Have you ever been stuck? You have a project to do and you just can’t get yourself to do it. You do everything but that one thing. It remains on your “to do” list day after day. How can you get yourself to finally tackle that one project? 

The definition of "stuck" is "to become fastened, hindered, checked or stationary by some obstruction." Sound familiar? I decided to research ways to move out of my head as I also had a project that just wouldn't go away.  These may seem simple, but they will help you move from stuck to fluid and become more #productive. 

1.    Let go of the problem that is keeping you from moving #forward.  It is when you stare at the project day after day, that you stay stuck in the same place.  When you quiet your mind and become present in the moment, the answers begin to flow.  When a thought comes to you write it down and apply it to the project.

2.     Talk out loud about the thing that is keeping you stuck.  Basically give yourself permission to speak.  It is amazing when you start to hear your own words; you begin to understand what sounds right and what doesn’t.

3.    #Acknowledge what is keeping you stuck. Write down a list of what is holding you back and continue to ask yourself what else.  Keep adding thoughts to the list until you feel satisfied. 

4.    #Visualize what you really want. See it complete with full clarity.  Take a few minutes at the end of your day, visualize how you want it to be and then sleep on it.  When you wake up your mind will be refreshed and the answer will come to you. 

5.    Have power over the project.  Take control and ask yourself why it is so hard. Usually what you resist is not the thing itself, but what you imagine it to be. There are usually a number of ways to look at something, try looking at it in another way.

6.    Take a small step, don’t look at the entire mountain that you have to climb, look at the rock that is in front of you.  If you are feeling overwhelmed it probably means you are taking on too much. 

7.    Create clear #goals and celebrate your #wins. Each day take another step towards your project and cross off what you have accomplished.  We all need to feel good about what we have done.

I hope these simple tips help. Leave a comment and let me know how you conquer your feeling of being stuck.  Thanks for reading.

"The Greatest Accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall" ~Vince Lombardi~

We have all been there. We put everything we have into a new #venture and one day we realize that it is not going to make it.  Don't stop!  Do not look at is as a failure but merely as an #experience you were meant to have.  We #learn and grow from each experience.  

Are you having one of those days?  There is a way to help you through it.

Stress is one of the things that we all experience but knowing how to manage stress is the key to a happier and healthier life.  Stress can be caused by a number of things but some of the major stress factors occur around #work, financial problems, relationships, health issues, a move and caring for family members.  

Not all stress is bad. When stress is working properly it can help us to stay #focused and react quickly to protect us from danger. But when ignored and not handled in the proper manner, excessive stress can lead to various health issues including weight gain, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, alzheimer’s disease, depression and even headaches. 

There are some simple ways to reduce stress when we are put in a difficult situation. 

1. #Time: Managing your time is a huge stress reliever. We often experience stress when we are crunched for time. We leave things that we don't really want to do until the last minute, ultimately causing more stress. Prioritize and tackle the most unpleasant tasks first to prevent stress. 

2. #Communicate: Do you take the time to talk about a situation when you are annoyed? Learn to open up and share your point of view. Honest communication can sometimes alleviate the situation.

3. Walk away and breathe: Stepping away from the situation and taking a few deep breaths will help you to reflect on the issue differently and release the intensity of the moment.

4. Know your Limits: Understand what you truly can handle.  Learn to say no. Saying yes to something you really don't care to do, is not always the best answer. 

5. #Exercise: Going for a run, a walk, to the gym or any form of exercise will release the anger, 20 minutes is all you need to make a difference. 

6. Friends, family and laughter: Spending time with loved ones and laughing can help you to take your mind off the issue. Remember, laughter is the best medicine.

7. #Meditation: Many studies have proven that meditation and quiet time, even just 15 minutes a day, will relieve your stress.

8. Sleeping: Stress is often escalated when you are tired. Sleeping will restore and energize you, allowing you to look at the situation with a new lens.

To handle stress, it is important to understand your limits. One's ability to tolerate stress depends on a number of things, such as the quality of your relationships, your attitude, self control and knowledge of the situation at hand.  Take the time to #acknowledge your level of stress and the ability to release it. If you have some other ways to relieve your stress, share your comments below.

"Lead from the Heart and your Connections will Grow"

It's important to make someone happy, and it's important to start with yourself." ~The daily Quote ~

How true this is and if we only remember one thing. In order to help others find happiness, you must start with yourself to be the example.  You can never change anyone but when someone recognizes your happiness, they want what you have.  Dig deep inside of yourself to discover what you really want and what makes you happy.  Don't stop there, take action and go for it.   

