Day 4:  Know your passions.

You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you want and ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who have inspired you to become the person you wanted to be.



“Reinventing the wheel is sometimes the right thing, when the result is the radial tire.” – Jonathan Gilbert

Lately I’ve been working with some folks are in the midst of reinventing themselves. Whether through layoffs, company reorganizations or the kids moving out, they’ve reached  some sort of cross roads while traveling through their personal and/or professional journey.

Why am I the guy to give personal success coaching to these travelers? Well, I guess I’m the right age (54), and as the saying goes -been there and done that! Like most of us Ive had many roles during this life, son, husband, father and now grandfather. Career wise, I have worked in a variety of industries including construction, education, and finance. I have held various positions in these industries, everything from laborer, to classroom teacher, to senior management. Enough about me, back to the folks I coach.

In honor of their journey, Ill be presenting an outline of seven steps you can take to to Reinvent Yourself (hence the 7-Day title). In the interest of full disclosure, (as the attorneys say) you may want or need to spend more than one day working on each step. But hey, its still a great title right?

Wishing you a larger life,
BB

Is this the end, or the start of something new?

Its almost the end of 2009, which would also make it the end of the decade. Of course that means its almost the start of 2010 and the beginning of a brand new decade.

Some look at the daily challenges we all face as ends. The end of a job. the end of a relationship. The end of a vacation. The end of the year.

I choose to perceive these things as beginnings, as the start of something new. A successful career, the chance to meet new people, the chance to begin work with new vigor.

Why do I choose this strange path? Well, because I choose to be happy. Endings are generally thought of as sad negative things that imply loss. I prefer to be as positive as possible, even when there is evidence to the contrary.

After all since you’re alive, you might just as well be happy about it:-)

Wishing you and yours prosperity, health, and the very largest of lives in the coming year.
BB
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Use affirmations

Affirmations can also reduce your stress and redirect your thoughts and feelings to something positive. They affirm the qualities in you that you want to encourage, while thwarting negative thoughts at the same time.

Once you get in the habit of using affirmations every time a negative thought or bad habit presents itself, they automatically redirect you to positive actions, feelings, and decisions.

• • I am confident that I can handle any challenge effectively.
  • I make good decisions.
  • I look for the silver lining in every difficulty.
  • I can solve any problem.
  • I act without delay when I make a decision. I let go of the “what-ifs.”

Affirmations should follow the 3 P’s: Positive, Personal (use the words “I”, “me”, or “my”), and Present Tense (as if you already exhibit this quality).Here are some example affirmations to reduce stress:

1. For the best effect, repeat your affirmations several times each day, and also whenever you encounter a negative thought.
2. Affirmations are effective in many situations. They can help you conquer specific stressors, so we’ve also talked about affirmations in other sections of this blog.

Simplify your life

A lot of the stress we encounter every day occurs because of our cluttered lifestyles. I fight this one all the time. Between running from one errand to another, skipping meals, and taking care of everyone but ourselves, everything contributes to our stress levels. But when you eliminate the clutter, you can eliminate this stress!

1. Learn to say ‘no’. No is a perfectly good answer. Using this answer toa request can literally add hours to your day! Make a decision to only do what you feel is absolutely important. If someone asks you to do something you know you can’t fit in, politely say no.
2. Skip some of the parties. For our own sanity, we need to socialize sometimes. However, accepting every invitation that comes along can become overwhelming. Cut down on your social commitments to give you some added peace and quiet.
3. Make decisions according to your priorities. When you clarify your priorities and use them to help you make decisions, decision-making becomes virtually stress-free. When you choose the option that most closely aligns with your priorities, you’ll be more confident that you’ve made the right decision.
4. De-clutter your house and office. Getting rid of everything you don’t want or need will reduce stress and contribute to a simpler lifestyle. Yes, this will take some time. You’ll notice that things are easier to find, there’s less to clean, and you’ll feel free from some of the limiting trappings of life.

Prayer and meditation.

