Ruthann M. Wilson

Create Your Own Happiness: Discover Joy by Choosing What You Love Each Day

Happiness is an inside job—it’s not something that you go out and find, it’s something that you create from the inside out. How much time have you scheduled this week for things that you truly enjoy?

In preparation for the coming week, I invite you to create a “top 10 list” of things that you enjoy. It can be as simple as reading, writing, walking, spending time with others, or spending time alone. Search your heart and make the list your own.

Take Action

Make time in your day (every day) to do at least one thing that you truly enjoy.

In full disclosure, this post was inspired by my own realization that I didn’t have enough things that are special to me on my list of things to do. I love to browse bookstores; however, I have not browsed in a long time. It’s on my list of things to do this week.

Create Your Own Happiness

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All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Organize for Success: Five Steps to Turn Vision into Action

Success begins with vision, but it takes organization to bring that vision to life. These five steps will help you move from inspiration to action with clarity and confidence.

I have outlined five steps, best accomplished in writing, to help you begin the process.

Step one is to determine your goal/desired outcome.

What does success look like? Envision what you desire and capture your vision on paper through words and/or images. Consider creating a vision board.

Step two is to determine why your desired outcome is important to you.

Why do you want what you have outlined in step one? What is your motivation?

Step three is to identify obstacles to reaching your goal and ways to overcome.

What might get in the way of you reaching your goal? How will you overcome?

Step four is to determine what resources you will need to bring your vision to life.

What will it take to bring your vision to life in terms of time, energy, money, and others? Be specific and realistic.
Plan backward.

Step five is to implement your plan.

What is one thing you can do this week to stay true to your vision of success?

In your career, organizing resources with a clear vision ensures that projects, priorities, and opportunities move forward with focus and integrity.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You’re welcome to follow the blog to receive notifications of new posts, subscribe to the mailing list to receive new posts and updates directly to your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

Success begins with vision and grows through the steps you take with focus and integrity.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Stand For, Not Against: Focus on what you want to grow

Take a stand for what you believe and magnify it in your life.

When we know what we stand for, we spend time and energy creating what we want instead of fighting against/resisting what we don’t want.

Resistance can feel good in the moment and give us a sense of power, however, resistance is not solution or growth oriented. When we are in resistance mode, we are focused on what we don’t want; rather than creating what we want.

Take time each day to renew your connection to your heart to help you stay focused on what you want to magnify in your life and in the world (e.g., peace, love, joy, etc.).

Global change begins with personal transformation.

In preparation for the week ahead, I invite you to reflect on the following questions.

What do I stand for?
How can I magnify it in my life?

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All the best,
Ruthann

Awaken to Possibility: Living from Within

Carl Jung once said, ‘Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.’ This video is an invitation to awaken, to stay open to possibility and to live from within. I share three practices to support your journey: asking yourself powerful questions, engaging in quiet reflection with the intention of learning (not judging), and cultivating an ongoing spiritual practice. Together, these practices help you move forward with clarity, openness, and purpose.

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All the best,
Ruthann

Time Management Strategies: How to Make the Most of Your Time

Time

Time is one of your most valuable resources and it is inextricably linked to your life. The way you spend your time is the way you spend your life. Spend it wisely. 🙂

Here are a few strategies that can help you make the most of your time:

Know your purpose/mission and let it be your guide.
Set clear, purpose-driven goals.
Plan and prioritize tasks related to your goals.
Create a schedule (daily/weekly/monthly) and stick to it.
Focus on results/getting things done; not on being busy.
Be willing to say no to people and activities that are not aligned with your values, vision, and goals.

The key to making the most of your time is to stay laser focused on what matters most in your life.

Strong time management isn’t just about life balance; it’s also a cornerstone of career success. When you align your time with your mission and goals, you create clarity and focus that carry into your work and professional growth.

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All the best,
Ruthann

Mid-Year: Review, Reflect, Keep Moving Forward

Forward

It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the year. It’s a good time to pause and reflect on the first half of the year to see where you are versus where you hoped to be this time of the year. Make an effort to look back at the first half of the year without getting stuck in feelings of guilt or regret if you are off track. The goal of a mid-year evaluation is to review, reflect, correct, and move forward.

If you work in a business setting, you are more than likely used to a mid-year assessment related to your role/position. It is also a good practice for other areas of your life. Here are a few questions for you to consider:

What have I accomplished year to date?
- Consider all of your life areas (e.g., career, finances, health & fitness, etc.)
- Celebrate your accomplishments no matter how big or small.
What didn’t I accomplish that I really wanted to? Why?
Who or what has been my greatest blessing? Why?
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What am I really committed to?

The last question is important to crystalize as a part of your mid-year evaluation. It will help you to see where you need to make adjustments to your current plan or change course and create a new plan of action.

