One night last fall we had some friends over for dinner. A guest watched me draw out a knife, reach for my cutting board, and get busy on some garlic.

“Isn’t it amazing how quickly celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver (the naked chef guy) and Rachael Ray can chop things up? Incredible!” he said.

Yes, it is entertaining to watch a skilled chef. We watch them wondering how is it that these demi-gods prepare vegetables so gracefully, elegantly, and easily, whereas us mere mortals might cut off our own fingers.

Or the thirty-something bartender I met in the Philadelphia airport who whips up tasty concoctions as he juggles half-empty bottles of rum, blue curacao, and rum, while sliding them to his patrons?

Or just how mindblowing it can be to listen to your favorite singer or musician. Sometimes I get goosebumps.

Giotto di Bondone. Italian painter and architect

photo credit: McPig

And think about how enthralled you can be, slouched in your couch, watching your favorite actor do her thing.

So where am I going with this?

Well, are you ready to make some changes in your life?

Good, because the thing is, there’s nothing technically incredible about chopping vegetables, is there? In a lot of cases, things like these… they’re something that you and I can do too… with practice.

The people demonstrating these amazing feats are not all born with that ability. They gained the experience, developed more confidence, and honed their techniques over time, with practice.

And there you have it… pick one of the 7 areas of life where you want to change the most, and practice, practice, practice. This is the single thing we can do to improve ourselves.

It should be nothing new really. I know you’ve heard it before, “practice makes perfect.”

The advice is simple. Like most good advice that we seldom follow.

The more you practice something the better you get at it.

When we practice something, and when we repeat it, we improve. It is automatic. It is inevitable.

The chef who practices now can bake a perfect yorkshire pudding. The musician who practices chords tirelessly till his fingers blister does a great solo.

Like these men and women, we too over time can become practiced. And before you know it, someone less experienced will watch you in wonder accomplishing something that now is easy for you – no big deal.

Maybe you find this hard to believe. So let’s go back to when you were a child…

At first tying your shoes wasn’t easy, right? If you’ve ever seen a toddler or a preschooler trying to tie his shoes, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

And yet each of us, after much fumbling, and frustration, and stress, eventually learned how to do it, and do it so well that those laces would stay tied.

In Your 21st Century Personal Renaissance, I share the story about a young painter born near the city where I was raised.

Giotto di Bondone, better known as Giotto, was an Italian painter. Today he is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to and developed the Italian Renaissance.

I was eleven when my art teacher told us how one day Giotto, ever the playful apprentice, painted a fly on the nose of a figure. Giotto painted the fly with such skill it practically came to life, causing his teacher Cimabue to repeatedly try to brush it away.

So start practicing more and watch your dreams come true.

And let me know what you think.

Ciao!

Taylor

You may have heard of the 7 Areas of Life?

If you’re new to the concept (welcome, by the way) the 7 Areas of Life are:

Money, Time, Relationships, Health, Emotions, Work or Career, and Greater Contribution.

Each of these 7 Areas are like pillars that support your happiness and well-being. When one is weak and crumbles, your well-being caves in.

If you sit back and think about it, you might agree that most of us work on one, two, or at best, three of these pillars, right?

Some pour their heart and soul into their jobs. Ever found yourself concentrating on your career …identifying yourself with your job title or how much you earn, only feeling fulfilled when your work life is going well? …I know I have.

Others focus predominantly on their relationships. For these people, family and friends are the most important of the seven Areas, and they do not feel like a whole person if they’re not always focused putting others first.

By now maybe you can see how you favor one or two Areas the most. And likewise you might just as easily have clear in your mind the Areas you neglect… say maybe your health (when you eat out a lot to save time and energy), your money (when you spend money on things you know you don’t really need) or maybe your relationships (if you get caught up in a rat race of life bound with responsibilities)?

Don’t feel bad about the Areas you neglect, because we all do it. Just promise me you’ll avoid making the mistake of assuming that two or three strong “pillars” will make up for the rest. Because if you do, sooner or later the roof of your inner house will cave in, there is no doubt (I’ve been there and got the t-shirt).

And maybe it already has caved in… Perhaps right now you as you read what I’m saying there’s an uncomfortable sensation in the pit of your stomach – the one that signals now is time to change some things in your life…

…time for your Personal Renaissance.

Remember the Renaissance? It was the complete social and cultural change that took place in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century. The Renaissance was a time of great leaps forward in politics, art and culture. It was also the  time when the Renaissance Man (or Person!) was first recognized as a role model for us all.

Renaissance literally means “rebirth” and a Renaissance Person is someone who is balanced. An “all-rounder” of a person, who is equally devoted to work and relaxation, art and science, discovering and creating, giving and receiving, the outer and inner world.

I bring this up because when you pay more attention to the 7 Areas of Life, you can experience a similar rebirth, as a more complete and happy person – your own 21st Century Personal Renaissance.

And the beauty of it is that you can kick off this process in just seven days.

Really.

Here’s how…

First I’m going to list the 7 Areas in order of importance…

Actually, that’s not quite right. One Area is no more important than another. And to tell you the truth, even that’s not totally accurate. But they do have a logical sequence…

For instance, there’s no point developing your higher mind if you are lethargic and depressed from bad food and lack of exercise.

