Joyce Lee Life Coaching Moment

I had an incredibly frustrating afternoon/evening on Monday…

Some computer technology glitches cost me a whole day’s creative work and I spent hours and hours on the phone trying to sort it all out with satellite providers and other service providers…

I was put on hold for 40 mins at a time and had to stay there or lose my place in line… (don’t you just loooove that?)

I crawled around under my desk on my hands and knees with my toosh in the air time after time, disconnecting modems and routers and power sources… more waiting… listening to irritating elevator music…

I had to explain my problem to at least half a dozen different levels (tiers) of service technicians…

All that and no resolution… I had a mess to clean up and I was beyond frustrated…  An hour past my bedtime, I was actually reduced to tears at the prospect of starting all over again the next day…

Now… I have pretty good skills when it comes to maintaining my balance, finding my center and all that… but… wow!  I was soooo frustrated!  I wanted to throw something, to break something, to yell at someone, to yell at anyone… (of course I didn’t do any of these things…lol) but I sure felt like it…

I did my best to remain calm… (hard to do when elevator music is slaying Neil Diamonds ‘Sweet Caroline’, and I have to turn off my Lorenna McKennitt to pay attention…) yikes!

What frustrates you?

I would love to hear about it…

Joyce

You know.. I get a lot of pleasant emails from women who find meaning and enjoy the daily messages that I send on Loving the Woman In the Mirror facebook group.   The energy of those messages is soft and flowing and loving…

"and another thing!!!..."

Then… for every several hundred of the soft kind, I get a woman who SHOUTS at me, calls me names and threatens to report me as spam… yikes… (sometimes the anger is waaaaay over the top)…

My very first instinct when someone sends me one of the second kind of email is to push right back (I’m human, too…)  but within a split second…

I stop… breathe… and find center…

• I do not give my power away to someone I’ve never met, who doesn’t know me…
• I take full responsibility for the energy that I send out…

I have been in the process of disintegrating that ‘push-back’ button for a long time… it used to be huge… it used to be really sensitive… not anymore… it’s almost completely gone but for a fleeting memory…

I got to thinking about how ‘pissy’ I used to get when:

• someone cut me off in traffic
• some cut in front in a line up
• someone interrupted me
• someone ignored me
• etc… etc…

Not anymore… rarely at least… I did mention the being human part right?  lol…  Now I am centered, and grounded and I maintain my cool… regardless of what shows up out of the blue…

So what about you… how big is your ‘push-back’ button?  Is it big?  Is it just itching to be used?

• What drives you crazy, makes you mad, gets your goat, pushes your button?
• Are you more grounded now? Have you changed?

I am really interested… please share your thoughts…

Joyce

Sugar cookies, eggnog, fruit cake, chocolate, decadent desserts, wine, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, butter, whipped cream, nuts…did I mention chocolate?

Gift wrapping, 24 hour shopping, line-ups, debit machines, parties… all that glitters…

T’is the season of the feasts. T’is the season of excess.

Are you worried that you are going to overindulge in all the holiday excess that shows up everywhere this time of the year?

• Are you already stressed about the weight you are doomed to gain?
• Are you already making your New Year’s Resolutions?
• Did you get into trouble last year?
• Have you thought about the kinds of situations you will find your self in and planned for them?

What will your holiday season look like this year?

I am looking forward to a glimpse into your way of walking through this time of the year…

Peace on Earth…

This is a companion post the the full article in my biweekly ezine Notes to Self.  If you are not signed up to receive the ezine, simply fill in your information at the top right of this page.

Optimism is a great way to create a life. I have experienced life on both sides of this concept and I really have to say that I prefer my life as an optimist over the alternatives.

Here is a list of behaviors you may want to be mindful of:

1. Develop and nourish your personal spiritual relationship
2. Consistently affirm your intention to embrace your power, health, well-th and beauty
3. Be so strong inside that nothing can unbalance you or take you away from center
4. Be grateful, give thank, appreciate everything
5. Celebrate the success of others
6. Trust that you deserve a happy life, that happiness is your natural state
7. Have a mindfully cheerful face… smile a lot, laugh out loud, look for the humor
8. Surround your self with optimistic friends
9. Talk about what is right in your world, in the world
10. Practice talking about yourself in a positive manner
11. Intend to express the real you, the wonderful you

You know… I think I do all these things on a fairly consistent basis at this stage of my life.  Little by little, step by step…

What about you?

Anyone who has it knows that stress does not feel good and it is not a great platform to create your experience from.  When you are stressed, your day to day living is affected…

• your children are affected                       
• your partner/spouse is affected
• your work is affected
• your health is affected
• your ability to make empowered choices is affected
• your sense of well-being is less that it is supposed to be.

Want a quick assessment of how much stress you have?  Take this simplified assessment.  Please note that this is not a clinical test… if you happen to score high, you need to do something about it.

1-never  2-rarely  3-sometimes  4-often  5-always

1. I worry a lot
2. I have a lot of problems
   
3. Work interferes with my home/family life
4. I have a hard time laughing at my humaness
5. I think there is one right way to do things
6. I feel I often get the short end of the stick
   
7. I am easily irritated or upset
8. I have problems in my personal life
9. I keep things inside I have difficulty making decisions
10. I tend to neglect my diet (eat irregularly, eat unhealthy foods etc.)
11. I try to do everything myself
12. I rush through the day and have little time left to relax
13. I tend to make a big deal about everything
14. I spend a lot of time complaining & being negative
15. I have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
16. I suffer from headaches/migraines or digestive issues
17. I feel fatigued/tired for no real reason

Scoring:

0 - 30 Low Stress

31- 50 Fairly Low

51 - 70 Moderate

71 - 90 High

How much stress do you have in your life?  Where do you feel it?  What do you do to feel better?  What works for you?

