"Clear Directions" Newsletter
The monthly online publication dedicated to educating and encouraging the Family Woman in Business to successfully choose and achieve career and personal goals

April #1, 2008  |  Volume 3   |  Issue 4

"When I help you make sense of the things in your life, the things in my life makes sense"

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As you read, we are rollin' our way north to home.

It was difficult to leave our winter RV site in Yuma. Not because we didn't look forward to going home, but because it was hard to say goodbye to all our new friends. Many we will see again next season, but some we won't. Sniff, sniff.

However, there was one catalyst that shot me out of my reverie and into the 'navigator's' seat screaming "Let's go, let's go!!"

It was a paragraph in the Sun Vista RV Resort "Happenings" newsletter, the one wishing us well on our travels home plus some of the experiences of a desert spring we could look forward to. Here, verbatim, is one of them

"Another sign of spring is the return of the creepy, crawlers on our warm streets at night. Please carry a flashlight when walking or biking at night so that you can see any movement on the pavement. The possibility of seeing critters such as scorpions, tarantulas and snakes is very real. Keep your eyes open and do not leave shoes outdoors as they make great hiding places especially for scorpions."

Need I say more?

When we were 5 years old we were likely fascinated with creepy crawlers, what changed to cause us to be fearful? Check out this issue's FEATURE ARTICLE below.

You can also read about and see pictures of us getting lost in the 'blooming' desert at MY BLOG.

In this Issue:

       Welcoming words

       Feature Article - "What If You Were 5?"

       Travels with My Coach: Visit www://travelswithmycoach.com and see how DB and I got lost in the desert!

       Recommended: New Segment included, "Recommended Reading List "

FEATURE ARTICLE

Attempting to set and achieve goals under stress and worry doesn't work.

If the words in your head are saying something like, "I really have to have $5,000 before the end of July or I won't have the tuition to send Mary to College! What on earth is going to happen if I don’t get it? I reallllly need it, I better set a goal quickly and hope and pray that it turns up", then you set to imagining all kinds of unwanted scenarios from now to the end of July, you need some help to rearrange your perspective.

Many of us, including myself, learned that to worry and fret and stress yourself out was the only way to 'guarantee' that you would get what you wanted in life. Life was 'hard' work, or we adopted some limiting beliefs about ourselves, and we were fearful that we would not be successful. That fear took the form of constant worry which became stress, which became physical illness, sleeplessness, etc. etc.

I mean, jeepers, if you stretch an elastic band at its maximum long enough, it's gonna break! Or lose its ability to 'bounce back', or maybe just rot and disintegrate. Ugh.

OK, let's see about finding you that new perspective. It's really not hard. Remember playing with a kaleidoscope when you were a kid? When you put it to your eye you saw a beautiful pattern of multi colours. Then you turned the end of it just a tiny fraction of an inch and the entire picture changed. Well, life can be just like that. Even the slightest shift can bring you an entirely new picture.

Worry and fret are habitual. In order to change one habit, you need to create another habit. A healthy one. The next time you realize you are stuck in 'worry' mode, ask yourself the question, "What if I were 5, what would I do right now?" Worry does not come naturally to five year olds!

When I posed this question to one of my coaching clients she said she would go and colour. Wow, what if you got yourself a colouring book and a large package of crayons (lots of variety) and sat down and coloured a page when you were stressed out?! And here's the real trick: you can only think about colouring….the shades, the method, the feel of the crayon in your hand, the smell of the paper and the crayons, etc. Stay present, gently move aside any worry thoughts that may try to muscle in. And breathe. Stressed out people forget to breathe!

Now what else does a five year old do?

• ride a bike
• play dress up
• skip
• play ball
• (TV watching not allowed)
• play with the pet
• have a tea party
• play an instrument
• put up a lemonade stand
• make angels in the snow

I know you can think of many more.

When I was five, I lived in a fairly isolated, forested area on the ocean. I loved exploring the paths (except when a garter snake suddenly appeared and my scream scared it more than it scared me) along the wooded areas next to the water, picking huckleberries, visiting the waterfall, watching the sunlight filter through the leaves and dance on the mossy ground. Butterflies and insects were fascinating. Even the rain was fun. Everything was an adventure.

Now, I can't 'be' there physically, but I can in my imagination. I can go for a walk anywhere and imagine that I am on my wooded paths. And you can go anyplace you want to in your imagination too.

If you don't have a bike, go get a second hand one. Dress up in some clothes that are mismatched, unfashionable, too small or too large and laugh at yourself. Skip rope and sing one of those silly songs (sure you remember) and don't forget to do "pepper". Bounce a ball against the side of the house, it's your house now and no parent is going to come out and tell you that you are causing the rising bread to fall.

Buy a child's tea set and have a tea party with yourself. Maybe not put up a lemonade stand, but make lemonade from scratch. If you don't have an instrument to play, put a tissue over a comb and go for it.

If you are the middle-of-the-night worrier, get up and read a story book that was one of your childhood favourites, cuddle with your pet. Pets never worry or fret and are always in the now.

Get the idea?

Keeping present is what is necessary in whatever you do. Be aware of all your senses and brush aside any thoughts that distract you. Stay in your five year old little self. Not only will you bring some fun into your life, but you will be taking a vacation from the stress and worry, improve your physical health, sleep better, and get yourself out of the way of the Universe and allow it to do the work necessary to manifest your goals. After all, when an employer assigns you a job, does he/she do it for you? Not!

Set your goals from a deep passion within not out of desperation or need, always remembering that within you is the five year old kid that is just bursting to get out!

www.travelswithmycoach.com

Read about "Lost in the Bloomin' Desert and Pungent Air " at MY BLOG!

YOUR COACH

CGC RECOMMENDS

If there was a way to cleanse your body of toxins on a cellular level with a side benefit of getting rid of unwanted body fat, would you want to know about it??

Why did DB's chronic pain in hip, knee, back and neck become reduced by more than 75% in just two weeks? Why did the arthritic pain in my fingers disappear, I no longer have to take acid reflux meds and the regularly occurring migraines have downgraded to be able to eliminate prescription meds?

Why have I reached a goal weight loss of 10 pounds and 20 inches in 5 weeks and DB has rid himself of 15 pounds and 14 inches?

It's a bloomin' miracle!!! Go to my new health blog to find out.

After reading, if you want to get started on your own miracles, send me an email at lynn@cleargoalscoaching.com.

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"Work out" in high heels and never break a sweat at

"Business Woman's Coaching Gym"

To learn more about the Business Woman's Coaching Gym Click here:

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Recommended Reading

Books are some of my closest friends. Even in my RV one overhead storage cupboard is dedicated to my library. Below are some classics and some newbies that I'm sure will become classics:

'Three Cups of Tea' Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. "Thrilling proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination really can change the world" - Tom Brokaw”

'You Can Heal Your Life' DVD and book by Louise Hay

'The Secret' DVD and book by Rhonda Byrne

'Eat, Pray, Love' Elizabeth Gilbert'

'Five Wishes' Gay Hendricks

'The Four Agreements' Don Miguel Ruiz

'Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus' Dr. John Gray

'Conversations With God', Books 1,2 & 3 Neale Donald Walsch

'A New Earth' and 'The Power of Now' Eckhart Tolle

'Life on the Other Side' Sylvia Browne

IN CLOSING

Not to decide IS to decide! Even doing 'nothing' is making a decision to do nothing, which really is doing 'something'. That 'something' will either take you toward or away from your goals. There is no such thing as standing still. -Lynn Moore