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Are 3 Things To Do Too Much?

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By T J Harris -

So much to do and so little time. It does not have to be that way. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits brought us the Urgent vs Important matrix. David Allen’s Getting Things Done gave us the liberating in-box management tactics.

Today, I bring you the single sheet system to solve all your productivity problems. Be warned there are several leaders taking about what they have done to be highly effective. Many of us are just now getting a handle on their “Single Sheet System”. It just may work for you.

Master To Do List

David Allen and Stephen Covey and many others advocate a master to do list. A single location for keeping all your to do items. This master list is to help you keep your mind clear to focus on the important tasks of each day. There is no reason to clutter your mind or your life with all the stuff you need to do. The answer is to put it on to the master to do list in your system. Once on your master list you don’t need to think about it and it can appear when you need it. (That is if your system is working- more on that in a bit.)

Like many of you, I use technology tools to keep my master list. Tools like Toodledo, Nozebe and Remember the Milk let us maintain our master list and filter it into manageable subsists. You and I keep our master list, our life’s to do list with everything we need on it. This list is on our phones. It is available to us at any time. I pull up my list where I am in my current context. At my fingertips is the list of prioritized tasks I need to get to. The system works. For many of us, our master list has became a monster!

Master Your To Do List

Are you scared? Maybe you should be! You have invited a monster into your house. Your master list is that monster and you should be frightened. I know, I’ve been worried for weeks. Yes… My monster is smothering me. I’m Buried. You? Yes? When your master to do list hovers between 2 and 3 hundred tasks you’ll wake up one day realizing there is no way it will ever get “finished”. You may feel like you are sitting in the shadow of an ominous monster. Smothered, comes to mind.

I’ve been doing what I was taught. I’ve done it religiously for years. Keep a master list. Clear your mind. Don’t loose a thing. Well, maybe it is time I lost something. Maybe I’ll accidentally delete my entire list! What will you do?

Yes, what we’ve been taught has worked. Capture the to do items. Put them on the list. Conquer each item at the most appropriate time and place. Urgent – do it now! Important? Give it a place to go and go on. Take care of it in context. Really?

Next Actionable Item

I’m suggesting two ways to manage the pressures presented by your monster master list.

  • Do as you are taught. (David and Stephen would be proud.)
  • Ignore the master to do list with a simple single sheet system.
  • Maybe a combination of both.

Do as we are taught but you and I may have ignored. At any given moment in time there is really only one thing you can do. ONE. David Allen suggest it is the “Next Actionable” item on your list for your current context and energy. This is great. My tool lets me identify that item. So off to work I go. There is no overwhelm. Just strategic efforts at getting done what matters most and pruning away what really does not matter.

Here is how I do it in ToodleDo. (You’ll want a tool that can do this if you subscribe to the mind dump to a master list concept.) I use Status: Next Action, Priority: High, Starred, Important tags and Context to keep the most relevant items of my massive master list before me in the moment I need it.

For me, my list only consists of the things I am working on that matter most and/or are doable where I sit in the world at that moment. Pretty easy. It usually comes down to a single item or two at any given moment. So it is a huge list with focused attention on a single item doable at that time. Feels pretty good.

Cut Through Clutter

The second method I’m striving now to implement with my monster to do list method is one suggested by Mike Dillard, Brendon Burchard, Andrew Cass and others. List 3 to 5 items you want to accomplish. Write them down at night before you go to bed. This way your sub conscience goes to works on the items all night. In the morning there is no wondering where you are to start no non-productive decision making. You arise, do your daily routine and run to action on the most important projects. Your mind is clear with the ideas bubbling up from your sub conscience’s work all night.

Because the list is little you are able to tackle tasks in a single bound. No burdens here to weigh you down. No massive weight. No monster. Just straight on focus and energy concentration on the few tasks for the day.

This may seem to simple. Yeah. That is the idea! Do what matters! Nothing else… unless you have too!

I love the idea of letting my sub conscience working all night while I’m resting. I can’t think of a reason why you would not want additional help along the way. Why not put it to work for you. Nightly. Top level, high productive stuff on the top of your sub conscience mind actions. Done comes to every one of your items because you are focused.

Fundamental focus on the formula for success. Add to this strategy the principles of block time work sessions and you have a formula for powerful results.

One on One

What are you going to do now with this new way of seeing your massive master to do list and the over simplified idea of a simple list of a few important tasks? Enter the single sheet life planner. (I print mine from Toodledo.)

Get a single sheet of paper. Write 3 things that will make the world of difference in your life. Go do them. Do them till they are done! How hard is that?

Oh, you still want more details? OK. Do it this way. Go to work on your most productive 3 activities. Stay with it until you run into a barrier. When you do solve it. When other challenges get in the way of your top 3 items. Do them gone or write them on the paper to solve later when you are unproductive on your primary items. That is the best time to do unproductive activities. They get the attention they deserve because they are not top on your list.

So what will you do? A monster master list of to do items managed by a complex tool so you only see a simple list of what matters or a simple single sheet, do it till done, system? Make your choice. One or the other or a mix of both. Just off your seat and stop reading this here article and go put a plan into action now!

