Hello Friends!
A few weeks ago I mentioned that Mark and I had a brainstorming session at a cabin in the woods, so today I’m going to tell you how we conduct our sessions. We are always coming up with new experiences we want to create in our lives, so we have become really great at brainstorming. One of our most memorable sessions for me was the one we had about 9 months ago.
We originally planned it because we had made different changes in our lives to create our ideal careers, and we had no idea how we were going to pay our bills that month. However, while preparing for the session, I realized I didn’t want to go into our session worried about what appeared to be obstacles. I know that my life changes based on my perception of reality, so I decided to believe that our obstacles were really opportunities. I chose to believe that everything we were experiencing was helping us create our ideal lives, and we began our brainstorming session with that mindset.
- Your life experience right now is the perfect foundation from which to create your next ideal experience.
We both sat down on the couch with our pens and journals in hand, ready to create. We started by listing what we really wanted in our lives. At that time, we wanted to get married, travel, and have a 3 month honeymoon. Now, if we had simply relied on our logic or bank account balance, we would not have had the amazing year we have had.
- List the ideal experiences you wish to have in your life. Don’t list the things you think you might be able to accomplish but don’t care about. List your IDEAL, no matter how unrealistic it sounds.
At this point, let me mention the golden rule of a brainstorming session: Have Fun! If at any point you start feeling stressed or down in the dumps, stop and regroup. Dance around, laugh hysterically, draw a picture, say affirmations…do whatever you have to do to get yourself back in the fun frame of mind.
When you are having fun, your creative juices flow, and you can come up with amazing solutions to create your ideal life. In a fun frame of mind, you are open to seeing how your life now is making your ideal experiences possible.
Besides, you’re just brainstorming, you’re just creating…you don’t have to do anything you come up with. Just allow your creativity free reign. If you’re having a brainstorming session with someone else, make sure you both agree to be encouraging of each other at all times. If you criticize another person when they are brainstorming, you may crush their creative spirit, and that will be a detriment to both of you.
- Have fun! Be encouraging!
Once you have your list of ideal experiences, write down or say all the reasons why the experiences in your life right now make it easier for you to achieve your ideal.
- How does your current life experience make it easier for you to create your ideal?
When Mark and I were talking about traveling and having our wedding, Mark realized our anniversary was in 3 months, so we made that our wedding date, July 3rd. Then, we realized that the lease for our apartment would be up at the end of July. We didn’t want to renew, so we decided we would put all our furniture in storage, which would free up an additional $800 in income each month. Since we had both started working full-time from home, we never used both of our cars, so we sold Mark’s car. That eliminated almost $10,000 worth of debt (car loan), several hundreds of dollars in car insurance, and we made money off the sale all in one day! My car was completely paid off and in great condition, so we decided to make it our primary vehicle.
Then, I received a letter saying I had an IRA account I didn’t realize I had. We cashed that in. I also found out I had $400 of unclaimed money online. I claimed it (hooray!), and that was even more money we weren’t expecting. One thing after another happened after we stated our ideal to make it all possible.
To make a long story short, we made more than enough money to cover our bills for that month, had our ideal wedding, our 3 month honeymoon, traveled to England, Scotland, and Ireland, and we eliminated almost all of our debt and financial liability at the same time.
- List every possible way you can think of that your ideal could happen. Then, be open to realizing that there are at least a million more possibilities than you are even aware of.
During or after your brainstorming session, keep affirming your ideal to yourself and taking actions that show you believe it is possible. We began by finding where we wanted to have our wedding, researching local activities, sending our invitations, and making decorations.
I also created an affirmation board and hung it above our mantel. Next to the board was a cup of colorful sharpie markers. Anytime I felt discouraged, I would write an affirmation on the board. For example, whenever I worried about whether we would be able to take our trip to Europe, I would write, “I am so thankful that we have an amazing time in Europe! We meet amazing people, have so much fun with my family in England, and every day is full of fun and luxury!” Here’s a pic of my gratitude board after I first created it (with the beautiful kitty Cosmo, green happy plant, and a pewter Merlin riding a turtle).
Each brainstorming session Mark and I have is different, but they are always creative and fun. We both get excited when we plan one because we know we’ll both come up with great, inventive ideas. Sometimes we bring out our art supplies or make our brainstorming into a game. Just be creative and have fun 🙂
Do you have any other great ideas for having a fun brainstorming session? What helps you clear the confusion and see great opportunities to create your ideal? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Many Blessings,
