A friend and I took a lovely paddleboat ride on the Mississippi River one day, past old crumbling brick walls backed by sparkling new skyscrapers, learning a lot of history that we had never heard. The good time almost didn’t happen, due to a careless mistake on my part. That mistake did trigger some thoughts about small stresses in life, which in turn triggered this article.
India is an amazing country, and those of you taking a trip to India, we've done the work for you so you can save yourself time, money, stress, and experience all of what the country of India has to offer in the TOP 10 Must do travel tips in India!
Candis Marshall's Blueprint: Visual Memories Solo Art Exhibition CatalogCandis Marshall
Blueprint: Visual Memories is a retrospective of ten years of artwork by Candis Marshall an artist from the Bahamas. The exhibition samples her work as a fine art photographer specializing in macro and nature photography. It explores her work as a mixed media sculptor. She is also a published author and has included essays as a part of her retrospective presentation. The works in Blueprint were curated to truly represent a human experience and it was and is Marshall's intention to present her work in such a way that every and anyone would find something within that connects with them on a very personal level.
India is an amazing country, and those of you taking a trip to India, we've done the work for you so you can save yourself time, money, stress, and experience all of what the country of India has to offer in the TOP 10 Must do travel tips in India!
Candis Marshall's Blueprint: Visual Memories Solo Art Exhibition CatalogCandis Marshall
Blueprint: Visual Memories is a retrospective of ten years of artwork by Candis Marshall an artist from the Bahamas. The exhibition samples her work as a fine art photographer specializing in macro and nature photography. It explores her work as a mixed media sculptor. She is also a published author and has included essays as a part of her retrospective presentation. The works in Blueprint were curated to truly represent a human experience and it was and is Marshall's intention to present her work in such a way that every and anyone would find something within that connects with them on a very personal level.
The Ultimate Bucket List: Things to Do Once in a LifetimeIoana Sima
Some people are so obsessed with making money or working that they completely forget to live their lives. We believe that one should cherish and live life to the fullest. Here is a collection of things to do once in a lifetime. The complete Bucket List can be found here:
http://tenmania.com/bucket-list-things-do-once-lifetime/
The list of things to do once in a lifetime can actually go on forever, as every person out there has his or her own bucket list and his or her personal wishes and secret desires. Why 300, you may ask? Why not 1000, we can ask you back, as life is full of opportunities to do whatever you wish, to follow your dreams and challenge your inner self.
Feel free to add your own items to the bucket list. Let's make it grow together! What would you like to do from the items listed in the presentation?
The topic of introversion has now entered the mainstream. How can I tell? This topic, which I have championed for so many years (full disclosure: I am an introvert), has now appeared in one of my favorite comic strips, and I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I hear it over and over again: “I can’t network. I’m an introvert.” “I don’t know what to say.” “I don’t want to brag.” A lot of people don’t like networking, but the bulk of them seem to be introverts.
Social Confidence and “Extrovert Skills”Lynette Crane
“I used my extrovert skills.” “I had to learn some extrovert skills.” “Oh, well, I don’t have extrovert skills.” I hear these phrases all the time – and they drive me crazy.
Holding on to your identity during a transitionLynette Crane
Transitions – in life or in career – are tough. One of the hardest parts is the seeming attack on your identity when you no longer fill a given role, a role you may have played for years, even decades. People who have had to change careers for physical or health reasons, retirees from work to which they have dedicated years of their lives, mothers whose children have grown up and fled the nest, all struggle with this identity crisis.
Everyone tells you that you must have a clear vision of where you want to go and who you want to be. Not everyone tells you exactly how – and how not – to get to that vision.
Time and energy bandits are habits and thought processes that can suck you dry, leaving you exhausted and harried. One of these bandits, which particularly rears its head at the holiday season, is perfectionism.
Can an introvert have an exciting life and surviveLynette Crane
Performers are, surprisingly often, introverts, because performing provides a perfect platform for an introvert. A performance usually involves a structured situation with behavior that is well-rehearsed; furthermore, we can usually perform without those interruptions that force us to freeze or think too quickly, that we encounter in social situations. Many of us even learned that we could pour out our feelings and enthusiasm with a feeling of safety we never found daily life.
