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Imagine a world without stress. Imagine a world where no-one is demanding anything from you. Imagine you are the happiest you could possibly be. Can you imagine all that? I hope so, because if you cannot, that is a sure sign that you require some “ME” time.
If you can imagine all those things, then you are probably doing a lot of self-care already, as you appreciate the importance of looking after self. You appreciate and understand why it is imperative to look after your own safety on an aeroplane before your child, because if something were to happen to you first (like you do not get enough oxygen), then you are of no help to your child.
Now, just very quickly think of all the things that have been building up over the past year, and specifically those things that have spilled over into this year. Can you picture them? Has your mood changed? Is the weight of the world sharing its burden on you right now? It’s so easy to get caught up in the woes of the world, the media, our networks and indeed our own families. Is it over-burdening, over-whelming, too much to bear?
And my question to you is simply: Compared to what?
How do you know this is good for you? Are you coping with all the stress a new year can bring? On top of all the left over trauma of 2011?
Now, bear with me here and really think about the following. Write them down so you can check on them at the end of this post:
Think about the best thing that happened to you last year. Think about your greatest achievement of 2011. Think about your biggest learning for 2011. Think about the relationships you nurtured in 2011, new and old. Think about the single happiest thing that happened in 2011.
Now, pat yourself on the back, schedule some “Me” time for every day this year and plan for great things to happen, because then they will. If you write them down, and say them loudly to yourself, then you are setting the tone for your year to come.
And if you are overwhelmed just now, still reeling from the effects of 2011 and the holiday period, read this inspiring blogpost on starting your year in February, not January 
Happy New Year, and may 2012 bring you everything you plan for.
Hi there,
I just want to wish everyone a fantastic holiday and very best wishes for 2012, whatever you look forward to this year, make sure you write down at least ONE thing from your wish list, and really tell yourself you will achieve it this coming year!! Go on, it will work, I promise!
And my message to you… click here to see
To your best year yet!
Elaine
Yes, it’s that time of year again. And yes, it can be very stressful.
- Have you left your card sending until the last minute?
- Have you left your Santa buying until the last minute?
- Have you left your Christmas Shopping until the last minute?
- Have you left buying the tree until the last minute?
- Have you left everything until the last minute?
If you answer YES to any of the above questions, then read on to learn a few tips on managing your stress better this year.
“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday” ~ Don Marquis
Now, for a fact – we can only experience the present moment. YES, we can really only actually experience every moment once. Everything else is imagined, whether past or future.
So if you are stressing about past Christmases, or any past event, then you are relying on memory to provide the stress factors. Those stress factors can limit us in our everyday tasks. If you are stressing about the coming Christmas, or any future event, then you are just imagining it and creating your own stress factors. Based on what? Future event stress is normally based on previous events, so we are back in the past, which is imaginary, remember?
So how do we DO procrastination? How do we manage to NOT do the important things? How do we let stress effect our wishes and goals?
Here we go, a little exercise for you:
- Get into the role of Christmas shopping, decorating the house, planning the dinner, handling the in-Laws
- See yourself in that role, doing those things
- Now imagine the PERFECT day shopping, decorating or planning
- What happens in that day? What do you see, what do you hear? What do you notice? What do you smell? What are you feeling? (really, really get into the feeling of it, remember this is your PERFECT day)
- What exactly happens in that day? And when?
- Now simply, imagine how you can grasp as much of that as possible. What can you tap into, what can you access?
That’s it! The rest doesn’t matter, because it’s negative, and we want positive don’t we?
Do this exercise a few times and feel the difference about the situation now. How does it feel different? Keep those feelings in mind and remind yourself of your perfect day when it’s time to do that thing!
“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task” ~ William James
*If you would like to learn more about tackling procrastination and the benefits of coaching, please contact Elaine through the Contact Page or by telephone at +353 (0)86 1955660. Be the CHANGE you want to be in 2012!*
Welcome to my world…
To follow is a copy of an email I sent to my close network. So rather than bombard everyone in my network, I am producing the mail below for you to read, if interested
Hi there, happy weekend!
