But first!  Let’s take a look at what some brilliant folks have said about laughter, positivity and happiness.

• This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor …Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably.  The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi

• Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

• Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

• Only by our positive thinking, by our bringing the positive qualities of others to the fore, will this world be able to make progress. ~ Sri Chinmoy

Habits to Cultivate Lightness

• When life throws you a rotten curve, smile; and then hunch your shoulders up to your head, extend both arms in front of you with your palms up and say, “Oh well!” There are few problems that have truly monumental consequences.

• Take a closer look at an unfortunate situation and remember that you attracted this situation for a very good reason.  Ask yourself, “What am I learning here?”

• Remember to just do your best everyday and be content about it.

• Choose friends who are positive yet realistic about life. Friends who are positive about life, who laugh with you and at themselves, have self-confidence. They bring joy and energy into your life. Welcome more of them in!
  

• Start your day with a laugh! Humour is the medicine of life. It keeps us physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. There is nothing more refreshing and tension-breaking than a good, hearty laugh. Request Lorraine’s Smiles & Chuckles at lorrainejeffrey@xplornet.ca .  They will come into your email inbox and put a smile on your face.
  

Some of these Funnies have Been Around

Some of these silly little funnies have been around for awhile, but they are great to laugh at again and alleviate the stress of today’s frantic moments! I believe the origin of many of these is from “30 Ways to Handle Stress”. Others, I just made up!

1. Use your MasterCard to pay off your Visa. [Well, don’t really do it but the thought is a lot of fun!]
2. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on. [Doesn’t the thought of this bring out the kid in you!]
3. Put your little kid’s socks over your ears and when they laugh ask, “What’s so funny!” They will laugh again!
4. Forget your diet and send yourself a Candygram.
5. Tell your next Client, “I’m going to climb Mt. Everest.  Want to join me?”  When they say, “Yes”, send them a picture of your horse named Everest.  [Got it??!]
6. Plant garlic upside down and see how long it takes to break through the soil!
7. Dance naked in front of your pets. [It might scare them but what the heck, eh?]
8. Put your toddler’s clothes on backwards and send him off to pre-school as if nothing was wrong.
9. Retaliate against the government by filling out your tax form in Roman Numerals.
10. Tattoo “Out-to-Lunch” on your forehead.
11. Tape pictures of your boss on watermelons and launch them from high places. (Think of the stress release here!)
12. Leaf through National Geographic and draw underwear on all the natives.
13. Go shopping; buy everything; put the new clothes on, parade in front of the mirror to see how truly gorgeous/handsome you are; return them the next day.
14. Drive to work in reverse. [It seems they already do this in some countries.  Tee hee.]
15. Relax by mentally reflecting on your favorite episode of “The Big Bang Theory” during that all important finance meeting.
16. Turn a document upside down.  Type in secret messages, click these messages to turn the colour font from back to white and ask your work colleagues to find the secret messages!
17. Bill your doctor for the time spent in their waiting room.
18. Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they’re in jail.
19. Make up a language and ask people for directions. (Can you picture Robin Williams doing this?)
20. Tell your partner to come and find you in five minutes.  Sit in a large laundry basket and when they find you, declare, “Well, Honey, I’m a basket case today!”  ha ha

Laughter is an instant vacation.
(Tweet This)
~Milton Berle~

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

Communication is the single most important factor for continued personal success. If we love someone, but don’t tell them or show them, does it mean anything to them? If children are emotionally shut down in their early lives, they’ll be far less likely to trust you with what’s going on in their lives as teenagers.

By becoming better communicators, we wash the dust of earth from our eyes. We see life in a fresh and insightful way. People are like diamonds. If we communicate well, we polish the diamond and relationships begin to sparkle. Open and continuous communication adds spring to each step, and allows us to bounce out of bed every morning with a smile on our face. It allows us to love ourselves, have confidence in ourselves, and to care about others.

Have you noticed that men and women can communicate differently? Younger men will hug each other and use the ‘love’ word often whereas older men may not bond on an emotional level until later in life. Sometimes the older men are happy just being in the same room together doing “guy stuff” like watching a hockey game. A majority of women, on the other hand, are more apt to communicate by sharing feelings. Women in the minority are born left brain dominant which means that they, too, will have difficulty sharing their feelings with hugs and loving words. Generally speaking, men prefer talking head-to-head, whereas women prefer talking heart-to-heart. For relationships to sparkle, both men and women need to learn the skills of head-to-head and heart to heart communication.

Notice that how you feel might be different from what you think. Suppressing feeling can lead to anguish and heartbreak. The key is to communicate thoughts and learn how to express feelings without hurting the other person.

