Monday, October 15, 2007
The Serenity Principle
And despite the fact that I love what I do, I didn't want to leave my holiday. I didn't want to come back to work. I didn't want to come back to this country. I wanted to stay there in the sunshine, watching the sun set over the ocean every night, and waking up to blue skies and high temperatures every day! Yes, I got the post-holiday blues! Nothing like the 'bad old days' when I wanted to throw myself under a train rather than come back though, so that's progress!
This time I know that it's not drastic measures that are needed, it is small things that need to be honoured - the things that are really important in life. They're not about what you do, or have, but about who you are. While on holiday, my friend told me that I was serene. Once I stopped laughing, I realised that sometimes, I am serene. Certainly in comparison with myself 10 years ago, I am serene. This serenity comes from a confidence, a freedom, a joy, a love for life...and a deep knowing that all is exactly as it should be.
Even when I think that it should be sitting on the rocks watching the sun go down! I don't need to be there doing that to honour that serenity principle...I just need to remember that serenity is important to me, and find ways of encouraging serenity.
Would you like to join me in honouring the serenity principle?
Love
Donna.x
Friday, September 28, 2007
The Worry Checklist
Once again, I got my '3 messages' over the last 24 hours - from a friend, from a forum, and then from a client. Worry was the message. And I realised that although I do it sometimes (when I really want to make myself miserable ;-)) I don't do it that often. Why not? Because I've trained myself out of the habit. How? By either doing something, or giving it to someone else to worry about!
So, here’s a ‘check list’ for when you are worrying:
1. What can I do about it right now? If there is something, do it. If nothing, go to number 2.
2. What can I do about it later? If there is something, plan to do it. If nothing, go to number 3.
3. What can I do about it tomorrow? If there is something, plan to do it. If nothing, go to number 4.
4. What can I do about it ever? If there is something, plan to do it. If nothing, go to number 5.
5. There is nothing I can do about this thing. Will I even give a shit in a year’s time? If not, stop worrying! If yes, go to number 6.
6. Call on spirit (God, Goddess, Angels, the Universe, your soul) for help. For example, I will say “Please help me to deal with this situation in the best way I can - calmly, cheerfully and easily.” I always feel better then...
Let me know if it works for you.
Love
Donna.x
PS Next week I am going ON HOLIDAY!!!! Very excited! So, it's unlikely that I'll be blogging. Do come back in a couple of weeks, I'll be back.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
What You Want is What You Need
Pause for a moment and think about that. What you want is what you need. Interesting concept, wot?
So, I could be asking to make sure I complete the things I want to do today, get the support I want, and the messages I want. Hmm...not only does this feel better (wow, you mean I get to do stuff I want to do?!), it also looks like a better request to me. Not just what I 'need', but what I want. Why wouldn't that be good? Well, it could only be bad if I didn't trust myself...
Do you trust that what you want is also what you need?
Love
Donna.x
PS I had a funny thought when I was typing that 'god/goddess/whatever' that you could be praying to 'whatever'. Next time you hear a teen-at-heart 'whatever'ing, remember it's a call to the infinite!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Message to Do Less
But this message of clearing - clutter, space and time is a really key one for me. I can easily fill every hour of the rest of my natural life! I could stay at my desk until midnight...and still have things 'to do', because there's always things 'to do'! The infinite to do list. So this week, I've clutter cleared, I've time cleared, and I'm space clearing. This space is in my working day, and it's space to finish for the day!
Trevor Hoskisson reminded me of a great time management tool - a list of 7 things you'll do that day. Do each one, and then when they are done, stop. I'm nearly done for today...and the space that has cleared by allowing myself to 'finish' my day is mesmerising!
What do you need to clear? Time? Space? Stuff?
And what messages are you being sent again, and again, and again? Is it time you listened?
Love
Donna.x
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Connecting to Genius
And other people give you access to a huge amount of information. I know very little about cars, but I know a woman who does. The reason this is much in my mind at the moment is because I am in the middle of doing some writing - some ebooks. And I have started to ask my newsletter readers for help to make sure that what I write is relevant and useful! Just one e-mail from a helpful reader can spark off 10 ideas. (and also remind me that what is obvious to me isn't always obvious to others!)
Since I have been asking for help with this project, I have recieved far more than I bargained for! Enthusiasm, encouragement, inspiration, ideas, interest, the list goes on.
What are you doing right now that the vast resource that is 'other people' could help you with?
Love
Donna.x
PS the question that I have been asking is "What gets in the way of your self-care?" If you'd like to help me by answering that question, please get in touch. Thanks a million.
Monday, September 24, 2007
What you Can Control
When you feed the 'darkness' in you by worrying, moaning, being pessimistic and negative, you make a choice. To feed the darkness. It might not be a conscious choice, but it's a choice nonetheless.
