Baskets and Buts

I know, I know, you're getting tired of hearing the same message (do what you love! Run through the fields with bunnies and circus performers! Be true to your inner butterfly!) from me. You want to know how the heck you're supposed to figure out what you want to do, if for some reason you decide to take the plunge and do it.

One super simple exercise to help you find what piques your interest is the Happy Basket exercise. I am stealing this exercise from life coach Susan Hyatt. It sounds deceptively simple, but you might be surprised by what you find. Pick some sort of receptacle: a basket, box, empty urn, whatever. Put it somewhere out in the open at your place of residence so you see it all the time and don't forget about the project. For one week, each and every time you see or read about something that excites you, put it in the basket. Okay, if the thing that excites you is that cute guy down the hall, DO NOT try to put him in the basket. Take a picture of him and put it in there or just write down "super gorgeous Adonis that lives in 3G" on a sticky note and put it in the basket. If you hear a song with lyrics that speak to you, write them down and put them in. If you see an episode of a cooking show that gets you going, write it down. A book that makes your heart beat faster, put it in.

At the end of the week, gather it all together and see if there are common themes emerging. Think about what element of each item really excited you. Maybe it's something totally unexpected; you're way more excited about the stock market in China than you realized. Vegetable gardening strikes a chord with you. Opening a raw vegan restaurant would be awesome.

If you need a little more help, trying asking yourself what you loved to do as a kid, and what activities that you did as a kid and now, as an adult, make you lose all sense of time because you're so engrossed in them. See how these activities can play into the items in your happy basket.

Chances are, if you get really excited about an idea, (I am going to move to France and take up Cancan dancing!) your social self is going to step in with all sorts of other thoughts (But I can't do that! I have a job! A boyfriend! A parole officer to meet tomorrow!) This is where the "buts" come in. If you feel stuck about what to do with your life, it's probably because of your buts.

Let's look at some quick examples: I want to move to another city, but I can't leave my boyfriend. I want to work in insurance, but my dad paid for my bartender's license training. I want to groom Poodles for a living, but my cat will be pissed off.

See all the excuses? They're called countermands. They prevent you from moving forward towards your goal.

BUT this post is long enough, so you're going to have to read it tomorrow to find out how to conquer them!

Be Joyful!