For your reference, I have provided links to previous posts that are related to this topic.

Be Intentional (includes a downloadable worksheet)

Focus on what truly matters

SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life

Create a Vision Board

Create a Theme for the Year

Keep moving forward! 🙂

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All the best,
Ruthann

Strategies to Stay Focused on What Matters

What we choose to focus on magnifies in our lives. Here are a few strategies that can help you stay focused on what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

Capture what is most important to you in writing

Writing things down can help you focus, plan, organize, and bring your dreams to life. Make a commitment to capture what is most important to you in writing – your values, vision, goals, etc.

Clarify your personal values

Values are qualities/principles that are most important to you. Your values are the foundation for your life. They inform your life choices and help you prioritize what is most important in your life. Take time to identify, clarify, and prioritize your values in writing and put them into action.

Create a vision for your life

A vision is a desired future state. Give yourself permission to dream BIG. Create a detailed vision of what you desire for your life and create a plan of action to bring it to life. You may find my post on vision boards helpful. Click here to read the vision board post.

Create awareness of how you are spending your time, energy, and money

Keep track of how you are spending your time, energy, and money (in writing) on a daily basis for the next seven days. It will help you see the degree to which you are (or aren’t) focused on what truly matters. This exercise is seriously eye opening!

Need support? Be True to You is designed to help you clarify what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

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All the best,
Ruthann

Walking a Spiritual Path: Cultivating Clarity, Purpose, and Confidence in Life

What Is Spirituality? Defining Awareness, Belonging, and Higher Presence

It depends who you ask. Spirituality means different things to different people. I define spirituality as awareness/consciousness of a higher presence working in and through our lives. It is experienced as a sense of belonging to something greater, timeless, and infinite in possibility. It is the means through which we feel a deep sense of purpose and connection to all of life.

What is a spiritual path? Truth, Empowerment, Heart-centered living

Heart-centered/Truth-centered path and process of empowerment.

How to walk a spiritual path: Practices for Clarity, Reflections, and Authentic Growth

There is no right or wrong way to walk a spiritual path; it is a deeply personal path that is influenced by your values, beliefs, trust, experiences, introspection, reflection, and practices. It is an internal process of awakening and discerning what is true for you and living from that truth.

Truth is the light that guides your way.

Are you seeking a deeper sense of clarity, purpose, and direction for your life? Do you feel stuck in one or more areas of your life? Do you feel less than confident about making changes to your life?

Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path is designed to help you step into your power, clarify your vision, and move forward on your path. Click here to learn more about Be True to You.

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All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Spring Reflections: Awakening, Clearing, and New Beginnings

spring green

Each season brings gifts and opportunities for growth as we journey through the year.

Spring is a season of hope and possibility.

On a personal level, spring invites us to start fresh, be hopeful, joyful, creative, and open to possibility.

There are many ways to embrace the spirit of the season — give thanks for the gift of renewal, create new commitments, plant new seeds (literally and figuratively), spend time in nature, try something new — just to name a few.

The spring rituals of cleaning and clearing out clutter are great ways to transition into the energy of the season and make room for new beginnings, new opportunities, and new blessings to come into your life.

Questions for reflection:

In what area of your life do you feel a desire to start fresh/begin anew?
What steps can you take to make room for something new?

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All the best,
Ruthann

Link to summer

SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life

This post was inspired by a mini-workshop that I recently conducted on creating goals, in particular, SMART* goals. The acronym SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.

Setting goals is a way to bring your desires to life. Goals enable you to go from hoping and wishing to manifesting what you truly desire.

If you work in a business setting, you are more than likely used to setting and achieving goals related to your role/position. However, most people don’t have personal goals (e.g., career, relationship, financial, etc.) that are specific and written down. It is estimated that only 3% of people have written goals.

Time is one of your most precious resources. The SMART approach is a great way to create written goals and structure your time.

Questions to consider as you create each goal:

Specific: What exactly will you accomplish?
Measurable: How will you know when you have reached your goal?
Attainable: Is your goal challenging, yet attainable?
Relevant: Is your goal clearly linked to your values/what matters most?
Time-bound: By what date will you accomplish your goal?

If there is something that you are hoping/wishing to accomplish “someday”, make today the day you give it a deadline, create a plan, and put your plan into action.

Consider using images and/or symbols as visual reminders of your desired outcome (click here to see my post on vision boards).

Work toward your goals, but don’t be attached to a particular outcome. Being attached to a specific outcome can get in the way of you receiving an even bigger blessing than the one you had in mind.

SMART goals aren’t just a personal practice — they’re also a cornerstone of career success. When you set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time‑bound goals, you create clarity and focus that drive both professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

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All the best,
Ruthann

*SMART concept created by George Doran