First post after Commencement, practicing self-directedness. As I’m sure you know, Commencement means beginning, even though many traditionally think of it as an end. That’s our built-in negative bias shining through. I’m beginning my first week as an independent, self-directed person. I’ve worked all my life to get to this point, and, in reality, I’ve been here for many years. My parents raised me to be self-directed, so, technically, this is nothing new. On the other hand, decades of life chipped away at how effective that self-directedness was.
We had a few weeks without a webinar during the course to help us practice working on our own. I feel confident going forward. Still, as the webinar blinked off at the conclusion of of our Commencement Master Mind session, I felt a brief sense of loss. I texted with my Mastermind partner throughout the session, and we’re embracing our future as we step out on our own and employ what we’ve learned.
I signed up for Continuation, which retains access to the course material and a few other things. Mostly, I’m evaluating what this self-directedness will look like. I’m reading Think and Grow Rich, so those chapters may replace my weekly Master Key lesson. On the other hand, I think a periodic review of those weekly lessons will add fresh perspective as my perspective has changed with more complete learning.
There are a few more months of scroll reading to finish The Greatest Salesman in the World. I’m nearly done with my Definite Major Purpose revision. What worked at the beginning of the course needed more dates, more customization, and more emotion. Very little of my original DMP remains; however, I had to put a segment back in, because it was so important. My new guide convinced me about why my “Recognition for Creative Expression” personal pivotal need wasn’t valid. As you may recall, I’d been wondering about that. “Autonomy” is my new PPN. It feels right.
Of course, I will continue adding my service each week. I’m taking a closer look at my Plan of Action card. It needs updating. There’s a lot of good crammed in there, but I want to ensure it still aligns with my DMP. I rewrote my Blueprint Builder without the “wills” and added the Laws of the Mind to the back — just to keep them handy.
This was never addressed, but I’m absolutely certain Davene and Mark J are not hauling around fifteen years of gratitude cards, so I’m periodically “retiring” some to another pile. I have four sizable piles of gratitude and success cards. It seems practical to retire some every now and then to keep those piles manageable. I plan to add a few cards to cover the “carry over” phrases from The Greatest Salesman in the World. I’m going to devise a method of keeping the thirteen virtues front and center, and I suspect that involves index cards as well.
So, like a kid happy to be in her first home after moving out on her own, I’m arranging and rearranging the furniture. Oh, and I bought the P90 video series. I decided with one replaced knee and another knee awaiting replacement and a ton of excess weight, I wasn’t ready for P90X, but I’m looking forward to checking this series out. Thanks Mark J. What an influence you have been.