There is a different choice you can make. Feed the light by being inspired, by dreaming big, by getting excited about your life, by falling in love with you, being optimistic and positive. It feels GREAT!
What choice will you make today?
Love
Donna.x
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Bring Sunshine
J.M Barrie
Do you bring sunshine?
Love
Donna.x
Friday, September 21, 2007
Do It Anyway
"People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway."
Happy Friday!
Love
Donna.x
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Viva Espana!
Anyway, it's been harder than I thought to get back into working...especially as I am off on a week's hols in Tenerife in 13 days (not that I'm counting!). It hardly seems worth starting anything... I'm a great believer in following my energy, and yesterday and today my energy is more scattered than focused on work stuff. It seems I need time to get used to being home.
Amazing that you can feel so disoriented after just 3 and a half days away! In times past, I would have ignored the signals that I need to ease back in, and just forced myself to push past the barriers and FOCUS. Just the thought of that now bewilders me. Why would you ignore the signals of your body, mind, heart and spirit? The reason is simple - because we think we 'should' be superwomen/men.
Never mind that you don't feel up to it, get on with it! Something I think the Spanish do rather well is to live life at their own pace, rather than at 1000 miles an hour. Looking out of my window at a grey, cold day, I realise that they also do weather rather well. Sigh. However, I am getting used to being back...and I find myself (now I've allowed a slow 'ease' back in) looking forward to getting on with some stuff.
What signals are you ignoring from your body, mind, heart and spirit?
Love
Donna.x
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Dog's B*******
Dogs have no problem being present. They don’t worry about where the next meal is coming from, or what they’ve got to do tomorrow. They might hope that a walk is coming in the near future, but in the meantime they can just be happy with having a snooze while they wait. They are always pleased to see you, they totally accept you, even if you are still in your pyjamas at 2 in the afternoon and haven’t showered for 2 days. They don’t care if you are ‘successful’ or ‘wealthy’. As long as you love them, they love you right back.
Anyone else thinking we could learn from dogs?
Love
Donna.x
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
You Can Only Do What You're Doing
Walking the dog, and worrying about what else I should be doing. Writing this, and worrying about what else I should be doing. Meeting friends I love to bits, and worrying about what I haven't done! I miss out on so much because I'm mentally elsewhere. In 'should've-land'. Completely pointless! As Jon pointed out, I can only do what I'm doing. Right now, I can only be writing this - I can't walk the dog while I write. Or write something else. Or write a card. Or anything else!
With that realisation, I can relax. And just do what I am doing in this moment. I will enjoy walking the dog when I get to that. I will thoroughly enjoy meeting my friends when I am doing that. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy whatever I find myself doing in each moment. Hmm...sounds a bit like a recipe for a happy life!
Are you mentally in another time zone, or are you enjoying what you are doing right now? (you're reading this...so I hope you are making the effort to enjoy it too!!!!)
Love
Donna.x
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
So Little to do, So Much Time
Of my to do list of 56 items (give or take!), 1 has GOT to be done before Friday - travel insurance. 2 I really want to make sure are done - my cousin's birthday card and an article finished for next week. The rest? Well, the world won't collapse if I don't do the other 53 things. And this week would be a lot more fun if I didn't insist I 'have to'...in fact I think I'll make a game of it.
Here's the rules of the game: I'm allowed to go away for the weekend only having done those 3 things, and I get a bonus endorphin for each one I do WITHOUT any stress! So that's 53 extra endorphins ... on top of feeling good cos I'm relaxed and excited to be going away. Bonus.
What could you let go of 'having' to do this week? And how much more fun would life be if you relaxed and enjoyed the things that you do?
Love
Donna.x
Friday, September 07, 2007
Happy Friday!
Quite so. And if you need something to cheer you up, check this out http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/ - the blog of a mom of 6. Hilarious.
Have a great weekend!
Love
Donna.x
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Of Insomnia and Blood Loss
And as for an entire evening of tossing and turning...despite being shattered (I don't mind so much if I'm not actually tired in the first place!)...well let's just say I'm not at my best and leave it there. Just don't annoy me today! Thankfully my client sessions for the day are now out of the way with only a little incoherence from me...and now I just have my to do list to do!
Trouble is, I'm also a pint of blood lighter. As I wasn't able to concentrate, I went off to Give Blood...it seemed like a good idea at the time! Unfortunately, I'm now even less inclined to go through and tick off my tasks for today. Sigh. So, I am going to have a bowl of chips with sour cream and have a little lie down. Maybe I'll feel more like doing my to do's later?
When your energy isn't 100%, is your focus on 'getting things done anyway' or on raising your energy so you can 'do' with more presence, wit (and in my case, brain cells!)? If you knew that the most important thing in life is that you feel good, what might you allow yourself to do (or not do) today?
Love
Donna.x
PS Give Blood. Now. I told you earlier, don't irritate me today!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
You're Having a Laugh!
