YOUR LIFE A-Z: MULTI-TASK

MULTI-TASK IN A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

MULTI-TASK

There is no better time that now to become proficient in the art of MULTI-TASKING.   To MULTI-TASK is to live in optimal organization in order to squeeze the zest out of life.  As you make your to-do list, (and you are doing that now aren’t you?) think in terms of organizing your list in ways that you can accomplish several things.  What gets done while you are doing laundry?  What three activities can you sweep together into one?  For instance, when doing your taxes it a good time to do a budget review and tweak the budget for next year, making sure there are plenty of dollars saved for that vacation.  In the United States we over-work and under-play.  It is time to reverse that but in order to make a dent in the amount of time and energy we waste each day, it is important to MULTI-TASK.  Organize your day, your week, your month and your year with key MULTI-TASKING actions that keep you moving forward and saving valuable time for playing while MULTI-TASKING your chores.  Think about adding music to the background of your chores to enhance your mood.  Add some humor and laughter into the mix of daily activity to boost your morale.  MULTI-TASKING does not have to be all about hard work, it can be about play too.  If play and laughter are not on your to-do list, it is likely that it won’t happen.  You must plan for it just like you plan for dinner.  It is the balance of MULTI-TASKING that fills your day with positive opportunities.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:VIVACIOUS

SIEZE THE DAY

VIVACIOUS

Be VIVACIOUS!  Be energetic, lively and embrace life fully. You don't have to be a super-star or a Hollywood actor to approach life as a vibrant loving VIVACIOUS person who enjoys a great walk in the park with a bounce in his/her step and a big smile on his/her face.  VIVACIOUS behavior is 90% mental energy and attitude. Who is the most VIVACIOUS person you know?  Take a minute to image that person in your mind's eye.  Pay attention to how that person walks. VIVACIOUS people walk with confidence and a spring in his/her step.  VIVACIOUS energy seems to be contagious.  When I am around someone who is VIVACIOUS I feel more alive and more interested in what is going on around me.  Don’t let life become dull.  Go out and about today embracing the moment.  Walk with a bounce, dress in colors and put a smile on your face.  Tune into an inner space where you can find that person inside of you who loves life and delights in the simplest pleasures.   Enjoy with VIVACIOUS energy a blend of music today and the taste of simple healthy foods.  Enjoy the sun and bask in it for a while and if it is raining or snowing, delight in the diversity of nature.  Even nature changes colors, temperatures, and its weather to keep from becoming boring.  If every day were the same boredom would set it.   So change out a sense of dullness today for the VIVACIOUS you that longs to enjoy life deeply. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z: PAY IT FORWARD

COMMUNITY 

PAY IT FORWARD

 The TWENT MINUTE COACH has spoken about kindness, compassion, and gratitude and now I am inviting you to play with PAY.   If you want to lift your mood, get out of yourself pity and do something meaningful then PAY IT FORWARD.   Today, find someone out there that needs something and do it for him or her just because you can.  Bless someone not necessarily because they may need it but because you can.  PAY for someone’s groceries in front of you or behind you at the store just because you can.  Send a gift card to someone just because you can. PAYING IT FORWARD can be an exhilarating boost of mood elevation and this simple offering of kindness can keep you moving forward all day lone.  PAYING IT FORWARD does not have to be big it can be any small act of kindness just because.  PAYING IT FORWARD is an action of personal gratitude because you are in a position to give and that is awesome.  To offer the person next to you your place in line is a PAY IT FORWARD action.  To offer something of yourself because you can is a PAY IT FORWARD action of gratitude.  There are many ways to get you yourself out of your myopic self-centeredness and PAY ahead for someone else in your daily life.  Go for it. Play with this. PAY IT FORWARD each day this week so that you can get into the habit of giving and then PAY IT FORWARD once a week until December 31st and notice how good and energized you begin to feel.  

YOUR LIFE A-Z: MOJO

GET YOUR MOJO ON

MOJO

Get your MOJO on!  Inside of you there is an energy source that will awaken if you start feeding it rather than starving it. MOJO is that indefinable quality of the life source energy the Twenty Minute Coach has been speaking about.  MOJO is that charismatic part of you that opens up when you dance, drum, chant, sing, or any other activity that your physical body participates in.  If you are depressed your MOJO has been stolen.  Don’t just wallow in your situational depression; call out the battle cry and dance.  When you dance your MOJO will hearyou and begin returning to you. When you stop dancing your MOJO will not have the energy to fight off the thieves that stole it.  MOJO needs your active energy to bring it to you. MOJO only shows up when invited and only stays while you honor and embrace it.  If you wallow in your situation MOJO becomes weak.  If you say to me, “but I can’t do anything about my situation,” I will say, “Can you dance, sing, drum, walk or chant?”  If you tell me no I will say, “Come back when you can do one of these things and we will call MOJO back together.” MOJO is that energy that wins, battles, and overcomes the nastiness of depression and leaves no room for anxiety.  You cannot be anxious while you dance because you stop dancing.  Your MOJO is your beloved friend who wants you to move into your full potential.  Find yours today!

YOUR LIFE A-Z MANAGE

Rise and Shine.  Time to Wake up and Get Going

MANAGE

Yes, MANAGE your life in all things.  MANAGE your Budget. MANAGE your time. MANAGE your health.  MANAGE your life as if you are getting paid to be the CEO of your life.  Chief Executive Officer’s get paid big bucks because the buck stops with her/him.  The responsibility rests on the CEO’s shoulders the same as how you live your life rests on top of your shoulders.  In reality you are the CEO and the buck stops with you.  Thus, begin to MANAGE your life as if your life depends on it because it does.  MANAGE your life in all things.  Manage it for more joy, happiness, and peace of mind.  Create the assets you need to feel comfortable and safe and learn to live joyfully within your means.  What does it mean to MANAGE?  It means to Analyze, think, plan, Fit, and make Effort to have the life and lifestyle you want. MANAGE the way you approach your year, your month, and your day.  As a result you will have a life that develops a sense of purpose, peace, and possibilities. Boredom will subside and Adventure will ebb and flow around the edges of a Meaningful life that is well MANAGED.  Take a minute now to examine the quality of your life and ask yourself what will work better and more efficiently in your life if you, as you the CEO, are in charge of that area?  

YOUR LIFE A-Z :HAPPY

HAPPY

What is happy to you?  What are you really saying when you say I just want to be happy?  As I have said,  “Happiness is not an illusion, but neither is it a destination.”  I see it as a space within you.  The dictionary defines contentment as a place of happiness and satisfaction.  Being HAPPY is a space or place wherethere is a reservoir of positive energy, decorated with fond memories, and an invitation to sit and enjoy the present moment, using all of your senses of smell, taste, touch, hear, and feel.  Experiencing the moment is a space within you as the moment passed already, so it is a pause button of HAPPY.  HAPPY space is a choice.  We can choose to focus on bad memories, ugly situations, and things in the past that were not fair.  Or we can choose to be anxious and worry about every possible thing that can go wrong in the future or we can place the present moment on “pause,” and allow ourselves to switch channels in our head and enjoy the creation of HAPPY.  If we did this as often as we check our Facebook every day imagine how lush, lovely, and exhilarating our HAPPY space could become.  We would enjoy going there to experience the joy of being alive, as well as the moment of sweet contentment in the facts.  These are the facts: If you are reading this you are alive, be grateful.  If you are grateful you will count your blessings and if you count your blessings you will enter your HAPPY space.  Yep…that is fact.  

YOUR LIFE A-Z:GENEROUS

THE EARTH BLESSES US WITH GENEROUS VIEWS

GENEROUS

There is some science to the fact that more generous people are happier than stingy, self-serving folks. Being generous means to give more of something than what is expected.  It does not have to be money. It can be time, your presence, your kindness, even your smile to someone in distress. So, in this Twenty-Minute Coaching Blog ask yourself the honest question about your own generous nature.  How have you been generous this week?  What acts do you consider generous?  If you are suffering with “unhappiness” perhaps you need to examine how you can increase your happiness by increasing your generosity?  While you are examining your generous nature with others it is more important to ask yourself, how generous are you with yourself?  If you are walking around being critical of yourself and bullying your actions, thoughts, and feelings by negative voices within, I can bet you are not happy.  Constant negativity breaks down our immune system, and creates health and emotional problems that are completely unnecessary if you learn to be kind and generous with yourself. After all, aren’t you doing the best you can?  If not, then put some energy into changing the things that you don’t like and learn to love what you accomplish, verses what is left undone.  Focusing on the positive will make you happier and as a result you will be more generous by nature.  In the meantime practice being generous everyday this month with acts of kindness, presence, time, and positive attitude.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:FLIP

