Sharing Ten things I know about you. It's good to laugh

TEN (10) THINGS I KNOW ABOUT YOU... 

1) You are reading this. 

2) You are human.

3) You can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips.

4) You just attempted to do it.

6) You are laughing at yourself. 

7) You have a smile on your face and you skipped No. 5.

8) You just checked to see if there is a No. 5.

9) You laugh at this because you are a fun loving person & everyone does it too.

10) You are probably going to send this to see who else falls for it.  You have received this e-mail because I didn't want to be alone in the idiot category.

Have a great Day. Laugh, and then laugh a little more and sing "It's a Beautiful Morning" even when it seems like it's not.

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many."

 

Positive course and things you can do to motivate yourself

I am taking a positive thinking course this month at a local yoga centre.  Not that I am not positive but to see if I can learn new things to share with my clients.  The other reason is what I tell others, you do have to make the effort to remind your self that you have a choice on how you view things that happen in your life.  

It is based on 5 points of yoga:

1.  Proper Exercise

2.  Proper Breathing

3.  Proper Relaxation

4.  Proper Diet

5.  Positive thinking and mediation.

We also learned about the 3 Gunas.  This I knew a lot about, but not the way it related to yoga.  So, to share if you are not aware of them:

Sativa - This is where you want to be.  This is your life in balance.  This is happiness. This is peace and harmony.  This is the goal.

Rajas - This is when you are living your life with too much stress and anxiety.

Tamas - This is heavy, like depression. You feel lethargic and don't want to face the changes you need to make.  

The real trouble is that when you are in Rajas and Tamas, it takes a lot of action to get out of it.  So the best thing is to set a challenge to make your self do it for 30 days.  Then once you are started, the momentum begins to take over as you feel better and better.  So start immediately!

The first two classes where really interesting.  We were given "homework" to do after each class.  The first was to work on bringing meditation and affirmations into your daily life.  I do use affirmations when I am out walking the dog, but I didn't do enough mediation.  I decided to work it into a mediation/self hypnosis.  It really lifts your spirits, and rejuvenates your mind and body.  ~Try it and you will see for yourself.  

The next homework assignment was to try not to complain about others.  OMG, that is really amazing.  I was shocked how many times I complain about others during a normal day.  I am not talking about hate, just little annoyances about people I know and didn't know.  For example, on the bus ride to Kingston, I found myself annoyed by someone talking too loud, and someone who wanted to cut in front of us to get on the bus first.  It was little things like that I found were going through my mind during the day.  It all adds up by the end of the day to be a lot.  So when I catch myself doing it, I am now saying a positive affirmation to reduce the negative thoughts.

I already feel more blessed to have learned these two simple but effective techniques to pass on to others.

Recommended reading: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
by Marie Kondo

This book is a must have for any person struggling with clutter or letting go of their excessive possessions. Give it to your fellow "hoarders" for Christmas and free them and yourself from being surrounded by overcrowded space. It is for children as well as adults. Marie's talent for tidying will bring joy, energy and more space into your life.  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Available to purchase on Amazon and at all good bookstores.

Ideas for Christmas made easy

Okay, so Christmas is coming and the stress levels are too, so here are our tips on making it go smoothly.

• Make lists for what needs to be done (decorating, food shopping, gifts) and start early. 
• Use a calendar and get family involved. 
• Make your list on a notebook that you can use again next year and even list names of babysitters and taxi companies.  
• Make sure you prioritise what is most important to focus on first.  Is it ordering party food to be delivered or lining up the babysitters?
• Set a budget and stick to it.  
• Schedule in quiet / quality “me” time.
• Gift buying made easy.  Gift tokens are great gifts and easy to buy.  Or take advantage of Snappy Snaps special offer of 3 for the price of 2. Last year we took a memory stick and created a personalized travel bag for everyone.  Everyone loved it.  It looked great and didn't cost a fortune.
• Do it all on one day as it will focus the mind and it will be another thing off the list.  You will get the best prices on line.
• Christmas card list.  Make it a family event and make sure you have enough pens and stamps.  Or you can each do 5 cards a night until it is done.  To save money, hand deliver the cards and get some exercise as a bonus.
• Get family members to help and allocate tasks over the whole Christmas period.
• Don’t go to a Christmas event or party out of guilt.  Save your energy for the most important ones.
• Have a cut off point.  Then you can stop planning and start enjoying the spirit of Christmas.  If you work towards a goal you are more likely to stick to it.

Hypnotherapy to reduce anxiety

If you are feeling anxious, it will be the result of what you are thinking about the situation that is causing it.  The best way to reduce the effects the anxiety causes is to get focused on how to improve the situation.

We discuss two anxiety case studies below: work and illness.

It could be you are anxious about being made redundant, so instead of just living with it, ask yourself “what can I do to take control?”.  You can get your CV updated and start sending it out.  You can network on LinkedIn.  Try sites like Gumtree or Peopleperhour.  You don’t have to accept an offer if you go on the job interview but it could be a good experience to practice interview skills.  Be flexible about job positions.  Consider getting your foot in the door by taking a lower position and ask to be reviewed in 6 months.  Or retrain while you still have work in the evenings or weekends to add to your skills.

If you are constantly worried about ill health -  yours or that of a family member  -  again, ask yourself “what can I do to improve this situation?”.  If you have an illness like cancer, get active and do research on things you can do to help your body fight it.  My brother-in-law was given 4 months to live and surpassed it by almost 5 years by changing his lifestyle habits and following The Rainbow Diet.  He got active in his own cancer research.  There is a whole community online of people who have had the same experience.

You can also try new therapies, like acupuncture or cranialsacral therapy.  You can use hypnotherapy to change your thinking and get motivated to take action.  The time you waste “worrying” is draining and non-productive.

If you have pain, again, try other therapies and take exercise classes to keep your other muscles moving.

Remember most importantly, you do have a choice.  To worry or not to worry.  Enjoy your success.