31 Day Reset – Nonprofit Chapin

31 Day Reset: Day 31 – My Vision Board

January 4, 2012nonprofitchapin

I’m participating in the 31 Days to Reset Your Life program at Happy Black Woman. The program is designed to help you evaluate your goals and priorities and think of them in the context of your life today and how you might be able to refocus on what’s important. Read on to learn about my experience with the challenge!

This is the final challenge for the 31 Day Reset! It’s a very bittersweet feeling. It has been amazing dedicating so much time and energy to these challenges… it has helped me focus my vision for my ideal life and understand how I can get there. But most of all, it’s helped me see that how I live my life each day makes a big difference. My attitude, approach, and mentality are what frame my future. I am in control of my destiny – and that feels good.

The last activity was to create a vision board, a collage of images and phrases that will help reemphasize the work I’ve done in this program. I wrote out my top ten values, parts of my personal mission statement, and my personal mantra to add to the collage of images I found from magazines. I mostly chose images that were soothing and encouraging statements about being stress-free… because through this journey I have learned I want to focus on living a more peaceful and zen life.

Here’s my board, now hanging in my bedroom:

Thank you for reading along through my reset. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and it has prompted you to think about your life in a new way!

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 30 – My Eulogy

January 2, 2012nonprofitchapin

Yes, it’s as it reads: Rosetta has asked us to write our eulogy. Not as though we died tomorrow – as if we died at 77, leading a full life. She’s asked us to write what we’d like our eulogy to sound like.

I keep going back to my personal mission statement for these challenges. I have the feeling this statement is going to make a big difference in my life.

Here’s my eulogy! Sorry it’s on the long side!

Chapin was born in the bay area and grew up in Palo Alto, California. She moved to San Diego to attend UC San Diego, graduating with two B.A.s in Literature/Writing and Sociology. Chapin was one of the founding students of the Alternative Breaks @ UCSD program. The program is an opportunity for UCSD students to travel nationally or internationally to do volunteer work and cultural immersion on their spring or summer break. The program grew exponentially in its early years, from one trip, to two, to five, to ten, and there are currently more than ten trips that go out each year. Hundreds of students go through the program each year. Her involvement in this program and others at UCSD led to her receiving the Alexis Montevirgin Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service, an accolade she held very close to her heart.

After spending nine years in San Diego, Chapin moved back to the bay area. She received her Masters in Nonprofit Administration at University of San Francisco. She worked in the nonprofit sector in various capacities, as a development staff member at many agencies and even a CEO. After working for nonprofit organizations for years, Chapin put her experience to use in her consulting business, where she provided services for nonprofits and those who work at them. Chapin is survived by a large family, including her husband, children, and grandchildren. Chapin’s passion for empowering others, helping those less fortunate, and always encouraging others will be sorely missed. She was very open-minded, empathetic, and kind. She was a role model by acting with integrity, being compassionate and generous, and showing quiet conviction. Chapin has left a lasting legacy the way she wanted to – through her work with people.

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 29 – Beginnings of a Side Hustle

January 1, 2012nonprofitchapin

The Day 29 exercise is to start a side hustle. A side hustle is exactly what it sounds like – a second job, a consulting gig, anything you can do outside of your 9 to 5 job to generate revenue, and something that should make you happy! This often turns into something full time, too – which really is a win/win.

I have a few ideas for a good side hustle, but Rosetta’s video about finding your sweet spot for your side hustle helped me hone my ideas. She encouraged us to think about our passions, what we’re good at/have an expertise in, and a possible target market. Then, look at your lists and see what could go together.

General themes of mine are personal and professional development and empowering others, and I think I’d like to focus on the Millenial target market. I’ve actually been brainstorming new ideas for my tag line, etc for my 1 year birthday for my blog (coming in March!) that include that. But another side hustle idea came to me out of left field, and probably is the one there’s the biggest demand for and could possibly generate the most revenue. I’d like to create something to connect with other young people who have my medical condition. Whether that means speaking for national associations, blogging, and even counseling services and groups, I see a big opportunity here – there aren’t really many resources for people my age, and it’s most commonly diagnosed in women between 20 and 30. Where is everyone?

Anyway, I’m glad I thought of this new idea. I’m definitely going to let it stew a little longer. It’s not like I have tons of time to start something up right now anyway, with both work and school… but it’s something that I could definitely work on soon… I hope! Hmm…

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 28 – My Self-Care Plan

December 31, 2011nonprofitchapin

In the spirit of focusing on happiness and well-being as we have this past month, Rosetta has asked us to develop a self-care plan of things we will do this next week. It’s a time to sit down and reflect on our mental and physical health.

Here’s what I’ve put together, mostly inspired by what I’ve reflected on through this challenge.

go to bed before 11:00 each night
be mindful of time spent on social media
research cognitive behavioral therapy and make an appointment if it’s a fit
make a dentist appointment
write one Nonprofit Chapin blog post (sorry for the slew of 31 Day Reset posts, but I hope you’ve enjoyed taking this journey with me!)
work on my Reset Project
do one nice surprising thing for my boyfriend, like I did on Day 19
read for pleasure
unfollow negative people on Twitter

I really hope I make the time to focus on these things this week. If not, I know these are some of my highest priority projects in general. It’s good to at least mention them (and even write them out) to help myself be accountable. You have my permission to ask me if I’ve worked on these things, too!

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 27 – Date for One

December 30, 2011nonprofitchapin

The exercise for Day 27 is to take yourself out on a date. We were to think about the things that make us happy and do them, no matter what anyone said!

I cheated and did this one before I developed my list of 100 things I love. I saw the email (as I am a bit behind on my challenges) and got excited! I knew today would be the perfect day to do something, too, because it’s my last day of break (besides the new years weekend) when my boyfriend was still working, so I knew I’d be able to be in complete control of what happened.

It sounds like no big deal, but I went to a movie by myself. I’ve actually never been to a movie by myself before. Going to a movie feels like a luxury and I’ve never taken that initiative to do it without someone else… but I loved it. Not only did I go to the movie, I bought an icee, popcorn, and candy! I can’t remember the last time I bought popcorn at the movie theater. And I loved it.

This is not necessarily something I’m going to do monthly or anything. But it’s definitely something I had a great time doing and wouldn’t mind doing again. Now I’m going to remember the good time I had doing it and keep it in mind as an option when I need to get away from everything.

-N.C.

P.S. I saw Young Adult – it was better than I thought it would be! It was pretty cute. Nothing groundbreaking, and without having TV I pretty much know nothing about movies that are out right now… but I thought it was worth it! And the $6.50 price for a matinee during the week wasn’t bad, either 🙂

31 Day Reset: Day 26 – List of 100 Things I Love

December 30, 2011nonprofitchapin1 Comment

Well, the title of this post is pretty self explanatory! We were to write a list of 100 things we love. There were times when the ideas were flowing and times when it felt impossible. But I’m happy to say I’m done! And, I’m happy to share my list with you! In no particular order…

My boyfriend
My mom
My sister
My family
Dancing
Romantic comedies
Movies that make you think
Sushi
Dark chocolate
Extraordinary Desserts
chocolate and raspberries together
Reese’s pieces
Mariah Carey
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Peppermint white mocha
The smell of Starbucks
Sleeping in
Reading
Cupcakes
The beach
Introspection
Massages
Teriyaki chicken
Christmas
Chocolate chip cookies
Express
Queen
Singing (poorly)
Watching reality TV
Watching the Food Network
Blogging
Writing poetry
Getting a pedicure & manicure
Hillcrest
Mint chocolate chip ice cream
Reading Rosetta Thurman’s writing
Seeing donors connect with nonprofits
Seeing donors happy with what their donation has done
Seeing a boss happy with my work
Ahi tuna
Filet mignon
Beef with broccoli
Strictly Ballroom
I <3 Huckabees
Stranger Than Fiction
Three day weekends
Friday nights
Saturday mornngs
Cherry coke
Glee
Someone doing my hair
Plum wine
Bookstores
Being inside while it’s raining
Gray skies
Farmer’s markets
Corn
Albondigas
Convenient public transportation
Riding a bike
Lift off on a plane ride
Being up high and looking down
Firewords
Wedding ceremonies
Christmas Eve midnight church service
Hearing other people laugh
Finishing a project I’m proud of
Hearing from people who read my blog
Empowering others
When others share their insecurities
Making others think about things from a difference point of view
Peanut butter M&Ms
Giving someone a gift their love
Bowling
White daisies
My sister’s peanut butter chocolate bars
Peppermint bark
Traditions
Writing thank you cards
Sending personal mail
Getting my hair cut
Property Virgins
Being driven around
San Francisco
Ghirardelli Foghorn sundae
Watching my boyfriend karaoke
Alternative Breaks
Cole Higgins Lifelong Service Award
Wine Country burger from Jack’s Prime
When I’m done cleaning the kitchen
Getting a batch of thank you letters out
Getting a good review
Getting a raise
80s music
Documentaries
Surprising someone
Christmas tree smell
Reading leadership articles
T-shirts

