Earlier this week we lost a beautiful Bad Kitty – Annette Funicello. Annette was 70 and died of complications of MS which she was diagnosed with in the 90’s. Annette had a long life in the spotlight. She was handpicked by Walt Disney himself to be one of the original Mouseketeers. She went on to be a star in the beach movie genre of the 60’s with the likes of Frankie Avalon. She left the limelight for some time to raise a large yet was never forgotten. She came back to public life after her MS diagnoses to be a spokesperson for the disease.
I am sharing about Annette today because of a quote of hers I read. “When you are young and healthy, it never occurs to you that in a second your whole life could change.”
We hear it all the time – live life for today, carpe diem, and so on. But how often do we actually do it? We “know” that our life can end in a flash, we know that we could get a debilitating illness, we know that nothing is forever, yet we live contrary to this knowledge.
Not only that, we live by the plans, the expectations, the rules of others. To me, that’s the biggest tragedy of all.
I offer a simple, and yet terribly complex, challenge to you today – live YOUR life on YOUR terms NOW!
For some, you may not even know what that means. Take some time to:
- Delve into your past. When you were young, what were your daydreams? What did you want to do with your life?
- Sort the list. Which ones were influenced by others? Which were to make others happy? Which ones don’t carry any resonance or emotional weight anymore? Cross those off.
- Prioritize the rest of the list. If you could only do one thing, what would it be? Start there.
Once you have a better idea of what you want in your life, it’s time to make it happen. Your list could include a career, hobbies, day to day activities and so on. Whatever it
is, you CAN make it happen with a little determination and planning.
I’ll be making one of my most important personal desires happen in just 4 days – I’m going to Paris! YAY!!! I’ve been drawn to Paris for as long as I can remember. The desire has never left me. And finally, it’s happening!
You can make things happen too.
- Sort long term and short term desires. Is this something you can do tomorrow with minimum planning like going to a waterpark or is it something that will take some thought and time to execute like going to Paris?
- Make plans to do at least one short term desire every week. Can you imagine if you made something that juices you up happen every week how different your life would be?
- Break long term desires into action steps. Be sure to take consistent action and before you know it, you’ll be flying to Paris too!
The biggest thing to remember as you live YOUR life is to stay clear on what you want. It may take some determination, some pain. You may experience derision or misunderstanding from those closest to you. You will DEFINITELY have to get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis.
Keep this mantra in mind “how can I handle this situation in a way that causes me to be impressed with myself?” This reality check, this little self push will help keep you on track and keep you moving forward.
Live YOUR life NOW. No one else can do it for you.
Get out there and explore your life, kitty, this is no time for someone else to keep you safe inside. Take some risks and LIVE!!
Hugs,
Christie Mawer (The Bad Kitty)