Want support mastering these kinds of productivity patterns? Consider joining Teach Jim’s Order of Profitable Producers at profitableproducers.com where together we leverage learning into significant solutions.

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Improve Your Well-Being – How Your Attitude to Health Can Help

September 11, 2011 By 1 Comment

By William Newart -

What is Health?

How do you define health? Is it a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being? Is it merely the absence of disease or infirmity? Or is health a resource for everyday life, rather than the objective of living; a positive concept, emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities?

Good health is harder to define than bad health (which can be equated with the presence of disease), because it must convey a concept more positive than mere absence of disease, and there is a variable area between health and disease. Health is clearly a complex, multidimensional concept. Health is, ultimately, poorly defined and difficult to measure, despite impressive efforts by epidemiologists, vital statisticians, social scientists and political economists. Each individual’s health is shaped by many factors, including medical care, social circumstances, and behavioral choices.

Health Care

While it is true to say that health care is the prevention, treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of mental and physical well-being, through the services offered by the medical, nursing and allied health professions, health-related behavior is influenced by our own values, which are determined by upbringing, by example, by experience, by the company one keeps, by the persuasive power of advertising (often a force of behavior that can harm health), and by effective health education. Healthy individuals are able to mobilize all their physical, mental, and spiritual resources to improve their chances of survival, to live happy and fulfilling lives, and to be of benefit to their defendants and society.

Achieving health, and remaining healthy, is an active process. Natural health is based on prevention, and on keeping our bodies and minds in good shape. Health lies in balancing these aspects within the body through a regimen consisting of diet, exercise, and regulation of the emotions. The last of these is too often ignored when health advice is dispensed, but can have a pronounced effect on physical well-being.

Diet

Every day, or so it seems, new research shows that some aspect of lifestyle – physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and so on – affects health and longevity. Physical fitness is good bodily health, and is the result of regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, and proper rest for physical recovery. The field of nutrition also studies foods and dietary supplements that improve performance, promote health, and cure or prevent disease, such as fibrous foods to reduce the risk of colon cancer, or supplements with vitamin C to strengthen teeth and gums and to improve the immune system. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have a good diet to ensure that the body has the correct ratio of macro nutrients whilst providing ample micro nutrients; this is to aid the body in the recovery process following strenuous exercise.

If you’re trying to lose weight by “dieting”, don’t call it a diet, first of all – successful dieters don’t call what they do a “diet”. A healthy diet and regular physical activity are both important for maintaining a healthy weight. Even literate, well-educated people sometimes have misguided views about what makes or keeps them healthy, often believing that regular daily exercise, regular bowel movements, or a specific dietary regime will alone suffice to preserve their good health. Despite the ever-changing, ever-conflicting opinions of the medical experts as to what is good for us, one aspect of what we eat and drink has remained constantly agreed by all: a balanced diet.

A balanced diet comprises a mixture of the main varieties of nutriments (protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins). Proper nutrition is just as, if not more, important to health as exercise. If you’re concerned about being overweight, you don’t need to add the extra stress of “dieting”. No “low-fat this” or “low-carb that”; just healthful eating of smaller portions, with weight loss being a satisfying side effect. Improve health by eating real food in moderation. (For many reasons, not everyone has easy access to or incentives to eat a balanced diet. Nevertheless, those who eat a well-balanced diet are healthier than those who do not.)

Exercise

Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness and overall health (including healthy weight), building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints, promoting physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune system. Aerobic exercises, such as walking, running and swimming, focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance and muscle density. Anaerobic exercises, such as weight training or sprinting, increase muscle mass and strength. Proper rest and recovery are also as important to health as exercise, otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately to the exercise. The above two factors can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating disorders, such as exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of organization, or a lack of motivation.

Ask your doctor or physical therapist what exercises are best for you. Your doctor and/or physical therapist can recommend specific types of exercise, depending on your particular situation. You can use exercises to keep strong and limber, improve cardiovascular fitness, extend your joints’ range of motion, and reduce your weight. You should never be too busy to exercise. There’s always a way to squeeze in a little exercise, no matter where you are. Eliminate one or maybe even two items from your busy schedule to free up time to fit in some exercise and some “YOU” time. Finding an exercise partner is a common workout strategy.

Emotions

You may have heard about the benefits of diet and exercise ad nauseam, but may be unaware of the effect that your emotions can have on your physical well-being and, indeed, your longevity. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life. Mental health is how we think, feel, and act in order to face life’s situations. Prolonged psychological stress may have a negative impact on health, such as weakening the immune system.

Children are particularly vulnerable. Caring for and protecting a child’s mental health is a major part of helping that child to grow into a normal adult, accepted into society. Mental health problems are not just a passing phase. Children are at greater risk for developing mental health problems when certain factors occur in their lives or environments. Mental health problems include depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and conduct disorder. Do your best to provide a safe and loving home and community for your child, as well as nutritious meals, regular health check-ups, immunisations and exercise. Many children experience mental health problems that are real and painful, and they can be severe. Mental health problems affect at least one in every five young people at any given time. Tragically, an estimated two-thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need. Mental health problems can lead to school failure, alcohol or other drug abuse, family discord, violence, or even suicide. A variety of signs may point to a possible mental health problem in a child or teenager. Talk to your doctor, a school counselor, or other mental health professionals who are trained to assess whether your child has a mental health problem.