"The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them."~ Ralph Nichols~
Are you a good listener or are you like most people when a conversation is over, you forget the majority of what was said? 

The definition of listening is “to pay attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing.”  Listening is a very important skill for both effective communication and #leadership. In fact, it is one of the most important skills you can have.  Great listening skills can provide the following benefits, increased #productivity, better customer service, employee engagement and satisfaction and improved quality of overall relationships.  When someone knows that they are being listened to, positive outcomes often ensue.  #Richard Branson credits some of his great success to active listening. 

Many people are not good listeners. On average you only remember between 25% - 50% of what people are saying.  But good listening skills improve not only your personal but professional life.  With improved listening, you can gain greater influence and negotiation skills but it also can help you to avoid conflict.

There are different types of #listening that people engage in.  Most often it is surface listening.  Surface listening is typically heard through the experience of the listener and rarely meets the needs of the person who is speaking.  The deepest and best form of listening is active or #intuitive listening. This is when you connect to the real message.  You understand what the speaker is saying but also understand what the speaker is feeling. You get the complete message of what is being said and not being said.

To become a better listener it is important that you don’t allow yourself to be distracted by things going on around you.  With active listening you acknowledge what the other person is saying. This can be done by repeating what is being said, using body language such as nodding your head and using your eyes to show that you understand and hear what they are saying. 

Listening is a vital skill and easy to master.  Simply, pay attention to what is being said, provide feedback, don’t judge and respond accordingly. Remember, some of our best leaders are successful due to their active listening skills.  One of the powerful characteristics of a coach is being an active listener. If you are interested in working with a coach, contact me at Upstream Solutions or leave a comment and I will answer.  

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw
Everyone has it inside themselves to be and do what they want. Step outside your box. Use your imagination, and create your work of art! 

You hear so often that #gratitude is a practice that you should follow as it is one of the keys to being #successful in life and business. Studies have shown that maintaining a gratitude practice can result in many improvements beyond overall happiness.

The reason behind this, as researched by scientists at UMassd, there is a relationship between our thoughts, brain chemistry, endocrine function and other physiological systems proving that our thoughts can actually trigger changes in our body, thus affecting our mental and physical health.  The benefits can range anywhere from more joy, energy, #determination, stronger immune system, lower blood pressure, acting with more compassion and feeling less lonely.

So now you are convinced you need to do it, how do you start?  The most talked about way is by journaling what you are thankful for each day or a few times a week.  The gratitude list can contain things as simple as being grateful for the weather, your children, health, your job and so on. You can also write a letter to someone you truly wish to thank. The key is to be consistent, journaling daily or weekly.  It is about looking at the glass half full and not half empty and realizing how thankful you are for what you have.  The more gratitude you practice, the more you begin to reap the positive benefits of joy and appreciation for life.

So on a day in which I realize how thankful I am, following are a few gratitude quotes from some of our great leaders. 
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”  G.K. Chesterton

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”  Eckhart Tolle

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”  Marcel Proust

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus

“True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience.” Oprah Winfrey

“If the only prayer you said was thank you that would be enough.” Meister Eckhart

Let me know if you have a #gratitude journal and how it makes you feel and the benefits you experience.
Thank you to my readers!

Everyone is telling you it is all about content marketing and making sure you have a blog.  Well if you are involved in #social media or thinking about jumping in, remember it is about the #content you can offer your followers. 

Where do you begin?

1. When thinking of what you should write about. Make the content of interest to your audience or who you want to attract. Your followers want to learn from you. So offer them relevant content.
   
2. How to find the content that your readers might find useful or that is trending?  An interesting tool is #Google Trends. You can type in words and see how they chart. You can break it down by region, country, city, days, months, years and even terms.  Try it, this is a very cool tool.
   
3. Creating a story or making it personal.  The reader wants to get to know you, what makes you tick and the path you traveled. 
   
4. Lists are easy ways for your readers to scan what you are writing about. There is so much information on the web that a reader wants to be able to get to the point quickly.
   
5. Add photos and use #color when bolding words. This breaks up the #content and will make it more interesting and easier on the readers eyes.
   
6. Have a great #Headline.  A good headline will attract 80% of your readers. You can search online for key points on writing headlines to attract readers.
   
