Balance in these challenging times

Hi Everyone,

We definitely are living through some uncertain times here in the US and also in other parts of the world. Between the financial upheaval and the tumultuous election, it's hard to know which way to turn or what to believe.

A statistic on the news yesterday said 80% of the people surveyed were more stressed than they have ever been. I was surprised it wasn't higher with all the news flooding every brain cell of our body from every direction.

So what to do? We need to strike a balance or we'll all stress ourselves into oblivion. But where do we find the positive to be the counter point to all the negative news?

Here are a few things to think about:

1. Worry about the negative accomplishes nothing. 90% of what we worry about either never happens or is out of our control anyway so why do it?

2. Tough times offer the time we can grow and learn the most about ourselves and what we're truly capable of

3. In tough times are great opportunities if we look for them instead of overstressing with worry or burying our heads in the sand

Ok...even if all of the above is true, how do we cope, practically speaking?

1. Cut back on negative news from newspapers, blackberries, television, radio and the internet. They have hours to fill up each day and tend to rehash the same negative news over and over. Find out what's going on and move on.

2. Soak in the positive whether it's being around positive people, reading inspirational books, or listening to motivational CD's. The world has always had tough times but people have always found a way to survive and thrive. Find out how others did it.

3. Prepare yourself for the worse and then move on to regular life.

4. Brush up on your skills. The more you know, the more you're able to do, the better you feel about yourself and the more valuable you are to your employers, family and friends.

5. Renew your friendships by doing fun, inexpensive things. Nothing more valuable than being around friends and family who you love and who love you.

6. Focus on what you're grateful for even more now. Yes, there are plenty of things to be concerned about but there are still many more things to be grateful for. Before you go to sleep each night, think about all the things big and small that you're grateful for from that day. Redo the events in your mind that didn't work and imagine them as positive events.

8. Start each day with visualizing the day ahead going well. Sure beats picturing yourself tripping out the door, dropping everything and having everything go wrong.

More on this in the next newsletter where I'll be gathering sources for positive news...

Take care and be well!

Simplicity

Life has gotten very complicated lately for most of us. So much to do, so little time. Overwhelming at times if we’re not careful. Scary if we expose ourselves to the news too often. And the news these days is not easy to take.

Seems that it was easier years ago. Many of us have forgotten some of the simple pleasures as we run from one commitment to another, juggling jobs, children, work and more.

I got to see some of those simple pleasures in action this weekend. I was lucky enough to spend time in rural Maine at the house of my dear friend and due to the kindness of her husband. Close to her house is the annual MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) Country Fair. Going to the fair was like stepping back to a time when people valued the simplicity of a prize winning tomato or a horse. Where children with their families were oohing and aahing over the big pumpkins. Where a child has fun just kicking a rock. Where fresh air and home grown food, school bands and bicycle parades are enjoyed and shared. It was truly wonderful.

My simplicity was by choice. I chose to stay at a house that had only 4 television stations, no internet and no cell phone service. It was a nice respite from my normal plugged in life with the TV blaring, the laptop cranking and a phone ringing behind me. I got to choose to have the simple life for a few days unlike those people in Galveston, Texas who are still struggling without power, some without the house and possessions that had been so much a part of who they were. Or those in many other parts of the world who have so many other challenges to deal with. I got to choose…and I’m grateful.

It all comes down to the basics…fresh air, water, shelter, food, friends and family. If we have those, if have peace, the rest is just stuff. Stuff that we might be able to do without, that we can donate to those who need it more than us, stuff that sometimes is more clutter than benefit both mental and physical.

Embrace simplicity…whether you choose it or it chooses you. Its benefits are often more than we could have imagined.

I need a strategy!!!

I'm having one of those days...you know the kind I mean. When the littlest things seem to go awry and create aggravation. I know a lot of people on this list think I never get frustrated, never get bored, never have problems. After all, I'm the Strategies for Success author, the newsletter writer, the life coach to many.

I have problems just like everyone else - my laptop just starts capitalizing and highlighting without notice, my new toilet has decided it doesn't always want to flush, and the program I'm using to design someone's web site is having temper tantrums. The news is terrible today as it often is with financial failures, a bombing of an embassy and ridiculous political advertising when what we need are clear cut plans, true vision, answers to the problems that plague us, and optimism.

And for the life of me, I can't figure out an iPod!!! I can fly an airplane...I am truly a license private pilot and computer techie...but I cannot load an iPod!!!

Ok...enough ranting and complaining. Here's what I've learned that might help you too.

1. Vent if you must but keep the venting to a bare minimum. This newsletter is my one and only vent so I'm done venting since I'm now in solution mode.
2. Have a list of things handy that you know cheer you up. One of my simple favorites is to view the contented baby I found on YouTube...scroll to the bottom of the page if you haven't seen him yet.
3. Step away from what bothers you if you're able to. I'm stepping away from technology - the iPod from hell, its cousin the laptop with issues and the TV with all its gloom and doom. I'm going to go outside and find a place that makes me happy...a walk to a coffee shop perhaps, under the trees in a local park or one of my favorites, the bay.
4. Get together, call or email people that make you laugh or at least make you feel better.

I used to have my students fill out 3 index cards to keep for days like this. One lists the 10 things that instantly change how you feel, one lists 10 things that make you laugh out loud and one lists 10 things you're grateful for. Keep them handy for days when you most need them...and there seem to be plenty of days that call for strategies.

One final tip...spend at least as much time focusing on what's good in your life, good in the world and what great things are possible in the future as you do on what's going wrong.

Oh yeah...and if you know how to load an Ipod, would you fill me in...please!!