In the day-to-day grind, it can be easy to fall into the trap of just getting through the day. I’m wondering if that was one of your aspirations in life as a kid, you know back when you believed in superheroes. Did you ever say to yourself I can’t wait to grow up and just get through the day. No! I bet you said, I can’t wait to grow up and save the day, or change the world, or fly in an invisible plane (ala Wonder Woman).

Ok, so we both know that flying in an invisible plane is a little tough, but something a little easier is to take a minute to reflect on what kind of everyday superhero qualities you’re choosing to make a part of your life. It’s what I like to call a reality check-up. And it’s pretty simple to do.

First, you come up with 10 words that you would like other people to use to describe you. These are your Power 10. (And yes, 5 is fine and so is 12, no hard and fast rules here.) Mine rotate, but currently, these are a few on my list creative, kind, delightful, helpful, humorous and present. Easy enough, right?

But you aren’t finished yet. Once you come up with these 10 attributes, you have to see if your outward actions are matching your inward intentions. This is the most important part. Because we all know that you can intend to be organized, but that doesn’t automatically equal a neater closet or a cleaner car. That’s going to take some action. So what are your actions saying about you?

Are your outward actions matching your inner intentions? Take a look at your recent actions and interactions with the people and things around you. What words would your kids use to describe you? your husband? your co-workers? If your words are matching up with your actions . . . hooray. If not, no big deal, you now have a place to start.

I'm sure you're a Superhero to someone . . . have fun acting like one.

EXTRA-Ordinary Ideas:

Read It: This one is a little deep, but it really takes a look at how taking action and getting in a groove can drastically improve our outlook. Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmikalyi

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (Masterminds Series)

Do It: Do your own personal reality check up this week. What are your words?

Think It: “Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” Jules Renard

I’m terrible at reading maps. Just ask my husband. For years I tried to play the part of the navigator on long car trips. It was kind of like Miley Cyrus playing the next Meryl Streep role. Just wasn’t happenin’.

However, I did nail the scene where I eloquently and evocatively gave my husband a GPS navigator for Christmas. Turn by turn directions saved our marriage. Ok, so I’m still being a little dramatic, but it has been nice to have someone else doing the navigating.

That got me thinking about how tempting it would be to have a device that could help navigate life. In that syrupy synthesized voice, guidance would be plentiful:
“Eat Cheerios for breakfast; Wear ruffled shirt; Call Best Friend; Be nicer to kids; Stop and smell the roses.” You get the picture.

It sounds nice at first, but if such a device existed, I’d probably stomp it into a million pieces by the end of the first hour. It’s much more exciting to think about consciously being the navigator of your own life each day.

In case you’ve forgotten (which I seem to do regularly), we all get to individually choose how we navigate our worlds. We can navigate toward Same Ole, Same Ole Street or someplace more exciting like Spontaneity Way or Awe Avenue. It’s all about the way we behave each day.

The little choices that you make (how you dress, what you have for lunch, how you react to your kids, who you keep in touch with) are the small turns on the larger road map of life. Each choice you make can put you on a path you enjoy or one that feels as long as those road trips where somebody’s “gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, right now” and the next rest stop isn’t for miles.

Safe Travels!

Extra-Ordinary Ideas:

Read It: Part of navigating life is figuring what to eat each day. Click here to read a recent NY Times article about a new approach to food – no diets allowed.

Do It: Make a list. If life were a roadside buffet, what would you be sure to put on your plate?

Think It: “There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley