Category: choices

choices, decision-making, dreams, time

Inspired: Know When It’s Time to Be Done

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Ever feel done? Really done with a situation that’s been somewhat bearable for a while and now feels so heavy you have to let it go? I hit that wall Tuesday morning with a few of my consulting projects.

And in the midst of that realization there were so many incredible things happening—the amazing rehearsal process of Sing After Storms with our incredibly talented team and friends pouring in support through every possible avenue. I could feel transformation start to make its way into my life, the way water begins to carve its path through stone, the way plants begin to overtake manmade structures when left to their own devices. It feels like progress, however slow and uncomfortable it may be. I could sense a serious make-over of my entire life taking root right at the center of my heart.

Life is so incredibly short. As my friend, Alex, recently said to me, “I’m going to wake up and be 70. That’s how fast life’s going.” She’s totally right. Time is flying. My energy and creativity have to be channelled into what lights me up, not what tears me down. That’s all we really have time to do.

choices

Inspired: Authenticity Wins

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

The world needs you—beautiful, capable, talented you. All you can do is be who you are—at work, at home, in your community. You could try to retrofit yourself into a role someone else wants you to play, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Those with like minds and hearts are looking for you; make it easy for them to find you by being exactly who you are. Be authentic, and everybody wins.

choices, dreams

Inspired: Put Your Own Dreams First

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs.” ~ Tony Gaskins. Now hear this: you are every bit as talented, intelligent, and creative as every yahoo out there who figured out a way to make their dreams come true. The only difference is that they went for it full throttle. They found a way up, over, and through every obstacle placed in their way. You can, too. And you must. The world needs your dream and you are the only one who can build it.

action, change, choices, decision-making

Inspired: Sweet Release

Christa Avampato
Pinterest
Pinterest

I’ve often regretted holding on. I’ve never regretted letting go of anything. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of letting go – of expectations, bad habits (great and small), insecurities, and stuffy routines. The release itself isn’t scary; it’s the anticipation of the release that can scare us into inaction. I don’t have any magic formula to get through that phase. We need a Nike attitude about it – just do it. Decide. Choose. Let go. Change. Act.

action, adventure, change, choices, decision-making, time

Inspired: The Only Time You Have is Now

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I’ve been talking to a lot of friends about big life changes. Moving, relationships, jobs, creative projects. It’s too easy to say, “I’ll get to that later.” Later never arrives. If you have something you really want to do, something you want to try, take the plunge. Give it a whirl. Grab the opportunity. There’s no good reason to put off anything you really want to do. You deserve the very best shot at exactly the life you want. I support anyone and everyone willing to take any kind of chance. Go for it!

apartment, choices, home

Inspired: Take Only What You Need – A New York Real Estate Tale

Christa Avampato

From PinterestI took my first trip to see potential new apartments yesterday and with a lot of amenities I don’t need. They are decent deals for what they offer. However, what they offer doesn’t match my needs. Over lunch, I remembered a very wise piece of advice that my friend, Susan, told me about job hunting that applies to so many parts of our lives: don’t compare your options to each other; compare them to what you want. The hunt for a new home continues.

choices, friendship, grace

Inspired: Be Your Own Hero

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

A friend of mine recently ripped off my work and presented it as her own. I didn’t realize she’d done this until I read about it in a magazine. I didn’t wallow. I just walked away and left it in karma’s capable hands. Here is the greatest lesson I learned: grace and dignity are choices. Sh*t is going to happen to you. The sh*t isn’t what defines you. It’s how you handle it that makes all the difference. Turn the beat around.

change, choices, luck

Inspired: Fortune’s Smile

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

In all of the ups and downs of my life, I’ve found this one thing to always be true: fortune smiles on me when I smile first. What I manifest internally, comes to fruition externally. When something isn’t going right for me, I don’t bother feeling badly for myself and searching for answers externally. I close my eyes and look in. The answer is always there and then I am able to make the changes I need to make to have the life I want. They aren’t always easy changes, though they are always possible.

choices, future, history, learning, time

Inspired: Put the Past in its Place

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

The past is a wonderful place to learn but I don’t recommend making it your home. It’s fun to remember, to be nostalgic, to pay tribute to what we’ve lived through – the good and the bad. However, we have to live it going forward. We have to take everything we learned in our past and carry it forward so that we make better, more informed choices today. We’ve got to learn to keep what serves us well and let go of everything else. In this way we can honor the past without repeating it or being hampered by it.

choices, inspiration, work

Inspired: Work On the Thoughts That Won’t Go Away

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Have you ever had an idea for a project literally follow you around? That’s what happened to be with my play, Sing After Storms. I wrote it because the characters wouldn’t leave me alone. I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I had to work on their story. And they’ve been with me ever since. I turn their decisions over in my mind the same way I analyze my own choices. I never get tired of that project because those characters and the world they inhabit keep me endlessly fascinated. To me, they live and breathe as much as I do.

Maybe you have a project like that – something you want to do or make or try that just won’t leave you alone. You think about it, dream about it, constantly tinker with the idea of it. That’s what you need to work on. Maybe you’ll make some money with it. Maybe it will just have to be a labor of love. But don’t let the money, or lack there of, make your choices for you. There’s a bit of magic in things and thoughts and actions that nag at us, they force us to hear them and recognize them for what they. Let them be your focus for a while and see what comes of it. Give them a shot.