Control your emotions. If a driver overtakes you on the wrong side, or pulls out of a side road in front of you, don’t seethe with rage and honk your horn; You’re hurting no one but yourself by raising your blood pressure. Anger has been linked to heart disease, and research has suggested that hardening of the arteries occurs faster in people who score highly in hostility and anger tests. Stay calm in such situations, and feel proud of yourself for doing so. Take comfort in the knowledge that such aggressive drivers only increase their own blood pressure. Your passengers will be more impressed with your “cool” than with your irascibility.

If you are in a constant rush, feeling that every second of your life counts, just slow down a little. Yes, every second does count, but consider the concept of quality of life. Compare how you feel when you’re in a hurry with how you feel when you’re not. Which feels better? Rushing everywhere increases your stress level. The body tries to overcome stress by making certain physiological adjustments. Some time after you slow down, the physiological adjustments and the stress symptoms revert to normal. If you don’t ever slow down, the physiological adjustments and the stress symptoms persist. It is this persistence of the body’s response that matters. You may develop physical, physiological or psychological problems, and may not be able to lead a normal life. Many cases of stress are somehow connected with money, or rather the lack of it. Such people struggle to make ends meet or to acquire more material possessions. This brings us to our final discussion: attitude.

Attitude

It is always pleasant to enjoy the fruits of our labors, of course. Sometimes, however, it seems that whatever we do, it’s just not enough to be able to afford that new car or that foreign holiday. So, what do we usually do then? We work harder, longer; we increase the stress on our minds and bodies; we spend less time with our families and friends; we become more irascible and less likeable people. If you find yourself in this situation, just stop for a moment, and consider: Is it all worth it? What is the purpose of life? Surely it is to be happy. You’ll probably be happier if you adopt the philosophy that true quality of life is not to be found in material things. If you convince yourself that you want less, you’ll need less. If you need less, you’ll cope with life more easily, and the happier, and therefore healthier, you’ll be. Buddha called this “enlightenment”. Enjoy a “good-health attitude”. Focus on your abilities instead of disabilities. Be satisfied with what you have, rather than be dissatisfied about what you don’t have and probably never will have.

If you simply cannot cope with a healthy diet, exercise and emotional control, but genuinely prefer to eat junk food, be permanently drunk, be under constant stress, and be disliked by others, then enjoy your life while it lasts, but understand that the trade-off is that it will probably not last long. If you accept this willingly, you’ll be happy. There is some merit in the philosophy that it is better to live a short, happy life than a long, miserable one.

Conclusion

Personal or individual health is largely subjective. For most individuals and for many cultures, however, health is a philosophical and subjective concept, associated with contentment, and often taken for granted when all is going well. The evidence that behavioral factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking and stress influence health is overwhelming. Thus, health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual and society. Perhaps the best thing you can do for your health is to keep a positive attitude. Optimal health can be defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual health. Maintain a positive attitude!

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Self Esteem Exercises For the Perfect Marriage

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Menelaos Christophi -

Self esteem in a marriage is something that can be improved by systematic effort by the person itself and by the help and support of the significant other. Below there are 5 self esteem exercises that can be followed by a couple to improve each other’s self esteem and develop a more quality relationship between them.

1. The unconditional acceptance

The complete and unconditional acceptance is the most stable foundation to build the self-esteem. Without self estem, a marriage is left in the hands of our emotions that are a non-permanent element.

2. Forget the past

You need to adopt a positive and hopeful perspective against a background where your partner has proved inadequate. Do not always refer to the past and remind your partner for his/her failures. Forget the past and try to praise your partner’s skills and capabilities.

3. Be careful on what you say

It is unbelievable how much power is contained in the words we speak – what words we use and their effect on people of our environment. The words have the power either to destroy a healthy self-esteem and personality or to reverse the negative image that someone has for himself. In your mouth is”life”and”death”.

4. Be supportive in the difficult moments

Within the storms and problems of your marriage, instead of rejecting each other, it is better to build and support each other. Being supportive will not only raise your partner’s self esteem but it will also improve your self esteem because the feeling you get when you give is one of the factors that can make you feel better and make your self esteem better.

5. Free your partner from the feelings of failure.

Free your partner from the prison of “performance and results”, with the gold key that says “freedom from the fear of failure”. One of the most common reasons that may impact someone’s self esteem is the fear of failure. If you constantly criticise your partner about his/her failures then in the long run this will impact self esteem. Try to be supportive and do not always judge your partner based on its performance and results.

More self esteem exercises on ManageYourLifeNow.com

Low self esteem is bad for your relationship.

Low self esteem is dangerous for your health.

Improve your low self esteem.

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What You Resist Persists

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Noreen Barron -

I know this sounds like a cliché but it is actually a natural law. When you stop resisting, let go and allow, you can release an enormous amount of energy that is holding that resistance (or block) in place. It is like trying to hold a huge beach ball under water all the time, it’s exhausting. You can free up that energy for the things that you want and not what you don’t want or are resisting. And what we usually resist is pain, or feeling our pain. We don’t want to feel pain, just because it’s so painful. But the more you resist feeling pain, the more pain your body and mind have to take on, but they can only carry so much. The pain eventually starts to leak in the form of symptoms. Chronic health issues nearly always have buried unfelt pain behind them.