Please leave your comments and share your insights with us.

In peace and serenity,

Joyce

PS… I hope you have a copy of Louise Hay’s book “You Can Heal Your Life“ Louise can help you understand the roots of stress of all kinds and give you a bounty of powerful affirmations and insights for relief.
And… if you have trouble settling into a peaceful state and drifting off into a relaxed sleep, I highly recommend Deepak Chopra’s audio meditation CD “The Soul of Healing Meditations”.  I have listened to this cd night after night, and have gifted it to my friends as well.  Deepak’s voice is soft and the journey he takes us on is gentle… sleep follows easily.

Good Morning,

Do you assume the worst about others or situations? Do you have a tape playing just under the surface of your awareness that is negative in nature…

~ Is everyone “stupid” or an “idiot”, out to get you, not fast enough, smart enough, respectful enough…

~Do you resent waiting in line for you coffee, your groceries…

~Do you criticize, blame and frown a lot…

Well…

For goodness sake…. Lighten Up! You are wasting precious time!

Every moment you waste being negative-natured is a moment that is not available to you to be happy and create your beautiful reality…

You CANNOT have both at the same time… Negative thinking will NOT produce positive vibrations… (hate to be the one to break it to you…lol)

think > feel > vibrate > attract

The easiest and most pleasant ways to rebalance your energy is to practice gratitude.  Be mindfully grateful of your blessings…
Take your focus off  ‘those idiots out there’… and put it on the abundance in your heart…

Your reality will change… all of a sudden the ‘idiots’ will disappear and you will start to notice all the kindnesses people do instead… it works… you’ll see… your heart will soften and you will start to appreciate that others are human, and just doing the best they can too…( maybe your new enlightened attitude will spread to all the idiots… I’m just teasing.)

Let me know what you think… there is much more to be said about this…

Brightest blessings

Joyce

A client recently asked me how to go about improving her relationship with food.

I love that she sees herself in relationship with food because we all are… And… this is one of my most, best, favoritest topics in the whooooole world.

In one word:  MINDFULNESS!!! that’s how to do it… Be Mindful.

• In the grocery store.  (do you read labels, think about what you are choosing to put in your body?)
• When you put your food away. (are your cupboards tidy and respectful of the food you store?)
• When you prepare food. (are you thinking how blessed you are with such abundance?)
• When you set your table. (is it an occasion?  Placemats, candle and cloth napkins etc because you deserve it?)
• When you eat. (do you give thanks? do you honor the hands that grew the food?)

See how practicing mindfulness changes everything?

Brightest Blessings on you and your food.

Good Morning…

When I facilitate a personal growth workshop, I often offer an opportunity for women to look at and assess their contentment on the various aspects of their lives.

I would like to share this powerful little exercise with you.

On a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being totally dissatisfied and 10 being completely satisfied, assess your contentment with the way each of these areas of your life are going for you… how are you tending to them? Please note, there are no right or wrong answers…

1. My Finances
2. My Body Image
3. My Intimate Relationships
4. My Social Life
5. My Authentic Self Expression
6. My Spirituality
7. My Career
8. My Physical Health
9. My Emotional Health
10. My Sense of Community

In a perfect world, you have the potential to enjoy a rating of 10 on each of these aspects right?  If the score you gave yourself is less than desirable on any aspect, you can do something about it… in fact you are the only one who can.

Now…for a deeper awareness…  add up all the scores… this will give you an overall percentage out of a possible score of 100.  This is your general personal vibration set point… this is how you walk through life…this is how much of your potential you are using…

How do you feel about it?  Is it enough for you?  Do you want to make more out of your life experience?

Makes you think doesn’t it?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments… I love the feedback…

Brightest Blessings

Joyce

Your Empowerment Life Coach

I think every woman needs to be mindful of her Inner Little Girl.  We all have one… she is with us always… she shows up all over the place.

I hope you read the article I published in Notes To Self on Tuesday, September 29.  5 Things You Need To Know About Your Inner Little Girl

Where does you Inner Little Girl show up?

Mine shows up:

• In my creative times… she love to create
• When someone pushes my buttons… she wants to push back
• When my feelings are hurt… she is extremely sensitive
• Around animals… Ellie Mae Klampett at heart…
• Struggled with issues around Dad… needed to resolve and heal

After years and years of personal growth work, I am on wonderful terms with my Inner Little Girl.  I am mindful of her presence and encourage her expression where appropriate.  However,  my adult self handles my adult matters now…

What about you?  What have you discovered about your Inner Little Girl?

Please leave a comment for others to enjoy and benefit from…

Brightest blessings

Joyce  (all aspects of me)

I was looking at some family photos the other day and was struck by my physical resemblance to a grandmother I had never met.  A woman with the same strong face and body type.  It made me realize how much I physically take after my father’s side of the family while other siblings resemble my mother’s.

We are a living legacy to our ancestors.  Our Aunt Elizabeth’s dimple, Great Grandmas thick curly hair,  Nana’s strong hands, Mom’s beautiful eyes and easy laughter…

One of my daydreams involves walking past a field in Eastern Europe a few hundred years ago, seeing a woman bent over harvesting something, calling her name and when she looks up… seeing my own face.  I am the sum of the women  who walked before me… the face I see in the mirror is a reflection of the woman who are/were my mothers…

I am proud to stand as the woman I am… the woman of my line…

Look at yourself in the mirror and see your lineage.  Who do you see?  When I look at you and get to know you… who are the women behind you?