Week 5 Goals Update and Yes A Little More😃

Hello and Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope each of you is having a beautiful day regardless of how dreary it may seem. My goals update will be short this week, but it’s not a bad thing though. I made all of my goals each day (even if some days it was down to the wire). I still have been dealing with procrastination and am getting better. My friend, who is my partner in crime on my mystery book I’m writing, is working on some other goals outside of our Habit Formers Group, and so she and I have are two-person accountability team. Which I’m also doing OK with.

This coming week, I’ll be competing in a Toastmasters Area Contest for Table Topics (speaking for 1 to 2 minutes extemporaneously answering a question) and for 5 to 7 minutes in the International contest. To help you understand a little how the contest goes ~ it begins at the Club level then the winner will go to the Area, from there to the Division, and the winner there goes to the District level. At the District level, those winning the Humorous, Evaluation, Table Topics contests have reached the highest level. The District winner of the International will then go to the Regional, then to the top 100 speakers in the world, and then finally compete in the top 10 speakers of the world. It would definitely be amazing to make it there, BUT I have decided this is my last year competing. There are pros and cons as there are in everything, and for me, I don’t feel like dealing with the cons anymore. Instead, I’m going to choose to work behind the scenes and hopefully prevent some of those for others or at least make it a less stressful experience.

One of the reasons I enjoyed competing was it helped me to become a better speaker, writer, and it was a way to get my message out to a larger audience. Yet if I really think about it, I can do that without the extra stress and time consumption for practicing and competing. After competitions have ended this year, I will volunteer to run some of the contest next year and possibly offer workshops to help get club participants get to the next level. I’m not definite on this last decision yet but firm on the first. Plus, not competing will allow more time to spend on my passions of writing books and art. I’m still discovering my style(s). I really enjoy pencil drawings and still love working with charcoals. Not that I don’t love painting, I do, but I do seem to gravitate to pencils and charcoals more. I almost wonder if I’m scared of the free flow of paints and making a mistake. As a child, I was taught to stay in the lines, do not go over. I like the freedom of paint but a bit intimidated at the same time. There is also the feeling of needing to be taught more, which I know is not necessarily true.

Anyhow, for a quick recap… goals are going… well Okay. I could do more exercise, meditate longer, and drink more water, but I am slowly working up to it. OH, and I forgot to add earlier I am now Gluten-free, which was one of my quarterly goals. Yea! My digestive system is happier, my taste buds are not. I used to greatly enjoy bread, now I will find a way to do without it. The contest is Saturday, please wish me luck. I will update you next Sunday on the results.

Other than that, I hope you have a fabulous week. Hugs, Love, Laughter, and Blessings to everyone! 🌻