Happy Halloween!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Happy Halloween!
Monthly Archives: October 2016
Rest = Your Secret Weapon
Do you ever wish you had a secret weapon or a super power like your favorite superhero? Well, you do. It’s called REST.
Rest will help you press the reset button on your life.
Rest will restore your equilibrium
Rest will refresh your mind
Rest will repair your thoughts and turn them toward the positive
Rest will rejuvenate your body
Rest will replenish your energy
Rest will renew your emotions
Rest will revive your spirit
Rest will revamp your hope that, as you keep taking steps, things will improve
Rest will restore your belief in your dreams
Rest will regenerate your faith in yourself
Rest will revitalize your inspiration
Rest will recharge your motivation to take the next step toward your dreams.
Get some rest today!
Make it a priority to rest every day!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Your Own Pace
Yesterday in our review of where we stand, we may think we’re moving to slow. Our friends, family members, and colleagues seem like they’re moving much faster than we are.
Move at your own pace.
Don’t worry about how fast others around us are going. Don’t use others’ standards as the guides we use to measure our progress and our pace.
You have your own natural pace; stick to it. Your own pace is the exact right and perfect pace that WILL get you to your dreams.
In other words, your dreams are calibrated to your pace, so keep going! You’ll get to your dreams!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Review; Where Do You Stand?
We haven’t done a review in a while and perhaps it’s time to check in with ourselves and see where we stand.
Are you perking along at a good pace or, like me, is your progress slower and smaller than what you’d planned? Or perhaps your stuck and at a standstill.
Where ever you are in your journey, it’s okay. No worries, no stress! Together we’ll figure it out and take the next step forward, even if it’s a teeny one.
The first thing to do is to be gentle with yourself–this is not a time to be harshly judge or to beat yourself up.
Next, note the progress you have made, no matter how small it is. Also note where your progress is slower and the places where you’re at a stand-still.
Looking a little closer at the places where your stopped, is it because these projects, tasks, and jobs are related to dreams that aren’t your own–ones that someone else thinks you should want or ones that you think are the “right” dreams to have? If this is the case. then as quickly as you can, step away from these dreams. They are not yours; they belong to someone else!
Are you stopped because the the projects, tasks, and jobs are overwhelming? If this is the case, then you need more information. Look closer and see if you need additional education and training, or perhaps you can join a networking group. Sometimes an honest talk with a trusted friend can give you the boost you need. Also, remember to break the steps into small, tiny, tidbit sizes. Oftentimes it’s a simple fix like that which will get you up and going again.
If your progress is slower and/or smaller than you’d like, is it because you’re procrastinating? As with being at a stand-still, you may be procrastinating because you’re intimidated. In that case, break steps into small pieces and do one that looks fun and/or easy. Once you’re going with those, you can then tackle the tougher steps.
Another reason for slow progress could also be that sometimes “our eyes are bigger than our stomachs”. Sometimes we are optimistic regarding how much time and resources we are able to commit during the week to our dreams. And, sometimes we don’t realize how long it takes to complete tasks. Don’t lose heart, though. As long as you’re consistently taking steps, no matter how small, and as long as you are moving forward, no matter how slowly, you WILL achieve your dreams!
Once you’ve gently evaluated your progress, have determined what needs tweaking, and have planned what you’re going to do in the upcoming weeks so that you can see progress, the last step is to turn our attention to celebrating!
Let’s celebrate your dreams. Let’s celebrate the steps you’re taking to achieve them. Let’s celebrate the fact that you’re doing this to provide a great life for yourself and your family.
You ROCK!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Life Happens
I was going through my email yesterday and came across this message from Les Brown, a well-known motivational speaker. The email was about a new book he’s written and what struck me was the following:
“… The reality is that – LIFE HAPPENS.
You name it and things happen! Listen, no matter what happens – you WILL have obstacles. You WILL have hard days and many times life WILL knock you down…
But, remember one thing… the floor is no place for a winner.
Get up. Right now. Do it.
If you have to…get up and just crawl.
Cry, scream or shout.
But, get up!
Lying down & GIVING UP will NEVER change a single thing. Talking about how close you were will not bring it about. Complaining will not put any money in the bank.
Just stand up, shake it off, throw away the negativity and get your head right!
We all get the wind knocked out of us from time to time by Life. Do not let it get the best of you! You are stronger than you think you are. You have the right stuff DO NOT take it personally. It is called Life. Get up, get busy…..” ~Les Brown
I can attest to this myself that Life just plain old happens. For instance, the end of the month is in sight and you might be like I me thinking that you made it through relatively unscathed financially…only to have the heating unit in your home blow a main component just as wet, raw, and bitter weather moves in sending temperatures plummeting.
Oy.
When Life wallops you, Les is right about the fact that you can’t give up or give in or throw in the towel or quit. As he says, it’s okay to scream, shout, cry, and curse if you have to; you may even have to take a step back and catch your breath, but don’t knuckle under.
You may not have the energy, wherewithal, and mental stamina to take care of everything all at once. But you can do something, even if it’s only a little tidbit of something. Ask yourself what can you do right here and right now about this–can you make a phone call or send an email?
What helps me is to think of the small things I can do, the easy pieces I can handle. Doing those things gets the momentum going and then I can usually tackle the bigger and harder things that can’t necessarily be broken down into smaller steps.
And, if my mind wants to race ahead to the worst case scenario, I gently pull it back and remind it that I am taking helpful steps and I won’t know what’s down the road until these steps finish playing out. Once they do, then I’ll see what’s what at that point, and then take more steps.
