Your Wake Up Call

Remember when we were kids and asked that question all the time? Things didn’t always work out the way we wanted so we just asked for a D.O. – A Do Over!

When we asked for a do over, sometimes they argued that it wouldn’t be fair, sometimes they laughed and didn’t seem to mind at all. But we were dead serious when we asked for the chance to do it again and do it better. Failure wasn’t an option in that moment. We were determined to do what it takes to get the results we wanted. At what age did we stop asking for Do Overs? When did we start accepting failure without a challenge? What changed since you were that little kid that wouldn’t give up until you tried everything to get it right? It’s still in you!

Share: If you could do something over that happened in the past few days, what would it be and how would you do it differently this time?

The holiday season can bring along a roller coaster of emotions. Getting together with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers can be wonderful, and can also be challenging. Often our own expectations of how things will turn out cause us to become disappointed. When those expectations are not met, we are not happy. If we go into a situation expecting something specific from others, we are setting ourselves up to get no satisfaction.

Can you remember being disappointed when a holiday event didn’t turn out as you expected? Think about the expectations you had going into that situation. If those expectations depended on the actions of others, you could not be sure how things would turn out. When other people are involved, we have to be open to things turning out differently than we expect. The only thing we are really in control of is how we act. When we accept that we cannot control how other people act, we can loosen up and not feel so disappointed when things don’t turn out the way we would like. Having expectations is normal, but being reasonable about what you are expecting and making room for other possibilities will increase your chances of having a really good time!

We’d love to know: Can you think of a time when you were disappointed because someone else did not meet your expectations? What would you do differently today?

Did you know that most of our thoughts are negative? There is so much negativity in our culture that mental health professionals are now using the term “negativitis” as a diagnosis. We are not born so negative, but we learn to be critical, judgmental and defensive. We are inclined to focus on what is wrong, rather than what is right. It is easier for us to describe what we do not like, than what we do like. It is more comfortable to tell others what we don’t want, instead of asking for what we do want.

Most people don’t pay much attention to their thoughts, but react emotionally to them. If a thought is negative, it usually causes negative emotions. Fears and negative beliefs about a situation can make us feel scared, angry, frustrated, or powerless, and our actions will reflect this. The stress from negativitis can bring out our worst behavior.

How do we become less negative? The key is paying more attention to our thoughts and how they affect us. Even though it feels like our thoughts control us, they do not! We can change our thoughts. It requires awareness and the decision to make the shift. For example: If you are delayed in traffic and late for an appointment, you might be bombarded with negative thoughts. You feel the stress effects in your body. The negativity comes out in your language, and if you’re not careful it shows up in your driving. (Can you say road rage?) Instead of allowing negative thoughts to take over, recognize the stressful symptoms, the harsh language, the ugly images in mind, and shift your focus:

• Focus on gratitude rather than fear.
• Focus on abundance rather than lack.
• Focus on what you can control instead of trying to change things that are out of your control.

By becoming aware, making a choice, and shifting your focus, you become proactive rather than reactive. Your mind and body create more positive, productive and healthy energy, which gets you better results!

Share with us: When do you tend to be too negative? How might your results change if you shift your focus to something positive instead?

September is a great time for change. The leaves transform in color, the weather takes a sharp turn and school begins again. We think of September as a time to settle back into our routine lives and leave the fun of summer behind. That may not sound very exciting but we can keep things fresh throughout the seasons by living each day as an adventure!

What makes life most exciting is the unfamiliar. Exploring new places and trying new things keeps life entertaining. That’s why we love to fantasize about traveling to exotic places or doing things we normally wouldn’t do. Just thinking about it can get us excited. Some people say they don’t like change – they’re more comfortable with the familiar, but change definitely has its benefits.

An escape from our daily routine can awaken the mind and senses, increasing our ability to be more alert and fully present. Change can create curiosity to discover, experiment and experience life in new ways.

We are all capable of bringing more adventure into our lives at any given moment. Just by choosing to do something differently than you’ve done it before can offer a brand new experience filled with learning, exploring and excitement.  So don’t be afraid of change; embrace it instead!

Try introducing something new, different and unfamiliar into your day and see how it makes you feel. Look for ways to explore and experiment, especially with your most basic routines and see how exciting life can be!

Please share: What’s one simple change you can make today to spice up your regular routine?

We all procrastinate. Even when we know it’s important to take action, we still don’t. We make excuses, we blame others, we even create new problems, and then we feel powerless.

What makes us give up our power? Somewhere in our thought process we go from powerful to powerless – from rational to irrational. We think it through, and eventually talk ourselves out of it. It’s like we’re on two different sides of the argument! Ultimately, we choose which side we want to win.

We don’t always procrastinate, of course. If so, we would never get anything done. So what determines which side you take in the course of choosing? Take action? Or let every possible obstacle stand in your way?

Here’s an interesting experiment for you to do next time you find yourself procrastinating: Observe your thought process. What are you thinking about the task and how do you feel about doing it? See if you can catch yourself trying to rationalize or talk yourself out of it. Once you gain more self -awareness of how you are thinking and feeling about the pending situation, you’ll also gain your power right back. You’ll see how quickly you take action and get it done. Don’t be so hard on yourself about procrastinating some times. We all do it. The important thing is ]knowing you’ve always got a choice!

Please share: We’ve all got our favorite excuses that keep us procrastinating…
What’s yours?

“I wish – that – I knew what I know now, when I was younger.” I love
singing along with Rod Stewart when that song comes on. I don’t know if it
makes me feel younger or older to be singing those lyrics out loud, but I can
certainly relate to the message.

Don’t we all have words of wisdom for our younger selves? What would you give to go back in time and give yourself advice? If you knew then, what you know now, what would you do differently?

Every time I entertain that thought I come up with the same resolution. If I did it differently, I might not be where I am today. Fact is, every choice I made along the way has brought me to where I am. Maybe it’s true that THERE ARE NO MISTAKES!

Please share what you think: We would love to hear what advice you’d give
your younger self and why.

Have you played the game of Life? I’m speaking about the actual board game that comes with a spinner, tokens and money. It remains one of my favorite games to play on a rainy day with my family.

I can remember playing when I was younger and had a very different perspective on the whole thing. It was all about accumulating as much as possible and getting to the finish before anyone else. What a thrill to get to the end first, count up all my cash, property, achievements and call myself a winner! I would get so caught up in the race that I didn’t realize what more there was to the whole experience.

It’s a wonderful journey along that game board – There are choices to make at each turn, regarding one’s career, relationships, finances and entertainment. Sometimes we draw a card that determines our fate or challenges us to overcome obstacles. Our bank accounts go up and down, we lose our jobs and change careers, we may have a houseful of kids or devote our lives to our professions, we get sick and recuperate, we could be just plum lucky or work our butts off and save every penny along the way. Every scenario in life is right there on that board for us to experience and enjoy. So is there really any difference between that board game and our actual lives? (Besides the fact that we use real US dollars instead of play money, and we don’t drive miniscule plastic cars.)

When you really think about it, LIFE can be seen as a game! You learn the rules, you can follow them or not, make choices at every turn and deal with the unexpected circumstances that arise. It’s the beauty that life offers to every one of us, everyday. So if you haven’t been having much fun, try seeing LIFE as a game and find out how much fun you can have while you’re in it!

Share what’s holding you back: How do you play the game of Life?