Are you ready? What’s your plan? One of my favorite quotes goes something like this, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it, but only every time.”

What happened for you this year? Was it what you hoped for, dreamed of, planned around? In the book 9 Things Successful People Do Differently, Heidi Grant Halvorson’s numbers 1 and 2 “things” are:

1. Get specific
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals

If you’d like 2012 to be different in anyway from 2011, I say take Heidi’s well researched advice to

Get specific and Seize the moment to act on your goals.

And that moment is now to take stock, get clear and move forward in your life differently than you ever have before. As Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” So why not approach 2012 in a new way.

Whether you long to:

• leave your job and follow your creative passions
• move to a new city
• find a career after being a mom for 20 years
• OR just about any other transition you’re facing

let the power of the What’s Next? program show you the way.

I’m so passionate about making sure that no one “dies with their music still inside them,” that I’ve made this course insanely affordable! But truly, what value can be placed on creating a life that is happy, on point and chock full of exactly what you’ve always wanted?

Learn more and register NOW in 2 EASY PAYMENTS of only $387 at

What’s Next for you in 2012!

Looking forward to working together to create your most desired life beginning January 10, 2012.

Breathing deeply I view my thoughts as children running amok in the schoolyard and I gently call them to quiet and I watch in my mind’s eye as they slow down in their frenzy, then stop and sit, as I am, cross-legged on the earth and rest. These “children,” my thoughts, are at rest.

Today I happen to be sitting in front of my mediation cabinet that holds behind it’s doors a candle, my favorite sandalwood incense, poems, Bible verses and such. Not all my attempts to quiet my mind occur here in front of what some would call an alter of sorts and since I sit here not to worship, but to become still and listen, I call it my point of focus. But don’t be intimidated or put off in giving meditation a try just because you don’t have a special place to sit. The beauty of cultivating quiet is that eventually you can experience it ANYWHERE—when the kids are melting down at the grocery store, you & your spouse are “discussing” finances, or when your boss moves up the deadline by a week.

Yes, mental calm and clarity can be experienced anywhere at anytime, but I have to say when I open those cabinet doors, smell the lingering fragrance of incense within, and sit on my pillow, it is like stepping into a sanctuary, bringing my heart to a reverent state for the activity that I am about to begin. That moment of centering, quieting my mind and opening my heart to the Divine, to what God wants to share with me is an activity that has become a vital part of my day.

Messages are always being spoken, but usually our thoughts are shouting so loudly that our heart can’t hear. Again much like a child, poking her mom and talking over a conversation, insistent that she be heard and now, our thoughts are like insistent children who have not yet learned to wait their turn.  For both, there is a time to softly say, “Shhh, quiet yourself for a moment while I listen”—listen to God, listen to myself, listen to the voice within that is always, always providing the guidance we need to lead our best, most fulfilling lives.

How about you? Are you making time during this season of commercial noise to listen to your wisest self? I invite you to shhh and to accept a most precious gift that you are being offered everyday—the gift of connection with your own soul.  Every moment that passes without you taking the time to listen for that still small voice within, is a day that you squander your best guidance for living the life you were meant to live.

Stop today if only for a second, breath deeply, quiet your mind and make a vow to live in connection with your soul beginning now. Do those same three simple steps everyday throughout 2012 and it will be a transformative year, of that I’m certain.

3 Simple Steps for Creating Calm & Listening to the Messages of Your Soul

1.      set a timer for 5 minutes
2.      take a few deep breaths
3.     quiet your mind, let go of thought, rest

I wish for you a holiday filled with moments of quiet conversation with your wise inner guide.

With much love and gratitude for allowing me to serve you,

Yvette

Follow these Steps below to get an instant boost!

Step 1: Make a complete list of everything that is running around in your head taunting you with, “you’ll never get to me, you’ll never get to me.”

You know, things like that plant that needs repotting, or the thank you note that should have been written weeks ago, or that pile of papers that must be filed before something gets lost.

Now at least it is on paper and out of your head!

Step 2: Apply the Bag, Barter, Better It plan (from Martha Beck’s book, The Joy Diet) to each item.

Bag It—simply cross off anything that in the grand scheme of things is unimportant.

Barter It—find someone to do it for you.

Better It—do the task ASAP and reward yourself during or after for getting it done.

Here’s the plan in action. Bag repotting the plant because if it needs replanting it is obviously growing and thriving just fine in its current pot. Barter the filing or pay your son to do it during his free time over the Thanksgiving holiday. Better the writing of the thank you note by doing it while enjoying your favorite cup of tea, listening to your favorite song, sitting in your favorite chair and writing on your favorite and most beautiful stationary.

