Vicky Tiel: The Art of Happiness for 2012 Own Your Own Business! Better yet, if you can, do not involve your father or mother, best friend, and especially never your husband... as he can threaten you, fire you and even replace you with another woman. The Art of Happiness is the Art of Independence, only be responsible to yourself. There are two types of people (in general): those Fearless and those Fearful. As for finance, have a good business plan, save or find some money for the basics, and build your business one day at a time. If you are Fearful, forget about it and don't look back. I remember once in Paris having words with Nicole, the chef d'atelier of my couture boutique. I recently spoke about fashion at the Art and Initiatives Conference on the color red with Zandra Rhodes and Anna Sui. Fashion is the only industry in all the arts that requires four collections a year, four possibilities of failure, four times a year. None of us three were worse for wear. I will now fearlessly move on and reinvent myself.
Leslie Davenport: 7 Ways to Beat Mental Fatigue Let's get the bad news out of the way first: There's no quick fix for chronic fatigue. It is typically a level of depletion that results from draining your energy reserves over a period of time. It requires a commitment to refuel and restore your vitality. Physical, Mental/Emotional and Spiritual Fatigue Depletion can occur physically, emotionally/mentally and spiritually, so what kind of tired are you? While there are always exceptions, general guidelines are that if you wake with energy in the morning and find yourself dragging in the afternoon, the fatigue may have a physical origin. Whole Person Fatigue Fighters Body Balance Mom was right: Eat a good breakfast, pick up the apple instead of the candy bar, get to bed at a decent hour and when you're stressed remember, "This too shall pass." So what burdens are you are carrying mentally that keep you from being present in the moment to your family, to your friends, to yourself? Exorcism of Emotional Vampires Emotions are contagious.
Traci L. Stanard, CPT-NSCA, CWC: 'Balance Is for the Beam, Focus Is for Life' Have you ever been stuck in a rut, suffering from burnout or just plain blue? As we fall in and out of ruts throughout life we either attempt the irrational "man up" method or, worse, just wallow in self-pity. But what if there was a way for you to pull yourself out of your ruts, drug-free and with your life goals in mind? I am not an advocate of society's endless search for "balance." At 14 years old, I was ready to retire from the sport. "Quit? I was pissed. I slowly realized that I was talented and needed to go with my strength. Today I use the same process I used then to pull myself out of the "hole" idea of quitting. This was the first stage of my mission strategy -- helping me clarify a path to Barcelona. 1. Mine was the 1992 US Olympic Gymnastics Team. 2. I not only wrote it down, I posted Barcelona paraphernalia everywhere. 3. I didn't do this alone. In summary, your personal mission statement is the basis of the Alchemist's Story and the secret of "The Secret."
Margaret Paul, Ph.D.: Do You Have Trouble Making Decisions? Does fear of making a mistake immobilize you in your decision-making process? Do you ever have trouble making decisions? Which carpet to buy for your floor. Which sofa to choose. Making decisions can be difficult, but we make it especially hard when we try to decide from our mind, rather than from our inner experience. I had a session recently with Barbara, who works as a paralegal. I asked her where she made her decisions from -- her mind or her inner experience. "Well," I told her, "when I have a decision to make, like which tile to pick for the floor, I open myself to my deeper experience. "I tune into my body and feel my inner experience. For me, making decisions is a creative process. People often get stuck in not knowing what their life purpose is -- what work would bring them joy.
Dr. Jim Taylor: 5 Building Blocks of Positive Life Change In my last post, I described how difficult changing your life can be and the four obstacles that you must overcome to achieve meaningful and long-lasting change. Yes, change is difficult, despite the "quick and without any effort" claims of motivational speakers and self-help books. The reality is that nothing of value in life, including life change, is easy or fast. But even before you can begin the process of change (to be discussed in my next post), there are five building blocks that you must put into place as the foundation of positive life change. Epiphany. Emotions. Courage. Change also requires risk and risk is scary because you may fail. Courage means the willingness to acknowledge aspects of yourself that you may not know about or may not like, and to experience "bad" emotions you may feel as you learn about yourself. Change is much like jumping into cold water. Leap of Faith. Determination. For more by Dr. For more on success and motivation, click here.
