Stress Less

Stress can happen because you are trying to get a lot of things done – it’s natural.
If you are constantly under stress, then you may need a few mechanisms for coping with it. 

Start here – breathe in and out, deep breaths,
         take a minute and make a tea,
         stop and write down what needs to be done vs what you want to get done;

Get sleep, take a nap – don’t sacrifice sleep so that you can get everything done – it doesn’t work and can  lead to lack of energy, mood-swings and more ugly symptoms that keep you from being you!

When you get up from your nap - not guilt-ridden, you deserve it - look at your list and pick one thing to get done today.  Only one - and do it all the way, so that you can draw a nice line through it and move on tomorrow.  Yeah ME!

Remember, tomorrow is always there, and there will always be something on your to-do list for it.
Imagine what you will do when you run out of things on your to-do list?

New Frontiers

Time changes and we need to get ourselves going in new directions. Whether it is the passing of time or changing technology, there are always new frontiers ahead of us. Like the pioneers who settled the West, (and sometimes our adventures may seem just as ominous), we have faith in the fact that we can accomplish what we put our minds to, and also have the creativity and strength to overcome the obstacles that are thrown in our way.


We have a new frontier about to hit our family. Both of our children (now young men) are moving onto new stages in their lives. One going onto University most likely out of town and perhaps even out of the country, and the other, going to high school and leaving behind a few of his primary school friends, preparing to make a multitude of new friends.

It has been interesting just getting ready for the adventure coming our way – choosing schools, looking at and investigating career options, aligning courses to those options while still planning to enjoy as much as possible of what life has to offer.

It is time that mom and dad settle back and let someone else take the reins, providing guidance (like a GPS or a compass) and the road home whenever it is needed – for comfort and inspiration.

What new frontiers are you facing and how are you preparing to handle them?

The Exam

My son is studying for exams. It is his last year of high school so he is working extra hard to maintain his marks from the term through his exam. He has been diligent in creating and following a study plan. He gets to one specific course where the exam is the next day. He keeps drawing a blank when I quiz him. He is getting frustrated. I can see it. I gently ask him to take a break. Take an hour and play some XBox. Reluctantly he did so.

I had to go out on a few errands. After about an hour, he called me to tell me I was a genius – imagine that! Taking a break worked and as he went through his prep quizzes, he was answering everything perfectly.


Me – a genius! Who knew?

Got any other study or study-block tips to share? Please do so, help advance the future.

4 Rules to Live By

My husband is a wise man. He has experienced a lot in the world. I value his input into my life and the lives of our children. Here are his four rules....of which I, once in a while, need reminder.

Believe in Yourself

Dream

Try

Do Good

What are your rules to live by?

To learn more about my husband, click on his image!

The Essence of Try

Michelangelo said ' I am still learning'.

All through his life he was learning.

Repetition can improve performance or actually develop memory and process. Repetition can also be Used to find another way of doing things, trying new methods, routes or routines. Think of all the inventors in the world...their job is to try. Over and over again...until they get the result they want. And sometimes this entails mistakes, lessons and even frustration. But what would have happened if Thomas Edison did not try over and over again to create the lightbulb? Would we still be in the dark? Or would someone else have stepped up to do so?
Try is what we all do. Try to find our way on our journey through life...try to live a good life...try to be healthy...try to raise out kids while still raising ourselves...try to care for others...try to lift up our communities. We try.

And along the try...we learn. We learn from mistakes. We learn the lessons of try..perhaps finding new answers or results, shortcuts or different perspectives. Try comes from the heart. Our heart makes us look for more, to repeat our efforts and succeed, learning from the past to create a new future. We are always trying.

We seem to fall then into pattern of Michelangelo, who said 'I am always learning'. By being open to try, we always learn.

Keep your head and heart steady and try.

Happiness

Do you wonder what happiness is?

Do you feel it?

See it?

Spend it and it gets refilled?

How do you find it?
Can you find it or are you focused on creating it for yourself?


Can happiness go away and return even better? Like a transformation?


Is happiness a state of mind? Or a state of being? Or can it be both?


The cool thing about happiness is that it is yours. You control it!
You can make it what you want it to be.
You can create it.
You can live it.
You can be it.
You can give it.


So like the song says...don't worry....be happy!