Also, I accept the fact that going through a rough patch oftentimes has periods where it isn’t pretty. I may not go through them with agility and panache but as long as I make it through, I figure that’s all that matters!
So if Life has happened to you, keep going no matter what!
You can do it, I’m sure of it!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Resolve to be YOU
Resolve to be thyself and know that he who finds himself loses his misery. ~Matthew Arnold
After reading today’s quote, you may be wondering how you go about finding yourself.
A regular practice of Sitting in Silence.
Regularly showing up each day and Sitting in Silence for 10 or 15 minutes is all you need to do. Over time, as all the stuff that doesn’t matter falls away, your True Self will be uncovered.
If you haven’t started your regular daily practice of Sitting in Silence, please start it today.
In the comments section below, please let me know how it’s going.
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Sitting in Silence: Your Gut Instinct
Have you listened to your gut instinct lately? Have you even heard it or felt it nudge you, whether or not you’ve tuned into it?
I came across an article in Fast Company magazine urging readers to listen to their gut instincts.
One of the first things the author of the article recommends is to regularly carve out time for reflecting. Does this sound familiar? It should! We talked about this in yesterday’s post!
Carving out this time in silence not only helps you hear yourself think, it’s in this space that you train yourself to tune out all the mind-chatter so you can hear the murmurings of your inner guidance–your gut instinct.
Today’s the perfect day to start tuning your ear to the wisdom within!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Sitting in Silence: Creating Space for Peace in Your Life
This world is a noisy, crazy–sometimes terrifying–place and it seems as if it’s getting noisier, crazier, and more terrifying by the minute. We’re overwhelmed by it all and, what’s worse, it seems as if there’s no relief coming anytime soon.
This is how Sitting in Silence can help. This practice gives you the opportunity to make much needed space–margin, as it’s called these days–in your life.
To be a vibrant, whole person who’s fully engaged in living life, you need this space. You need space to think, space to feel, space to make sense of things. You need space to absorb your thoughts and feelings, and assimilate them into your life. These are the basis of your success and happiness in life.
I urge and encourage you to Sit in Silence every single day. Do it first thing in the morning for fifteen minutes. Stick with it for a month and see what happens. I am positive you’ll be pleased with the calmness that will settle into your life.
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Give it Away
To take something from yourself to give to another, that is humane and gentle and never takes away as much comfort as it brings again. ~Thomas More
When we think of donating items, we usually give from what we don’t need or no longer want, or from our excess. For instance, we may have purchased something and then changed our mind but it was past the time limit to return it; or perhaps we were trying a new recipe and bought extra of an item that we didn’t end up using and it’s still good but has gotten pushed to the back of our pantry; or we have an item that we once liked and used but, even though it’s still in good shape, we’ve moved on to something that better suits our needs.
It’s these things that we usually give away. And this is great because there is someone who can use what we never used or that no longer serves us.
I challenge you, though, to take this a step further and to give away something that you like, that you may be currently using; even something that may have meaning for you.
As Thomas More’s quote tells us, the rewards are tremendous.
Years ago I was in a business networking group that included a woman who was always cheerful and upbeat. Her business did well in spite of sluggish economies or downturns in business cycles. I attributed this to her good spirits that were infectious.
But she did something else that at the time I realized was remarkable but I’m only now understanding the profound impact it’s had in her life.
She was always giving away things she liked, even though she may have been actively using them and in spite of the fact that they might have had special meaning to her.
As an example, at one meeting a colleague complimented her on the pretty scarf she was wearing. She told the colleague the story of how she acquired it during a special vacation to the Southwest. The next morning, after having the scarf cleaned, she dropped it off at the colleague’s office.
Those of us who heard about this act were stunned, as was the colleague who received the unexpected gift. Later on, I asked the woman why she had given away a scarf she liked and that even had special memories attached to it.
Her answer was illuminating.
She said that it wasn’t the scarf that was the memory. The memories were part of her as images in her mind of the sights; as feelings of excitement of being in an interesting place; as the gratitude she felt at having the opportunity for going on the exceptional vacation with the special people in her life and as the conversations and laughter they shared; as the awe and wonder of discovering new things and sharing that with people she loved.
Although the scarf was a touchstone and could remind her, she didn’t need it. She could tune into the idea of happiness and her mind and body would be flooded with not only this memorable vacation, but also a whole host of other experiences that had given her joy.
Does this mean that her life was worry-free and that she merrily skipped from one success to another? Absolutely not. I know she had her share of frustrations, setbacks, and heartache. In spite of these she was able to thrive, not just survive, scrape by, barely make it. No. She flourished.
I think her cheerful, positive, hopeful attitude went a long way toward her prospering, but I also think it was because she was so generous and gladly gave away things she liked, things that may still have been meaningful to her.
Join me today in following today’s quote from Thomas More–and the example of my business associate–and choose one of the things we like, that we use, that may even have meaning for us and joyfully give away.
It’s a tough thing to do but I know you can do it!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Quotes to Help With Forgiveness
We aren’t here on this earth to live small, stunted lives. We’re here to live fully and give every last bit of our gifts and talents to the world. Forgiving others and especially forgiving yourself is the best way to put things behind you and to move forward into your destiny.
Here are a few quotes to help us with forgiveness:
When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. ~Catherine Ponder
When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future. ~Bernard Meltzer
Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life. ~Joan Lunden
I hope these quotes have helped you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Yes I Can Pep Talks 
