We all have to make choices every day. And we get to make choices very day. One choice that a lot of people don't realize they own is their own mood, or attitude. I believe to be true, because i do it all the time, that a person can take a minute, when in the throws of anger, depression, or any undesirable emotion, and redefine the next few minutes, hours, even days.
All you have to do is get alone, take a few deep breaths define the emotion you are feeling; give it a name ( ie; I'm feeling very angry right) . The very act of naming it defuses it to a certain extent. Then imagine yourself in the outcome you would like to be in or would have liked to have been in.
Take yourself all the way to the end of the scenario, then play it backwards in your mind. For example: as a salesperson I may have just been rejected for a sale and I'm feeling disappointed and sad. Now I get in my car, take 2 deep breaths, close my eyes and say "that hurt, I'm feeling sad about the way that guy treated me. Now I replay the scene in my mind the way I wanted it to turn out, starting with the end in mind. I visualize myself walking out of the house with a contract in my hand. Now I see myself smiling and shaking hands with the person, then I here him saying "yes" and "I agree". I feel the emotion of satisfaction and happiness and joy just as if it really just happened. This all takes place in about 60 to 90 seconds. When I open my eyes I actually feel happy and satisfied.
This is something that you can also do prior to any situation that you know you will face. For example. I literally play out the desired outcome of a sale prior to the appointment. Amazingly, more times than not, outcome turns out very much like what I imagined in the first place. This way, when I walk into the meeting, I'm already feeling the joy and happiness of closing the sale. The customer doesn't know why I'm happy, but my mood rubs off on them and we end up becoming friend through the experience.
I challenge you to give it a try next time you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or "someone" put you In a bad mood. It may not be easy the first time. But the old adage practice makes perfect applies here. And it does get easier and quicker with practice. Let me know how it works for you.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
A few summer 2012 memories
Some of the things that have been happening in my life over the last 4 months
1. Started Insanity. What's Insanity? You may ask. Insanity is a video workout series that will seriously kick your butt. My two daughters; Brook and Tara and I began the workouts in June and have been meeting in my living room at 4:45 every morning since then. I will admit that the first week was insanely painful and I thought about quitting more than once. But I'm proud to say weve completed the first round and are on to the second round.
2. Went to California. We spent 5 lovely days in Huntington Beach with a couple of our best friends in the world. We stayed in their families condo that has expansive panoramic window views overlooking the beach. I ran on the beach every morning, which was glorious, because the conditions were perfect for running; cool temps, flat paved track that went as far as one would ever need and lovely views. We shopped, drank coffee, dined, and relaxed. It was soooo hard.
2.5 Ran a Half Marathon. A few of my friends and I decided to run the a flagstaff half, kind of last minute. It was a beautiful weekend in Flagstaff when it was 116 degrees in the valley. That in itself seemed like a good enough reason to enlist (or, I mean register). Yes, it was much cooler up there, but along with lower temps comes higher elevation. Let's just say it was not one of my fastest races. But, I had a fun time with the girls and I will do this one again.
3.Went to Omaha. I was one out of three people from my division who were selected to go to Omaha for "Grad School", which is a three day intensive training class that Physicians Mutual offers to as few people each years. We were treated like royalty and given an emense amount of training and materials to help us grow our business. I must say that Physicians Mutual is a class act. It has been such a huge blessing to have found them when I did. I had lots of other oppertunities, but there was something about the honesty that I got from the recruiter, the reputation of this company and the other agents and employee's attitudes that grabbed me. I have never looked back.
4 .Funny speech contest. I was recruited to enter a speech into our local toastmaster clubs funny speech contest. The idea scared the bleep out of me. What if nobody thought I was funny?! I expressed this to Matt, who was running the contest, and he threw out some ideas and encouraged me to think about it. I did, and decided to write my speech on the funny things that kids say. After all I have four grandkids. I was sure I could come up with plenty of material. Well, long story short, I entered the contest and won. It wasn't hard, there was only one other contestant. (his speech was just as funny as mine, but mine was just a little more practiced). I will now move on to do the speech at our area contest on Oct 5th. Wish me luck.
1. Started Insanity. What's Insanity? You may ask. Insanity is a video workout series that will seriously kick your butt. My two daughters; Brook and Tara and I began the workouts in June and have been meeting in my living room at 4:45 every morning since then. I will admit that the first week was insanely painful and I thought about quitting more than once. But I'm proud to say weve completed the first round and are on to the second round.
2. Went to California. We spent 5 lovely days in Huntington Beach with a couple of our best friends in the world. We stayed in their families condo that has expansive panoramic window views overlooking the beach. I ran on the beach every morning, which was glorious, because the conditions were perfect for running; cool temps, flat paved track that went as far as one would ever need and lovely views. We shopped, drank coffee, dined, and relaxed. It was soooo hard.
2.5 Ran a Half Marathon. A few of my friends and I decided to run the a flagstaff half, kind of last minute. It was a beautiful weekend in Flagstaff when it was 116 degrees in the valley. That in itself seemed like a good enough reason to enlist (or, I mean register). Yes, it was much cooler up there, but along with lower temps comes higher elevation. Let's just say it was not one of my fastest races. But, I had a fun time with the girls and I will do this one again.
3.Went to Omaha. I was one out of three people from my division who were selected to go to Omaha for "Grad School", which is a three day intensive training class that Physicians Mutual offers to as few people each years. We were treated like royalty and given an emense amount of training and materials to help us grow our business. I must say that Physicians Mutual is a class act. It has been such a huge blessing to have found them when I did. I had lots of other oppertunities, but there was something about the honesty that I got from the recruiter, the reputation of this company and the other agents and employee's attitudes that grabbed me. I have never looked back.
4 .Funny speech contest. I was recruited to enter a speech into our local toastmaster clubs funny speech contest. The idea scared the bleep out of me. What if nobody thought I was funny?! I expressed this to Matt, who was running the contest, and he threw out some ideas and encouraged me to think about it. I did, and decided to write my speech on the funny things that kids say. After all I have four grandkids. I was sure I could come up with plenty of material. Well, long story short, I entered the contest and won. It wasn't hard, there was only one other contestant. (his speech was just as funny as mine, but mine was just a little more practiced). I will now move on to do the speech at our area contest on Oct 5th. Wish me luck.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Ok, it's been quite a while since I've posted a blog. The reality is, my life is insanely busy. I have a huge desire to write, yet my desire seems to wane in the evenings when I actually have some time to write. After a long day of chasing down leads, making new friends, teaching, consulting and advising, I'm literally out of gas, both mentally and emotionally. My fingers hover over the keyboard, and my mind produces a blank.
So why am I writing this now? When I know that chances are, nobody actually will read it? For me. I need the practice of writing, I need the discipline to write on a regular basis and I hope that some inspiration will come of it.
There have been so many blog moments in my life in these last 4 months that I wish I would have taken the time to write down. Funny things, inspiring things, moments with my kids and grandkids that I will never get back. I don't want to loose any more.
I don't want to write cliches. But sometimes you have to write the mundane first in order to get it out of the way and get to the good stuff. So no excuses. I will write what comes out my fingetips and seed what happens.
So why am I writing this now? When I know that chances are, nobody actually will read it? For me. I need the practice of writing, I need the discipline to write on a regular basis and I hope that some inspiration will come of it.
There have been so many blog moments in my life in these last 4 months that I wish I would have taken the time to write down. Funny things, inspiring things, moments with my kids and grandkids that I will never get back. I don't want to loose any more.
I don't want to write cliches. But sometimes you have to write the mundane first in order to get it out of the way and get to the good stuff. So no excuses. I will write what comes out my fingetips and seed what happens.
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