THE YEAR THAT WILL BE

Welcome to my next newsletter. I thank you in an advance for reading and please feel free to share this with anyone who you believe will enjoy.

The festive season is already just a distant memory and many of you may be feeling as surprised as I am that we are on the threshold of February. With less than 11 months left of 2011, it’s an opportune time to ask yourself some pertinent questions:

• Do I have my goals set for the year ahead?
• What would I like to do differently or change this year?
• Is there anything that I need to remind myself to do or practice?

Let me sow some seeds for what you may want to consider in 2011:

1. Balance your emotions:
   

   Chinese medicine teaches us that our health is dependent on the balance of the ‘qi’
   - pronounced chi - in our bodies. Qi is our life force. We are healthy physically, mentally and emotionally when our qi is flowing smoothly. When our qi is deficient or blocked we become unhealthy, depressed and ill. When we are balanced emotionally our qi flows smoothly. All emotions are normal and even negative emotions such as anger and fear are appropriate under certain circumstances.

   Understandably we may at times find it difficult to keep this balance. However the ability to step back and distance oneself from the situation often helps to gain a better perspective of what is happening and in turn helps us to regain the balance. Bottling up and suppressing emotions only serve to have a negative impact. Talk about your feelings, write in a journal, take pleasure from things you enjoy and if need be, seek help. However the key is to get that life force flowing smoothly.

   "Balanced emotions are crucial to intuitive decision making." - Michael Eisner

2. Accept Change!:
   

   We all have experienced and will continue to experience change – some positive and some challenging. Change occurs in every aspect of our lives – in our personal lives, at work, our relationships, and our circumstances. Change is not about loss it is just change. Rather than fight it – accept it, learn the lesson, revel in the growth and move on. Understand too that accepting change is a process. When we accept the process, the acceptance of the change becomes much easier:

   STAGE 1: FEAR, CONCERN, CAUTION    -> STAGE 2. DOUBT, RESISTANCE, RESENTMENT    -> STAGE 3. DISCOMFORT, ANXIETY, CONFUSION    -> STAGE 4. DISCOVERY, ANTICIPATION, ENERGIZED    -> STAGE 5. UNDERSTANDING, PRODUCTIVE, CONFIDENCE    -> STAGE 6. INTERGRATION, FOCUS, ACCEPTANCE

   "Keep your mind open to change. Welcome it. Court it. It is only be examining and re-examining your opinions and ideas that you can progress." - Dale Carnegie

3. Find ways to keep motivated:
   

   Life rewards action. So find what it is that motivates you. We are all unique and special and therefore have different motivators. I find it amazing that people say they get bored. Well find something to do – motivate and energise yourself. If you are creative – make something! If you are motivated by knowledge read something. Once again set goals – having something to look forward to motivates us! Determine your values and you will become immediately motivated. If you know what you value you will know what drives and motivates you. So do a values exercise (I am very happy to send you one if you don’t have one) and start getting excited at the prospect of being motivated all the time.

   "No matter who you are or what your age may be, if you want to achieve permanent, sustaining success, the motivation that will drive you toward that goal must come from within." - Paul Meyer

4. The 90/10 principle:
   

   What do we mean by this principle? Quite simply: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you and 90% of life is how you respond. To explain further the 10% you can do nothing about i.e. you cannot control the plane that is late, the weather that turns, a taxi cutting you off or the attitude of someone else. However what you can control is how YOU respond. We create our own stress and worry by allowing things that in the greater scheme of life are really unimportant and trivial. Yet we allow these things to impact on our entire day. You are your own life manager so learn how to be a good manager. Just ‘Let it go’! The 90/10 principle also has a direct link to our qi and its smooth flow.

   "Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. We must all understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It can change your life." - Stephen Covey

5. Clean up your clutter:
   

   Do you have lots of stuff piled on your desk, into cupboards and drawers – well start cleaning. If you have not used something in the last year the chances are you won’t. Even clothes that hang there unused unless you start wearing them today chances are you won’t. Be ruthless – when you clear clutter you create space, light and order. Clutter also impacts on our attitude. When we can’t find something we get frustrated and annoyed. Furthermore according to De Pamela Peeke a US fitness specialist, apparently clutter can be linked to excess weight. Chronic disorganisation causes over stimulation of the stress related hormone cortisol which increases appetite. Clearing the clutter also gives us the opportunity to contribute to those less fortunate. So get rid of all that stuff you no longer need or use and in doing so clear the clutter in your mind too!

   "Clutter is stuck energy. The word ‘clutter’ derives from the Middle east word ‘Clotter’ which means ‘to coagulate’ – that’s about as stuck as you can get!" - Karen Kingston

6. Listen more and talk less:
   

   According to researchers from the University of San Diego we are bombarded with about 23 words a second from various media platforms and people around us. No wonder that by the end of the day we feel info overloaded. We all seem to love the sound of our own voices and definitely talk more than we listen. Listening is a vital skill to start practising. Try the following: Instead of interrupting try keeping quiet; instead of wanting to tell your story – listen to theirs; instead of listening with prejudice listen with an open mind. It’s not always about you!

   "The less you talk, the more you are listened to." - Abigail van Buren
   

7. Learn something new every day:
   

   Everyone and everything around you is your teacher. Be a sponge, be interested – it will make you more interesting! Read, be childlike in your quest for knowledge.
   Here are some things that I bet you didn’t know:

   • 'Dreamt' is the only word in the English language that ends in ‘mt’
   • No word in the English language rhymes with orange, silver, purple or month
   • There are only 4 words in the English language that end in ‘dous’: horrendous, tremendous, stupendous and hazardous
   • A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds
   • Cats have over 100 vocal sounds and dogs 10
   • The average American will spend 6 motnsh of his/her life wating at red traffic lights
   • A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes
   • Women blink nearly twice as much as men

   ......... now you have just learned something new!

   "He who discovers what is different in each day may be called a good learner." - Tzu Hsia