Category: Goal setting

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Praying those doors open.

beach, family, future

beach, family, future

Prayer is not really a popular topic these days, mostly because of the shame attached to people’s expectations of us. Something I find quite peculiar though is this, the one in Whom we are praying too, doesn’t ask for much more than a simple chat.

A lean of our heads.

A quietening of our minds.

A sneak peak into the unknown.

Prayer is all about communion, common union between the unseen and the seen, the known and the unknown and a humble stretch that says ” I do not know everything and need a little help.”

That is what prayer is, it is just a opening of ethereal doors into a new perspective.

Maybe that’s why it was created.

A space of trust.

A place of peace.

A realigning of purpose and perspective.

As I seek serenity in my days, one could think it is a settling down, a shrinking of a life lived sown, so that we can handle the task list, the people, the plans.

Lately I have been reminding myself that Serenity is allowing the Greater Plan, to become my plans. I have been reminded that my way is not the only way. I am learning to wait and see, that He is so good.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Today I am seeking wisdom in my walk towards the next in my life.

Wisdom to know how to accept things from the past I cannot change, wisdom to know what I can change and the courage to actually do something about it.

I see people stay in places of in-between, like a holding pattern of unknown, because they are unwilling to do the little things that will take them to the next place of knowing.

When I pray, I find wisdom.

When I wait, I find serenity.

When I gain perspective, I can see what needs to change and what I need to let go.

Prayer is the vehicle that carries me to these places.

Lately though my prayers have been really simple. They have consisted of very basic words.

“Not my will be done, but yours.”

“Open Doors, open doors.”

I’m not struggling and striving hoping someone will notice, I am waiting, hoping, trusting and knowing that He brings all things together for good.

I know that He sees.

What is it that you are hoping for in this season?

What doors are you praying would open?

Serenity would tell us, have the courage to let go of what has passed, the tenacity to say yes when the new comes into our present and the wisdom to know the difference. I made this little poster for a friend today and it got me thinking.

It’s all in his hands.

The rest of this place brings serenity and peace.

Vickie 2

Speak tomorrow

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Having courage to change the things we can…

Flowers, beach, inspiration
Flowers, beach, inspiration
Flowers are my favourite.

Humans are beautiful, humans are complex, humans are brilliant.

Every person we meet, every story we encounter is bathed in the harsh reality of humanity.

We are a swarming mix of emotions, agendas, passions, beauty, innocence, detail, forgetfulness and desire.

When Reinhold wrote the Serenity Prayer I am sure he was deep in the mess of humanity.

I can see him at his desk, with his pen in hand and his heart reeling in his throat, at the pain of trying to make a difference with his life in the midst of human story.

What part of the human story holds you back from letting stuff go?

What part of the human story compels you to step forward into the new?

I have found as I sit and listen to peoples story, many of them hold onto the stuff that they cannot change and then struggle to have the courage to change that which they can.

We get so stuck.

Do you feel stuck?

I often do.

The one thing I have been trying to do of late though is to start living the life I have always imagined. I have been stuck before because I realised I was waiting for someone to create the safety net in case I fail.

The more I step out and start doing the things I dream of, the more I realise that failure is just part of the human story. The question of those who are living deeply fulfilling lives is not whether they failed, it is whether they used the emotions and lessons from those failures to begin again.

Failure brings either two things;

  1. Belittlement. Where we allow the failure to define us.
  2. Wisdom. Where we learn and grow, living a life that is defined by what we have learnt in the failure.

My prayer this September is this…

“courage to change the things I can”

What can you change?

Do you need to ask someone for help?

The life you have always imagined to live is on the other side of fear. Yes, the brokenness of humanity means that there are some things we can never change, but what if we changed, what we can.

You might not be able to change where you live, but you can change your perspective.

You might not be able to quit your job, but you can start to build something in your life that brings forth your passion.

You might not be able to launch that dream that has been in your heart forever, but you could sit with a coach or mentor and find baby steps to start your journey toward it.

What is something that you can change?

This week I emailed another magazine editor with one of my manuscripts, I took a deep breath and just had a go. I find often in my life, the courage builds as I just step out and do it.

Taking small steps towards the massive goals I have always dreamed of.

What are you going to change today, to bring forward something new in your tomorrow?

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fighting addiction

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My name is Amanda and I have an addictive personality.

The thought of having one coffee and then getting on with my day is foreign. If I like something I want more of it and quickly it becomes a crutch, a place of weakness, an addiction.

Last Easter, I fell in love with a little rabbit. Something so small, that every shop and every checkout seemed to be calling my name. This bunny taunted me. At the petrol station, at cafes, it was everywhere. You could be mistaken to think that this little childish dessert was innocent, but I found them to be evil.

The dessert that has plagued my lenten dreams was this little rabbit. Twenty two thousand people agree with me, that the Cadbury Cream Egg no longer reigns supreme as the Easter bunnies competitor, the malt laden bunny has taken over the race.

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Whether it be coffee, or a fresh loaf of bread from the oven or a Malteaser Bunny at this time of the year, I am trying my best to live a healthier everyday. One of my biggest goals this year is to loose my pregnancy weight.

Healthily.

Full stop.

I stood at the chemist last week and stared at the aisle of diet shakes, reading them intensely wanting to believe the promises they heralded. I wanted a quick fix, a get-the-ball rolling, helping hand. I walked the beach with my man today and we talked about this area of weakness in my life. We talked, we stretched, we exercised.