As Eckhart Tolle says, “when we’ve suffered enough we’ll be ready to surrender, to let go and to stop resisting what is.”

Most of us might be ready to start allowing our pain to surface, and stop fighting it, when we’re metaphorically on our knees (if not literally) or when we’ve reached “rock bottom”.

Author Iyanla Vanzant writes in One Day My Soul Just Opened Up “When we surrender, we mentally let go to the end, through the thing that we fear, which in effect releases fear thoughts from the mind. It helps you realise that no matter what happens, you will be able to handle it. Surrender helps you to become willing to live through the experience, without giving your entire life over to it.”

You can try the following EFT set up phrases to help you:

Even though I am afraid to let go of…., I deeply and completely love and accept myself and I choose to surrender this…

Even though I am unwilling to let go as I won’t be in control anymore, I choose to be open to surrendering

Even though I am afraid of what will come up if I do let go, I choose to feel safe and to be there for me, I am okay and completely safe

Tap on however you are feeling, you can have a conversation with yourself while you are tapping the karate chop or sore point to correct for psychological reversal, it doesn’t have to be just one word. Sometimes we can’t sum up how we feel in one word. Be completely honest about how you are feeling, your body will know if you are not being honest and will give you signs to show that (for example there will be no shift). When you hit the jackpot, you will feel enormous relief, (yawns, sighs, belches, burps, laughter, tears etc) this is your body thanking you for listening and for releasing that energy blockage that it has been holding for you until you were ready to release it.

Noreen Barron M.A.
EFT, Emotrance, Hypnotherapy, Matrix Birth Reimprinting
Website: http://energyandintention.com
Blog: http://noreenbarron.blogspot.com

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Monday, June 27, 2011 – Stress

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“Stress: The confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it”

– Unknown

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How To Cope When Things Go Wrong: Cultivating Perspective, Balance, And Gratitude

February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Paula Apfelbach

Perspective, balance, and gratitude: these often-elusive but always-helpful states of mind will help you to cope with life’s stresses and to reduce worry when bad times inevitably come. The next time you’re bogged down, consider some of these methods for rising out of your funk.

Put it in a box

Compartmentalizing is something that we do in many areas of our lives, every time we put something away in a box or bin or other container. Therefore, do the same whenever you’re sad or worried or upset: acknowledge the legitimacy of those feelings, give yourself some time to wallow around in them, but then try to place them into a mental “box” and move on to other thoughts. You can always bring your mental box back out and rummage around in it again later, but if grief and worry are allowed to take their natural courses, they’ll flow throughout the parts of your life that are working well and sully them. So give your upsets their due — but no more than their due.

Appreciation: it doesn’t get any better than this

Enumerating your blessings — especially the basic, humble things — is a powerful reminder never to take even the most mundane element of daily life as a given, and cultivating that “attitude of gratitude” is a goal worth pursuing all year long, not just when the calendar says that it’s Thanksgiving time. Truly, I can’t think of a more effective or reliable way to cultivate balance and perspective than being appreciative and refusing to take things for granted.

Play the “How could it be worse?” game

Okay, so maybe a state of continuous appreciation is a little too Pollyanna for you. If your gratitude occasionally fails and you start to feel sorry for myself, try the opposite approach to regain perspective: engage in the rather morbid-sounding “How could it be worse?” game. The way you play is to think of a negative situation in your life and then mentally turn it into something worse. If you’re anything like me, it will take only about one nanosecond before you realize that any upsetting circumstance you’re now experiencing could be worse — even much worse — and perhaps you do have it pretty good.

Another way to look at this is to remember that everything is relative. What’s awful one day may be only a drop in the bucket the next, and, thankfully, vice versa. Railing against the reality of life’s ebbs and flows will not change that reality. A mantra that I created for myself seems to apply here: “It isn’t fair; it just is.”

You always have options — even when you’re convinced you don’t

I don’t want to “go all motivational speaker” on you, but when life is crushing in on you and every single thing seems utterly imperative, it’s easy to forget that you do have options — it just seems like you don’t. One means to shake off this sense of imperatives is to do a little visualization exercise. My favorite example involves running off to Paris to become a painter creating masterpieces along the banks of the Seine…

“But of course,” you say, “I could never actually do that. What about my family and friends? My business? My dog? My mortgage? My Glee episodes?!” And right then the great majority of people would conclude that abandoning their current lives would be impossible, and they’d dismiss their painterly dreams because their priorities lie much more strongly elsewhere. And that’s not wrong in any way. My only point is that being a Parisian painter actually is an option if it’s of a higher priority than those other life elements. It’s just that it probably seems so ludicrous that most people wouldn’t even view it as an option.

And so it goes with a lot of activities: they seem critically necessary until you realize that perhaps not quite all of them deserve top-priority ranking. So take a while to evaluate how you’re spending your time. If you then choose to continue as you have been, you can feel great about living according to your highest values. But if you discover that there’s room for change, then exercise those options that you perhaps didn’t even know you had.