I haven’t been in touch in a while now and wanted to let you know how the Mini Marathons went, the fundraising and of course, what the hell I am doing now.
Firstly, I am delighted to report I am pain free, unlike this time last year when I was crippled, and had to give up running altogether. My waistline was not happy!
So after intense self care and chiropractic treatments in Spring, I was promised I would be doing the 3 things I love again – gardening, driving my motorbike and running. At first it was a struggle, and my health seemed to be deteriorating rather than improving, but finally after about 2 months, I suddenly began to feel huge improvements.
So much so that I was back running with a great new podcast programme, building my distance, stamina and endurance over 9 weeks, ready for the Cork and Limerick Mini Marathons. Not only did I finish both without killing myself, I improved on last year’s times with little effort. I felt great
I decided to dedicate my efforts for charity – Age Action this time. In light of the bad weather we had last year, I felt the elderly were in dire need of vital funds, and it would give me a greater focus for my training. And it worked! I completed both runs successfully, and am delighted with the progress on last year, which was so difficult I really believed I wouldn’t run again. Read the rest of this entry »
As a small business owner, you ARE your business. If you have ever seen any of the worldwide “Dragon’s Den” type programmes on the TV, you will observe that the dragons invest in the person behind the business as much as the concept itself.
It is important for that business owner, to constantly watch trends, be familiar with their market, and adapt to the changes that invariably happen. We also need to keep an eagle eye on what the competition is up to, and notice what they are changing, and are those changes in line with consumer changes, or are they trying to influence the consumer / client.
This is where business owners can get “bogged down”. Constantly watching out for the enemy, copying their strategies, playing cat and mouse to try and gain ground.
Let’s say our business has been successful in the past, and now, inevitably things are tough. We batten down the hatches, cut costs, cut prices, downsize, and cut budgets. You are probably familiar with any one of these strategies.
But why do we do this? Because the strategists recommend it? Because your competition is doing it? Because of the proven facts from the past? Because historically, it works?
Think about this: where do we get the notion that repetition is the best tactic? What influences us to think that what worked before will work today, for our business?
Now think about this… is this the same type of recession as before? Will the next boom (there WILL be a next boom) be the same as the previous one? I would imagine NO, and NO!
So, why then, are we doing the same things now that we did before? Read the rest of this entry »
Once in a while, great things happen. In fact, great things happen every day. We move our business forward every day. We find out things that help us in our business every day.
It’s the time of year for workshops, events, seminars. So far, my October and November calendars are full with events and traditionally, this is quite common for entrepreneurs and business owners.
A little gem that I am heavily involved with is the Cork Women in Business Group, headed my Margaret Smith and Tori Hawthorne. What a great pair, and I have written about Margaret and her appearance on nationwide recently.
This support group provides a space for women in business to find out what they need to know to help them in their business and our monthly speaking events cover finance, law, networking, sales and other relevant areas.
We, the Irish race, are great for the “ole banter”. We could talk for Ireland and we do talk for Ireland. Most conversations begin with a discussion about the weather. Only in Ireland could you hear “sunny spells, chance of showers, developing into thunderstorms, to clear later with a sharp frost” in one sentence. Unless of course you are in Inuvik perhaps. Here is a very funny one I was presented with by our national weather forecast the other day:
As an Irish born and bred national, I have lived and travelled in many different countries. The experience helps me learn about other cultures and countries, but one thing I realised over the years is that people are the same wherever you go – they are good or they are bad. As a race, we interact at an intellectual level, and tend to seek out similar people as ourselves.
The trick really is to look beyond your comfort zone. Look beyond your immediate personal network. Look beyond your social “class” whether that be financially or socially. Look beyond your own capabilities and seek mentors who do things that you think are great.
Build your network. Build your online network through social media, social networking and Read the rest of this entry »
What a week it’s been!!
You know that time, when you know something is coming up, yet you are not quite prepared for it? Well, I am sure we all feel like that when we know we will be exposed to the public at large. I really feel the hardest part is actually watching yourself.