FLIP

F's are so much fun.  First "F" word was "Fetch."  I said, "You don't have to run for it but at least go get it."  So, now let's flip it.  Toss it around.  Throw it up in the air and turn it all around.  Are you unsure as to what you want?  Are you torn between two options and feel equally challenged by which one you really want?  So get a quarter out and name the two sides.  What are you torn between?  Today, write 10 minutes about the heads side.  What is it that you like about this option we will call option A?  If you move toward this option, what will the benefits be to you?  How will this add positive energy to your life?  What will it cost you to accomplish it?  If the heads up had a message for you what is it?  Later today or tomorrow go to the tails side of the coin and ask yourself the same questions and write about option B.  Then re-read them both and call your toss. Flip it and work your option.  Enjoy the serendipitous nature of the Universe.  You did your work by taking the time to write so it is not a flippant decision, it is a flip-it decision.  It is examining both sides of very strong feelings and then allowing yourself to get a little help from a twenty-five cent coin.  If we toss things up in the air and examine the outcome we can move out of our ambivalence. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z: CLEAR

CLEAR

It seems appropriate that the word "Clear" should follow the word "Brilliant."   If you allow yourself to accept your brilliance and smartness, your ability to move forward in life the way you want then becomes clear; and crystal clear about what you want to different in your life this year.  If you refuse to become clear, either because you are afraid and insecure, or your ability to self-sabotage yourself is so high you continue to let life interfere with your living.  Being clear about what you want requires that you do the hard work of defining who you are.  Reflect back on the word "Value," and ask yourself how clear you are about what you really value?  How clear are you about your health?  How clear are you about what makes you happy?  Mainly, how clear are you about the fact that in order to acquire your heart's desire this year you will need hard work, focus, diligence, and planning.  What is step 1 and, how are you going to get clear about accomplishing it and move on to the next necessary steps?  Let the clouds move out of your brain and let the sunshine in as you train your brain to see the details of what needs to be done.  Let the murky waters from your last distressful situation settle as you calm your thoughts and focus on redirecting yourself. Life is hard, so what?  Use your brilliance to create a clear focus.  You can do it.  Now believe it.   

Your Life A-Z INTEREST

Don't Let the Sun Set on Your Dreams

INTEREST

What really flips your switch?  What is it that you love to do?  If you had one day to spend doing anything you wanted, what would it be?  Don’t be flip about this.  Think about it. How do you spend your time and do you enjoy spending it that way?  If we do not develop interest in what we spend most of our time doing, then we get bored and boredom leads to depression, anxiety, and a multitude of other negative activities in our life. 

What draws your attention is one way to think about interest.  If you are in a room with different people, how do you choose which one to strike up a conversation with?  Or a very practical level, check your closets and garage, how many unfinished projects have you stuffed away somewhere?  The real reasons they are stuffed away is not because you ran out of time, but you did run out of interest and as a result choose other activities over completing whatever that is stuffed in your closet.  Without interest there is no motivation.  No one dates anyone that they are not interested in for very long unless perhaps the non-interested person becomes interested in changing the person they are dating.  That is not interest in the date; it is a clear invested interest in changing someone else into your own image.  So, be careful, interest is tricky.  But certainly by the end of today, be able to list three different things that interest you.  For instance, hiking, cooking, or your favorite football team. 

INTRODUCING THE TWENTY MINUTE COACH FOR 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Today is the first day of 2014.  Allow yourself to acknowledge this opportunity to grow, change, and be different in 2104.  Today this blog starts a daily entry, Your Life A-Z, The Twenty Minute Coach.  Each day I will post on a letter from alphabet to keep you focused and moving forward with your life.   The posts may automatically post to www.facebook.com/inamomentsnotice.   However, to assure daily delivery please sign up to have this blog delivered directly to your email.

The basics of the Twenty Minute Coach are these three simple questions:

1. What do you want to change?  (Are you sure?)
2. What steps do you have to take it change?
3. Start step 1.  Repeat


Other questions to ask your self are:

1. How is the thing I want to change serving me? (What are the positive benefits?)
2. What will it cost me to change it?
3. Am I ready to pay the price?
4. What will I enjoy as a result of making this change?
5. How will my life be better by making this change?
6. Will I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment by making this change?
7. How will I keep encouraging myself to do this change?
8. Who can I recruit to help me so I don’t have to do this alone?
9. Now, that I am clear, what is my action plan?
10. When is my finish date?  If this plan is too big break it down into three parts with three separate finish dates.