Let's Reduce Your Stress - 6 Ideas for You!

Let's Reduce Your Stress! 6 Ideas for You Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: Let's Reduce Your Stress - 6 Ideas for you...! Dear Friend, "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. " ~Chinese Proverb Research is showing a growing number of us are suffering the effects of being overloaded. Many are experiencing feelings of stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. Our personal and work lives keep getting busier and busier with each passing year and every new (Iphone) ap that keeps us connected to everyone every minute of the day. Every self-help guru has suggestions on what you can do to deal with stress and when I read through many of their "lists" I find I'm more stressed out thinking about the twenty-two things they've added to my to do list. This week I'm going to propose five simple, yet not easy, ways for you to reduce the stress in your life: 1. Take Control This will look different for each of us. For some, it may be saying setting personal limits of what you can and cannot do and consequently saying "no" to the variety of request at your door. For others it will take the shape in the form of a project plan if you will for your many to dos. And yet for others, taking control will be an acknowledgement that you need to bring in reinforcements to back you up and help you. 2. Put yourself on your "list" When we value ourselves we give ourselves the time and space we need. Let's be realistic at various points in your life - you may need an entire day to yourself, but the reality is that you can only schedule one hour or perhaps even ten minutes! So the question for you to consider is, "How can I maximize my ME time?" In other words, "what activities leave me feeling the most nourished...?" 3. Get enough sleep Recent research has found that even a single night of insufficient sleep causes a spike in stress hormones which consequently means that when you actually want to and can sleep it is more difficult to do so. Your best bet is to try to go to bed and wake up at a similar time each day. Creating a constant routine helps your body know what to anticipate and when. If you really cannot sleep - get help from a professional. Sleep is a vital way to recharge you. 4. Meditate The evidence is resounding that even ten minutes of meditation can have a huge impact on your mood, stress level and ability to deal with everyday challenges. There are numerous articles out there on how to begin meditating. Here are my no-frills thoughts on how to begin: · Select a ten minute window free of interruptions · Find a quite spot free of noise and distractions · Choose a comfortable seat or lie down (when I lie down I always fall asleep!), ensure you don't have on anything tight - including shoes · Close your eyes · Focus on your breath - as thoughts come to your mind let go of them by returning to your breath, visualize the oxygen filling your lungs, work on taking deep diaphragmatic breaths from your belly · If it helps you to stay focused picture your breath flowing through your body - fingers, arms, elbows, shoulders, etc. 5. Connect with friends and family Social relationships help us to reduce our stress. Friends have the ability to make us laugh and lighten up our life. Studies show the more family and friends you have - the wider your net so to speak - the longer and happier your life. Connect with your friends and family in meaningful ways. 6. Connect with God Renew your spiritual life. This part of your life has the potential to be the bedrock of your entire life. Talk to friends and family about their spiritual life - find creative ways to reconnect to this piece of your life. Turn your worries, fears and stresses over to God. Allow him to be with you and in your concerns. Have faith and trust in him that whatever you are dealing with will pass and is within your realm to face - or else he wouldn't have put it in your path. Make It Happen This week review these six strategies for reducing and managing the stress in your life. Select one way that you think will be most beneficial for you to mitigate the stress in your life. Remember these strategies are intended to help you feel better, not worse! We are each unique creatures and what works for one will not work for another. So do what works best for you! May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.

How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track!

How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track! Links Website Blog Coaching Young Adults Past Newsletters Press As your coaching I want to encourage you to dream wildly, love wholeheartedly, persevere relentlessly, believe in yourself unwaveringly and give abundantly! If you are new this week...welcome...let's make 2010 your best year yet! For a recap of what we've covered so far visit the ARCHIVES. God Bless, Margaret. This Week's Topic: How is your year going so far? 6 Questions to get you on track! Dear Friend, "The past does not define you, the present does." ~Jillian Michaels Wow! Can you believe it? We are halfway through 2010. For those of you who are goal setters - we are at the halfway mark. Now is a perfect time to take stock of where you've come and acknowledge where you would still like to travel in the duration of the year. So, how is 2010 going? Are you reaching the goals you set? Are the goals you set even important today? Take some time this week to examine where you are on your 2010 journey! Here are six coaching questions to help you examine how 2010 is going: What have done this year that you are proud of? This is the time to pat your back, even if no one else is! Have you learned something new, opened a new business, transformed your love life, dared to communicate openly and honestly or branched out and made new friends? I know you've done something...likely lots this year, now is the time to write it down and praise yourself for it!!! Where have you slipped up? We are human, not computers. We all have slipped up in one area of our life or another. In order to recalibrate and get back on track we need to acknowledge precisely where we didn't live up to our expectations. Be honest with yourself...this exercise is for you alone. Why haven't you met these goals? Look at everything you wrote down for #2 and answer the question "Why?" Be honest with yourself. Perhaps some goals weren't really authentic or important to you. That's okay...drop them from your list now. If you don't they will drag you down...and there's not much worse than being bogged down by goals you don't really want to achieve. Where would you like to change course? List at least three specific things you would like to add to, remove from or alter in your life. What can you do right now - today - to change course? Review the list of items you wrote down for #4 and spend five minutes brainstorming about exactly what you need to do to change course. Next, create some action steps beginning today, not tomorrow. Finally, take at least one step today to get back on course. How will you feel at the end of the year when you have achieved these goals? Write down five adjectives that describe how you will feel as you review 2010 and the successes you've created. Make It Happen Use these six questions to examine 2010 thus far. Where are you having success and where do you both want and need to make adjustments. Take this week to work through these questions and see how you want to make tweaks to change your outcome for 2010. Remember, this is only a portion of your journey so be patient with yourself if you haven't yet achieved all that you desire to...have faith that with the appropriate commitment on your part you will ultimately end up where you desire to be. May you be blessed, for you are a blessing! Encourage your friends, family and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretFortner.com where they can sign up. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise, LLC. Copyright © 2010 Margaret Pundmann Fortner. All rights reserved. www.MargaretFortner.com.