Resources

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Life Coaching: Tips & Tools

First and Foremost: Keep a Journal
Keeping a journal accomplishes many useful things. When you are having issues in your life, a journal can be a great confidant. It can be helpful to put down in black and white the things you would like to have said, but did not say, perhaps because of circumstances or who was included in a conversation.

Writing down a thought, feeling or opinion can help you gain clarity and maintain your sanity. Sometimes we are not good at jumping into a discussion “off the cuff” as it were and we need time to digest the entire circumstance before we feel comfortable responding.

A journal can be your sounding board for many types of issues.
For example, if you need to make a life altering decision, use your journal to write down the pros and cons on one page in two columns so you can see your way through the decision clearly and informatively.

Keeping track of positive and negative experiences in your life is another way to utilize a journal. You learn from doing and certainly do not want to make the same mistakes twice. When you write them down and refer to them once in a while you won’t be inclined to repeat things.

Second: Keep a Daily Planner or Calendar
Time management is the second largest topic of discussion among my clients, friends and family. Everyone’s life is hectic and there never seems to be enough time for self, family, work etc. Keeping a calendar and making sure to mark down important dates, appointments, classes, etc. will automatically help you to plan your days, weeks and months much easier.

I use a monthly planner to help me maintain my schedule. It seems to work for me to look at the month, mark down my regular appointments right away and see what is open a week at a time. That way I can tell someone else whose schedule just might be as hectic as mine when we can meet for lunch or a great spa day!

Using a planner can help you feel confident that you will not miss that all important date with whatever is on destiny's agenda for you today. Whether you are a working professional or a stay at home Mom, having a daily planner can help you uncover those precious hours you may need to find a quiet place to relax, have a massage or just get that pedicure for YOU!!

Third: Find Time for YOU
One of the most important things I find lacking in most of women’s lives is ME TIME. You have time for the house, job, kids, husband etc. But where do YOU fit into that equation?? My motto is at least once a week take time for yourself. Join a Yoga or Dance Class, go for a walk, get your nails done. Anything you love to do that will pamper you is worth making time for in your busy week. You will be a better person for it.

Just think about that last time you had that manicure or massage. How did you feel afterwards? Weren't you more relaxed and nicer to all of the people around you? Of course, I always am. So do it every week and you will see just how quickly your mood can change. Thereby changing everyone’s mood you deal with on a day-to-day basis.

If you utilize the second Tool written here, you should find it easier to solve the mystery of ME TIME. It will be there for you when you need it and want it to be. Open up time once each week, if not more, to be good to yourself. You will thank you for it.

Fourth: Live in the NOW
We have become a fearful society. We worry all the time. This truth is demonstrated in the billions of dollars spent every year on sleep aids and anti-depressants. Most of what we worry about is either in the past or what might happen in the future. Living in the now can put a real damper on a lot of those types of patterns.

What happened in the past is the past, and what will happen we probably do not have a lot of control over. So whey bother to waste good brain matter dealing with either of those? Deal with today, here, now. Make your biggest problem in the morning, what you have for breakfast, then take it from there hour by hour, with the last decision being which PJ’s to wear to bed that night. You will be more focused during the day and in a better frame of mind, your day will go smoother and the sun will shine brighter for you.

A good way to start your day living in the now is to say a prayer of thanks for what is in your life. Health, home, job, loving people, kids, life, vitality, nature, food, sunshine, absolutely anything and everything that you feel grateful for in the moment! Put that out there into the universe as your beginning and it will help put you in the proper mood to live your day to the fullest. I call it MY GRATITUDE LIST and I say it every morning and evening. Trust me, it does a body good!

More to come so keep watching… Denise