Could You Spare 15 Minutes To Improve Your Life?

Could You Spare 15 Minutes To Improve Your Life?

by | Aug 1, 2019 | Blog

The Value Of Keeping A Journal

Daily journaling — either on paper or a computer screen — has the power to make a real difference in ones life. Writing down your thoughts can be a powerful tool for solving problems, relieving stress and locking in greater success and happiness. Though I know the idea of adding one more thing to your daily routine feels daunting, this is one task everyone owes to themselves to seriously commit to. The benefits are endless, just read on to see why.

Journaling….

  • Accelerates Abilities To Manifest Our Goals-consider building a house without a blueprint. Once words and images hit paper, thoughts or ideas will crystallize. We not only use pen to paper to strategize action steps required to create what we want but it also signals to our brains that this is important becoming forged into our subconscious mind. Your reticular activating system (RAS) then flags relevant opportunities and tools to achieve those goals (NLP Institute of California 2017 study).
  • Enhances Our Emotional Intelligence-emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and manage our emotions, and that of others.Your journal has the potential to be both a “therapist” and a dear friend who listens without judging or interrupting and is open 24 hours a day. By serving as an outlet to process emotions, writing our thoughts and feelings down allows for a release and greater self-awareness. In turn we become more understanding of the range of emotions humans experience, encouraging us to be more empathetic with others.
  • Sparks Creativity and Inspiration-your journal is a place to write down anything  that comes to mind. The crazier the idea, the better. Let your imagination wander to the farthest parts of your mind. The more you practice experimenting with  possibilities and opportunities, the more inspiration you will find.
  • Solve problems more effectively-typically we problem solve from a left-brained, analytical perspective. But sometimes the answer can only be found by engaging right-brained creativity and intuition. Writing unlocks these other capabilities, and  affords the opportunity for unexpected solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.
  • Boosts Memory and Comprehension-the composition of thoughts and ideas causes the mind to compose or re-compose these ideas while journaling. In other words, when your hand engages in writing, your brain engages in cognitive recall.  Your learning ability is strengthened and your memory improved.
  • Promotes healing-expressive writing has been linked to improved immune function, lower anxiety and stress levels, and better sleep. Dr. James Pennebaker, author of Writing to Heal explains “when we translate an experience into language we essentially make the experience graspable.” And in doing so, we free ourselves from the web of confusion that so often keeps us emotionally and psychologically bound to any trauma, drama, disappointment, regret, or long-held belief.
  • Supports Self Confidence-journaling about positive experiences allows your brain to relive it. And reaffirms your abilities when the ugly head of self-doubt appears. Keeping a journal becomes a story upon which you can reflect; it is not only a place to dump our inner thoughts and feelings but a catalog of personal achievements,  positive experiences, triumphs over negative experiences, and a testament to how far you’ve come.
  • Stimulates Self Discipline, Productivity, & Accountability-committing to daily journal writing is an act of discipline. Like with everything else, consistency and repetition breeds success. And good habits formed in one area of our lives have a tendency to have a ripple effect on others. Additionally, as we script our journey, we can find accountability and likely heighten our levels of productivity. Knowing that at the end of the day (or beginning) you will be sitting down to reflect on thoughts, desires, and challenges will assuredly serve as a daily reminder and motivator to get busy living life with greater purpose.  

And the benefits of journal writing don’t stop there. For me, I also found that writing in a journal daily has vastly improved my relationships both within my personal and professional life. By writing  down my thoughts and experiences as well as progress towards desired outcomes I simply just have become that much more present and engaged in my life. Discover for yourself the benefits of journal writing, it doesn’t have to be a big orchestrated event, start today jotting down what went well and what didn’t. From there feelings and emotions will be expressed and goals revealed. Love to hear your discoveries!

Wishing You Always The Best Of Success

-Holly-

 

 

Making Big Strides With Small Steps

Making Big Strides With Small Steps

by | Feb 2, 2019 | Blog

Change is a Process…Not an Event

The advent of the new year has come and gone and understandably for many, the allure of creating positive change within our lives begins to wane. Suddenly, the drive to seek more success and fulfillment in our careers, relationships, health, and well-being begins to diminish. Of course, we still want more for ourselves, personally and professionally, it’s just that the effort is hard to sustain, life gets in the way, and results don’t typically occur quick enough, all of which detracts from the once renewed sense of energy we had back in January.  But hears the good news, that is ok because change is a process and not an event. Having the things we want in and for our lives will not happen overnight, research proves it is within the small, subtle (not sizable or drastic) tweaks we make gradually that will add up to the big changes we seek. So don’t give up on those new year resolutions yet, slow and steady actually does win the race. Read on and learn how to make big strides with 4 small steps.

Four Small Steps That Have a Big Impact

 1.   Build On Existing Habits- Add a new beneficial behavior to an existing habit. For example, change your daily walk with your dog to a jog. Use the time carpooling your kids as an opportunity to connect. Add a fruit or vegetable with every meal and snack. Combine your daily mid-afternoon coffee break with calls or brief meet-ups with your team. The point being is to ease the creation of a desired new behavior by coupling it with an existing relatable habit.

2. Create Most Optimal Surroundings– Create a greater likelihood of success with supportive surroundings. So for example, if you want to eat healthier, stock your shelves with nutritious foods, not cookies or chips. Set out your gym clothes the night before so you’re ready to go for your workout tomorrow, put your cell phone in the draw while having dinner with your family or finishing up an important work-related project. In other words, set up your environment to promote what you want. 

