Changing Direction

I've completed 3 weeks of my hiatus from the work world and I'm feeling good. I couldn't have told you a few months ago that I'd feel comfortable in this position but it's been a pleasant surprise. It's amazing how much of life you miss when you're so consumed and distracted with work. I've been able to catch up on rest, reading, and connecting with family and friends. And it's amazing how many blessings have flowed my way. When life is too busy, it moves much faster. Before you know it, you've missed out on meaningful moments that you can never get back. This has definitely been a time of reflecting and prioritizing. What's on your top 5 list of important things in life? How much power are you giving those things that shouldn't mean as much? Here's one way to measure. Close your eyes and imagine that it is your last day on this earth and you only have a few hours left. Where would you like to spend those last moments and w...

What would you like for Christmas this year? I have 2 lists...what I want, and what I don't want. What I Want for Christmas for Myself & Everyone: Peace Good Health Abundance Joy What I Don't Want: The hustle and bustle of commercialized gift buying/giving out of obligation Traditional cooking, eating, drinking to excess Having to clean up the mess after it's all said and done Besides, isn't the true meaning of Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ? That can be done without expense by attending a church service and praising Him on that special day or simply in the quiet of your bedroom in prayer and reflection. Having a non-traditional Christmas this year is appealing to me because quite frankly I'm still recovering from Thanksgiving Day. You know... that day where you get together with lots of family, give thanks, eat a lot, and then have a bunch of cleaning up to do? Wasn't that just a couple of weeks ago? I remember one year Chris and I...

A couple of years ago someone gave me this story and I have never forgotten it. The message is a profound one and is the truth! A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body, Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that...

I had another good coaching session via Ken Davis Coaching last night. Ken said, "We have the power to make our circumstances, even though it seems that the circumstances present themselves and we just respond to them." This means I have the ability to be more in touch with my gut instinct so that when an unpleasant circumstance presents itself I am better equipped to deal with it in a proactive way rather than a reactive way. Throughout our discussion and my reflections on past events, he pointed out how a paradigm shift occurred within me causing me to see my circumstances in an entirely different way. What a revelation! Now we will work to find out how to develop and flex that gut instinct muscle so that I will have the foresight and am ready for the next circumstances in life that come my way. This will cause less stress and more peace. I love this famous quote by Wayne Dyer. He said, "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". So...

I tried and tried to fight it today but at right around 1:30PM I did something I NEVER do. I took a midday nap! Ahhh and it was glorious! I am not really a fan of sleep because I'm afraid I'll miss out on something but this time I yielded to my body's need for sleep. Naps can be sort of a guilty pleasure. But I didn't feel too bad since I had gotten up at 7am and gotten through 3 boxes of things that needed organizing. My day was productive and I rewarded myself. What a day! Click here and visit WebMD.com to learn more abou t The Benefits of a Nice, Long Nap

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service whereby people connect and share information in 140 characters or less. Basically you start to follow people, places, or organizations of interest to learn more about them and their interests. In turn, many of them start to follow you to receive similar information. I started using twitter shortly after returning from our Italy vacation this past February. I have to admit, I didn't get it at first. But now I can't go a day without at least logging in to read what folks all over the world are talking about. There are many reasons that people are utilizing twitter. Some use it just for news sharing and gathering, some use it for gossip, some for stalking their favorite celebrities, and some for promoting their business or interest. I use it for broadening my views on various topics...from news, to education, to politics, to entertainment. You're probably thinking, "Isn't that exactly like plugging a word into a...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy 9 Ways to Get Happy in the Next 30 Minutes by Real Simple Magazine http://bit.ly/qrqlK In the next half hour, tackle as many of the following suggestions as possible. Not only will these tasks themselves increase your happiness, but the mere fact that you've achieved some concrete goals will boost your mood. Jay Gosney 1. Raise your activity level to pump up your energy. If you're on the phone, stand up and pace. Walk to a coworker's office instead of sending an e-mail. Put more energy into your voice. Take a brisk 10-minute walk. Even better... 2. Take a walk outside. Research suggests that light stimulates brain chemicals that improve mood. For an extra boost, get your sunlight first thing in the morning. Find the best walking workout for your exercise style. 3. Reach out. Send an e-mail to a friend you haven't seen in a while, or reach out to someone new. Having close bonds with other peo...

Sunday anxiety is also known as "Sunday Syndrome". Sunday nights used to be the worst night of the week for me. If you have ever experienced Sunday anxiety, you know what I'm talking about. I would go to bed, but wouldn't fall asleep for hours (as I did many nights) stressing over the coming work week. Turning off the chatter in my head was part of the problem. I was thinking of every possible scenario that could take place at work, from anything that may have been left incomplete the prior week, to all the tasks that lie ahead. On top of that, there was the stress of wondering if all of my efforts from the previous week or two would pay off in sales for the coming week. So starting off the work week exhausted because of a restless Sunday night wasn't exactly productive. Weekends just seemed like second shift to me. It was that time to catch up on household chores, family obligations, and errands. Chris and I still would try to fit in date night every weekend but ...

Saw this LG commercial the other day and these words rang true for me. "Sometimes we don't even realize we're being boxed in. We forget how to be free. Until one day the barriers we always thought were there, suddenly weren't..." Like the bird in this commercial who suddenly realizes that he's had what it took all along to take flight, I too have removed the blinders and am ready to move onward and upward.

In Swahili Hakuna Matata means "There are no worries". Joyce Meyer says, "Worrying involves negative thoughts, but speaking positive things out of your mouth will interrupt those negative thought patterns. When we are full of the Word of God, we can speak it out of our mouths in faith. Faith is stronger than doubt, negativism and unbelief. Faith has a positive attitude that can overcome our past and lead us into a great future." Here's an uplifting little clip from the Disney movie "The Lion King".

I was warned that going through a major life change can bring about emotions similar to mourning. Then I remembered a video that I got a while back that puts a humorous spin on the 5 Stages of Grief. Watch and enjoy!

I'm well into my first week of freedom from the work world and I have to say that it is very nice so far. Taking this hiatus for positive reflection and to regroup is just what I needed. Having more time for my husband, family, my work outs, and to work on all those incomplete projects around the house have been keeping me quite busy. But, keeping busy has never been a problem for me because there is always something to do. Actually my challenge is being comfortable with slowing down. I'm currently reading a good book called "A Gift of Inner Peace". It's contents include, karma, kindness, letting go, a good life, faith, change, regret and resolve, and patience. It features inspirational quotes and practical meditations and speaks directly to me in my journey to calm the anxieties of the hectic life I have led over the years. The practice of meditation promotes a peaceful and healthy existence which is what I am striving for. You can never really escape all stress ...

Starting out on a new journey has always been exciting to me. As a lover of research and travel, it just comes natural to me to explore new places and ideas. The type of journey that I happen to be on right now is a journey of rediscovery. I have spent many years helping businesses promote themselves through multimedia advertising and it has been a wonderful experience. But now I'm wanting more. Needing more. I need to dig down further now and work below the surface a bit and discover my true calling. One of my sources right now assisting me on this journey is through Ken Davis Coaching . I'm in the initial stages and working on a "Values Assessment Exercise". This exercise will help me recognize and understand what value system I have chosen to live by. It will help me to discover what drives me and why I do or do not accomplish the things on my agenda. The purpose of doing the values assessment is to clarify and remind yourself and even discover what is important to...