Cheering myself up with strategies...

I've had a challenging few weeks, well few months actually.  I've had a hospital visit, toxic house, 4 iPhones, 4 non working printers.  I switched my business around this year from trying to get my Strategies for Success program into high schools across the country which I'd been working on for 6 years to offering seminars.  Same material as in my success program but now for businesses and for my own public seminars.  New marketing, new challenges. 

Tonight was supposed to be the holiday version of my Power of Positivity seminar - full of strategies that everyone needs and claims they want.  Despite my first venture into radio advertising, only 6 people signed up.  Not sure what this all means - are people not interested in being positive?  Is it the time of year?  Are they interested in my seminars at all?  I'll have to dig deeply to find that answer.

Well wasn't that fun to read!  Why did I share this?  Because everyone - except for the people who know me really well - think I'm positive all the time.  I'm not.  I slump just like everyone else.  I occasionally get overcome by negativity - shorter days, cold weather, negative election, all the challenges I listed above.  It's probably why I started learning all of these strategies so long ago - to not only figure myself out but to find solutions to the times when life feels a bit overwhelming.

But that's the good news.  There are strategies...and they work.  I know.  I used about 10 of them the past few days.  And I feel remarkably better.  Like what? I work from home.  Today I took my work out - to Panera.  There I met a mom who was dealing with her son who had a traumatic brain injury from a car accident.  My problems were nothing in comparison to what they were dealing with.  I was able to shift the focus from me to helping her in some small way - by listening.  Strategy #1 - help someone, anyone.

From there I went to the location of my seminar just in case anyone showed up.  I planned to give free CD's from my CD of the Month collection to anyone who made the effort to show up.  Two women did.  I found them in the restaurant/bar and spent about 40 minutes getting to know them.  Strategy #2 - get out and meet some new people.



My cute new slippers and a poinsettia

I shopped a little - for things I needed.  But I made sure to get something small and inexpensive that would make me happy.  Actually I got two things - a poinsettia and some much needed slippers.  Strategy #3 - know what makes you happy.

I breathed, I focused on what I was grateful for, I watched a Christmas special that got me in a joyous mood.  Bottom line is to know what works for you.  It's ok to feel the sadness, overwhelm, or whatever negative emotion you have.  Tell yourself it's ok for feel it for a bit but that you'll be replacing it with things that make you happy later on.  It's what I did and I'm a different person than I was when I woke up this morning. 

Would you like to learn more strategies?  To date I have two completed audio CD's (or downloadable mp3's) filled with ideas to help improve your life.  One is on goal setting and other is full of my positivity tips.  Check them out at:  http://www.MarianneDouglas.com/audio.htm   Or come to one of my seminars.  I'm not giving up...

Happy days!

Strategies for a lovely Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is upon us and I wanted to share with you some of my favorite tips for sailing through it with as little stress as possible.

As much as we love our families, time spent together in the holiday rush can have its share of stressful problems.  We know our relatives so well. They know what buttons to push to make us crazy, just as we know theirs.  So how best to get through the day?

1. Remember not to be looking for reasons to be offended.  Often a comment made off the cuff hits a little too close to home.  Most likely the person was not looking to offend us.  Even if they were, taking offense raises our blood pressure and leaves them untouched.  Unless we choose to escalate the whole situation.  Is that really how we want to remember the holiday?

2. Focus on what's good about the day, what you're grateful for.  Stress and negativity cannot live in your brain at the same time as gratitude.  Anytime something begins to make you unhappy, find
something, anything that you're grateful for.  And with all that happened with Superstorm Sandy
this past month, so many of us have much to be grateful for.  Remember my favorite Wayne Dyer
quote, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."  Works with cranky relatives too!

3. We humans tend to imagine things either much worse or much better than they actually turn out
to be. Decide in advance it's going to be fine regard less of what it may have been like in previous years. 

Whatever your Thanksgiving is like, remember it's only a day or maybe even a few hours.  We can get through it...if we do our part to bring the best of us to the table...   If all else fails, just breathe and wait it out.  The day will be over before you know it!

Marianne

PS... If you'd like a few more strategies to get through the holidays, join me at my next Power of Positivity seminar Wednesday November 28 at 6 pm at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick.  Go to www.SecretsofSuccess101.com for details and to register.