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Fair ~ High: 80°F ~ Low: 59°F Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |
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One Free Thing That Will Make Your Life Better In 2012
Posted Wednesday, January 4, at 12:41 PM I confess -- I'm a resolution maker. I've found that I'm significantly more successful if I stick to just one realistic resolution. Case in point, "I'm going all organic" in 2003 was a total bust. I was back to Quik Trip corn dogs by mid January...
How to Differentiate Yourself in 1 Minute Flat Can a single pivotal behavior elevate the culture of your entire organization? It can if it's the right behavior. Here's how a simple 1 minute act helped an organization outperform their competition by leaps and bounds: My family and I were moving our daughter into Boston University last weekend. As we were standing on the street looking befuddled at the campus map, a friendly official-looking gentleman approached us asking, Can I help you find something?"...
7 ways to have a great life Long-term goals are important, but don't make the mistake of putting your happiness on hold until you achieve them. Here are 7 simple ways you can have a great life starting tomorrow morning: 1.Get enough sleep - It makes you smarter, nicer and better problem-solver...
Why a ten-year-old is giving advice to Congress "Why do Congressmen say such mean things about each other? We're not allowed to act like that in my class. We have rules about respecting each other. Do you think something like that might help you?" He was only 10 years old, but his question made several Congressmen squirm...
The real reason so many people are such bad communicators From the anal-retentive drones whose PowerPoint presentations seem to last for weeks to the overbearing braggart who can't stop telling you how wonderful he is, some people just aren't very good at communicating. You've probably also experienced the awkward silences, stammered replies and mid-sentence brain freezes that can stall a meeting, presentation or date...
HOW INTROVERTS CAN CONNECT BETTER WITH PEOPLE The real difference between introverts and extroverts isn't social skills; it's about how you recharge your batteries. When most people think about extroverts vs. introverts, they often envision the stark contrast between the charismatic guy wowing the room with a rip-roaring joke and the awkward, quiet guy in wrinkled khakis blending into the fake fern in the corner...
7 TIPS FOR A MISERABLE HOLIDAY WITH YOUR FAMILY By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com ...
ACCOUNTABILITY: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM MARTIAL ARTS By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com Isn't it frustrating when people don't take responsibility for their mistakes?...
WHY INSTILLING CHARACTER ISN'T IN CONFLICT WITH ENCOURAGING COMPETITION www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com What's more important - to be the best and win? Or to be humble, and put yourself in the service of others? Year ago, businesses looked for someone of 'good character' when they were hiring. Parents stressed moral values, and literature was filled with stories of honor and integrity...
ARE YOUR STORIES SERVING OR SABOTAGING YOU? By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com What's your story? We all have stories. They're the inner thought tracks of our lives. The challenge is they're not always true, and sometimes even if they are true, repeating them doesn't always bring out the best in us...
ANGER V. DEPRESSION: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN Would you rather be around someone who's depressed, or someone who's angry? It's not exactly Sophie's Choice. Anyone who's ever had to live or work with someone who's chronically depressed or angry knows that it's no fun. If you suffer from either malady yourself, you're probably not too thrilled with it either...
DIVORCE: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS We all know them; you might even be one of them. They're the bitter divorced people who five years later are still seething with anger at their ex-spouse. The question is, what causes the anger? The marriage, or the way they divorced? It's ironic; people often divorce in the hopes of creating a better life. Yet many emerge from the process bitter, broken and broke. Instead of reducing drama and angst, they just create more. The only thing they wind up with less of is money...
What's more important: knowledge, work habits or the way we interact with others? What's more important: knowledge, work habits or the way we interact with others? Recently, one of my clients was creating a project team. Several people volunteered, yet when they found out that Ms. So and So was going to be part of it, they quickly retracted their offers. The project hadn't even started, yet they were already jumping ship at the mere thought of having to work with Ms. So and So...
People are weird about love. People are weird about love. Everybody wants to be loved, but nobody wants to talk about it. We'll tell a stranger how much we love our iPod. Yet we find it difficult to look into the eyes of our parent, spouse or child and proclaim the same thing...
ARE YOU LETTING A LIZARD RUIN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS? Do you ever wonder why some people do the things they do? We all have our own unique perspectives and experiences. Our unique point of view is the lens through which we view the world. The good news is we're all different. The bad news is sometimes we forget that...
TRAPPED IN A GOLD BARREL ABOUT TO GO OVER THE FALLS By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com My daughter is learning how to drive. But, as it turns out, I'm the one getting a lesson. I'm learning all kinds of new things, like how to stifle a scream. And that no matter how hard you push your foot into the floor, you can't stop the car from the passenger side because there's no brake buried in the floor mat...