It’s been a great week for Cork on the telly this week. I have the absolute pleasure of being closely involved with a fantastic group of business women in Cork, who meet to support each other and help out with business issues. We spend more time discussing social media, accounts, sales and services than passing business cards and delivering elevator pitches.
The real benefit for the business owners, is the support and information received at the meetings themselves, but more so with the buddy-up system. This allows two randomly picked members to meet 1-1 in between the monthly meetings, and really learn more about their actual businesses. This is the core of the referral and networking that is done secondary to the support and encouragement we can provide for each other.
Like the Bulmers advert on TV lately, when we have a problem what do we do? We fix it ourselves! And that is what Cork Women in Business Advice and Support is all about.
It began in Margaret Smith’s front room, and now we are moving to hotel premises and have regular great speakers every month, a fantastic website, facebook page, twitter account, a dedicated committee and up to Aug 2011, 35 paid up members. I am confident membership will increase rapidly as a consequence of the Nationwide Show this Wednesday.
Of course, no better time than to share air space with the wonderful charismatic James Whelton who has just completed his Leaving Certificate, is planning his graduation alongside running his successful business and FREE coding workshops for young people around the country.
Well done all, a great week for Cork, and a great boost for business owners, technology and innovation, all by the river Lee.
The programme is only live on the RTE Player until mid Sept, so make sure you watch it in time [Apologies for the adverts before the actual show]. There is a YouTube version of just Margaret’s story – click the PIC below to watch it.
Click the picture to see the show
Well done Margaret, you are now a star, an inspiration to many women in Ireland this week!!!
P.S. The neck piece I am wearing in the show is from the beautiful Kuta collection from Dink Design
I am no stranger to health and fitness, having been a part of various therapies, classes and courses over the years, mostly as a preventative rather than a cure. Those of you who know me personally will attest to the fact I have NEVER dieted, but do not indulge in fast and overly processed foods, but like anyone else, have my “weak” areas.
Cork Mini Marathon bib 2010
I fought these weak areas for a long time, and there is something about turning 40 that helps us realise that health is so important, because without it, you do not have quality of life.
Now I allow myself my indulgences whenever I want them, and compensate by eating healthily otherwise, drinking lots of water and exercising on a regular basis. To be truthful, mostly my exercising consists of brisk long walks, and generally going to a class of some kind.
Last year, in beginning of 2010, I discovered running was a faster way to improve fitness and endurance, and of course kick me back into a state of racing heartbeat and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I wrote a post about it at the time about motivation, and decided to achieve my goals by training for both the Cork Women’s Mini Marathon AND the Limerick Women’s Mini Marathon. I followed a programme to the minute, and achieved my training goals for the first race. The second race was exactly a week later and unfortunately I did enough damage to my lower back that Read the rest of this entry »
W
hen I was in a 9-5 job in 1993, I distinctly remember arriving into work on Monday mornings and being subjected to complaints, grumbles, disdain, and other such negative gossip.
This was the only negative about my Monday mornings. In fact I never had Monday morning blues because I practiced a very simple alternative. Back then, in my early 20’s living and working in recession Ireland (yes, we had one then too) the general gist of good fun was to go out with colleagues and friends.
Traditionally this was done Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Three late nights of overindulgence was bound to take it’s toll, and it did. Coming from a college background, I had become accustomed to going out on “College nights” (aka Thursday nights). I maintained this routine and did not go out late on Sunday nights.
Of course this meant that Friday mornings were tough, but one cannot have Friday blues if they are off for the weekend, and have an early finish to look forward to. So I was therefore able to camouflage my blues into a Friday, rather than a Monday.
However, I feel the negative sentiment has remained with many people, whether they are employed, self-employed, or between jobs.
Why should we dread Monday Mornings? Because we have done so traditionally. For some of us, it’s simply always been that way (similar to finding it difficult to get up in the mornings).
Here are a couple of measures you can take to beat the Monday Morning Blues: Read the rest of this entry »