Accepting your limitations empowers you like little else

We’re all familiar with theologian Reinhold Neibuhr’s “Serenity Prayer,” about accepting the things we cannot change, changing the things we can, and having the wisdom to know the difference. It reminds me that there is relatively little in life that any one individual can control (despite our wishes to the contrary), so we have very little to complain about! In other words, why fret about something you can change, and why fret about something you cannot change?

Fill out a “life report card”

Most of us stopped receiving report cards a long time ago, but they might be worth reinstating. Create a list of all of the major areas of your life — relationships, occupation, leisure, spirituality, health, fitness, intellectual pursuits, finances, and whatever else is important to you — and grade yourself in each area. If you like your grades, celebrate! But, if some disappoint you, figure out what you can improve. Remembering that you can’t control everything might come in handy here, but recalling that you do have options might also come in handy. If you’re tempted to claim that you absolutely cannot change some aspect of your life, think twice: can you?

Perspective, gratitude, and balance: All are within reach, and they’ll help you to cope when things inevitably go wrong. Truly, it could always be worse.

Paula Apfelbach began her business, Breathing Room Professional Organizing, in May 2005. She transitioned out of organizing in the fall of 2010, but continues to write a free mini-zine called “exhale” and accepts freelance assignments on the subjects of organization and life simplicity. Paula lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Release Stress and Anxiety – Learn to Breathe Fully to Live Fully!

December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Donna Packard -

Do you know that most people are breathing barely enough to be alive? Most people breathe in a shallow manner, just bringing the breath barely into the chest. We have been conditioned to hold in our stomachs, and to wear tight clothing, inhibiting our ability to breathe fully. Have you watched a new baby breathing? The baby’s belly rises with the inhale and falls gently with the exhale. It’s kind of like watching the ocean waves rising and falling in a natural rhythm. There is no pause between the inhale and the exhale. This is our natural breathing rhythm.

Many of us have shut down our breathing, and no longer breathe in this natural rhythm due to stressors, repressed emotions, fears, anxiety, etc. that we have experienced throughout our lifetimes. Think of what happens when you get anxious in traffic, for instance. Chances are you are holding your breath.

Our culture has taught us to repress many of our emotions and feelings. If someone is crying, what do we do? We try to get them to stop, where, if we simply allowed them this space to feel, they would move through the feelings, or ‘storm’, clearing them from their emotional and physical bodies. It’s like the ocean that has storms and clears to peaceful sea. Unfortunately, when we repress feelings, they are held in the body’s memory and we begin to breathe in a more shallow way to hold the feelings in.

Additionally, we carry a lot of stress in our bodies. If we are breathing fully, we cannot hold stress in the body. Yet, most of us carry stressors around for many years! For instance, let’s say you have an argument with a loved one or a boss or friend. Your stress level goes way up, and, ideally, it would be best to find a way to relax and bring it back down as soon as possible. Instead, you carry it with you.You think about it later in the day and your stress level rises again. You may think about it the next day and the same thing happens, or months later. Sometimes years later, you are still carrying that residual tension around with you. And, chances are, you are not breathing as fully because of it. This is where we get into trouble, for carrying this stress around with us leads to dis-ease. Most diseases are related to stress in one form or another. I have heard that cancer cannot live in cells that are oxygenated and there are studies that show that heart patients have not had reoccurence of their problems once they learned to breathe fully.

It’s also fascinating how when we learn to breathe fully, not only do we learn ways to relax and relieve stress, we begin to live more fully. It is as if we get back in touch with what is in our hearts, our True Selves, and, often, we also reconnect with our Source, in whatever form and way we each view that. In working with hundreds of people over the years, teaching them how to repattern their breathing, I have witnessed many many people finding a place of inner serenity, of peace. Oftentimes, they were embraced by the consciousness of pure Love.

So, I ask you, in this moment, to take a breath in and out. Does your breathing feel restricted? Ideally, a full breath fills your belly like it is filling a balloon, then rises up through your chest and then releases freely. It may be likened to the ocean waves, where the wave rises in the belly, flows into the shore (the chest) and then flows back out, as the exhale. And, then flows in again, with no pause between the inhale and exhale, in a perfect circle of breathing, flowing in and out freely.

It may be helpful to imagine you are filling a jug with your breath. You fill all the way to the bottom when inhaling, the bottom being the top of your pubic bone, and then filling the jug with the air all the way to the top, which you may imagine as the throat area or even to the top of your head.

I invite you, in this moment, to practice breathing fully and freely.

Exercises:

1. Lie down and place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest. Breathe in your normal fashion. Which hand rises as you inhale? Since many people are shallow breathers, breathing only into the chest. You may find that the hand on the chest raises up with the inhale. Practice bringing the inhale deep into your belly and fill your belly with the air, like you are filling a balloon. You may want to place a small pillow on your abdomen to see if it is rising as you inhale. (One woman I worked with would have her small dog lie on her belly to watch to see if it she was raising him up and down as the breath moved into her belly:-) ) This type of breathing may take practice and, at first, may seem like a lot of work. Yet, in the end, you will be happy you learned to breathe deeply. Getting the breath into your belly is the first step.

