Where Do Your Thoughts Take You?

When you are able to climb above your assumptions, 

what do you see? 

What are you attached to?

When you listen what do you hear? 

What is a new story you would like to write?

What is stopping you?

Where can you begin?

                                   

Photographs by Sarolta Bán via 2photo

                           

  

Wednesday Time Out

French Interlude

Images via Pinterest

Salut!

Image via Pinterest

Image via Amadeus Waterways

By now my family and I should be aboard the MS Swiss Pearl and starting our sojourn down the Saône and Rhône Rivers into the Heart of France.


Check Point

How you are progressing on your mission and vision journey?

Image via Pinterest

I have gone back over the vision statement I wrote a few years ago in grad school. The questions were similar to those in the thought challenge posted here, but concentrated more specifically on leadership and expanded further into goal setting, action planning and defining successful outcomes. I'll  post more on that in future Artful Learning Labs. For now, let's take a look at my first vision statement...

To live a life filled with love, purpose, and meaning by ensuring life/work balance while remaining committed to my own continuous learning and growth.

I can honestly say that it helped me stay true to myself during some tough times because I believed in it. I could remain clear on what mattered to me and honour my values and beliefs, especially when my self-confidence was threatened by inner feelings of doubt and uncertainty and the contrary thoughts and opinions of others I encountered in my personal and professional life.

Image via Pinterest

This blog is about creating learning opportunities for personal and professional growth. It is holding me accountable to my own dreams. I've done some fine-tuning and I'm feeling excited about the future...

My mission: Connecting people to their purpose.

My personal vision: To live a balanced life guided by Spirit, embraced in love, and purpose fulfilled.

My vision for coaching: Connecting people to their purpose through coaching and leadership development.

Image via Pinterest

Thought Challenge: What do you think about what I have written? How can you use this to inform your own mission and vision statement(s)? What resonates with you? From what you have read so far, how are my values, vision, and mission statement aligned? What would you do differently? What are you taking away from this exercise?

Wednesday Time Out

 First stop, Paris. 

oh là là!

Romantic Paris: Elgar Boart

It's a perfect day for a stroll through the city

En Francais: Elgar Boart

and a ride on the Metro

Paris Metro: Elgar Boart

and Time Out for a snack and a café au lait

Via Pinterest

 before boarding a train to Lyon.

Photograph via Pinterest

Yes, I'm flying off to France this morning. While I'm away, there will be regularly scheduled postings to entertain you. Keepin' it simple until my return in two weeks.

Au revoir mes amis!

The Artful Learning Lab: It begins with a dream

Thought Challenge: What is YOUR dream?

Writing Your Personal Mission and Vision Statement

We have all seen mission and vision statements mounted on the walls of organizations, described in policies, annual reports, websites and promotional materials.

How about personal vision statements? Can you recall reading or hearing someone else's personal vision statement? Who do you know that you would say is on a mission, or following his or her dream? What is unique about this person?

Perhaps we should begin with a common understanding of mission and vision. The terms are used interchangeably and I know it confuses me, so hopefully you will find this helpful. Simply put, a mission statement is a concise statement of your purpose in life. What you are here to do, your "calling", the reason you exist. 

A vision statement on the other hand, is a statement of your ideal image of the future, your destination. It describes the unique ways in which you will carry out your purpose or mission. Your vision keeps you growing and motivated. It is a North Star to guide you along life's path and helps you hold the focus.

Photograph via Etsy

My own experience with this process tells me there is no right or wrong way to create a mission and vision statement. What is important is to start dreaming, imagining and tapping into your passions and the stuff in your life that moves you and gives you meaning. 

It's a dynamic process, so expect that your ideas will change as you become more connected to the significance behind your own words. It all begins with writing down your thoughts and taking a moment for introspection and reflection. Just like your values, this is something that will develop over time as you attend to how you are living into your mission and vision. 

Thought Challenge: What are you passionate about? What do you love to do that energizes and inspires you? What are your talents, specialities, and areas of interest that make up who you are? What are the accomplishments that you feel good about? What are you proud of? What and who do you identify with? What are your roles? Who are you accountable to? What type of life do you want to create? What do you love about the life you are living right now? How does all of this fit with where and how you want to be in the future?

The Art of Transformation

Photograph by Elena Kalis

A Vision for Transformation

Written by Teresa Belluz for The Art of Purposeful Living 

I am on a journey to places familiar and unknown

I am continually arriving at and never reaching my final destination 

In my heart I know I must create something new

I will not return to what once was

I understand what is

I am the same and forever changed 

I am what will be 

My vision

I am transformed

Wednesday Time Out

Check Point

There are a couple of things I want to cover today. The first is to follow-up on how you are doing with the work around defining your values (first posted here and here).

I'll be posting on the topic of vision in the next Artful Learning Lab. Being clear about your core values will make it easier for you to create your vision statement because you will be strengthening the connection between your inner and outer self.

