What I remember from the Personal Leadership Effectiveness Seminars

I am a sucker for seminars. In fact, you may call me a "seminarian", not in the religious context, but rather, a term I would use to describe "a lover of seminars".

I got addicted to them since I took my first PSI Basic seminar in Sept. 2004. Since I started taking PSI Basic, I continued on with all other series from the same organization and also from the "other" organization...OCCI. After the Basic, I took my Heroic, and then ALC, LEAP. I have staffed FLEX, ALC, Heroic and have plans to staff to coach in LEAP and possibly take Shooters in the future.

I guess this is my means of understanding myself better. Funny how I have to shell out good money to buy pricey nice-covered self-help books, dedicate some precious weekends, and invest quite a fortune to enroll in the so-called personal leadership seminars just to understand myself, accept myself, and just be myself.

Shouldn't this be common sense? No it's not. At least not for me. I am a person who needs to have everything spelled out for me. It is rather embarrassing to have to admit to such a self-defeating remark but then that's the way I am and I just have to accept it.

Anyway, enough of the intro. I just would like to put into writing, the thoughts that have been inhabiting my thoughts for quite some time no. It leaves the recesses of my mind and then returns. Thus, I'm finally giving it an outlet.

What I remember from the Personal Leadership Effectiveness Seminars:

PSI

Statements…

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”
“Today is the last day of the rest of my life.”
“Vote black.”

Songs…

“With all your heart, I know you can do anything…with a little faith, you can reach right up to the highest star. There’s no mountain you can’t climb, just look inside your heart you’ll find the strength inside, all you have to do is try with all your heart.”

“Straight as the arrow flies, I will run towards the finish line. With all the strength I found, my feet will touch the ground, I will scale the heights if I believe the wings of faith will carry me. I’ll go the distance just to reach the arms I’m running to. I’ll go the extra mile for you.”


OCCI

Statements…

“Every moment is a moment of choice.”
“So, what now?”
Smokescreen: “My way, highway.” “I’m not good enough.” “Less than!”

Songs…

“Some dreams live on in time forever. Those dreams you want with all your heart. And I’ll do whatever it takes, follow through with the promise I make. Put it all on the line, what I hope for at last will be mine. If I could reach higher, just for one moment touch the sky, from that one moment in my life, I’m gonna be stronger. Know that I’ve tried my very best, I put my spirit to the test, if I could reach.”

“Something has changed within me, something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second-guessing, too late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes: and leap! It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity. And you can't pull me down!”

“We were strangers on a crazy adventure. Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true. Now here we stand, unafraid of the future, at the beginning with you. And life is a road that I wanna keep going. Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing. Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey. I’ll be there when the world stops turning. I’ll be there when the storm is through. In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you."

Checkpoint 2007

I realize that my last blog was written nearly a year ago. Now that 2007 is about to end, I think it's just but apt for me to do a recap of where I've been vs. where I'd like myself to be.

Yes, I still love orange but I have developed a fondness for yellow green.
Yes, I stilI love being called "creative" and "artist".
Yes, I still love dirty ice cream.
Yes, I still fancy doing business travel in the past and now I AM doing business travel. Malaysia being my first but will definitely not be my last.
Yes, I still love immersing in a different culture.
Yes, I stilI love making new friends. Colleagues for starters.
Yes, I still love books, especially inspirational, spiritual, psychology, and new age. I especially like Julia Cameron, SARK, Louise Hay, and Paolo Coelho.
Yes, I still love Celine Dion and Josh Groban music but probably more on the latter. I also like Maksim Mrvica piano instrumentals.
Yes, I am still a deep thinker but can also shallow at times when I get tired of thinking.
Yes, I still appreciate good humour but also appreciate being a bit more serious about life.
Yes, I can still crack out-of-this-world jokes.
Yes, I still admire fellow women who are smart, gutsy, independent, and straight to the point. I have two new workmates whom I consider as such.
Yes, I still love musicals and plays but no longer have time to enjoy this type of pleasure.
Yes, I still and will always love travel, esp. in foreign land. My goal to visit at least one new country and one new local place every year will not change. I still like to visit Europe and Africa someday, I am saving for it, but I've recently added Australia to the list. Bottomline is I'd like to visit another continent.
Yes, I am insightful but not everyone may appreciate it.
Yes, I am a thoughtful person but have not been consistently thoughtful. I can be incredibly insensitive at times.
Yes, I love a good adventure but my figure is preventing me from enjoying it.
Yes, I can be both good and bad at the same time. Everyone has a dark side. It's upto us to find the balance.

New on my list:
I find Cantonese language cool. I find great joy in listening to my cousins in HK chat away in their native language. I have also resumed watching modern HK TV series in the original Cantonese language, with and without Mandarin subtitles.
I have started to become proud of my Chinese heritage but am perfectly comfortable in the company of my Filipino friends and acquaintances. It's not exactly what my mom (who has essentially a traditional mindset) would agree to but that's the way it is. I am actually trying to challenge my own "racial meter".
I cannot imagine myself having a boyfriend yet because I do not consider myself a girlfriend material at the moment. People I know are getting married and having kids, or having kids then getting married. I didn't think I would be able to accept such imperfection had this been during my college years but times have changed and you'll just have to accept people as they are.
I love singing along and moving my body to the rhythm of music.

What I'd like to have but still am still working on w/o a deadline are:
-acceptance, abundance, clarity, decisiveness, self-security, self-love, a healthy lifestyle, trust, spontaneity, optimism, character, consistency, self-discipline to focus on the essentials.

My major roadblock is obesity. I had allowed it to happen and I must take responsibility and find a way to conquer it. Otherwise I cannot move forward.