2. Once you are able to breathe deeply into your belly, as in step 1. above, next you want to practice bringing the breath into your belly, as above, and then continue to bring it from there up through your chest and heart, and then release it. Breathe in, pull up and release. Do not force the exhale, let it fall like a sigh. Then breathe in again, with no pause between the exhale and inhale and breathe again deeply into your belly. Practice for 5 minutes to start.

3. Begin to notice throughout the day whether you are breathing or not. You may find various times you are holding your breath or not breathing fully. Remind yourself from time to time to take a deep breath! The more fully you breathe, the more fully alive you will be.

When you begin breathing more fully, at first, you may experience different sensations in your body which may not be used to getting as much oxygen. You may feeling tingling in your hands, or face, or feet, or other places. You may feel uncomfortable feelings in various parts of your body at first. You may feel feelings! Just feel what you feel and keep breathing through it! Know it is safe to breathe! The breath carries what gives you life.

Breathe Fully and Live Fully!

Many blessings and remember to Breathe Peace in each moment, Donna Packard, M.Ed., “The Inspirer” http://www.BreathePeace.com

Copyright 2009 Donna Packard. All rights reserved. Please feel free to pass this lesson along, or reprint it, and invite/encourage others to be a part of the Breathe Peace movement. Just be sure to include my name as the author and the website contact information as listed above.

I invite you, in this moment, to Breathe Peace, Donna L. Packard, M.Ed., “The Inspirer”
http://www.BreathePeace.com
E-mail: info@breathepeace.com

Relax, reconnect, move into a consciousness of Love. Learn to Breathe Peace.http://www.breathepeace.com for free mini-lesson series, information, resources,
and more!

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Self-Love – 5 Ways to Nourish Yourself From the Inside Out

December 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Terri Klapperich -

Do you ever feel completely depleted?

You are so stressed out, exhausted, and run down that you really can’t even function anymore. So many times, life takes over. Everything comes before you.

The reason you feel so depleted is because you aren’t taking care of you.

FACT: You need to come first.

I know that this way of thinking might ruffle some feathers. The truth is that if you don’t put you first, you’ll never be the best parent, spouse, employee, or friend that you can be. If you don’t take care of you, you just won’t be able to take care of anyone else.

5 Ways to Nourish Yourself

  1. Honor your decisions and choices. Learn to say no and stick to it. Be confident that you know what is best for you and don’t let others “sway” your decision.
  2. Take “me” time. It’s important to find time in the day just for you to relax and decompress. It might only be 5 or 10 minutes, but this mini-vacation will totally rejuvenate you.
  3. Follow your passions. Just because you are a parent or a spouse, doesn’t mean you need to lose you. Continue to include people and activities you love in your life. Teach your children what a happy, well-rounded adult looks like.
  4. Live your life purpose. Have you ever heard the phrase, “do what you love and the money will follow”? Not only will money follow, but so will happiness and fulfillment. You have a unique gift you are meant to share with the world, so please let your light shine.
  5. Set boundaries. Believe that you are important and that you deserve to be treated well. It is important to have boundaries with the people in your life. It is true that you teach people how to treat you. STOP allowing bad behavior. Only allow kindness and love. When boundaries are in place, people will have no choice but to respect them.

You are such a beautiful soul and you are here with such a big purpose. The only way that you can carry out such an important mission is to be healthy, relaxed, and energized.

Always remember that you are important and you deserve love and attention too. Make sure to take care of you. Put you back on the list.

To learn more about Terri Klapperich, subscribe to her FREE marketing and mindset tips by visiting http://www.youtube.com/TerriKlapperich.

Terri Klapperich is the founder of Sacred Space International LLC, a company that teaches small business owners simple online marketing techniques for more exposure, more customers and clients, and ultimately, more profit.

Through her coaching programs and do-it-for-you marketing services, Terri shows her clients how to truly design an abundant life. Terri also teaches her clients how to GET KNOW FAST, attract more ideal customers and clients, and shift into a success mindset.

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Top 5 Tips to Create Optimum Health

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Lori L. Shemek, Ph.D. -

We all desire good health, yet the majority of us take for granted our health and assume we are healthy due to the absence of disease. The human body is an amazing machine, that despite the abuses incurred upon it, still functions. But optimum health is more than just the absence of disease, it is the gift of living a vibrant, quality life full of energy, free of disease and symptoms, slower aging and the joy that comes from living a healthier life.

Tip One

Drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water each day.

Hydrate! Our bodies are essentially two-thirds water and without it, we will die. Most of us are walking around with mild dehydration that creates lethargy, headaches, constipation, joint problems etc. drinking water helps rid our body of toxins. Many people mistake being thirsty for hunger. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already 1-2% dehydrated. Drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses of water each day and more if you exercise or it is hot.

Tip Two

Eat a Healthy Diet.

Eating for optimum health focuses on a variety of whole foods. The majority of your daily food intake should be red, orange, yellow, and green fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, mangos and tomatoes. As well as complex carbohydrates such as beans, brown rice, oats etc. These complex carbohydrates metabolize slowly resulting in stable blood sugar. Ingesting sugar or refined carbohydrates such as white flour, white flour products, white rice, processed foods, bakery goods, and desserts etc. will result in a rapid increase in blood sugar levels, thus producing inflammation in the body. Inflammation is now thought to be responsible for diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and arthritis. By avoiding sugar and refined foods and focusing on complex carbohydrates, you will not only eliminate huge blood sugar spikes, you will also be adding bio-available vitamins, mineral, antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber.

