It is much easier to allow your mood to descend into a downward spiral than to watch it like a hawk and try to focus on the positives. After all, it takes energy. Therefore, realizing that your energy is well spent on this very activity is critical. We often don’t even recognize this as something that requires an expenditure of energy. But it needs so much focus that when you feel burned out but haven’t delegated energy to this task, you will have much more work to do than if you had focused all along on maintaining a positive attitude and moving forward. By recognizing even the smallest glimmers of hope and silver linings, you’ll be able to push through tough times and persevere much more effortlessly than if you feel like everything is just plain awful.
read more >‘Life Coaching’ Daily Tips:
Assess from 30,000 Feet
December 17th, 2009
Look at your life from 30,000 feet-like the images you see from outside an airplane window. Look at the big picture to regain a sense of what “normal” tends to feel like for you. Use this tool to help you regain your sense of balance. It serves as a compass to help you see, create, see again, create again, and so on. It’s a back and forth movement from which you work on the ground floor and then take a moment to utilize a bird’s-eye view. Sometimes reestablishing your normal scheme is more difficult than just taking a few days off. As a result, utilizing this big picture can become very helpful.
read more >Motivate Yourself
December 16th, 2009
Notice that I used the word “yourself” above. Don’t ask for the world to motivate you-you would be leaving far too much to chance in that case. Instead, be prepared to motivate yourself. Understand what keeps you focused and positive. Know how to “reward” yourself. The word “reward” is used quite commonly, yet it is not a common act. Today, redefine what reward means to you. What will enable you to regain the light within-to create a sense of tranquility-to balance the turbulence that often is out of your hands? Notice that spark of energy when doing something and create a personal treasury you can turn to when you need to motivate yourself (e.g., quotes you can read, movies you can watch, songs you can listen to). When you feel the least motivated to move forward, these personal sources of motivation are typically one of the few channels that will guide you in the right direction.
read more >Create a Personal Progress Report
September 9th, 2009
It is a common occurrence to ask others how they are doing – we do it every day. How are you feeling? How are you? What’s new? These questions show our concern and interest in the condition and lives of our family and friends. Unfortunately, few of us ask ourselves these questions, but we all need to. It’s time to create a personal progress report!
A simple notebook or journal can be used as your progress report. Take a quiet moment every day to jot down your feelings and outlook. If you discover a problem or challenge, consider the reason. A few minutes of thought may inspire a solution or a different approach! Over time, you will be able to identify the things that cause you stress or bring on feelings of negativity. Your progress report can also be a place to track your goals. Each day, write down the things you have accomplished. This will help keep you focused and motivated.
read more >Prioritize Your Time
September 8th, 2009
Do you ever put your life on hold waiting for the right moment to occur? It may be a small decision, like not starting an exercise routine because your schedule is already full. Or it may be a big decision, like not taking a family vacation because you are too busy at work. These decisions, and the limitations on your time, may seem reasonable at first glance. However, as time passes, you may realize how much you are missing by waiting for the time to magically appear. Time cannot be increased, but it can be manipulated. You can make time for whatever you want…if you want it bad enough.
Now, think of something that you want to do, but that you don’t have time to get done. Examine your schedule to find something that can be skipped, combined, or rearranged. Perhaps you can combine a brisk walk with an errand you have to run. Maybe you can swap shifts with a coworker in order to take a mini-vacation during an extended weekend. In order to make time, you must be flexible and creative.
read more >What people are saying
— Marion Luna Brem, author of The 7 Greatest Truths about Successful Women Read morePerseverance beautifully organizes reminder after reminder that every moment is precious. As a long-time cancer thriver, I would not trade for the resources I was able to tap into by looking at the fragility of my own life. Perseverance serves as a tender wake-up reminder that the present is the future we worried about in the past.