Y.I. Wednesday on Monday: Why I'm Quitting Blogging

To Blog or Not to Blog...

?

In October of 2010 I started Yellow Inspiration.
Since then, I've blogged two more projects, begun a column, been working on a book and started a business.

Life is good.

I Started Yellow for a reason and that reason has grown and blossomed into the most amazing writing experience and visions I could have ever hoped for...

Even though writing a blog is free and easy...
it still takes time...

And, writing a book and running a business 
takes more time.

This Year, My One Word is:

 GOAL

The decision to not add new posts to Yellow Inspiration is supporting my goals.

For the past two years I have treated my blog like a business; which I suggest you do, if you have one.

People invest time in you, in your words and thoughts. They expect you to deliver quality content and consistency...

I think I have done that here.

And those are exactly the reasons Y.I. will not be blogging on Y.I. anymore.

But, I will promoting Y.I. Wednesday's  on my Family Matters with Amber Blog 

because I believe readers should all have a chance to get to know the person behind the blog.

If this is your first Visit to Yellow Inspiration, don't miss the 

279 Awesome Yellow Inspiration Archives 

to get motivation, rejuvenation and laughs.

Otherwise, 
Followers can still journey with me at:
www.FamilyMatterswithAmber.blogspot.com 
www.FamilyMatterswithAmber.com
@AmberInspiration on Twitter


I will ALWAYS BE TALKING 
& WRITING WHAT I TALK ABOUT!!

What are your goals?

What do you need to let go of to accomplish them???

OK- ONE LAST LAUGH:

THE TOP 10 REASONS PEOPLE QUIT BLOGGING
(but not my reasons)
~
'Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams; Live the Life You Have Imagined.' 
~ Henry David Thoreau

Why I Wednesday: Y.I. Think Goals Are Easier Said Than Done

Anything worth having is worth sacrificing for.

'Goal' 

is an easy word to say, 

but not always an easy one to use.

With 'Goal' as My One Word for 2012
I know that at some point I would realize that I'd have to say 'No' to certain things...

A new PTA meeting

Another Volunteer spot
My Favorite T.V. Show

Sleeping in...

So I could say yes to others:

Spending time with my family

Relaxing with a good book

Getting quality work done
Going on a Field Trip with My Child's Class

I'm happy to say, I never regret good decisions.

What do you give up so you can accomplish your goals?

What's most difficult about this for you?

Test Drive #3: The One!

After Test Drive # 1 and 2, I wasn't sure what to pick next for a word.

I have wanted to accomplish so many things and every day feel as if I am spinning my wheels.

Why?

I wasn't sure...

I took a few days to think about the next word... 

Then it came to me...

I needed Goals!

There it was! 

My One Word for 2012!

G O A L S !!!!

There was no doubt in my mind that this test drive was going to go very well.

With Goals 

I could accomplish more...

Act with purpose,

And measure results.

I'd always had dreams, but not many detailed plans to get there. With practicing One Word, I knew it could help me get all of my dreams in order and help break them down into specific plans.

So, would you like to know how it's been going since January 1st?

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!

I've always wanted to spend more time on my book, more time with my kids and get more done in my business and GOALS is helping me with that!

With GOALS as my word, I am always reminded of where I want to be and what I am trying to accomplish! I have dedicated certain days and times to completing my parenting book,
created work hours for my home business, have organized the finances, the family calendar, and blogging time into specific time slots and now I always know where I am and where I'm going and no longer waste time doing what isn't helping me reach my goals.

Using GOAL as My One Word for 2012

has made me stop and think a lot about the end result I want...

and encourages me to eliminate things off my schedule which aren't contributing to the things that are important to me...

I am also utilizing time better and seeing results!

If you are looking for more focus in your life, write down some things that are important to you, then only do things that resonate with those priorities.

Make some goals, 

pick one word 

and 

Go For It!

Test Drive #2: Choice

Will this one be for me?

In December I test drove 3 words before choosing My One Word for 2012....This is my second test drive.

~

I might be the type who, at times, can make a mountain out of a molehill; make a problem bigger (or more important) than it really has to be. Not because I want to, but because I tend to perceive something to matter when it really shouldn't.

In tough situations, we sometimes just have to make a choice to let things go, be happy or sad, irritated or not... and maybe just move on....

With that being said, I wanted to work on encouraging myself to see I had those OPTIONS, and could, if I wanted to, just 'Let it Go'.

That sounded good to me...

NO-

that sounded GREAT!!!

This would be a PERFECT Word for 2012!

CHOICE!
This would help me decipher the trivial from the not so trivial,
and move on to a happier more relaxed life.

Choice worked. 'Letting go' was a great thought!
And while it works, I found myself letting go too much!
At times, not worrying or making a stand for enough of the things which were important to me...

I soon realized that much like the Hummer pictured above...'Let it Go' (or Choice) was definitely not for me.

This is what I already knew:

• I have choices and several of them I've made are because of things that were important to me.

• I was already capable of letting things go because often I refrained from getting upset over insignificant things

• I make a habit of choosing my battles wisely and actually tend to be passive enough already

On to Test Drive #3...

Read last week's Faith Test Drive

~

New Year Resolution: Test-Drive #1

In December I wrote about 'test-driving' my New Year's Resolution.

Last year, I traded in my old, beat up resolutions for a new shiny One which I would own for twelve whole months.

Because it was such a big investment, (much like purchasing a vehicle) I thought it might be wise to 'test-drive' a few first.