QUESTIONS ARE THE SECRET TO CONNECTING WITH PEO By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com Everyone is looking for the magic bullet, the secret words that will make our spouse melt, our coworker cooperate and our customer giggle with glee as they sign on the dotted line. After 20 years as a sales and business coach and a decade spent helping people with their personal relationships, I've discovered that in most situations, the secret statement is rarely a statement...
IS SILENCING YOUR TRUTH NOBLE OR JUST PLAIN SELFISH? By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com You know who they are. They're the Type As who storm their way through life assuming that their opinion is the only one that counts. Whether they're dominating the boardroom, the family dinner table or the church finance meeting, their truth, as they see it, takes precedent, and heaven help anyone who stands in their way...
OPTIMISM V. PESSIMISM: A TREACHEROUS FALSE CHOICE By: Lisa Earle McLeod www.LisaEarleMcLeod.com The sunny-side-uppers claim that a positive attitude is the secret to success. If only all the Eeyores of the world would start thinking more positively, we could cure disease, create world peace, and line our pockets with riches...
THE ONE SIMPLE THING THAT MAKES EVERY WOMAN HAPPY An open letter to men: We love you, we really do. We know you're different than we are, and we like it that way. It's true we often ask you to act more like we do. But if we're honest, we know - and you know - that our differences make things more interesting and exciting...
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Angst is in the air: Be careful it's catching  - Blog RSS feed ![[Feed icon]](http://www.stategazette.com/images/icons/feed-icon-14x14.png){kind=icon} - Comments RSS feed - Login I can't take any more.
The economy is tanking, the election is endless, and now it looks like I might have to sell my blood if I want to keep my kids in mac 'n cheese.
Oh, and did I mention that, thanks to falling house prices, I probably owe more on my home than it's actually worth?
I want to go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and have somebody wake me up when my 401(k) bounces back.
I don't know about you, but I'm finding myself so jittery about, well everything, that it's all I can do to surf the net. Kind of ironic, isn't it? I should be working more, but I'm so anxious about my finances that I'm actually working less.
Alas, such is the world of grown-ups - stress, anxiety, depression. And to think that I wasted much of my childhood wishing I could be in charge of my own life. Why in the heck did I ever think that was a good idea? Give me a few cookies, a blankey and a nice place to lie down and I swear I'll never complain about an early bedtime again.
These are tough times indeed. Even if you're still OK, you'd have to be one cold, hard, rich person to stay immune to all the angst in the air.
So how do you cope? How do you get through today when you're so worried about tomorrow that you can't see straight?
I overheard a news commentator say that people are thinking twice before they go out to eat or buy new clothes. I'm guessing that those are the people who still have jobs. Because the people without jobs aren't spending a nickel on anything except cheap carbs and keeping a roof over their heads.
Yet as depressing as our collective and individual situations may be, the last thing we need to do is let our fear get the best of us. If you spend all day quaking and anxious, guess who wins? The fear.
Yes, I know FDR had a roof over his head when he said "we have nothing to fear but fear itself," but he was right. Every moment you waste paralyzed with fear is a moment you could be doing something, or resting up so that you can do something tomorrow.
It's been said that there are only two emotions, love and fear, and all the other emotions are derivatives of those.
So I'd like to make a suggestion. Let's chose love.
Let's decide to love each other and to love ourselves, no matter what happens. And if you're really a Pollyanna, perhaps you'll join me in deciding to love the fact that this crisis is serving as a call for us to become our better selves; a call for us to look within and rid ourselves of consumerism, greed and the need to keep up with the Jones; and a call for us to have more empathy for those who are struggling.
Maybe this is a chance for all of us - and I include myself - to decide that we love our country and we love our fellow human beings more than we love our stuff.
Yeah, I know it sounds hokey. But you don't change your circumstances until you change the thoughts that created them.
Cowering under the covers in fear may feel safer. But in a crisis, the truly powerful response is love.
(c) Copyright 2008, by Lisa Earle McLeod. All rights reserved.
Lisa Earle McLeod is a keynote speaker, author and nationally syndicated columnist. Her books include "Forget Perfect" and "Finding Grace When You Can't Even Find Clean Underwear." Contact her at www.ForgetPerfect.com.
Hot topics One Free Thing That Will Make Your Life Better In 2012(0 ~ 12:41 PM, Jan 4)
How to Differentiate Yourself in 1 Minute Flat
7 ways to have a great life
DIVORCE: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Why a ten-year-old is giving advice to Congress
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