52CP42: Follow Through

I've mentioned Danielle LaPorte here and on my other blog before, but I'm mentioning her again this week because in my trying to be more authentic, I increasingly find more and more wisdom in what she has to say.

I've also mentioned that I have a life-long habit of procrastination, which causes disappointments along the way, and I've fallen short of the mark several times this year here on this blog. All of which brings me to the point of this week's inspiration and challenge: Follow Through.

Danielle sent out her White Hot Truth on August 10th of this year with THE secret to success. this is IT. for reals..., which she identifies as:

DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO

If we all just did what we said we're going to do, we'd experience an evolutionary leap in consciousness more brilliant than solar power and the invention of the wheel.

She continues by outlining ways to follow through and be accountable and all the rest of it, then eloquently ends with this:

Of course you can't always do what you said you would. Minds change and some prerogatives need their exercise. Batteries die, tragedies happen, the best intentions can get rained out. When you can't or choose not to honour your word, then say so.

Tell the truth, tell it fast, deliver it with sincerity and care.

Words are arrows.
Aim.
You can't always hit the impeccability bull's eye, but even if you're off a smidge, your words will land on integrity.

Please click on the link above to the full article - well worth the read!

Because of my procrastination issues, some of what I say I want to do/will do falls by the wayside. I am making a concerted effort to change things and to be careful about what I say I will do.

One area that has been the source of dismay/distress is my well-intentioned efforts to be more in touch with my children and grandchildren - all of whom live many miles away from me. I often find myself putting off what I want to do for them "until I finish this job" (deadline issues) or "until I get paid" (financial issues) or "until I finish what I have to do for Greg's parents" (obligation issues). The true thing is that there will ALWAYS be these - and other - issues, and I need to prioritize and work around them. I'm finding that as I do this, nothing really gets "traded off". Somehow, when I make authenticity and integrity the priority, the other things fall into place.

One thing I said I would do this year is to make pillowcases for my grandchildren for Halloween. Evidence that I actually did it:

Not only that, but I've even created a tutorial for them, in case you'd like to make your own! It's on my other blog, and is titled - what else? - "Tutorial: Pillowcases"

One last thought: Did you notice that this post went "live" just after midnight, like they did when I first started this blog? Yeah - I didn't procrastinate this week, thank you very much! I'll try to continue the trend and be more consistent. Thanks for joining me again this week!

What do you need to follow through on? Here's Mr. Linky: