Archive for Brain Training
Focus on Reflective Action for 2012
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Sunrise Beach Musings
Reflective Action- is this an oxymoron? Nope! Not how I use the phrase, as they are both elements of one process.
Let’s explore. Are you one who treats the ‘New Year’ as a time for reflection, redirection and resolution? I hope so, even though any day provides many such opportunities- what I refer to as ‘Pivot Points’….moments where you can affirm or change direction by making choices and taking action in alignment with those choices.
Since the brain is a pattern making organism it supports habits and routines. That’s what makes change such an effort. We are very often so used to doing certain things we no longer really notice we are doing them. You want to be sure to be up-to-date on rituals and habits you perform, making sure they serve your current goals and best interests.
So, I recommend you taking a ‘Habit Scan’. This is a chance to reflect on your way of going about your life day to day. With pen and paper or notation device in hand, mentally walk through your day and note the routine actions you take daily, then add in weekly, monthly and annually. Include both positive and what you might consider less supportive or even detrimental habits.
These can include everything from what you eat and drink, how you exercise, your ways of relating and communicating to key people in your life, routines at work, how you get work done, gift-giving, celebrating, how you use free time, hobbies, who you hang out with, lifestyle quirks and anything else you can think of.
One of my habits is to go to the beach for sunrise musings and meditation, especially on holidays or special occasions. I stretch, walk, reflect, sometimes sing and always write in my journal. I love it and should really make it a more frequent habit for how restorative it is for me.
Sometimes a habit will show up by NOT showing up! For example, if regular exercise is foreign to you, it will not show up on your Habit Scan. Pay attention to the gaps as well as to what is there.
Now for the Action. Once you have written them down, take note of habits you want to continue, habits that need updating by adjusting to serve you better, and habits you definitely choose to discontinue. For example, do you REALLY want to keep going to the donut shop every Friday morning? You might choose to continue, but change what you order. Or you realize that’s your habit because the carpool colleague you no longer ride with used to do that and you never changed your routine. Or you like the social aspect but realize you could meet at a healthier spot.
Then choose several new or adjusted Reflective Actions to put into play in the New Year.
Here are 3 of my new Reflective Actions:
- perform a Mindful Moves sequence daily, either before my morning walk or as an afternoon refresher (Mindful Moves is a new book and video I am releasing any day on Amazon!)
- Open, overview or , better yet, activate any online program I purchase within 48 hours
- Make an offer at least once a week for one of my products or services: courses, books, workshops, coaching sessions or speaking
Now it’s your turn. Do your Habit Scan, Reflect and take Action!
Creative Living via Loving Your Work
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Happiness is Success
2011- What a year this has been! So many events occurred that were not in my (official conscious) gameplan, and which appeared to sideline me from my intentions. But who knows, really, what ultimately constitutes success. Yes, I choose to define success on my terms, and yet how that manifests may be different than my original….often too small human scale…vision. Honestly, this has been a year to test and demonstrate my Mental Resilience.
As the year comes to a close, I am reminded that for all the sadness and difficulties- such as losing my dear friend and Legacy Builder Jigme Norbu on the Walk for Tibet Florida in February, attempting to support my mother through her decline in health, giving up previous hopes of real estate empireship by ‘offloading’ several properties….
there has been a counter-balance in successes and achievements:
- completing two books (and a DVD!) with co-author Richard Israel, ‘Family Brain Gym: 30 Transformational Techniques for Mental Fitness and a Happier, Healthier Life’ and ‘Mindful Moves: Can Standing on Your Head Really Make You Smarter?’ (these will be up on Kindle and Amazon.com before the year-end, followed by online courses in January!)
- completing Leadership Coaching Accreditation with legendary John Maxwell
- joining the Experts Industry Council with Brendon Burchard
- guiding my youngest son through the college appllication process (with supreme assistance from my eldest daughter who knows the university scene well from her work with Ashoka U) and already having him accepted at several prestigious institutions
- welcoming son #2 back from his 4-plus years of US Army Service (including surviving Ranger training and a year in Iraq)- followed by his recent successful climbs up to Everest Base Camp and now Macchu Picchu
And much, much more….
Mostly, in regard to the banners printed above & below, I feel happy to be back writing and teaching cutting edge tools and strategies again. I am thrilled to be of service with what I know can make a difference to so many. In the New Year I will be much more visible and clear about my offerings and how they can benefit you.
And, I will have more fun again! After all, that’s what Creative Living is all about!
Rumi-Desire for Work
Using Your Voice for Good!
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Vocal Coach Roger Love, Donna & sister Kathe
Vocal Lessons w Roger Love In Hollywood
Focus on Creative Living
Posted by: | CommentsRecent news events- from a Royal wedding to the demise of a notorious terrorist mastermind- have the public all a-twitter (literally!); weighing in with their opinions as we focus on the media circus of the moment.
Yes, I agree it’s good to participate in our society- it’s a hallmark of democracy- and keeping up with the news is part of engaging in acculturation and community.
But as Leonardo DaVinci once lamented, (and I paraphrase), we humans ‘look without seeing, eat without tasting, listen without hearing, touch without feeling’ …rather, we glide through our lives more or less unwittingly. We let life happen to us, rather than making it happen for us. And then we wonder why we feel so out of control of our lives.
Re-education of Looking
Over the next few posts I will offer several observations and suggestions for overcoming the problems they present. As the above quote alludes, we need a re-education of looking…at managing what captures and holds our attention.
Here’s the first observation.
Most of us allow our attention, focus and even our emotions to be dictated by outside influences, like what’s blaring in the news or which neighbor is bugging us by getting away with violating local yard-waste ordinances. We reserve focus for our golf game or when it is required on the job. Rather than being in control of our mental faculties in order to have them serve us, we have tended to let our mental muscles get a bit lazy. We let others lead our attention where they want us to have it. So flabbiness is not just reserved for our waistlines, but also for our mental discipline.
Recognizing this phenomena is the first step in doing something about it. Second is knowing how we can turn the tide and use our powers of attention and mental focus to sculpt an amazing life of Creative Living in action. More next time!
8 Minutes to Mind Chi Mastery
Posted by: | CommentsAmong the courses I facilitate is Mind Chi, within which I show you an easy 8 minute routine to relieve stress, improve concentration and facilitate goal fulfillment. Below is a little video created to introduce the basic 8 steps to Mind Chi mastery.
Try it out! It gets faster & easier with practice over time, as do your results. I’ll add more details than you are given on the video over the next few weeks, while trekking 300 miles along the Atlantic coast of Florida. (see WalkforTibetFlorida.com )
Breed Productivity in Environment of Awesomeness
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I have a new ‘friend’ Phoebe who has called me twice now. She calls and tells me I’m awesome…pretty cool, if ticklish. Ironically, I nearly hung up on her the first call, assuming she was a nice but psychologically astute salesperson.
Now this is, to my knowledge, nothing kinky, but rather part of a service by a company called www.AwesomenessReminders.com. Apparently someone has paid to have this message anonymously delivered to me weekly for a period of time unknown to me. They may be trying out the free 7 day trial offer, or maybe the one month subscription.
The sender is kept a secret, although if you request to know who it is by email the company may tell you. I suspect the sender gets the option to allow the unveiling or not.
So it got me thinking…is there any advantage either to know who is sending me these messages or NOT to know? When I consider my pantheon of friends, colleagues or clients who might be sending me such lovely messages, it seems to me Read More→
Creative Inclusion for Jolly, Productive Holidays
Posted by: | CommentsHolidays are often anticipated and experienced as jolly and joyful.
However, they can also often be fraught with frustrations over strained or estranged relationships, with social activities you may or may not want to attend but feel obliged to, with having to dress and participate in activities that are not your usual choice of how to spend time, and also by NOT being invited to certain activities. This can leave you feeling left out, unpopular or ostracized.
I just read that the definition of ostracize comes from Read More→
Creative Focus on 2011-Cruising or Full Steam Ahead?
Posted by: | Comments2011 is upon us, yet there is still time to assure not only a prosperous end to 2010, but also setting the scene for a most rich and satisfying 2011, in every sense of what is meant by Creative Living.
One key will be your ability to FOCUS on what really matters to you along with PLANNING YOUR WORK & WORKING YOUR PLAN utilizing key strategies designed to support your desired outcomes. You could ‘cruise’ into the new year or charge ‘full steam ahead’, or both!
So here I am, writing to you from the shores of Barbados while on a working (yes, really!) cruise with fellow Internet Marketers. Along with playing ‘hard’, we are, indeed, carving out time to work hard (I know, relative term!) too. So while I am cruising in one sense of the word, I am actually charging full steam ahead with focusing and planning for success in terms of how I’m spending my time and focusing my mental energy. While appearing to be lounging on deck, my brain is actually churning out projects and imagining next steps.
So how about you? What areas of work or life would it behoove you to give more Focused Attention to? Your health? Your career? Cashflow? Technical skill development? Family life? Love life? Community involvement? Household honey-do items that have languished undone far too long? I know I have lots yet to do in several of these areas to close out my year in good consciensce.
So go ahead, use the Spotlight Frame (thinking tool) to identify some key Focus areas- both broad overview type focus areas as well as tight and narrow focus areas. Then map out a range of steps overall which would take you from idea to implementation. And then, specify several next steps for each area of focus. Set a timeframe to TAKE ACTION on them, and get started!
You’ll simultaneously feel a welcome sense of completion while also gaining momentum for the year to come.
(No, Virginia, this is NOT the North Pole!)
Healthy Brain Chemistry Creates Equal Opportunity Business
Posted by: | CommentsRelating male-female relationship dynamics to productivity in the workplace may initially seem a stretch, even though we all know how motivation and morale are affect by how people get along in any environment. Dr. John Gray, of Mars Venus fame, puts it down to brain chemistry. Healthy brain chemistry leads to better relationship dynamics, which in turn leads to greater effectiveness and productivity. The thing is, the process is not automatic. However, once the dynamic is known, individuals or businesses can design in activities or systems to support the best of brain chemistry outcomes.
Dr. Gray’s studies led him to understand that in order to stimulate certain hormones, we need a combination of doing what we need for ourselves along with receiving input from others we work and relate with. In this day and age of potential for labeling something as sexist because it treats males and females differently, we must be clear that brain chemistry is equal opportunity. In a similar way, equal opps was taken to ridiculous extremes that lead to installing the same number of stalls in male and female restrooms. The reality is, Read More→
Click here to Hear Brendon Burchard tell about Experts Academy Program
Posted by: | CommentsHello!
I’ve had the good fortune to know and study from Brendon Burchard over the past year. He is now making his Experts Academy immediately available on DVD and upcoming online sessions, coupled with 2 FREE live event tickets for the 4 day Experts Academy next year. (I’m jealous!- We didn’t get that!) He covers millionaire jumpstart strategies in 5 industries: speaking, seminars, authoring, coaching & internet marketing.
He gives you tools, strategies, frameworks and know-how to package & position your message out to the world as an expert. The price is $1997 which can be paid in installments, with full 30 day money-back guarantee. (Though you won’t need to use it- this stuff is so awesome.)
He explains what is included on the video here (which is also my affiliate link). http://budurl.com/expertknowhow . I will be hosting calls following some of Brendon’s online calls to assist people who sign up via my link with implementing what Brendon is teaching , coupled with some of my own thinking tools. This can give you a real ‘leg-up’!
If you have any questions, let me know with comments here. Registration is only open a few days so please look & listen to Brendon on video here now! http://budurl.com/expertknowhow
Go ahead- do it for your self and the people you want to reach with your message.
To your success!
Donna
