putting so much pressure on myself to be perfect, and always worrying about things. I'm always stressed, and I can't focus on what's important: my happiness.

I need to stop thinking about what my parents did, and if I'm going to get into college/signed, and how my life is going to turn out. The people around me should not influence my life and who I am as a person/how I live.

I will do this by keeping my stress levels down and just focusing on me. The mantra "Imma do me" will be how I have my outlook on life. I will be (insert name here) and not worry about anyone else, and not put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. (I totally did not mean to/realize that I was repeating verbatim my first sentence.) Also, I am going to be confident and proud of my freakishly long legs! And make choices for ME, not anyone else. - high school student, Florida

Wonder Day 2.13.15 - Gaye Guyton

A month or two ago, as the days got shorter and darker, and I began leaving for work each morning in the dark, something dawned on me.  The only difference between the days I’d get up in the dark for work and the days I’d get up in the dark for a special event, like going on vacation, was my level of energy.

During the work week, I’d often rise with a feeling of weariness, yet I remembered rising even earlier to catch a plane for a vacation and, brushing tiredness aside, would eagerly jump out of bed at the sound of the alarm to greet the day. The difference was my expectancy of how that day would unfold:  new adventures, time with family and friends, and a sense of wonder and curiosity. What if I could bring that same sense of expectancy to my everyday life and not just save it for special occasions?

Since then I’ve been attempting to bring this fresh expectancy to each new day.  Although outwardly I’m still getting up in the dark, the energy I’m able to bring to each day is completely different. I look at each situation that presents itself with new eyes, I feel less stress and if someone needs my time, I am able to be present with them in the same way I am emotionally present with my family and friends on vacation. 

As I set my intention each morning, it works best if I can tap into the same energy of expectation I felt on a special day that held Wonder and Joy for me. I find, once I shift into the energy of EXPECTANCY, the entire day unfolds in a whole new way.

Image credit:  Gaye Guyton.  This picture is from the first vacation my daughter and I took together.