Step 3: Take a deep breath and enjoy the surge of energy you feel because you just tackled at least 3 things on your list.

Step 4: Keep a notebook with you and when more To Dos pop into your mind, write them down. Again this keeps them from taking up your mental space and clear mental space always equals more energy.

Still have questions about how to boost your energy sans caffeine? Ask away. Leave a comment or question below…

This youtube video was sent to me recently by a friend. Just had to share it because it poetically expresses the way I feel as I approach an empty nest. Katrina Kenison sure got it right with this one. Brilliant writing.

Enjoy,

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Santa is not the only one who needs to make a list and check it twice. That is something I am currently doing myself. And it’s not in relation to buying Christmas gifts. This year, as I have been involved in taking my business to the next level, I have arrived at a place I’m not sure I wanted to be…The Land of Overwhelm. I’m one of those people who LOVES most ideas in the moment I hear them and signs up immediately, only to wake up the next day asking, “What was I thinking?”

Have you had this experience? Do you say yes to too many things at once and then curse all the project details as you run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to actually accomplish all the items you’ve stuffed onto your To Do list?

Maybe I’m the only one with this habit, but I think probably not. So here’s what I’m doing to remedy my current state of overscheduled delirium. I’m getting quiet—really quiet. I’m getting back to the practice of taking a DEEP breath, tuning into my body and getting my answers from my inner guidance system, rather than from my head, which seems to have no off switch lately!

It may seem counter intuitive to stop doing just when you have many more things to do, but that is precisely the point. When doing stops working, it is time to BE. Actually it is always most helpful to BE first, then you won’t get into a state of over-DOING.

So join me, won’t you?

Stop, breathe, and make a new list. This time only include the items that are in alignment with your body’s wisdom, which takes cues directly from your soul. As one of my mentors, Life Coach Michelle Woodward told me yesterday, give To Do list items the 24-hour test. When you hear the “next big idea,” put off deciding about it for 24-hours.

Giving yourself a break between hearing and committing, allows time to check in with your body compass.

When you check with your body, does the idea of saying yes to this or that project feel burdensome or freeing? Let that be your guide. From that centeredness, everything will fall into place, EXACTLY as is best.

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What are you thankful for? How many times have you heard that question and heard people tell of the wonders of keeping a gratitude journal? I agree this is a wonderful and transformative practice, but I’d like to see you (and me) take it up a notch.

It can be easy to rattle off 10 things you’re grateful for and after all, “Tis the Season.” With next week ushering in the big day, I thought I’d encourage you to take it a step further (maybe deeper is a better descriptive).

During this season of Thanksgiving, instead of making a simple list or stating a few platitudes, “I’m so grateful for blah, blah, blah,” why not express that gratitude from the deeper core of you?

How, you ask? Well it all starts with getting in touch with the feeling.

Start right now. Close your eyes (unless you’re driving, of course, or otherwise operating heavy machinery) and call up a memory of an event, person or place that floods you with the feeling of gratitude. Maybe you’ll be transported back to a sunset from your beach vacation, to the birth of a healthy child, to the day you got a test result that came back negative, or to the soft touch of your loved ones hand on your face. Revel in the deliciousness of how overpowering it is to feel truly grateful for these moments in your life.

Let it fill your heart, mind, body and soul, as you drink in every last detail of this emotion.

Now opening your eyes, carry that feeling with you throughout the day, and through the rest of this week, and into the next. And out of that feeling, take action.

What action? The simple act of expression.

Before you say thanks off handedly to the waitperson that tops off your coffee, or the cashier who rings you out at the grocery store, transport yourself back to that memory from the exercise above and bring up that deep feeling of gratefulness. Then from that place, express your thanks. The power of your words and the feeling shared with the other person from this energy place will be much greater. And each time you call up that energy of gratitude, you’ll take the simple act of saying thank you to a whole new level, not only for someone else, but also for yourself.

And from that place I’d like to close with a sincere thank you to you for reading, commenting and sharing these posts with others. May your hearts be filled with gratitude and love during this season of Thanksgiving.

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I have a close relation—very close. Let’s call her miserable, I mean Miss E. Rable. For a period of time before I received THE BEST ADVICE ON THE PLANET, Miss E. Rable frequently visited her misery on me. I can just hear Dr. Phil now, “We teach people how to treat us.” These days I get that, but before I received THE BEST ADVICE ON THE PLANET, I didn’t understand that I had any way to stop Miss E. from making her frequent visits and otherwise ruining my day.

Do you have people like this in your life?

Miss Rable is the type who constantly turns to you for advice, but doesn’t actually want your help. All she really wants is someone to listen to her complain—the “misery loves company” type. You know the ones I mean, they can be male or female and every time caller ID shows up with their number, you cringe or secretly pretend you can’t find the phone. Don’t deny it, I know I’m not the only one who has these callers on the line. I’m talking about the person whose voice sounds like fingernails on the chalkboard in your otherwise quiet and peaceful life. And to make matters worse, on those rare occasions when they do actually ask for your advice…they listen only briefly, before butting in to tell you six ways from Sunday how your approach just won’t work. This sort of scenario used to drive me NUTS!

Then one day a wise advisor (okay, she was my coach) gave me THE BEST ADVICE ON THE PLANET. She said “When this person, begins her diatribe about how miserable her life is and cries, ‘Whatever shall I do?’ instead of wringing your hands along with her, just say to yourself, ‘Her baby is crying.’” At the time having just had a baby myself, this was an easy concept to grasp. For as a new mother, I wouldn’t have considered handing my precious baby off for someone else to care for. And that was just the point. Miss E.’s latest tale of whoa was just that…her baby/problem and she needed to tend to it herself.

What an epiphany for me!

All of the sudden I realized that I was no longer responsible for making everything okay for Miss E. Rable and by having this clear thought in my head, “Her baby is crying.” I could walk away in peace, giving my relative time and space to care for her baby as only she knew best how to do. Mind you, I didn’t actually get up and walk away from said close relation, but rather I did a mental dash right back into my own business and out of the role of being her savior.

This trick also works when you encounter folks who repeatedly like to make you the responsible party for all things wrong in their life. Maybe for you it’s also a relative, or a co-worker, one of your children, or maybe even your spouse/partner (heaven forbid!) The same internal dialogue works perfectly.

Your precious child says, “You didn’t wake me up in time, that’s why I’m late.” His baby’s crying.

Your sister complains, “It’s not fair, you’ve always been Mom and Dad’s favorite.” Her baby’s crying.

Your co-worker huffs, “Well, if I wasn’t the only one who worked in this place”…say it with me now, “His baby’s crying.”

Try it the next time someone is complaining to you for the one hundredth time, but refuses to actually make any changes in their own behavior. Don’t get me wrong, obviously there are many times when our friends and loved ones really do need our comfort and care and a shoulder to cry on. That’s not the situation to which I refer. I’m talking about someone who, like I said earlier, complains and complains with no intention of doing anything to change their circumstances or better yet change their thoughts that created the circumstances in the first place. It’s perfectly fine if they want to keep creating the same misery over and over again in their own life, it is after all their life; but I was making myself miserable right along with her.

I’d be driving along in my car on my way to the grocery store and thinking about poor little Miss Rable…what to do, what to do to help her? Get out of her business, I say to myself now.

As Byron Katie likes to say, there are 3 kinds of business: mine, yours and God’s. After receiving THE BEST ADVICE ON THE PLANET and realizing that my relative’s “baby” crying did not have to create a crisis in my life, I firmly stepped out of her business and planted my feet squarely back in my own, exactly where I belong.

And the funny thing is, when I stopped trying to handle her “baby” for her, Miss E. Rable had no choice but to learn to handle her “baby” herself or find another babysitter, like the old me to hand it off to. But either way, I was free. Free to think about my own baby–both the literal one I’d just birthed and the many figurative ones still left crying in my own head.

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Apparently Marie Claire magazine, at least according to the TODAY Show interview I saw this morning. Marie Claire has published a story in their latest issue, about women who smoke pot on a regular basis as a form of stress reduction. The Book Editor in the TODAY Show segment reported that she smoked a joint often rather than drinking wine. When I visited the TODAY Show website for more info the headline for the story was “Professionals smoking pot: Cool or taboo?” How about “Dumb or Dumber?” Sorry I meant to say “Healthy or Unhealthy?” Obviously, I realize that I am surely pressing someone’s hot buttons here, but have we forgotten about the health risk of such behavior? I know that there are many angles from which to debate the pros & cons of marijuana use, but as a Wellness Coach I must surely look at it from the perspective of its effects on a person’s health.

When I checked the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) website I found this information:

Effects on Lungs:

…marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections.

Effects on the Brain:

… Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.² As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

I don’t know about you, but I need all the brain cells I can get firing at an optimum level at all times. And I hope the many people who make critical decisions at their jobs everyday that affect my life and yours, feel the same way.

Responders to the TODAY Show pole about the subject voted 88.3% for this answer,

“Oh honestly, who cares? The taboo around pot-smoking dissipated ages ago, and this is a completely private and personal matter.”