Judith Hammerman: Embracing Discomfort -- What it means to Be Fearless Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, love more, and all good things will be yours. ~ Swedish Proverb At some point over the last few years, I started thinking about fear. This isn't the scary movie, dark and rainy knock at the door fear. This is the fear that slowly stirs you out of bed in the middle of the night, the fear that speaks quietly and reminds you of the most essential parts of you. It's the fear that holds you back from being everything you ever dreamed you could be in this lifetime, your best and highest self in work, in love and in life. I started thinking about this kind of fear during a time where I'd had a few personal and professional wins and just as many set backs. So when AOL, my employer, bought Huffington Post this past January and Arianna Huffington gave out her book internally, On Becoming Fearless, I took it as a sign that perhaps I was supposed to start getting a little more vocal on living fearless.
The Neuroscience Of Optimism - The Huffington Post By Christoph W. Kon (Click here for the original article) Ask a bride before walking down the aisle “How likely are you to get divorced?” and most will respond “Not a chance!” Tell her that the average divorce rate is close to 50 percent, and ask again. Psychologists have documented human optimism for decades. To answer these questions we have investigated optimism by using a recent, burgeoning approach in neuroscience: Describing neural activity related to complex behavior with the simple concept of “prediction errors.” The concept of prediction errors was initially put forward in research on artificial intelligence. How have neuroscientists employed the idea of prediction errors to study brain activity? Interestingly, similar patterns of brain activity seem to be at play when participants gamble for money and when they engage in complex social interactions. How can prediction errors help us to understand optimism? Still, a word of caution to avoid being too optimistic is warranted.
How A List Can Change Your Life Susan Cross | The Daily Muse Just after I turned 36, I had a mid-life crisis. I realized that I was closer to 40 than 30, and I still hadn't done many of the things I'd dreamed of doing with my life. I had graduated from college, gotten married, and had three children in five years, and being a mom -- scratch that, an excellent mom -- was (and still is) my main priority. So instead of buying a sports car (too cliche), I made a list of 40 life goals -- things I had always wanted to do, but just hadn't. Some of the things on my list were big, some were small, and some seemed kind of crazy, even to me. And that typed-up piece of paper in 12-point Times New Roman transformed my goals from fantasy to reality. I finally gave myself the green light to follow my dreams. 1. If your house isn't quiet, go somewhere else (or at least invest in some earplugs). Take a piece of paper and write down the following: "I really wish I had _____." 2. Some of the things you write down might seem crazy. 3. 4.
Motivation: The Drive to Change - The Huffington Post This same concept of motivation applies to making changes in your life. The reality is that change is difficult because, in all likelihood, you have been the way you currently are for a long time and your habits are deeply ingrained. Your ability to find and maintain your motivation for meaningful and long-lasting change will ultimately determine whether you're able to break long-standing habits and patterns. Defining Motivation Let's first consider what motivation is in very practical terms. An internal or external drive that prompts a person to actionThe ability to initiate and persist toward a chosen objectivePutting 100 percent of your time, effort, energy and focus into your goal attainmentBeing able to pursue change in the face of obstacles, boredom, fatigue, stress and the desire to do other thingsThe determination to resist ingrained and unhealthy patterns and habitsDoing everything you can to make the changes you want in your life Impact of Motivation Motivation Matrix Effort vs.
Mike Robbins: 5 Ways to Tame Your Inner Critic I'm sometimes amazed and embarrassed by how critical I can be -- both of other people and of myself. Even though I both teach and practice the power of appreciation (as well as acceptance, compassion and more) when I find myself feeling scared, threatened or insecure (which happens more often than I'd like it to), I notice that I can be quite judgmental. Sadly, as I've learned throughout my life, being critical and judgmental never works, feels good or leads me to what I truly want in my relationships and in my life. Can you relate to this? I've recently been challenged by a few situations and relationships that have triggered an intense critical response -- both towards myself and some of the people around me. The power of this statement resonated with me deeply when I heard it and continues to have an impact on me to this day. Here are some things you can do and remember in this regard: 1) Give people the benefit of the doubt. 2) Don't take things personally. 3) Look for the good.