When was the last time you laughed aloud? If you can’t remember, it’s too long ago.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a way to get yourself laughing aloud. As soon as possible.
“the most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed” Nicholas Chamfort. Don’t waste this day.
Love and laughter!
Donna.x
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The Why's and Wherefore's of a chocolate habit
1. What are you getting from this bad habit? (aim for at least 5 answers. )
A nice taste
Comfort
Something to do with my hands
Something to do with my mouth
I avoid feeling when I’m hitting chocolate
An energy ‘fix’
2. What is it costing you? (not just money, peace of mind, relationship, health etc)
Energy (ironically!)
Health – it lies on my hips
Peace of mind, because I’m constantly arguing with myself about whether to have chocolate
I’m embarrassed about it, and I hide it from my family (oh, the shame!)
If I go anywhere, I have to have a chocolate ‘fix’ with me
3. What are you afraid would happen if you didn’t do this anymore?
I’d become a puritan (if you only knew how ridiculous that answer is!)
4. What would you miss most if you gave it up?
That first taste of lovely chocolate!
5. What would be better if you gave it up?
I wouldn’t be surrounded by empty wrappers, I’d not be heckling myself for doing it, my weight would probably stabilise, my energy would be higher and more consistent, I wouldn’t have to think about being embarrassed about it or taking it with me on holiday!!!
6. For each of the answers to question 1, think of 3 other ways you could get that? A nice taste -> cheese, apples, chicken and white wine soup
Comfort -> a blanket, a hug, cup a soup
Something to do with my hands -> doing a jigsaw, knit, play the piano
Something to do with my mouth -> sing, a dummy (!), boiled sweets
I avoid feeling when I’m hitting chocolate -> watch tv, work, play with the dog
An energy ‘fix’ -> nuts/fruit, exercise, sleep
7. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you want to ‘stop’ this bad habit? What would boost that score up the scale by 1? (and keep asking that question until it’s a 10!) If it’s less than a 7, chances are you will find it difficult, because you don’t want to!
6/10. What would boost it up to a 7 would be eating so much I was sick! (actually that would probably boost it to a 10) What would boost it to an 8 would be if the energy drop was more obvious. What would boost it to a 9 would be if I saw how bad it is for me. And a 10 would be if it made me poorly.
8. IF you don’t really want to stop, what would have to change for that to be ok? (EG for you to be happy with your ‘bad’ habit?)
For me to have less, and to be ok if I was staying with a friend and didn’t have any!
9. If you knew it would be easy to stop your bad habit (no cravings, no pain) would you?
Yes.
10. IF the answer to this question is yes, what would make it easier for you to stop?
Cut down bit by bit until I wouldn’t really notice if I stopped entirely. Noticing what need I'm trying to fill when I crave a piece of chocolate and checking if there's another way to do that before I go choca-barmy! Noticing the joy of the first bite...and when that joy stops, stopping eating!
Hmmm...I find that I can think of the piece of chocolate sitting in my drawer without craving it.
Interesting.
What 'bad' habits can you put through this wringer?
Love
Donna.x
Monday, September 03, 2007
Rediscover the Thrill of the Chase
Contemplate that for a minute.
The world we live in is a full on, instant, now, now, now kind of world. Any gratification must be instantaneous or we won't bother. Nothing is worth the effort. If it takes more than 5 minutes, why bother? Ok, it's a sweeping generalisation, and many of us don't really live like that. This card has stayed with me, I keep worrying at it, like a loose tooth.
Not only does the idea of 'great' over 'good' appeal to me, it also includes the thrill of the chase - the idea of working towards something fantastic, something wonderful, and reveling in the journey, as well as the achievement of the goal. You'll never take this part of your journey again - are you feeling the adrenalin rush of chasing the life you want? Are you enjoying the chase?
Or are you moaning that the life you want isn't here yet? Which one do you think would be the most fun?
Love
Donna.x
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
If Life Seems Jolly Rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
From 'Always look on the Bright side of life' by Monty Python
Have you laughed and smiled and danced and sung today?
Love
Donna.x
Monday, August 27, 2007
On Laziness
Mortimer Caplan
Sounds like wisdom to me!
Happy Bank Holiday!
Love
Donna.x
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Nurturing the Soul
When I go there, the cobwebs are (literally - it is ridiculously windy) blown away, my mind can empty, and the most amazing ideas come to me. It is incredibly inspirational to be there.
Today’s inspiration was about how I can help my clients, readers and friends more. I have been enjoying some audio recordings provided by Michele Lisenbury Christenson lately, and getting immense value from them. So, today I would love to get your input – if I were to do an audio just for you, what subject would you like it to be on? (and you never know, I might just do it…for free!) E-mail me, or leave a comment.
And where do you know that nurtures your soul? (not just the Seychelles! Pick somewhere you could go every day if you wanted to) Do you go there regularly?
Love
Donna.x
