Where has the Year gone?

Kamál (Perfection), 13 Asma (Names), 165 B.E. – Monday, September 1, 2008 about 9:15 AM Pacific Time

Where has 2008 gone? It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the beginning of a New Year and here it is September 1. There are now only four months left in 2008 and then we celebrate the beginning of another New Year, which will pass too quickly.

We begin a New Year with so much hope and so many goals, but the year passes quickly. The older a person gets the faster the year appears to pass. That is why setting priorities are important. If one doesn't set priorities, then nothing is accomplished and the year is wasted. At least, it seems so unless the individual learns the lesson about setting priorities.

It is never too late, no matter how old one is, to begin setting priorities. One way to do this is to write a personal mission statement. Mission statements aren't only for businesses or individuals looking to advance their careers. Mission statements are for everyone who has priorities and wants to achieve goals of any time.

Many websites give advice about writing personal mission statements, but all a person needs to write one are priorities. The first step is for the individual to list his or her priorities. The second is to put those priorities into positive statements. Make the statements specific enough to see that progress is being determine and broad enough so that there is a little leeway for improvement.

I'm in the process of rewriting my personal mission statement now. The original statement didn't inspire me, so I decided to do it over. Of course, I wrote the original before my life fell apart last year, so perhaps my priorities changed during 2007. I will finish the statement today and will post it in this blog latter this week. I have found that, for me, a personal mission statement is part of the process of transformation.

I need to simplify my life

Istijlál (Majesty), 9 Asma (Names), 165 B.E. – Thursday, August 28, 2008 about 6:14 PM Pacific Time

I wrote yesterday that I needed a vacation, that I needed to relax. I think part of the problem is that I need to simplify my life. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start by unsubscribing to some yahoo groups. Then I'm going unsubscribe e-mail newsletters that I don't read and clean out my e-mail boxes.

I'm working on a personal mission statement. What I'm doing is completely rewriting the mission statement I wrote in 2007. I thought I had started to rewrite it, but I can't find any rewritten document. The only mission statement I can find is the original, which is no longer inspiring. Therefore, I'm going to just do the entire statement over again.

I know that rewriting a mission statement appears to have nothing to do with unsubscribing to yahoo groups, e-mail newsletters and overstuffed e-mail boxes. However, in an odd sort of way they do relate to each other. They indicate I need to simplify my life and my surroundings. So that is what I'm going to do.

I think I will start with the e-mail boxes and clean out some of the folders I have stuff saved under. Unfortunately, I can't delete a folder that has mail in it, which means I have to delete the mail in the folder before deleting the folder. I will start with the intermind e-mail and then move to the yahoo box. I'm not going to get rid of the yahoo address, I'm just going to unsubscribe from some of the groups I'm not posting to.