Photograph via: Drops of Jupiter

The next thing I want to say is that this is a process. For some, it will be easy and super clear, and for others, it will be ambiguous, frustrating and may raise more questions than answers. The goal here is to allow yourself to tune-in to what ever is coming up and pay attention. I encourage you to write, draw, meditate, pray, dance, sing, play an instrument, go for a walk, ride your bike, anything that helps you to get out of a state of "busy-ness" so that you can listen to the wisdom within you.

Photograph via Pinterest

Thought challenge: Over the last ten days, what have you learned about the way your values influence you? Any surprises or a-ha! moments? What is being revealed to you that you may not have noticed before? How is this helping or hindering you? What are the new beliefs and values that you are taking with you as you step into your vision?

Sunday Space

Photograph: Pinterest

Whether you're a mom or not, I wish you all a day filled with magic.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wednesday Time Out

Time Keeps on Slippin'...into the Future

Janus, the Roman God of the Gate is represented by two heads, one facing west and the other facing east, simultaneously looking forward into the future and behind to the past. 

Janus often stands in a doorway as a symbol of change and transition, a bridge between endings and new beginnings, and this brings me to today's reflection on the concept of time.

This coming year I am focusing on the meaning of time and my relationship to it. Going beyond our modern day notions of time and time management, to something deeper. To stay present in the moment and to be neither future-oriented nor a dweller in the past.

When I travelled to Peru's Sacred Valley last summer I experienced time standing still. It was a profound feeling of peace. So now I'm on a mission to increase my awareness and understanding of how I measure, value and experience time and wondering if it is possible to recreate that state of timelessness here in my everyday life?

Thought Challenge: What is your relationship to time? When do you take time out to pause? What does staying present and in the moment look and feel like for you? What is possible when you become quiet?

The Artful Learning Lab: Values

Now that you have had a chance to think about the values that are important to you, let's dig a little deeper.

Values are foundational to who we are as individuals, families, communities, organizations, and cultures.

Values help us to stay purposeful and focused, and are like anchors in a storm that support us in holding to our vision.

When I first began to examine my values a few years ago, this is what I identified with and found meaningful:

Creativity: Innovation, imagination, visualization
Empowerment: Holding a space for exploration and growth
Purpose and Connection: Focus, results, collaboration and community
Discovery and Curiosity: Lifelong learning and open dialogue
Spirituality: Soul work, a holistic view of human beings and the world in which we live
Mastery: Self-awareness, personal development and excellence

As you can see, values are subjective, tend to be highly personal and are very influential in how we interpret human behaviour and our surrounding environment.

By becoming clear about your values and underlying beliefs and assumptions, you will be freeing yourself up to create space to focus on a path that will support you to step into your greatest self.

Thought Challenge: Now go back to the values you identified earlier. How did they come to be a part of who you are? In what ways are your decisions and choices in life aligned to your values? What are you noticing from this examination? What needs clarifying? What remains true for you today and moving forward?

Photograph: The Art of Purposeful Living

My Learning

After a life changing event that occurred a year ago, I went deeper into coaching and my own spiritual development. Now I'm in the process of figuring out what it means to repurpose my life.  As I hone my values and beliefs, I am focusing on creating a seamless connection between my internal and external environment and the emergence of my most authentic self. 

I have made time to still my mind in meditation, quiet reflection and journaling. This has helped me to refine and simplify things down to what matters most right now. Here are the values, beliefs and guiding principles that are true for me today:

Flow: A state of consciousness that is completely engaging, playful, life-enhancing and synchronous

Creativity: Imagination and innovation

Love: Self-regard, heart-centred, compassionate and forgiving

Mastery: Self-awareness, transformational growth and lifelong learning

Freedom: Autonomy and independence

Thought Challenge: Over the next week, practice being a neutral observer. How do you respond to certain words, situations and behaviours? What pinches or triggers an emotional or physical reaction? Is it positive or negative? What are the values you can identify in these circumstances? What are you learning about yourself?

A New Beginning

I'll be honest. I haven't posted anything lately because I have been blocked by a limiting tendency towards perfectionism, coupled with a fear of failure and self-doubt. Now that the fears have been named, it's time to get on with allowing the imperfections to surface, to take a few risks and to stay open to the learning. 

Today, I present to you...

The Artful Learning Lab

Photograph: The Art of Purposeful Living

The Artful Learning Lab is where topics and tools will be introduced with a focus on self-development. My aim is to co-create a virtual learning community where you are encouraged to use the comments section after each posting to share your experiences, insights, and make contributions for collective learning.

Let's start by taking a moment to reflect on your values.

Thought challenge: What are your core values? How do you define your core values? How do your values support you in reaching your highest potential?  

Resources: 

Values List

Awakening Faith in an Alternative Future