Mind you, that’s in no particular order! So you’ll see random junk food next to heavy work stuff. But it doesn’t matter – it all makes me happy!! I love it all!

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 25 – No Complaining for 24 Hours

December 29, 2011nonprofitchapin

OK, it’s been more like 14 hours. But I know where this is going. Rosetta has challenged us to take one day, write down every complaint that comes across our mind, and turn it into a gratitude statement.

This was definitely an enlightening exercise. As I mentioned in my gratitude post, I do try to focus on being grateful for the things I have every day. But doing the activity really showed me the complaint feelings I have surrounding the silliest things… and as Rosetta expresses, these feelings really do effect every other aspect of ourselves and our mood in general.

I also noticed that my complaints were frequent in the beginning of the day but as I paid more attention to them, they got fewer and farther between. They have actually tapered off completely in the past few hours. That’s also because I’ve had more control over what I’ve been doing tonight… but I also believe it’s because my complaints have turned more intentional in my mind, which has switched their frequency. Things that felt worthy to complain about before just don’t anymore.

Well, I’m not shy! Here we go with my list, my complaints and my gratitude statements.

8:30 am – I didn’t get good sleep. I’m grateful that I will soon know if I have sleep apnea!
8:30 am – I have to wake up early. I’m grateful that I have the access to the sleep apnea test; they need the machine back at a certain time because there are others like me who want to know.
8:45 am – There is ice on my windows. I’m grateful I have a car to transport me to where I want to go, when I want to go.
8:50 am – Someone cut me off. I’m grateful that my deadline was flexible enough that such a small impact wouldn’t be a problem.
9:30 am – There’s a line at Starbucks. I’m grateful that I can afford occasional small luxuries.
9:45 am – I have to make breakfast for my boyfriend. I’m grateful I am off work this week and have time to do things for him, especially because he does so much for me!
10:30 am – I have to rush while getting ready. I’m grateful that I get to visit with my mom and aunt, who is only in the area twice a year.
12:00 pm – I don’t feel well. I’m grateful that I’m not doing the same boring thing today and putting myself out of my comfort zone, which probably is contributing to feeling different.
1:15 pm – There’s nowhere to sit at the restaurant I wanted to take my mom and aunt to. I’m grateful we can spend more time together, walk around the neighborhood more and come back to the restaurant.
1:30 pm – There’s only a small bench in the corner to sit at. I’m grateful we have somewhere to sit at all and that my mom and aunt can try the restaurant.
3:30 pm – The laundry room is full. I’m grateful that I have easy access to laundry facilities that work so well.
4:15 pm – Someone left the cap off the laundry detergent and it spilled all over. I’m grateful it spilled on clothes I could put in the load I was about to wash and that I have detergent to use.
4:30 pm – A prescription I submitted to be refilled won’t be ready until Tuesday. I’m grateful I can refill my prescriptions at home online and that I put in the request with adequate time before I’ll run out.
4:35 pm – I had to re-address and re-send a holiday card. I’m grateful to still have a valid address for this friend and have her in my life.
4:45 pm – Someone has not taken their clothes out of the dryers that are easier access. I’m grateful that I have clean facilities so close to me.

You get the gist!! Boy, when I write out my complaints like that they seem so silly. But it’s true that these were my thoughts today. It’s important that I identify that this is what I think and figure out how to switch my thinking so that I don’t complain about the little things. Because the big things are going pretty well for me indeed.