Take time each day to visualize living the life you desire and give thanks for it. Imagine everything as if it has already happened. Vivid, real, and positive are the key concepts which will help you achieve this life.

• Take in everything with all your senses, feel the emotions, and actually see yourself living your stress-free life.

• Feel your stress melt away and fully enjoy where you are.

• Prayer and meditation can both relax you and bring you energy. You can use the power of prayer or meditation to prepare for the day ahead and end your day on an uplifting note.

Best of all, your positive energy will attract more good things to feel good about in your life.

Make your self-talk positive.

We’ve discussed this before, but I’ll risk mentioning it again. You talk to yourself constantly. What you say to yourself affects your mood, stress level, attitudes, beliefs, self-concept, decisions, and behavior? Believe it or not, you’re quite convincing, no matter what you’re saying! So why not say something you want to hear?

• Encourage yourself. Congratulate yourself every time you do something right. Every success – even a small one – deserves to be celebrated. Tell yourself how it’s perfectly like you to do things the way you do.

• When you make a mistake, beware of stress-causing and confidence-deflating negative talk. Rather than telling yourself what a loser you are, or how stupid it was to mess that up, turn those thoughts into something positive instead.

• Ask yourself what you can learn from your mistakes so you can bring yourself closer to your goal. Practice immediately laughing, as you say something like, “Oops, I know I won’t be doing that again! What can I learn from this?”

• Realize that everyone makes mistakes. If you never made one, then you wouldn’t be human! It’s not a big deal. Admit it, learn from it, correct what you can, and confidently move on.

Preventing, reducing, and eliminating stress (or redirecting this “fight or flight” response into positive energy) are all important. When you take daily action to create a peaceful, harmonious life, you’ll find that things more often go your way and outcomes are in sync with what you desire.

Here are a few habits to create daily harmony in your life:

Start your day stress-free. Each day is a new fresh start. It’s like they say: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Use these tips to enjoy the beginning of the day and let one good thing lead to another.

Throw out your alarm clock if it has a harsh sound. Loud alarms cause stress the very first moment you awaken. Accustom yourself to waking up to beautiful music or the sounds of nature. The idea is to be coaxed out of your sleep rather than shocked out of bed.

Get up early enough to arrive on time for your morning activities; whether its work, school or an appointment. No sense in making the morning “rush hour” any worse by being off to a late start.

Give thanks for the new day. Remind yourself of what you have to be thankful for, rather than jumping into stressful thoughts immediately.

Sing a happy tune. Having a happy tune in your head puts you in a good mood. Here’s a perfect song to start your day: “It’s a Good Day” by Perry Como. This song is in the soundtrack for the movie Blast from the Past.

Here’s how it starts out:

“Oh! It’s a good day, for singin’ a song,

An’ it’s a good day for movin’ along,

Yes, it’s a good day, how could anything go wrong?

A good day from mornin’ ’till night!”

An attitude like this automatically helps you overcome the challenges of the day with less stress!

“In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and energy into something positive.” – Lee Iacocca

Yea I know – we’re living in uncertain times! With the current economic climate, you’re uncertain if your retirement funds are safe, if your home is losing its value, or even if you’re  going to have a job tomorrow.

Family incomes are being reduced and eliminated by the minute while prices for necessities are rising. As if that weren’t enough, stress is coming at you from all angles due to the normal pressures of modern life!

What are you supposed to do? How is it possible to NOT be fearful of what may come? How can you reduce the high levels of stress?

The Stress Solution

When stressful situations come your way, the only thing you can control is your reaction to the situation. The better you get at controlling your reactions, the more resilient you’ll be, and the more likely you’ll be able to transform a bad situation into a positive one.

Stress forces the body to generate energy. It’s the fight or flight reaction that gets the blood pumping. That energy tends to be spent worrying or feeling anxious, but what if you could use that energy for GOOD? You’d be able to transform that negative, nervous energy into positive outlets that improve your life!

In the next few posts I’ll give actionable strategies you can use to reduce your stress and turn it into energy that will help you succeed in living a larger, more purposeful life!