The Yin, Yang and Dopamine in RelationshipsLynette Crane
Some people like to linger until the very end of a party; others like to leave early.
Unfortunately, they frequently marry each other.
They may very well have met and been attracted to each other because of these opposite qualities: one represents tranquility, stability, and caution, the other one represents excitement, change, and risk-taking.
January is the time of fresh starts, fresh ideas, and an urge to create a new, better life.Often, we start out with high hopes, only to sink by February 1 as if the balloon carrying our hopes had been punctured.
Hans Selye, known as the “Father of Stress,” coined the term “eustress” in 1926. It means, literally, “good stress.” Is there such a thing? You bet there is.
Is tech stress driving you screaming madLynette Crane
It’s official (in case you hadn’t already noticed): technology is raising our stress level precipitously.
In fact, Mike Kushner, co-owner of a computer solutions company in Palo Alto, California, has paramedics ready to respond to calls from what he calls the “digitally desperate.”
Have you ever been caught in a race that never ends: one in which the big prize at the end is as far out of reach as it is when you started, and the small rewards along the way that might sustain you have gotten to be scarcer and scarcer? Perhaps the big prize no longer seems enticing, or even appropriate, but you’ve been so busy you haven’t even noticed its allure fading.
The Ultimate Bucket List: Things to Do Once in a LifetimeIoana Sima
Some people are so obsessed with making money or working that they completely forget to live their lives. We believe that one should cherish and live life to the fullest. Here is a collection of things to do once in a lifetime. The complete Bucket List can be found here:
http://tenmania.com/bucket-list-things-do-once-lifetime/
The list of things to do once in a lifetime can actually go on forever, as every person out there has his or her own bucket list and his or her personal wishes and secret desires. Why 300, you may ask? Why not 1000, we can ask you back, as life is full of opportunities to do whatever you wish, to follow your dreams and challenge your inner self.
Feel free to add your own items to the bucket list. Let's make it grow together! What would you like to do from the items listed in the presentation?
The topic of introversion has now entered the mainstream. How can I tell? This topic, which I have championed for so many years (full disclosure: I am an introvert), has now appeared in one of my favorite comic strips, and I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I hear it over and over again: “I can’t network. I’m an introvert.” “I don’t know what to say.” “I don’t want to brag.” A lot of people don’t like networking, but the bulk of them seem to be introverts.
Social Confidence and “Extrovert Skills”Lynette Crane
“I used my extrovert skills.” “I had to learn some extrovert skills.” “Oh, well, I don’t have extrovert skills.” I hear these phrases all the time – and they drive me crazy.
Holding on to your identity during a transitionLynette Crane
Transitions – in life or in career – are tough. One of the hardest parts is the seeming attack on your identity when you no longer fill a given role, a role you may have played for years, even decades. People who have had to change careers for physical or health reasons, retirees from work to which they have dedicated years of their lives, mothers whose children have grown up and fled the nest, all struggle with this identity crisis.
Everyone tells you that you must have a clear vision of where you want to go and who you want to be. Not everyone tells you exactly how – and how not – to get to that vision.
Time and energy bandits are habits and thought processes that can suck you dry, leaving you exhausted and harried. One of these bandits, which particularly rears its head at the holiday season, is perfectionism.
Can an introvert have an exciting life and surviveLynette Crane
Performers are, surprisingly often, introverts, because performing provides a perfect platform for an introvert. A performance usually involves a structured situation with behavior that is well-rehearsed; furthermore, we can usually perform without those interruptions that force us to freeze or think too quickly, that we encounter in social situations. Many of us even learned that we could pour out our feelings and enthusiasm with a feeling of safety we never found daily life.
The Yin, Yang and Dopamine in RelationshipsLynette Crane
Some people like to linger until the very end of a party; others like to leave early.
Unfortunately, they frequently marry each other.
They may very well have met and been attracted to each other because of these opposite qualities: one represents tranquility, stability, and caution, the other one represents excitement, change, and risk-taking.
January is the time of fresh starts, fresh ideas, and an urge to create a new, better life.Often, we start out with high hopes, only to sink by February 1 as if the balloon carrying our hopes had been punctured.