I get that, but again from a wellness perspective I also get that people like to eat fried oreos over apples, but I don’t suggest that on a regular basis either. To me the point is this. Aren’t there better, more effective and healthful ways to “get your relaxation on”? If life is so stressful, and I know from talking to my clients that it is for many people right now, is introducing a potentially problematic substance—be it marijuana, ice cream or wine into your daily routine the best solution to the problem? I’m just saying…how about the tried and true avenues of meditation, exercise, service to others, reading, and I could go on and on. Seems to me that the issue is not how we’re “medicating” ourselves, but rather the fact that we are treating the symptoms not the problem. If stress is your problem, find long-term ways to reduce it in your life, not simply cover it up.

Just my simple thoughts on the subject, but please share yours and pass this along to your friends who might have an opinion as well. Can’t wait to hear what you think and would love to know…

How do you reduce stress?

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As I began my meditation practice this morning, my mind was drawn to clients I work with who are struggling with issues of anxiety. You see I know this struggle well because for many years, I too suffered from anxious thoughts over things both large and small. While I believe there are numerous contributing factors to anxious thoughts and patterns of behavior–caffeine, TV news, hormonal imbalance or as they classify it in Ayurveda “too much vata,” I know from experience that what it most often boils down to is “stinking thinking” and that working on your thoughts can provide instant relief.

There are several methods for addressing your anxious thoughts such as Bryon Katie’s, The Work or Wayne Dyer’s version that he describes in his new book, “Excuses Be Gone” and I’ve used various forms of these methods on myself and my clients with “great success,” to quote Borat. But my new favorite method for dealing with anxiety and perfectionism, which I find seem to go hand in hand, is to ask, “In every moment am I choosing what energizes and excites me?” I can just hear those anxiety prone ones among you saying, “Oh if it were only that easy.” But stay with me and maybe you’ll see that it is.

As I mentioned earlier, this topic of dealing with anxiety was on my mind this morning as I sat for my morning meditation, which by the way is a great exercise for quieting anxiety. It is my practice to use quotes, inspirational passages and the like as a focus point each day. Today I pulled a card from a Law of Attraction card deck  “Ask and it is Given” created by Abraham-Hicks.

This is what it said, “My Slightest Improvement Is of Such Great Value: There is tremendous value when you are able to deliberately cause even the slightest improvement in the way you feel for even in that small emotional improvement, you may have regained a measure of control. You no longer feel powerless. And so, your trek back up the Emotional Scale is now not only possible, but it is relatively easy.”

So how does this relate to “In every moment choose what energizes and excites you”? Well, it’s like this…the more you choose to focus on things that energize and excite you, the more the things that energize and excite you will show up in your life rather than the things that make you feel anxious. Again, I realize that there are many factors that can contribute to the monkey minded state of those plagued with anxiety, but this is a method you can use any time, any where to bring yourself some relief. And I’ve found that the more you use it, the better you get at it and the better you get at focusing on things that bring you joy rather than things that make you feel anxious, the more joy producing things will begin to show up in your existence. But don’t take my word for it; try it.

Here’s how it works:

Situation: OMG! My house is a wreck! I’ll never get it in order. STOP and ask…

Q: Do I mop the floor first or wash the dishes?
A: Whichever feels more exciting in this moment.

Situation: How can it be bedtime already, I still have a million things on my “To Do” list. STOP and ask…

Q: Do I read a bedtime story to my child or get to that paperwork still on my desk? (Or maybe just tuck myself in as well as my child and let’s all get some rest!)
A: Whichever feels more energizing and exciting right now.

Situation: I’ve been working on this project all week and I don’t seem to be accomplishing anything. STOP and ask…

Q: Do I sit at my desk and work through lunch again or do I ask a co-worker whom I enjoy to join me for a bite?
A: Whichever feels the most exciting.

In the end, you’ll probably be more productive because you’ve allowed your mind to relax and quiet, which will help you to focus and work better when you really need to.

If you are struggling to choose, go inside and ask your body. It never lies, but that’s a whole other blog post. Stay tuned. (But only if it feels energizing and exciting. LOL!)

Above all be easy with this process and remember as the card says, “even a slight improvement is of great value.” You may not get to choosing only “energizing and exciting” at every turn in one day, one week, or even one month; but moving even a slight bit away from feelings of entrapment and powerlessness is a move in the right direction. Celebrate that!

get more info about Ayurvedic medicine from an expert,
Dr. John Douillard www.lifespa.com

experience instant thought relief at www.thework.com

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