Embrace Your Overall Vision: It May Be Hiding in the Strangest Places
By Catherine Franz


Thinking back on it, my lifestyle change journey really
began about eight years ago. But I didn't become
aware of it until about three years ago when I
consciously decided I needed to lead a "lighter" life
and started by cleaning out the medicine cabinet.

It seems so simple now, but it took three months
before I could let go of the contents of that 14 x 16-
inch space. Every time I went in that cabinet, a
more honest assessment yielded more trash. Soon
it became easier to be honest about the clutter of
my life, at least the old stuff. Memory stuff was not
so easy--things my parents gave me, my ex-
husband, old boyfriends, friends--I'm sure you get
the picture. Of course, the kids' stuff was the
hardest. But practice does make perfect, and in time
I was able to make hard choices about what was
really important to me. Slowly but steadily over the
next three years I conquered the rest of my house--
purging and cleaning every corner, cabinet and
room.

Happy with what I'd accomplished, by fall of 2005 I
was ready to focus on other life shifting goals. It
was as if cleaning out the medicine cabinet and the
rest of the house was the catalyst for other, bigger
changes.

And the messages to make changes were all around
me. Early in November 2005, I started hearing
them. "It¡¯s time to really shift." I heard Dr. Phil,
television¡¯s well-known therapist, say whenever I
clicked on his show. I didn't watch him very often
but when my intuition said tape it or turn on the
tube, I did, and there was the same message, "If it
isn't working for you, change it." The timing was
always impeccable. Of course, he expressed the
message in different words.

But even with these coincidences, I heard the bold
words but didn't take any action. Then the
messages started bombarding me. Small, soft, large
and loud. They kept coming. In early December,
while in a meditative state, I heard it. This time very
clearly, very direct AND very, very loud, and firm. "Its
time to really commit and get bold. Its time to
reinvent yourself, Catherine."

All I could do was give a throat chuckle. The
message scared the heebie jeebies out of me. Over
the space of the week my feelings transitioned into,
"Okay, I'm open, what do you mean by that?" I
asked even though I had a good idea what it meant.
The vision of selling everything and changing my
environment to be much lighter, more Zen-like. I've
needed to lose a lot of weight (that was always a
goal). But this time it was different, it wasn't the
weight at all. It was, "Get healthy. There¡¯s a lot in
store for you, and you need to be healthy in order to
get there."

The picture got clearer as each week progressed.
Key items appeared, I got nervous, questioned it,
mulled over it, ran and tried to hide for a few hours
from it, shared my doubts with my best friend,
Brenda. The doubts faded but my lack of trust in
myself didn't totally go away. I kept wanting all the
answers. I want to know exactly what I was to do
and how to do it.

The New Year is here now and I know what I need
to do, although I still have no clue of what it all
means. The thoughts of measuring up to the vision
is still a little nerve wracking. Doubts come and go
but only when I really don't want to eat healthy or
exercise. One step, now, is all I can focus on. Eat
healthy now. Exercise now. Sell one piece of
furniture now. Its replacement will come. I know all
will come at the right time. And I think that is the
only thing that keeps me in the "now" of working
towards wherever this "reinventing Catherine"
message is leading me. I hold on to the vision that
has been there for the last few months as I really
like its picture.

Yesterday, I spent some time working on my 2006
Attraction Board. It had been in the works since
early November but the pictures weren't clear.
Yesterday, while in the craft store things began to
mesh. This week I plan on test-driving new cars,
deciding on which one I like, and placing its picture
on my Attraction Board so that the universal laws
will bring it to me.

When messages come of steps that you want to
take, allow yourself to go through the emotions, but
don't get stuck in the feelings. Keep the door open
because the message you receive may only be a
partial picture. If you block it because it seems too
big or impossible or unimportant, then the next
message, the one that explains it or gives it
additional clarity, won't get through to you. Even
profound decisions often mask themselves as many
simple choices -- like cleaning out a medicine cabinet
-- and only take a few moments to make. So be
ready. Keep the doors open to the possibilities and
listen -- messages can come from the strangest
places -- a television program, a child, a piece of
music, a memory or your own behavior. It really isn't
difficult. It is a decision though. It is a choice.

(c) Copyright 2006, Catherine Franz. All rights
reserved.

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Catherine Franz, is a syndicated columnist, author,
radio host, International speaker, and master business
coach. http://www.abundancecenter.com