Hans Selye, known as the “Father of Stress,” coined the term “eustress” in 1926. It means, literally, “good stress.” Is there such a thing? You bet there is.
Is tech stress driving you screaming madLynette Crane
It’s official (in case you hadn’t already noticed): technology is raising our stress level precipitously.
In fact, Mike Kushner, co-owner of a computer solutions company in Palo Alto, California, has paramedics ready to respond to calls from what he calls the “digitally desperate.”
Have you ever been caught in a race that never ends: one in which the big prize at the end is as far out of reach as it is when you started, and the small rewards along the way that might sustain you have gotten to be scarcer and scarcer? Perhaps the big prize no longer seems enticing, or even appropriate, but you’ve been so busy you haven’t even noticed its allure fading.
What is life was a multiple choice test?Lynette Crane
If life was a multiple choice test, would you always pick the same answer? “Let’s see, it’s choice B. Guess I’ll go with that all the way.”
At least in a real multiple choice test, you can see all choices – usually four – laid out and you may even ponder them before you mark your choice.
In my last article, “Watch who you share your pain with,” I described several kinds of people who only make your pain worse by saying the wrong things. I call them, collectively, Dementors, familiar to Harry Potter fans as creatures who suck all hope out of you. They may magnify your tiny symptom into sure death, or seemingly provide incontrovertible evidence that your dreams can never succeed.
Are you carrying some introvert baggage?Lynette Crane
The basic definition of an introvert is of someone who is very sensitive to external stimulation and needs to withdraw periodically because our energy is depleted by too much stimulation, whereas an extrovert is someone who goes out and seeks stimulation, often social stimulation, in order to be energized.
Can you go back and change the past, or are you stuck with what you remember? That’s the key: what you remember. The fact is, our brains are stuffed with memories, only some of which we retrieve, convincing ourselves we have a true and complete picture of the past when in fact we have a partial, often negative, picture of our history.
I meet people all the time who don’t really understand virtual learning, and are therefore wary of signing up for anything that is presented in this way.
Do you feel as if you have invisible gnats buzzing around inside and outside of your head? Are you so overwhelmed by possibilities that you start to work on one task, then set it down and switch your attention to another, and then another?
Welcome to the Program Your Destiny course. In this course, we will be learning the technology of personal transformation, neuroassociative conditioning (NAC) as pioneered by Tony Robbins. NAC is used to deprogram negative neuroassociations that are causing approach avoidance and instead reprogram yourself with positive neuroassociations that lead to being approach automatic. In doing so, you change your destiny, moving towards unlocking the hypersocial self within, the true self free from fear and operating from a place of personal power and love.
https://bit.ly/BabeSideDoll4u Babeside is a company that specializes in creating handcrafted reborn dolls. These dolls are designed to be incredibly lifelike, with realistic skin tones and hair, and they have become increasingly popular among collectors and those who use them for therapeutic purposes. At Babeside, we believe that our reborn dolls can provide comfort and healing to anyone who needs it.
The Healing Power of Babeside's Handcrafted Creations
Our reborn dolls are more than just beautiful pieces of art - they can also help alleviate stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Studies have shown that holding or cuddling a soft object like a stuffed animal or a reborn doll can release oxytocin, which is often referred to as the "love hormone." This hormone helps us feel calm and relaxed, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety.
In addition to their physical benefits, reborn dolls can also offer emotional support. For many people, having something to care for and nurture can bring a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Reborn dolls can also serve as a reminder of happy memories or loved ones who have passed away.
1. What If…?
A friend and I took a lovely paddleboat ride on the Mississippi River one day, past old crumbling
brick walls backed by sparkling new skyscrapers, learning a lot of history that we had never heard.
The good time almost didn’t happen, due to a careless mistake on my part. That mistake did trigger
some thoughts about small stresses in life, which in turn triggered this article.
When I ordered the tickets for the paddleboat cruise, I was
told to bring the printed order form plus a form of picture
identification.
We showed up at the dock, I reached into my purse – and
remembered that I had put my major credit card and
driver’s license into a small pouch the previous day in
order to attend an art fair – and hadn’t replaced them in
my purse.