#1:
 I picked several things I felt I needed/wanted to focus on.

#2:
 I paired up words which made me think of (or meant) those things.

#3:
 I tried each of them for out for a week before I landed on my overall approach for 2012.

It was actually kind of fun. 

Here is The First Test Drive:

"Faith"

I thought since I could sometimes be some-what doubtful about the positive outcome of things, maybe I could use a more positive attitude; Faith seemed like a good word...

Faith...Faith.....Faith...

Just saying the word Faith feels good...doesn't it?

Except....


That after I tried it for a while, I realized that I related it more to church, my religion, saying prayers and reading the bible. Since those things are already present in my life, Faith to me did not work in the way that I thought it would for motivational purposes.


So, I tossed it out. 

(Not my faith, just the word.)

Back to the dictionary!

Read next Monday about Resolution Test-Drive #2.

Y.I. Ditched My New Year's Resolution List

Because I always seemed to either forget about them or give up on them....I have left my long standing New Year's Resolutions at the door.

I mean, yes, I believe in change (oh, do I) but, I truly think it's too easy to get overwhelmed working on a whole bunch of things at once...

Hence Why I ditched my New Year's Resolution list last year and replaced it with One Word.

Recently, I posted a few things about this One Word approach and I hope you will check it out.

Easy, but not too easy. Simplified, but not simple...I find it to be just right.

During the year, I feel that I work on the things I need to work on, you know, make adjustments as I go.
So, when New Year's comes around I usually over-do-it by making a big long list of things and get overloaded. Then,  I'm discouraged after just a short time...like by February 1st (Ugh).

So, last year, I decided to just stick to one word all year long that helped me focus better on almost anything I was doing.

Read about 2011's word: Grace

This time I chose Goals for 2012!

Last Year I chose Grace.

Read how I did:

Bad with Grace

Good with Grace

The trick will be, keeping Grace in action, 

while incorporating Goals...

It's both exciting and scary!

Yikes! 

Sounds tricky...

But, I think I'm up for the challenge.

No pain, no gain, right?

Throughout 2012, I will post updates and follow up stories about how I'm doing with my Goals.
Come back next week to find out how I plan on using this word!


I have already begun  my Goal list for the year...
and that's just the beginning.

Have you ditched New Year's resolutions? Why?

Or...

Will you be trying One Word instead?

Think you might like to try 

My One Word? 

visit MyOneWord.com 

or 

Test a New Year's Resolution? click here to read more

How To Test Drive Your New Year's Resolution

There are many of us who would be more than happy to skip New Year's Resolutions and who would prefer to simply countdown to the ball dropping and enter 2012 accepting things the way they were the year before.

Then there's others who look forward to a new challenge, or a renewed sense of accomplishment, so they set their sites on an item, or weakness, which they plan on tackling in the New Year.

Choosing a New Year's Resolution isn't easy. No one is perfect, and so at any given time we could likely find a dozen things which could use a bit of tweaking.

So, how do you know which one do you choose? 
And...
Which one is more important than the others?
And...
How can you guarantee success with the one you pick?

Well, the first two questions are very personal, and the one making the resolution would be the only person able to answer them.

But the third one depends on the why and if you've tested it or not.

How do you test your chosen New Year's Resolution?

Give it a trial run today!

If your resolution might be to follow a better fitness regimen, add it 'mini-size' to your day for a couple of days.

If you are completely disinterested and unmotivated trying to follow it, than you might want to choose something else. (It's possible that you aren't ready or your 'why', right now, is not great enough.)

We all want to succeed. 


'Try, try again,' is the often muttered motto when we fail, and it can leave us completely discouraged.

I believe that to feel motivated to accomplish something, and be excited to move on to another challenge, it is imperative that we are successful, even if it's only in the littlest increments.

That is a reason to test-drive a resolution. 


If you are not ready, it will be nearly impossible to stick with it.
So, include it today in small doses....then tomorrow try it again....if it is going well and you are excited about it and it is benefiting you, than keep it as your New Years Resolution on January 1st!

If not... go back to the drawing board.

Another reason you should test-drive a resolution: 


To find out if the one you chose will make a large enough impact.

Suppose you make a goal to wake up a half hour earlier every day. The reason you want to do this is so that you get things done around the house... though when hear your alarm, you wake up, but spend the next hour lying there, or you find yourself surfing the net or updating your Facebook status with coffee in hand.  While I enjoy doing all of these things, if my goal is to get up to 'get things done' I have defeated the resolution of getting up earlier.

It may be, that this is not a strong enough resolution.

Last year, I chose to incorporate the One Word approach to my New Year's Resolutions.

This week, I picked a few words to try....

• Faith
• Let it Go (I know that's three but I like it and could could consider it- My One Phrase.)
• Goals

I will let you know how it goes...

What New Year's Resolutions will you choose to test-drive? 

Y.I. Wednesday: Why I Chose GRACE for 2011

With the New Year approaching, it's time to start thinking about resolutions.

Since I decided to completely do away with the traditional form of resolution making last year and instead, 

adopted the  

One Word 

approach....

It's almost time for me to decide which word

I will be focusing on in the year 2012....

Read Y.I. chose Grace for 2011

See How I'm Doing:

March 2011

 October 2011

Let me know if you do New Year's Resolutions and what they are...

Maybe you'd like to pick One Word with me!

'Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this void.'

~ Simone Weil