Young children are role models for adults when it comes to communication. They have no inhibitions and express their feelings quite readily. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are always transmitting messages through our words and actions, or lack of them. In order to successfully build our relationships in our marriages, families, and between friends and colleagues, we must learn to correctly and effectively communicate.

Take time to talk:

• Make time each day to talk eye-to-eye with your loved ones with no interferences. Ask each other how the day went. Details are head-to-head communication; asking about feelings brings out heart-to-heart communication. Celebrate even the smallest successes. Help each other overcome roadblocks not by giving unsolicited advice but by asking questions to help the other person develop their own solutions.

• Teach each other how to communicate from the heart. Here is a hugely successful technique which everyone in the family should learn and practice until responsible heart to heart communication becomes as natural as brushing teeth!  When someone you love speaks to you in a hurtful or disrespectful manner, you are to tap your heart twice.  This signals to the Speaker that they are to restate their point in a positive (not judgmental/hurtful/disrespectful) manner.

• A predictably powerful way to express your love for someone is to ask them, “How can I love you more?” It doesn’t matter if they respond or not. The mere fact that you have asked the question indicates to them that you do care about them. In the workplace, you could ask your employees, “How can I better support you?”

• Schedule weekly “talk-walks” in the country or in a peaceful park. This allows your souls to be bonded and grounded to the earth at the same time.

• Couples with children will benefit from time spent away from the children. Family relationships are stronger if the parents are happy as a couple. Schedule mini-honeymoons. Make dates. Breaks from children are equally important for single parents.

• If you live alone, schedule in time to talk to those you care about.

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

“Our world has changed so dramatically. It’s tough to cope with so many changes. Our bodies can wear out from running all the time. Our immune system suffers, and then our health. There are numerous ways to re-kindle our physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological energies. Seven of them are listed here:”

It is also the most compassionate diet (animals are our friends, not our food, and they deserve to live too). The second issue is that our food is no longer as nutritious as it should be. Thank God for organic and non-GMO foods.  The third issue is that obesity levels are skyrocketing around the globe with addictions to sweets and junk food. In our home, when we started to pay attention to the ingredients on packaged foods, we were shocked!  Judging by the dramatic climb in the number of vegetarian/vegans around the world, intelligent folks are changing to a simple, plant-based (organic if you can) and fresh food diet.

#3 Find the Right Health Care Practitioner.

In my pursuit of pro-active assistance, I stumbled across an article in the New England Journal of Medicine which stated that more people seek medical assistance from non-traditional sources than from M.D.’s. By “non-traditional” they referred to naturopaths, herbalists, shiatsu experts, and so on. In summary, there is a need for both traditional and non-traditional medical assistance today. Take control of your life. If you aren’t feeling well, find out why and try to fix it. For the future, I vote for an integrated system combining both western and eastern medicine.

#4 Find a Dream Space.

In a hustle and bustle world, our bodies need lots of time to cool down. Sit or lie down and think about your life; your plans. Keep a journal. Write things down every day. This process heals wounds, releases anger, and helps keep us focused on our personal goals. Where can you find your dream space? Is there a special place in your home where you can be alone? Use your dream space every day.

Those who meditate swear by it. I am one of those who meditates religiously every day and I swear by it! It is my fuel. It gives me the wisdom I need to run my life. It rejuvenates. You may also use relaxation recordings to tune out the world. For example, I highly recommend Steven Halpern’s music and guided visualizations. Yoga does a great job as well.

#7 Take Energy Breaks!

Yes! Energy breaks should be taken before work, in mid-morning, at lunch, in mid-afternoon, on the way home or between different projects, before difficult meetings, at home during the evening, and on weekends. As you inject these fun energy breaks into your days, you’ll notice a difference in your days; you’ll notice a difference in your energy level, productivity, and general demeanor.

Take time to breathe joy into your life!  You deserve it…
Click here to Tweet

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

“There are two kinds of stress: healthy and unhealthy. Healthy stress is vital to our success; it stimulates our desire to achieve. Unhealthy stress, on the other hand, is an energy drainer; and learning to identify and manage it is crucial to establishing balance in our lives”.

Stress is a known factor in 70% of all diseases. Unmanaged stress not only destroys your productivity and creativity; it also seriously affects your health. Take an objective inventory of your life and put together a personal, prioritized plan for both your career and personal life, and then……

Allocate time for each of your plans. Once you’ve got your plan together and allocated time for everything, you’ll find yourself becoming better balanced.