He reminded me of the pact I had made with myself, earlier this year. He reminded me of the promise. That I would make small changes. Good changes. I would find the areas of addiction in my world and say no to the bunny. I would not make these changes out of a place of negativity and lack, but to pursue health as a great lifestyle choice, that will never end.

I’m not dieting.

I’m not even going to say no to the bunny for good.

But I am facing the areas where emotional eating have become routine and making choices to choose wisely.

What areas of addiction are you facing?

Is it that late night dessert or the whole packet of biscuits?

Is it throwing up after a meal?

Is it a sneaky cigarette?

Is it one or two or maybe four glasses of wine every night?

I ask these questions, not because I want to intrude. I ask these questions, not to evoke shame.

I ask these questions because I struggle too. Being a mumma is hard. Being single is harder. Being alone is ugly sometimes. It is these days that we need community and friends to ask questions that healthily bring us back to a place of equilibrium.

A place of peace.

Best place to start is admitting it to yourself and the greatest, bravest step towards recovery is admitting it to someone else.

Be brave,

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Creative Mentoring

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Over the last five weeks I have sat with fifteen different people and spent the day facilitating a creative retreat.

A very simple idea with profound opportunities.

What is a creative retreat?

A creative retreat is an opportunity to escape your everyday normal and to take time to reflect, rest and recover. We started the day with breakfast or coffee at a cafe on the beach, then the attendee’s went for a walk to explore. After that they took time in a park, the beach or at another cafe to explore some pre-set questions. I gave each person a journal and an opportunity to debrief the spaces in their lives that they feel most disappointed or challenged by. We then did a second session together to set small achievable goals and empowered towards change, accountability and great easy steps forward.

These days have been so inspiring for me personally and I am open for applications if you would like to do a guided retreat down in my beach side location any time this year. Email me: info@amandaviviers.com for more information.

Why take time to reflect?

I have found that creative people often struggle with finding perspective and insight because they are often the busiest people in the room. It is these kind of people I had in mind for these days of reflection, conversation and goal setting.

We all need a time and place to seek fresh inspiration and mentoring is a very different and unique way to find perspective. It is very different to coaching and counselling. Mentoring has a personal approach to help find and maintain accountability in areas of professional and personal goals that are agreed upon between two parties.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is most often defined as a professional relationship in which an experienced person
(the mentor) assists another (the mentoree) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will
enhance the less-experienced person’s professional and personal growth.

I have been booking in session times with people for this coming year for ongoing accountability and fresh insight. For the month of March I am putting up a limited amount of one on one sessions to purchase.

If you have been looking for something like this book your session today here:

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Listening to peoples hopes, dreams and struggles for the year coming has been the most inspiring way to start my year.

Thank you everyone who participated for your vulnerability, honesty and hope for a greater tomorrow.

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My imperfect life.

dreams

dreams

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. FR. ALFRED D’SOUZA

One of the key questions from my New Year Change Reflection questions is this;

‘What is a quote, scripture or word that sums up 2014?’

My quote that summed up 2014 was this…

broken crayons still colour.

I spent a lot of 2014 learning to be okay with imperfection. In the past I have been a someone who strives to please everyone. The funny thing was, the more I tried, the worse I got at it.

As the mother of a 2 year old and newborn, I have had to learn to be okay with mess. Somedays I feel like I am knee deep in nappies, vomit, spilled juice and food encrusted clothing. The idea of perfection and actually getting anything done is nearly impossible in the life of a novice Mum.

One of the funniest stories that ended 2014, was the last Tuesday before Christmas when I was on radio doing a phone interview and I invited my Dad to come and sit with my babes whilst I was on air.

My Dad is a typical Aussie retired sixty year old. My son is a typical creative, adventurous two year old. I finished my radio interview and came out expecting to see my toddler playing quietly and my newborn being snuggled softly by her Poppy. A perfect picture. A daydreamy image from a juggling, I can do it all Mother.

In reality post the interview, I walked into a war zone with my Dad sitting in the middle of the couch, smiling at me, shrugging his shoulders.

You see, my son found a large jar of tiny beads that I had been sewing onto T-shirts for some homemade Christmas presents. He was throwing them around and yelling out ‘Snow, snow, snow.’ My lounge room was covered in tiny seed beads and Maximus was dancing around reinterpreting a scene from ‘Frozen’ throwing snow around our small beach side shack. My new born was snoring softly as my dad held her. He was like ‘I’m not sure what to do?’

I just laughed and nearly 5 weeks later I am still finding little beads in every corner of our home.

An absolute mess.

A pure unadulterated memory.

A moment I will never forget.

Are you waiting for the perfect moment to live the life you have dreamed of living?

Are you waiting for the perfect circumstance to start doing something creative you have always longed to pursue?

Are you flying on the merry go round of emotions that tell you that you need to be perfect to try something revolutionary?

I am learning that there is no perfect time to write a book. There is no perfect time to launch a business. There is no perfect time for any of our dreams to begin. There will never be a perfect time, because we are always stuck in the transition between someday and somehow.

The only time you have to begin living the life you dream of living is now.

Give up that job.

Shift to that country.

Start that business.

Begin that blog.

Enrol in that course.

Say hello to that person.

Buy that house.

Sell that home.

Give away everything you don’t use.

Simplify.

Let go of…

Start in the midst of the imperfect timing and begin to dream again.

Life will always be a little complicated.

It is just how it is imperfect.

Just begin, despite it.

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