Eating the right types of good fat will also reduce inflammation in your body. Good fats to add every day are Omega 3 fats and monounsaturated fats. Use olive oil, oily fish such as salmon, sardines and anchovies. If you don’t eat fish twice a week, consider taking a fish oil supplement and a handful of walnuts every day. Flax seed, olive oil and avocados are other very healthful fats. Limit saturated fats from animal products such as butter, milk and fatty meats. Avoid trans fats as these fats are heart damaging. Trans fats can be found in baked goods, deep-fried foods and margarine. Avoid any food product that contains hydrogenated fat.

Most of us overuse salt. Medical experts consider salt a contributor to hypertension, strokes, and kidney failure. Be on the lookout for sodium in all foods and consume no more than 2,000 milligrams per day.

Maintain a balance between your food intake and physical activity level. Do not overeat as this leads not just to weight gain but inflammation in the body as well.

Tip Three

Exercise For Optimum Health.

Sedentary folks are at major risk for cardiovascular disease. Regular aerobic exercise benefits the heart and can raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Strength training is just as important as aerobic training for optimum health. The benefits of strength training will reduce your overall health risks from major diseases, keep you strong, decrease your body fat and improve your appearance. The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. Strength train 2-3 times of week for 30 minutes. Another component of exercise is stretching your body. Stretching does not have to be a huge time commitment. Just 10 minutes a day will increase your range of motion, increase circulation and enhance muscle coordination.

Tip Four

Supplements are necessary.

Nutritional supplements are, at the very least, like insurance. They can protect and enhance your health when we fall short. It is obvious that very few of us are getting the required vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients through our diet due to lower nutrient levels of foods resulting from pesticide use, soil depletion, long storage, etc. We are also more sedentary and stressed than ever before. We need help to prevent disease and illness and increase energy. Here is a basic daily supplement program for optimum health: A High-dose multivitamin and mineral supplement, a calcium and magnesium supplement (1200 mg calcium and 600 mg magnesium), B-Complex (50 mg), Vitamin D3 (800 IU), Omega-3 Fish oil (1,000 mg), Vitamin E mixed tocopherols (400 IU), Vitamin C (1,000 mg), Coenzyme Q10 (50 mg), Selenium (200 mcg), Zinc (30 mg).

Tip Five

Manage your stress.

Stress is a physical reaction to a situation that demands our attention whether or not that stress is positive or negative. If we perceive the stress as negative and the stress is chronic, the health implications can be serious. Coping with stress through a variety of means can help protect you from illness, disease, aging and a poor quality of life. Learning to quiet our thoughts and bodies through a variety of ways such as yoga, meditation, breathwork, and reducing sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, caffeine and replacing lost nutrients, will enable us to reduce or avoid the negative health consequences of stress.

Through implementing these five tips, you will transform your life in profound ways. You will have the ability to live not just disease or illness free, you will experience the joy that comes from optimum health.

Lori L. Shemek, PhD, CLC, NC

Lori L. Shemek is Founder and President of DLS HealthWorks, LLC. At DLS HealthWorks, we truly care about our clients. We strive to help create optimum health through gentle support, motivation and guidance. Lori also utilizes the process of Co-Active coaching to further ensure success for her clients. Lori has had much success guiding clients through many health, nutrition and weight loss issues at every level of health.

If you would like to know more about DLS HealthWorks, LLC, please find us here:

http://www.dlsHealthWorks.com/

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The Rocky Road of Perfectionism – Reduce Stress & Anxiety by Changing Unrealistic Expectations

October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Sharon S. Esonis, Ph.D. -

Perfectionism is an unhealthy way to live. I have witnessed the emotional turmoil of too many people who have this particular belief system with its ridiculous expectations. Believing that only one outcome (the perfect one!) is acceptable is incompatible with emotional health and creative living.

I’ve worked with many perfectionists over the years and have found that convincing them of the insidiousness of this particular mindset presents quite a challenge. If you are a perfectionist, changing your beliefs, expectations and behaviors won’t be easy, but it will open the path to greater health, happiness and self-confidence.

Perfectionists generally fit into three categories: those who expect perfection from themselves, those who expect perfection from others only, and those who expect it from both themselves and others. You or the others you impact with these expectations will never be perfect or attain perfection in any desired goal. It’s not going to happen, no matter what.

Expecting the impossible is a straight shot to trouble, disappointment and rocky interpersonal relationships. It consumes so much energy to follow this particular brand of dead-end thinking. Harriet Braiker, author and psychologist, warns, “Striving for excellence motivates you, striving for perfection is demoralizing.”

Think about it for a moment. If something has to be done to a tee, there’s not much room for exploration, discovery, spontaneity and joy. Costly, debilitating and not much fun! Keep in mind that the perfectionist is worried about all the details of the outcome. That’s a powerful way to put out the fire and marginalize whatever gains you or anyone else make. This also makes it hard to be open to unexpected and/or disguised opportunities. It affects other people adversely because it’s “your way or the highway.”

