Confession time:  On many occasions when I have the urge to investigate my creative side, I feel burned out by everyday "things".  Job demands, financial demands, family commitments, too little sleep – they all vie for my limited levels of energy and attention, much to my disadvantage.  For example, we recently had family visiting and I was having to deal with the end-of-year fiscal closeout of our regional finanancial books.  What happened?  My reservoir of energy and attentiveness was depleted, and I missed prime opprotunities for "real" dialog and visitation with our family.  It's a shame.

Is my situation one where I am destined to wallow in my perceived lack of energy or attentiveness?  Or, is it a product of a poor attitude on my part?  That's still to be decided, but I do like some of the thoughts presented in a blog post that I've been holding on for a long time that I found at the DoughRoller website.  It deals with The Four Agreements.  All touchy-feely Oprah comments aside (and this is rife with them), the post does have some good points concerning how a change of perspective of your personal situation can lead to improvements in those sitautions. The post itself deals with application of these "agreements" to a financial life.  But, it appears they can be applied to other aspects as well.  The Four Agreements discussed are:

1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don't take anything personally
3. Don't make assumptions
4. Always do your best

Makes sense to me.  So how can I, and we, apply these to our own situations?  That's an individual task, unique to each of us.  But I have resolved to strive for truth and honor in my words with family, friends, colleagues and myself – I must be honest about what is important to me and why, and be sensitive to how that affects others; to realize that sometimes the words of others are not intended to be taken personally – so I won't worry about the criticism that I may receive from others, even family and friends, concerning the choices I may make that, to me, delve a bit into my creativity but to them may seem a bit odd; to refuse to make assumptions about the intentions or opinions of others – I'm going to be brutally honest when I don't understand something; and to work daily to improve what I do so that others may benefit from my best.

What do you think?  Does this deserve to get on OWN?  Or, is it something with which many people struggle?

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