Okay, so here is your 7 day plan, in sequence…

And by the way, Day 1 is today. Right here, right now, or rather… when you finish reading the exercise.

All right, let’s do this!…

Day 1 – The Physical Self

Your body is your temple. All of the other elements of your life are related, and this includes our physical selves. You only get one body, so let’s give a little something back to it…

Step 1: Drink a glass of water. Most headaches are dehydration, and so are the “afternoon blues.”

Step 2: Stretch your arms above your head and breathe deeply.

Step 3: Walk around the room, taking long strides.

Day 2 – Emotions and Meaning

Everyday we have emotional responses to one thing or another. Some responses are good for us, others are harmful and disruptive. Because there’s a crucial link between your state of mind and your state of health, the key here is to become a master of your emotions…

Step 1: Tell yourself you want to recognize the next time you experience a heightened emotional response (e.g. anger) so that you can identify it.

Step 2: When you recognize you’re having strong emotions and feelings, decide if it is a positive or negative feeling. Your body responds to the way you think and feel. So if you are having a negative emotion, this can have a negative effect on your body.

Step 3: If you are experiencing a negative emotion, give yourself permission to let that feeling go.

Step 4: And now think of something that makes you feel happy or peaceful. There is research that having a positive outlook can improve your quality of life and boost your health.

Day 3 – Relationships

Relationships are made up of a thousand small moments of shared history. They are the things that help us identify our place in our family, our community and our world.

Step 1: Give your partner, spouse, or your best friend a seven-second hug.

Step 2: If you have kids, smile at them every time they walk in the room today.

Step 3: Smile at a stranger, and say good morning if you are feeling really brave!

Day 4 – Time

This is a difficult one for a lot of people, even more challenging than Emotions and Meaning, because we live in a world of “time poor” people and time is now a precious commodity, divided into tenths of seconds, rather than the movement of the sun across the sky.

Step 1: Tell yourself that doing “nothing” is valuable use of your time.

Step 2: Find somewhere quiet and let yourself daydream for a bit. Remember when you were a kid and you would stare happily at the ceiling for hours at a time? During this time, your brain displays some very interesting wave patterns, and it has been shown that kids who are allowed to daydream have higher IQs, are better able to concentrate and have less behavioral problems.

Day 5 – Career/Work

I’m not going to ask you to spend more time at the office! Instead I’m going to ask you to think carefully about whether your job (this extends to homemakers too) is bringing you all the rewards and joy you deserve.

Step 1: Make a small change to your working environment. Sit near a window, or take a 15 minute walk in your lunch break. Say good morning to someone you see all the time but never speak to.

Step 2: Let go of the stress. Breathe deeply and remember that fretting over things that haven’t happened yet will not help you achieve anything more quickly.

Day 6 – Finances

Lots of people are worried about money, especially now.

Money means freedom, and control over your life. Here’s the real rub with this definition of money… we can limit our options if we feel we have to make more more money to have that control, because you can have control over your financial life without needing to earn more – you simply need to look honestly at exactly what you have and what you do now.

Step 1: If you don’t have a budget, or if you don’t stick to one, begin today. Keep a financial diary and jot down everything you spend in a single day.

Step 2: Create a budget that works for YOU. One person I know loves to treat her friends. She can’t help it, she is always picking up the tab for after-work drinks. Yet her budget works! How? She is honest about her habits, and budgets a certain amount of money each week for treating other people. Once she reaches that limit, her weekly generosity is cut off. Simple.

Step 3: Take control of the small expenses: Walk to work, make birthday and holiday cards with your kids, turn off the heat in rooms you aren’t using. It’s not just the money you save that will help here, it’s the return of personal power – you can control your money.

Day 7 – Greater Contribution and Spirituality

This doesn’t necessarily mean religion, although that’s certainly part of it if you go to a place of worship. This is the area of your life that is about enjoying the spiritual rewards of your Personal Renaissance. This is the day when you stop to smell the flowers, to be grateful for the good things in your life, and to celebrate in whatever way is meaningful for you.

Step 1: Before you jump out of bed as soon as you wake up, take five minutes to stretch, wriggle your toes and smile. Even if you need to fake a smile, that’s fine. Endorphins (the feel-good chemicals in the brain) are released every time you smile, even if it is forced. Your body really does want you to be happy!

Step 2: Begin the day thinking about the people closest to you. Really thinking about them: How they feel, how they look, how their life might be right now.

Step 3: No matter how you spend your day, try to collect ten things you appreciate: Mental snapshots of gratitude – like the smell of coffee at your favorite cafe or of flowers in your garden,  a warm shower … or the garbage bin not needing to be emptied! Review these tonight as you go to sleep – instead of worrying about the bad things.

And that’s it.

Seven days and Seven Vital Pillars of Life that bring you closer to your Personal Renaissance. You have the power to be happy and paying attention to all seven pillars of a whole and balanced life will make you happier than you thought possible.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this…

Ciao!

Taylor

P. S. A post or two ago you may have noticed I hinted I’ve got something in store for you. Well, I’m now putting finishing touches on it. So leave the best comment and you’ll get a copy.