3. Anticipate Obstacles– Whether it’s a sudden circumstance that interferes with our well-intended plans to align with our goals (i.e illness, technology challenges, weather conditions, etc.) or the reality that we are only human and naturally our conviction will be tested. Anticipate obstacles and prepare for them with if-then strategies. So for example, if the going gets tough with work aspirations then connect with a mentor or other colleagues that can be of support or inspiration and create accountability. If you know you have a series of commitments that will challenge healthy eating or regular workouts then eat a nutritious, filling snack before heading out or travel with a jump rope should you be out of town or stuck indoors due to inclement weather. Know life can get in the way and plan accordingly.

4. Act. Learn. Build. Repeat.- The key to success is seeing change as a curious experiment and then taking a bunch of small actions steps to point yourself in the direction you want to go. Follow this formula and results are inevitable. 

Do not underestimate the power of taking small steps, not only does its cumulative effects provide tangible markers of success but the cost of failure is comparatively low.  So there’s less on the line to lose allowing us to feel more confident and at ease with implementing change into our lives. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Wishing You Always The Best Of Success

-Holly-

Jumpstart Your New Year

Jumpstart Your New Year

by | Dec 2, 2018 | Blog

Your 2019 Priorities

Wow, it’s hard to believe another year is almost in the books! Time to do some reflecting and planning. I know everyone is likely crazy busy with holiday prep and festivities. But that’s all the more reason to find some downtime to grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine, set yourself up in a  comfortable environment where you will feel relaxed and focused to do this month’s suggested activity. It is a twist on a coaching tool shared in past newsletters and found on my website under Valuable Downloads, called the Wheel of Life. But this time rather then rate your level of satisfaction in each of the provided aspects on the wheel, I want you to now draw your own wheel, divide it up into 6 even pie-like slices and determine those areas YOU want to focus on for the next year (see image attached).

Some examples might be: finances, romantic relationship, renovating/organizing a house, writing a book, health and exercise, career, paying it forward, family, creativity, fun/enjoyment, etc. Then from there write 5 measurable and obtainable goals you can accomplish under each category. So for example, under creativity one might write: take an art class from a local university. Or for paying it forward: volunteer at local animal shelter or maybe donate clothing no longer worn. You get the picture, just be specific and make sure you can see results at the end of the year.

This exercise was recently introduced to me through a colleague. He came across it in a book called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. The book goes on to suggest selecting one goal from each category that is most important for you to accomplish and start first with those. I love this activity mostly because it can really help create the change we want in our lives and bring it back to harmony and balance by providing a focus on our priorities (not others) while serving as a great reference tool to keep us accountable. Keep in mind it’s not about attaining everything in our circle but more about honoring what it is we want to see happen in and for our lives in the next coming year and then having that down in black and white. This way we not only have a jumpstart to the new year but a plan to boot with actionable steps in place!

Best of Success & HappyHolidays!

-Holly-

Live Life More Sanely & Successfully

Live Life More Sanely & Successfully

by | Sep 18, 2018 | Blog

Discover Your Interanl Compass

September 2018 Insights

Let’s face it, life is challenging! The path to professional and personal fulfillment is rarely simple or straightforward. We all experience bumps, detours, and hardships along the way. On top of it, the pace of the world is crazy fast and forever changing. We are inundated with people’s opinions and information telling us what we “should” be doing to live our lives more successfully. And while some of what is being shared can actually be of value and support, figuring out where to put our attention can be daunting. We only have so much time, money, and energy. The struggle is real, so how do we make decisions for ourselves that support our personal and professional best? (more…)
Part I-Creating Optimal Outcomes

Part I-Creating Optimal Outcomes

by | Jun 1, 2018 | Blog

The One Thing That Changes Everything.

When it comes to greater success and happiness the vast majority of us are simply unaware of why things go well for us one day and not the next. Sure, it’s easy to say it was just a good day verses a bad day. Everything fell into place, you happened to have been at the right place at the right time, and nothing unexpected or “messy” occurred. But we all know that life is challenging, for everyone, and at any given moment life can throw us a curveball or two. No one is excused from life’s ups and downs. So to chalk up our levels of success and happiness to good luck or misfortune, quiet frankly, is bullshit.

Rarely if ever, with the exception of a health issue, does our levels of capabilities, talents, and competencies change significantly from day to day or even moment to moment. Yes, we can become more skilled or apt at those things we practice over a period of time, 6 months to a year. But really our capabilities don’t change significantly on a day to day basis, especially not on a moment to moment basis. So why is it that we can feel one minute on top of our game and a few hours later on shaky ground. We all have experienced this before, great mornings followed by a crappy afternoon or a series of “on” days/weeks followed by what feels as if we hit a wall.

Think about it, maybe tomorrow you have a big meeting or presentation at work, possibly you’re planning to sit down with your significant other to have an important conversation about the kitchen you would like to redo. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon you’ll be negotiating an important deal (i.e. new car, home, or business venture) or be put in a position to make a go or no go decision about a health related matter pertaining to you or a loved one. What do you think is more important in that moment, your talent or the energy you’re experiencing?

Yep, it’s your energy, your energy behind how your talent will get used as well as the results you’ll get. How we show up-the energy we bring to any situation impacts the outcome or results we get. Your CORE ENERGY is the key driver and what matters the most. Regardless of how skilled and well intended you may be, we are all subject to various inner and outer elements that can either help or hinder our success and happiness. Without the right type and amount of energy the ability to show up and be engaged in life can be severely limited and sometimes not possible. By understanding and then knowing how to handle your core energy you can have a huge advantage in creating consistent success and fulfillment in your life.

So let’s get busy this summer, stayed tuned over the next couple of months for my summer series and learn more about the nuts and bolts behind creating an empowered energetic state that will undoubtably create optimal outcomes and experiences in your life.

Wishing You Always The Best Of Success
-Holly-

This newsletter contains my interpretation of the copyrighted work of Bruce D. Schneider and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.