7. Write often. Remember consistency is very important. If you appear once and the reader enjoys your post, and you don’t post for a while, the reader will forget you.
   
8. Jump in!  It is scary to start writing but it will only get easier once you begin to write.
   

Do you have a blog and what do you write about?  Leave a comment, you might have some great insight for the next reader.  Thanks!

"The Only Man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything"  ~ Theodore Roosevelt.
Starting something new is often the most difficult part but once you take that little step, the rest falls into place.  Don't let fear get in your way.  You will never realize your true potential until you try.
Make this week the week you begin to try something new!

Wow, in today’s world this is a hot topic. With so many emails circulating, over 300 billion in a day, what is the best way to respond in a timely, #professional and polite manner? 

We have all been there. Sometimes we are super punctual, other times we take forever to respond and occasionally we never respond.  But, when someone responds to you quickly, you certainly take note.  Plus you also remember the people that never responded to your emails.
Below are some quick tips to hopefully getting you a better response to your emails.

If you can, send your emails early in the day. Often busy people read their #emails first thing in the morning.

Keep the email headline catchy and make sure it pertains to the content in the email.

Get to the point in the email. Keep it Simple and clear.  A few lines is all you need for the reader to understand your message.

If it is an important email, reread the email before you hit send. Remember some conversations are not meant for emails and a quick phone call may save a lot of time and misunderstanding. 

If you need help from the reader, be direct and ask for it. The reader wants to know what you want.

If you are out of the office, use the out-of-the-office tool. The sender will not expect a response from you and wonder if you have read it.

If it is not needed, do not respond to “reply to all”.  A long chain of unnecessary emails will annoy the readers.

Emails are modern day letters and represent your personal #brand. Make sure they are grammatically correct and there are no spelling errors.

Remember, if you don’t have the time to read through the emails at least once a day, make it a goal to try for three times a week.  A simple response will go a long way to having people remember you as being a professional.  If you would like to read more helpful tips, sign up for Tuesday Notes at Upstream Solutions. Leave a comment.

So you want to accomplish a goal. Perhaps it is a new job, starting a business or completing a project at your present job.  You are super excited but your #motivation feels like it has been put on hold. You just can’t seem to start the project. You need that little bit of push but how do you get it?  

 It is easy to lose your motivation and you are not alone. Many people experience that same feeling, especially when you have a lot going on and it is a project that takes more time and planning, than you are used to.

The goal you have in mind is worth it, so don’t give up and try a few of the tips below to reclaim your mojo.

1.      Have the goal that you want to #accomplish in your mind.  Visualize it, but instead of just thinking about it, write down what your goal is, so you can actually see it and feel the emotion behind it.  As some of the very successful #self improvement authors agree, writing down not only what you want but how you will feel when you complete your goal gives you the clarity and focus you need.

2.      We often lose our motivation to start a project because it seems daunting to us.  We look at it in its completion and not the steps needed to make it happen. Write down the steps necessary to start the project. Make them doable. When you have completed a step, mark it off and you will see that the list is not that overwhelming.

3.      Change your setting. If you always work at the same desk, change it up.  #Creativity is spurred when you allow yourself to experience new things.

4.      Review your strategy for completing the project. There are often different ways to accomplish the same goal.  Perhaps it is in the planning stage that is keeping you back.  Relook at how you think you have to do it, and think of a new way that perhaps you had not thought of. 

5.      Don’t be afraid to #ask for help. People love to give advice and value the chance to help someone else. 

6.      Add fun to the project or think of ways that you can enjoy what you are trying to accomplish. It is your attitude that motivates you to continue with the project. 

7.      Reward yourself along the way.  It can be as simple as taking a break and leaving the project for a bit of time or a slightly bigger reward for your progress.  Recognizing what you have #accomplished and having pride in your progress will motivate you to continue on the same path.  

8.      Include an #exercise program in your day or week. Exercise will not only get your body moving but also your brain.  Physical activity boosts your brain chemicals resulting in a lift to your mood, a boost to your confidence and increasing your energy to accomplish more throughout the day.

Are you feeling motivated?  Try one or a few of the above and let me know if you have your mojo back.  Thanks for reading and please leave a comment.

Climbing the mountain to your happiness or success is not about looking at the steps in front of you, but focusing on where you want to go.  Today, see your goal point and get excited about conquering it.  It is yours when you focus and know it is yours. Climb your Mountain!