Let me end by sharing this poem:

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates at:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

Children dream BIGGG dreams. Nothing clouds their vision. And nothing seems impossible. Adults, on the other hand, often limit their potential by dismissing their dreams before they ever get off the ground; a habit picked up from parents/teachers/friends and so on, as well as from experiencing failure. Most people have forgotten how truly great they are. If we believe that we are all “God” inside, or put another way, that we are all geniuses (full of potential), then we can achieve whatever we want to achieve.  Make sense?

Before we can set realistic and exciting goals, let’s shut down the internal editor and dream BIGGG.

Via The Law of Attraction, we attract obstacles into our lives to learn from them. However, if we are attracting too many obstacles, our belief system in the subconscious mind might be that we love chaos!  Some folks thrive on drama because without it, their lives might get boring.  As an Executive and Life Coach, I see this happening around me all the time.  Interesting, isn’t it?

 Well, when it comes to roadblocks my message is this:

My own life has been filled with roadblocks, many with spikes in the road! But I’ve kept my enthusiasm with one simple philosophy:

The road to success is always under construction!

Lessons in life under these rocks:

1.  If something negative from your childhood is weighing your life down, get rid of it. For help, you can turn to support groups, personal counseling or powerful and fast modalities such as CLI’s Power Coaching® with Mind-Kinetics®.

2.  Learn to forgive. When we hold a grudge, we are in conflict. We know no inner peace. Let it go. Lowering our expectations of others makes it more difficult to be hurt.

3.  As parents, we need to be aware of the many needs of a child so that we don’t create lifelong scars. History has proven that children take on our patterns/beliefs, good or bad.  A great gift hubby John and I have given our daughter is the gift of addressing our own negative thoughts and getting rid of them.  She then has less of a chance of taking on our negative patterns.

4.  We can’t afford to let the values or insecurities of our parents or spouses hold us back from achieving our dreams.

5.  Education is a precious asset. There are many kinds of education and many ways to acquire it. We can also become serious students of life. For example, learning The Universal Laws of Human Behaviour is a paramount.  Bruce McArthur teaches us these laws in his book, “Your Life”.

6.  If we find ourselves in a situation of conflict, it’s essential that we resolve it quickly. Conflicts create unhealthy stress which diminishes our ability to perform at our best.

7.  We need an equal balance between work and home life to stay healthy. All work and no play can create havoc in our lives. Our personal life should be priority number one. After all, it’s much easier to replace a job than it is to replace a loving family and good friends.

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

Building the Foundation

Are your daily responsibilities draining your energy or zipping you up? Do you have too many plans or too few? Do you have time to do most of the things you want to do, or do you need to make that giant leap toward taking control? Whether you’re a student, homemaker, job-seeker, or one of the many over-worked employed, the same question applies: How do we give and take in the spectrum of needs for family, rejuvenating friendships, intellectual and physical stimulation, career, personal development, adequate rest, time for ourselves, and lots of fun all at the same time?

The answer lies in balancing the various needs and responsibilities in your life according to your own personalized, prioritized plan. That means taking charge. By taking control you’ll meet your intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs on a day-to-day basis in a low-stress, healthy way.

Webster’s dictionary defines balance a little more literally. It is: “a state of equilibrium, and/or the process by which something is brought into or held in equilibrium.” Imagine an old-fashioned weigh scale for a moment; the scale itself representing the measuring medium, and the items you load on each side the various aspects of your life. Weigh down the one side with career; study, if you’re a student; time spent in job search if you’re making a leap from school to the work place, and so on. Weigh down the other side with all the other responsibilities and activities in your life. How can you balance career and personal life so that one not only complements, but actually releases tension in, and rejuvenates the other?

In order to achieve equilibrium in our lives two things are necessary:

First: Create a plan for your life that reflects your personal values and beliefs.

Take a good, hard look at your life. Does your daily lifestyle reflect your personal goals, values, and beliefs? If you were to write your own ticket to lasting happiness, what would you want most? A job? A more rewarding job? A contented family life? What do you want?

As you work your way through, set some one, five, and ten year goals for yourself. Address the people and activities you value most in your plan and be sure your goals inspire you! A personal plan defines your purpose and charts your direction into the future. Following its course will reward you with a sense of personal accomplishment, self-esteem, inner peace, lasting happiness, and, of course, continual stimulation.

Secondly: achieving balance requires that:

You make adequate time for each of the people and activities that are important to your well-being. Weighing down the scale with work to the exclusion of family, friends, hobbies, and exercise is poor boredom, or complete burn out. Ironically, devoting all your energy to one task can be just as chaotic as frantically trying to fit everything into your schedule without a plan. Making adequate time for the people and commitments that you value is an act of will; wishing you had the time isn’t going to get you there. It means planning with whom and on what you’ll be focusing your energy at any given time (a daily planner really helps), and then sticking to that.