Manifesto – man-i-fes-to: a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization

This morning, Marian, at Miss Mustard Seed has one of her amazing, heartfelt posts, that include a personal “manifesto” by a friend/follower, Amy. Marian, herself, has written about her own personal goals and challenges in the past, as well. If you’d like to read a thought provoking post, I encourage you to take a look. Amy appears to be at a turning point in her life. She’s assessing her life as it is and wondering how it would feel to make some significant changes, in order to attain a more meaningful destiny.

Now, I just looked up the definition of the word “manifesto” to make sure I understood the meaning of the word. Whether you want to call it a list of personal goals, a personal assessment or a manifesto, I think it’s incredibly important to take stock of our lives, on a regular basis. Even better, if we put our goals in writing, and as Marian says, its even better if we share it with someone.

I’ve shared lots about myself, in the past…“8 Things You May Not Know About Me”, but I’ve never made a public declaration of my personal goals before. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I made a personal declaration of my goals. Maybe it’s time.

When writing our personal list of goals and aspirations, I think there are several important things to remember:
1. This isn’t a competition to see who can have the loftiest list of goals. Depending on where we are in life, our goals will change. At one point in our life, we may only be able to manage finger painting, while at another time, we’ll be ready for something more.
2. While our manifesto will be our’s personally, it should might need to include those we share a home, community and spiritual connection with. Maybe one approach we could take to creating our list, would be to create a “me” list and then a “we” list, before deciding how you can blend the two.
3. Do your current goals take you to where you want to be long term? Example: Will buying a new car help you in your dream to own a home?
4. Is your current situation keeping you from finding peace and fulfillment? Whether they are financial burdens, destructive relationships or habits, this is a time and place to “come clean”, at least with ourselves.
5. Take responsibility, accept the cards we’re dealt, mourn our losses, celebrate our gifts and move on! Blaming someone else won’t get us where we need to be. Having unrealistic expectations won’t serve us either. Years ago, post divorce, I decided I had had more than my share of unsuccessful relationships and wanted to learn a new way. I found a counselor I could relate to and in one of the first meetings with her, I gave her my “What I’m Looking for in a Man” list. Her response was, “Are you the person this man is looking for?”. Wow! What a question! But it made me realize that good things start with me.

So, thank you Marian and Amy, for reminding me that it’s time for me to take inventory and tweak a few things. I’m not sure if I’ll share my manifesto with the world, or just Mr. Wonderful, but it’s going to get done.

Thanks for being here. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
Barbara