This is the kind of situation that can bring out creativity
immediately. We had driven all the way to the landing, packing a picnic lunch, excited at this little
respite from daily work and cares. Now the outing seemed threatened by my mistake.
What if we were refused entrance to the boat?
My first reaction was to say, “Oh, well, it’s a lovely day. If we can’t board the boat, we can have a
nice picnic on the side of the river.” I said this loudly several times to convince both myself and my
friend.
Inside my head, I pictured the clerk adamantly refusing to give me the tickets without the
proper identification, and pictured myself being my winsome best to persuade her to turn over the
tickets.
All the while I had to remind myself that the various scenarios that were floating around in my head
were just that – scenarios. They bore no relation to reality because they were in the future, which
hadn’t happened yet. Any time you can put “What if…?” in front of the description of coming
events, you should recognize that you are being creative, and not necessarily in a good way.
When we walked up to the window, I presented the order, the clerk frowned (a little inner tension
for me here), and said, “What name was this under?” I replied, she reached into the drawer… and
handed me the tickets, with no further conversation.
I know people who wouldn’t be fazed at all by this kind of situation, assuming from the start that
they could somehow handle it in a manner that would bring a positive outcome. It wouldn’t occur to
them to worry about it for a minute.
For those of us who spent a number of years perfecting our worrying, anxious thoughts will
continue to surface any time a roadblock, however small, appears in our path.
Worriers need to have a few mechanisms in place when things don’t seem to be working out as you
planned.
Consider other pleasant outcomes
So what if your plans are blocked? Stay relaxed, and look for pleasant surprises in your life. You
can make wonderful discoveries this way.
2. Lamenting – “This is terrible. Our whole day is ruined” – forces you to focus only on the negative
and stifles any creative solution.
I once was denied access to a museum because I had my small dog concealed (I thought) in a large
handbag. My friends went in; I crossed the historic main street of this little town, entered an antique
store, and found that the owner, who had lived there for decades, could give me the complete
history of the area, showing me artifacts and pictures to illustrate her words. She also was a dog
lover; we spent a delightful hour or so. The dog had a good time, too.
I could have sat outside in the heat, fanning myself, waiting for my friends, being alternately
annoyed at the museum and annoyed at myself for bringing the dog.
In the case of our boat trip, I immediately began mentally planning an alternate trip along the river.
We went anyway, but after the boat trip, found scenery neither of us ever knew existed, and this in a
city where we have lived for years.
Imagine the best
As long as you are creating future scenarios, why not opt for good ones? Potential lovers stepping
out of doorways, exhilarating celebrations taking place just around the corner….
Advanced Worriers (AW’s) need to think of all the times your plans were derailed, or you had to
take a detour, and instead found a pleasant surprise.
RAW’s (Really Advanced Worriers) need to start making such a list. Look around you when you
are blocked – really open your eyes and look at the scenery and the people. Many a relationship has
erupted, many an entrepreneur has been launched, and all because of a chance encounter. New
restaurants, old houses, unknown parks, charming shops, unexpected vistas can all pop up when
you least expect them to do so.
Rehearse – but not too well
Prepare to handle the potential block to your plans by considering what actions you might take or
what words you might use. Then remember that this is just one of several ways the situation might
play out. I had a few persuasive words prepared if it was necessary, but I never had to use them.
Practice your stress management skills on small frustrations, such as this one, and you will be ready
for the more serious challenges you will face in life.
Remember, we need systems in place that will help us to deal creatively with the small challenges
that life brings to us all the time. Responding to these challenges creatively makes you stronger;
responding with stress makes it more likely you will do so in the future.
Practice the good stuff! Make it a habit.
May all your “What if’s” be great!
Lynette Crane is a Minneapolis-based speaker, writer, and coach. She has more than 30 years'
experience in the field of stress and time management and personal growth. Her latest book is The
Confident Introvert, written to help introverts overcome the stress of living in a culture that
idealizes extroversion, so that they can thrive, and not just survive.Visit her website at
http://www.creativelifechanges.com/ to see more in-depth articles and to view her programs.