Signs of Perfectionism

  • Unrealistic expectations of self or others
  • Narrow idea of what success is
  • Broad definition of failure
  • Fear of disapproval
  • Fear of failure
  • Fear of making mistakes
  • All or nothing thinking
  • Long list of “shoulds”
  • Setting goals that are unachievable
  • Conflict in relationships because of unrealistic expectations and disappointment when others don’t meet those expectations
  • Unwillingness to show others their vulnerabilities
  • Strong need to be in control
  • Excessive need for achievement
  • Focusing on mistakes, missteps, failures
  • Procrastination because they don’t want to complete something that isn’t perfect
  • Inordinate amount of worrying and guilt
  • Main focus on details not big picture
  • High sensitivity to criticism

Beliefs

  • If I can control myself and my world, the likelihood increases that I will be perfect
  • I need to be perfect in order to gain the respect and approval of others
  • Success comes more easily for others than for me
  • Whatever I do is never good enough
  • Anything worth doing is worth being done perfectly
  • My self-worth is directly related to my performance

What the Perfectionist Often Experiences

  • By focusing on unrealistic goals, the perfectionist is set up for failure
  • Unresolved relationship conflicts often occur for perfectionists who want others to do things their way
  • They have difficulty feeling successful and peaceful
  • They often apply this philosophy even to leisure activities: “anything worth doing is worth doing right”
  • Perfectionists ultimately find that their productivity suffers
  • They too often experience loneliness, sadness, frustration and feelings of inadequacy
  • They experience sensitivity to what others think and are negatively affected if there is disapproval
  • Instead of finding what is important to them, perfectionists become hung up on the dreaded “shoulds”
  • Finding peace is allusive to perfectionists
  • They often feel stressed, anxious, depressed; many perfectionists have symptoms that rise to the level of a clinical diagnosis of a stress, anxiety, depressive or eating disorder
  • They can be mired in procrastination
  • They may have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
  • Perfectionists may experience headaches, gastrointestinal difficulties, muscle tension, and cardiovascular problems

What To Do About It

  • Change your belief that perfectionism is something to strive for; dispute it when the thought comes to mind
  • Identify and admit the perfectionism beliefs and behaviors that are a major part of your life
  • Dispute the beliefs and expectations that are out of line with reality
  • Understand that the mistakes and failures are opportunities to learn and get stronger; adopt that as part of your new belief system
  • Give yourself permission to be imperfect and to make mistakes; learn to see the humor in your mistakes; think of mistakes as chances to learn
  • Accept your weaknesses. See them as part of your uniqueness
  • Inject a humorous approach to your life and goals; so many things in life just aren’t that serious or important; develop a 10 point scale for importance and make sure when you assign a number that there are few or no tens
  • Resign as CEO of the universe; it will be a relief for you and others
  • Learn more about mindfulness and living in the moment; spend time with people who live in the moment
  • Be kinder and more patient with others. Learn to listen to others and have empathy
  • Understand that procrastination is a form of avoidance; the perfectionist avoids finishing a project because it will lead to an evaluation of its perfection by him/herself or by someone else
  • Set realistic, achievable goals; congratulate yourself when you complete any part of your goal
  • Get to know what you really want in life
  • Look at life and your goals as a journey, not as a destination
  • When something bad happens have an optimistic attitude: don’t take it personally, don’t think it’s permanent and don’t allow it to affect unrelated parts of your life
  • Figure out what fears lurk behind your perfectionism and face them directly
  • If this is too difficult to do alone, talk to a psychologist or other health care professional

You can be excellent, but not perfect, at some chosen goals, and just plain mediocre at others that don’t matter much at all. Make the decision to be selective about what endeavors merit your finest efforts, and then plan to revel in your accomplishments, even the ones that may fall short of the mark.

To learn more about Positive Psychology, look for my latest book, It’s Your Little Red Wagon… Six Core Strengths for Navigating Your Path to the Good Life (Embrace the Power of Positive Psychology and Live Your Dreams), available on Amazon.com

Copyright 2009. Sharon S. Esonis, Ph.D.

Sharon S. Esonis, Ph.D., has spent close to three decades helping individuals thrive and improve their lives through her work as a licensed psychologist, author and life coach. An expert in human behavior and motivation, Dr. Esonis specializes in the burgeoning field of Positive Psychology, the scientific study of optimal human functioning and the core strengths that can lead to the achievement of one’s personally-defined goals.

Her most recent book, “It’s Your Little Red Wagon… 6 Core Strengths for Navigating Your Path to the Good Life (Embrace the Power of Positive Psychology and Live Your Dreams!),” is Dr. Esonis’s contribution to the field of Positive Psychology, presenting proven success factors and strength-building techniques that can lead individuals to a life of purpose, motivation and happiness. It is available on Amazon.com.

Dr. Esonis earned her doctoral degree at Boston College and currently maintains a life coaching practice in the San Diego area. She also teaches Positive Psychology in the Extended Learning Program at California State University San Marcos. To learn more about the power of Positive Psychology and to order her latest book, visit her website at http://www.PositivePathLifeCoaching.com

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