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 24 – Make New Friends

December 29, 2011nonprofitchapin

The Day 24 exercise serves to underscore the progress we’ve made the past two days with creating a Reset Project and finding a community to support it. Rosetta has asked us to go one step further and make new friends and connections within these communities who have similar goals. The argument is that with like minded people around us, we’re more likely to continue to act on our Reset Project.

I’m all about this, except with my challenge of even finding a supportive community to help me focus on resetting my finances, finding new friends in the community is even more difficult. So, I did what I could. I went to the Mint.com Facebook page to find these new connections (which I mentioned yesterday).

First I took a look at my current Facebook friends who also are a part of this online community. One of them was Emily Baime, whom I love, but I would hardly say I need to reconnect with her as I did just venture to Sacramento to visit earlier this month. The other one is a friend who I haven’t actually spoken to in probably close to four years. Perfect. So, I messaged him to reconnect, mentioned I saw him there, and asked if he has any advice or tips on improving my financial literacy.

The next two connections were a little more awkward for me. I went onto Mint.com’s Facebook page and looked at who had posted on the page or mentioned Mint.com lately. I took two people, both who mentioned loving the service or involving it in their new year’s resolutions, and sent them messages. Messaging strangers online isn’t exactly something I’ve done in the past fifteen years, so I definitely felt like I put myself out there a bit. But we’ll see what happens!

Again, if you have a better suggestion about a community or peers I could connect with to improve my financial literacy, please send it my way!

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 23 – Finding Support

December 28, 2011nonprofitchapin1 Comment

The Day 23 challenge was to find a community of people who would support you and your goals from the 31 Day Reset program or specifically your Reset Project. As my Reset Project focused on finances, this was tough for me. I knew that a step in the right direction would be to sign up on Mint.com, a website I had heard about from several people. The program pulls information from all your financial sites (checking, savings, credit cards, etc) to compile it all, create budgets, help with spending alerts, and the list goes on and on. I know, it sounds scary to give that kind of access, but I haven’t heard anything about it not being secure from anyone I know.

I signed up on the site and forgot for a minute about today’s exercise. I was amazed at the budgeting and organizing I could do on the site. Of course, as it is December, two of my largest expenses besides rent were $650 on gifts and $120 on donations to nonprofits… it will be interesting to take a closer look next month. I remembered today’s assignment and looked for an online community on the site and couldn’t find much. But I did Like them on Facebook and found a lot of activity there, and followed them (and many other similar organizations) on Twitter. I hope through these avenues I can get connected.

Please, if you know of any communities where people in their late twenties might be discussing similar issues, send them my way! I would love to get plugged in and educate myself about becoming more financially literate and secure.

-N.C.

31 Day Reset: Day 22 – Reset Project

December 28, 2011nonprofitchapin3 Comments

Did you miss me? I’m sorry to say that the holidays just swallowed me up and I didn’t have one second to breathe let alone work on the 31 Day Reset. But I’m back! I’m really going to try hard to get caught up. And I promise I’m going to complete and blog about all 31 days… even if it’s a few days after December 31!

This was a big activity, which is also why I didn’t just do it quickly between latkes and Christmas tree decorating. Rosetta asked us to take a look at our Life Map and identify one area which we wanted to make progress on in the next month. She then outlined a few questions for us to answer about this – our Reset Project.

The hardest part about this for me was identifying which of the seven areas to focus on. I was very torn between Finances and Health. In the end I decided to focus on Finances. Both areas are extremely important, but I figured if this was supposed to be a project I work on in the next couple of years, Finances was frankly an easier and smaller project to take on. With work, school, friends and family, I don’t necessarily have a lot of time to dedicate to outside projects… unfortunately that means health for now.

So here’s what I’ve come up with for Finances!

I feel out of control of my finances. I don’t feel like I completely understand what I’m spending money on. I need to address the fact that I’m not paying off my debts the way I should (and probably could) and the fact that I’m not saving the way I want to. My future depends on my financial security – I can’t do any of the things I envision for my ideal list without money to support it. I want to feel more in control of my money. I want to pay off my debts at a faster rate and feel secure with the amount I have saved.

I hope future days can be spent working on this project! In case we don’t have another dedicated exercise to it, I’ve done one of those emails in the future to myself a month from now to check in. Hopefully I can take some time to outline a plan. Because I feel if I dedicate some time to outlining a plan for it, it could actually happen! And that would be great!

-N.C.