SOMETHING THAT IS CLOSE TO MY HEART.....

I was reading my friend Ali's blog tonight...  she mentioned a book entitled ‘The Happiness of Pursuit’ by Chris Guillebeau.  It immediately had me wanting to check it out...

As I read more of Ali's blog, I could identify with her with that feeling of uneasiness, of frustration, particularly when you are not on top of things.... she described how just cleaning up one space, made her feel good,  a sense of achievement, and how  this quote struck a chord with her...

“Properly examined, feeling of unease can lead to a new life of purpose.”

Reading this made me curious to go read more of what was written...  So I headed to the link she had left and I found some thought provoking thoughts about "The Happiness of Pursuit"  which Michael Hyatt spoke about in his blog.... I am going to cut and paste them here in my blog, so that I can come back to them....

The Happiness of Pursuit is a roadmap for people who want to experience significance and joy in life. That might describe you—it definitely describes me.
In the book, Chris tells compelling stories about others and self-deprecating ones about himself. (Just wait till you read the one about the rental car in Italy.) The effect is not only encouraging, it’s also enabling because along the way Chris details several tactics for finding and pursuing a great quest.
Happiness in life usually comes by making meaningful progress toward significant goals. And those goals don’t have to be traveling to every known country, completing a four-year degree in twelve months, or running fifty marathons in under three hours each. Some of the best quests happen inside the four walls of our homes.
Here are five steps I’ve pulled from Chris’s book that can help us find the right adventure and see it through.
  
Listen to your discontent. We usually think of dissatisfaction as a negative feeling, but in The Happiness of Pursuit Chris reframes it. “Properly examined,” he says, “feelings of unease can lead to a new life of purpose.”

1. Discontent is like an indicator light on the dashboard of our lives. If we’re paying attention, it can tell us when something is wrong. And that might be exactly what we need to redirect. But how?
2. Add inspiration. As Chris says, discontent is not enough. Lots of people are unhappy. In fact, fewer than 20 percent of workers in America and Canada are satisfied with their work, according to one study. The important thing, Chris says, is to combine our discontent with inspiration. That fresh sense of purpose can give us new direction. What starts your motor? What gets you fired up? Inspiration turns discontent into fuel for positive change.
   And it’s got to be something we really believe in because the journey won’t always be fun, fast, or easy.
3. Be brave. As we contemplate new paths, fear always rears its head. It’s inevitable. And it doesn’t matter. “Embracing new things often requires us to embrace our fears,” Chris says, “however trivial they may seem. You deal with fear not by pretending it doesn’t exist, but by refusing to give it decision-making authority.”
   Who’s in charge? I’ve experienced enough in life to know that nothing new, amazing, or meaningful happens when I stay huddled inside my comfort zone. Is stepping out risky? I’d be lying if I said no, but that’s where real adventure leads—and it’s totally worth it.
4. Count the cost. What will be required to achieve your goal? Chris recommends that we list our goals and make estimates on the time and money and other costs required to achieve them. He calls this “deductive reason,” and we need to be smart about the costs. But there’s often a direct correlation between how much satisfaction we gain to how much we invest. “[I]t is precisely the arduousness of the task that makes the accomplishment an epic one.” And as he says, effort can be its own reward if you love the work.
5. Divide and conquer. Chris didn’t just launch into his world travel. He mapped it out first. He broke things down in to regions and figured out what was important for each. Nearly two hundred countries is a lot, but chunking them out gave him a place to start and a scope he could manage. For me, the best thing about breaking goals down into a list of milestones is checking things off my list. Progress is a powerful motivator. As we face roadblocks and setbacks, this can help us pull through and make it to the end.
   
   Thinking I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this book...
   It also has reminded me though to be thankful for many things this week..
   So this week my grateful list includes...
   
   1.  Skype.... how it can keep me in daily contact with our beautiful grand daughter and allows her to get to really know us...
   Also how it keeps us in constant contact with our son who is living on the other side of the world...  Feeling so thankful that we have modern technology that allows us to remain in close contact with those we love....
   
   2.  Our Garden....  it is so nice to come home each afternoon to check the progress on our plants, to be able to pick fresh food and use in our meals....   To see all our flowering plants blooming with lots of new buds...
   
   3.  Longer Days.... it is so nice to come home from work and still have enough daylight hours left to either go for a walk or spend time outside..
   
   4.  Thoughtful caring daughter..... Our beautiful youngest daughter who still pops in to see us on a regular pasic and often asks us to her place where she will cook dinner for both her father and I...
   
   5.  My Camera..... which allows us to capture the special moments in our lives
   
   6. Green grass and the rain..... So nice to see the green grass sprouting up everywhere....It calls you outside to admire and give thanks for the wonderful creation around us...
   
   7.  My iPad......  I love the fact that my bible is on it and I can take the time to not only read my bible, but I can listen to it also
   
   8.  Our new car..... being blessed by Sarah's lovely in-laws who really did go above and beyond to make sure we were able to get our new car....
   
   9.  Great Bible teaching.... We have had some great teaching lately, and love how it has helped and encouraged us.
   
   10.  Some great friends.... who care and encourage and support us and who are always there for us regardless of whether we see them daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly.  So very blessed. 
   
   My list could go on and on....