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From the category archives:
Articles of Interest
A very nice, thoughtful fellow, Ron Williams, from Australia, sent me a poem he wrote called "Destiny." Thanks Ron.
Here it is-
DESTINY
'Destiny' is just a word
that’s bandied 'round a lot,
People use it far too much
as blame for what they’ve got.
Your future isn’t 'set in stone',
it isn’t 'meant to be',
Your future’s what you make of it,
it’s time for you to see.
For you to set your 'Destiny',
you first must know you can,
A 'strategy' will get you there,
for that you’ll need a 'plan'.
A 'plan' is like a road map,
to show which route to take,
Just follow it along the way,
your life is what you’ll make.
If it’s to be, it’s up to me,
to make my future bright,
The 'goals' I’ve set for me are huge,
as big as day and night.
My 'goals' are written down my friend,
I read them when I can,
And that means every single day,
so I can work my plan.
There’s lots of little 'goals' in there,
that I achieve with ease,
They serve to get me to the point,
where I do what I please.
I’m not far off achieving all,
I once set out for me,
And that my friend has told you how,
to set your 'Destiny'.
©Ron Williams 2004
myEpoet@yahoo.com.au
Recently I shared some tips with you for reducing stress and increasing holiday harmony. They were a big hit!
To review those tips from a couple weeks ago, see my Blog post Dec 3, 2007.
MORE TIPS FOR INCREASING HOLIDAY HARMONY!
1. Ask for Help - Now here's an amazing concept! For a variety of reasons, people often don't like to ask for help. Sometimes we even think it takes too much time, and if we just plow ahead, we'll get done faster. Questionable assumption. There are people in your life who would LOVE to help you - let them!
2. Prioritize Your To-Do list - A To-Do list creates order. Prioritizing your list takes it a step further and really helps you know what to do next, and then next, and then next. Great idea, and it was given to me by Kathy Grady, Director of Customer Service at the Rich Dad Company. Thanks, Kathy!
3. Music - What music makes you feel calm, happy, relaxed? Play it, sing along, play air guitar - whatever uplifts your mood!
4a. Prayer - Something simple. Maybe not asking for anything. Just being still and connecting with a higher power. Expressing gratitude is always good.
4b. Meditation - Take a few moments and just sit still. Let the mind and body get quiet. Be present instead of in the past or future. It's a nice little respite. An interval of peace. It makes a difference.
5. Know Your Own Rules and Stick to Them - You know what your own rules are. They may include your personal Code of Honor, your core principles, your beliefs; the rules and guidelines to which you hold yourself accountable. If you violate any of them, the consequences can be harsh because we do tend to punish ourselves far more than anyone else would! Know your rules and stick to them - that will maintain your equilibrium, even if things around you are rocking!
6. Celebrate Wins - A sincere pat on the back is well-received by anyone. Give someone else a pat on the back, and while you're at it, give yourself a pat on the back and acknowledge & celebrate your wins too!
7. Talk to Someone You Like & Trust - Talk to a person you like and trust. Talk about anything. It doesn't matter. What matters is that the person listens to you and understands, and you're aware that they are listening and understanding. You're not looking for someone to agree with you or disagree with you because either one can be draining. Just someone who will listen objectively. Ah!
8. Affirmations - Say positive statements over and over, silently or aloud. Avoid phraseology like this: I don't feel stressed out anymore. Keep the wording positive, such as: I feel calm. Life is good. The holiday season is fun.
9. Put Some Distance between YOU and:
Negative people
Agitating situations
Violent or upsetting movies
Negative TV programs
Over-doing on caffeine and/or sugar
Rushing/being in a hurry
Pushing the body too hard
Going absent to avoid Facing/Handling
You may have thought of some more tips yourself. The main challenge is remembering to use them, so here's an idea - make a sheet of them and hang them in your office, keep on your desk, paste on a mirror, or carry with you!
I hope these tips are helpful, and if you think of others, please post them here!
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The Holiday Season is here, a time of fun and joy! But it can also be stressful and lose some of its charm in a hurry. What is the solution to minimizing holiday stress and maximizing holiday harmony? Here are some great ideas!
8 TIPS FOR INCREASING HOLIDAY HARMONY
Some of these will be familiar and good reminders; others innovative and perhaps surprising.
1. Happy Food for the Body - Have food that is clean in every sense. No preservatives, not from a can or plastic bag, etc. Nutritious. Doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, aspartame, or other artificial ingredients. When you ingest it, you hear your body say to you, Thank you! and it gives you a big smile.
2. Water - Can't underestimate this one. They say you can be dehydrated long before you actually feel thirsty. Believe it or not, some bottled waters actually have some form of salt in them!! Check labels.
3. Rest - Simple. Give the body enough rest, don't run it ragged. A body running on caffeine, sugar, or adrenaline could eventually blow out its immune system. If you chronically don't give it enough rest the body could go out of commission, just to MAKE you stop and rest. Your body WANTS to support you in what you want to accomplish. An acknowledged body is a happy body!
4. Exercise - Walk. Outside or around the house. Dance. Do Yoga. Move the body. Take 5 minutes, or 10 or 20. Do what feels good. Just get moving. It works.
5. Slow down - We hurry because we're behind and feel stressed. The irony is, hurrying causes more stress! So deliberately do something at an unusually slow pace. Walk, talk, chew, whatever. As slow as you can stand it. Do this for 1 or 2 minutes. You'll be amazed!
6. Laugh - Hard to laugh when you're stressed out? OK then, get a funny movie. Not a movie where they make fun of people! Also you could join a Laughter Club - fun! (also see p. 192 of A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink).
7. Connect with Your Environment - Be Present. Notice things around you. Simple things: "I see that lamp over there. There's a desk. I spot the calendar. I feel the floor under my feet." Even better - walk around and touch & let go of the objects you notice. Do this for a few minutes or longer. Amazing results.
8. Thank Your Body - Say thank you to your body. Imagine that it is receiving the gratitude you're sending to it. Thank all the cells. The body has 300 trillion cells, according to Deepak Chopra. Good thing you can thank them all at once!
Share these great tips with friends & family and increase holiday cheer!
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Did you know that when someone feels guilty about something, they tend to become very critical of other people?
Being critical is a quick and easy smokescreen and a distractor. As long as the person can criticize someone else, that's where their attention is focused. The act of criticizing is the distraction, and then they don't have to confront what they have done or not done that they feel guilty about. It's very convenient!
And the ratio is, the louder and more harsh the criticism, the more intense the guilt in the criticizer.
An easy way to eliminate this is to have a clean clear conscience. If you have a clean clear conscience, criticism from others will roll off your back. You don't feel guilty, you don't question yourself, you have self-esteem, and you know they are wrong in what they're saying about you, so it doesn't matter. You give it no credence.
On the other side of it, an easy way to get a critical person to stop criticizing is to .... right! Get that person to clear his or her conscience!!
It's easy to recognize this concept because we've all manifested it at one time or another. Just think of a time you were upset with yourself and you felt guilty for something, and you'll probably see that you took off on someone else with a barrage of negative spewing, or anger, indignation, etc.
And it may not be something that intense - a mean-spirited thought passing quickly through your mind counts too!
Sad but true, it makes us feel good. Yes, we feel very righteous indeed. The subtle thought is, "Look what you've done! And keep busy with that so you don't notice what I've done! And I won't have to look at what I've done either!" It's human nature. But here's the good news - news you already know. We are capable of changing, of transcending human nature.
It may not always be easy or fast to resolve but give it a try.
Get your conscience clean and clear. You will feel re-born.
The present will be a joy and the future will look BRIGHT!
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