“In Silence, We Find Answers…” – The Bible
I love to meditate. Do you love to meditate? Have you tried it yet? As a family, we love to come to a place where we feel tranquility and serenity. I love the Japanese garden in Cheekwood Botanical Garden, here in Nashville. Being there helps me to define my life purpose. It helps me to regroup… and start things in the right direction. Answers come from inside with ease. It is a great place to remove my writing blocks or even entrepreneurial challenges. As a publicist, a business owner, a mompreneur, I deal with it often and I accept it as a new learning experience to be better at what I do!
Yesterday, I spent a day with my family and my friend and life coach Krisna Flum. We were working on my new project called “Kangen Princess: Guiding You Back To Original YOU” (we will share more news very soon…shh it is a top secret)… Krisna even brought her little gals to this beautiful place! We practiced balance in life; being with our families while working on our project. And… it worked! We accomplished a lot while seeing our kids play and have fun! Nothing better than the smile of your little kids! We were creative because we had fun, plotting new ideas, manifesting our dreams!!!
(we are on a mission)
An interesting thing I read about Japanese gardens… people come to a Japanese garden to experience tranquility, so that their imagination and creativity will experience a boost! I remember reading in the Bible that Within Silence We Find Deep Answers.
It is all within…
…But, here is the thing we all struggle with: A balance of work and finding the time to relax. So, I want to ask you…
Want to be more productive, but no clue where to go? How do you define what it means to be productive? Do you feel you are spinning the wheels? Do you feel you are active in what you do, but never produce results? Are you striving to be a perfectionist?
Just a few days ago, I was in my favorite bookstore and I grabbed a nice comfy chair. I was also listening to water fall sounds and felt I was in my own little escape world from stress and life outside of the bookstore. Personally for me, staying sane in a world filled with daily stress and constant new demands can be quite challenging and sometimes seemingly impossible. 70% of all medical problems are stress related and honestly there is no quick fix. However, there are a few solutions or tips that can help anyone. They are very simple and so often overlooked.
Economic conditions are often false triggers
Especially due to the economic condition our country and the world is in today, no wonder more and more people are depressed, overweight and develop chronic health conditions. Have we “created” a belief for ourselves about our current conditions due to the media and what we hear on weekly basis?
Did we allow what is happening in this country and even globally, to stop us from being productive?
I think it is an excuse for some to justify laziness. What should we do? We feel we are stuck in this mess and we often do not know whom to listen to and who can listen to us!
Control the stress. First and foremost we must put stress in its place like a misbehaving child who is out of control… and we must do the same with our stress. We must recognize we have a problem and determine what we must do about it. I learned to focus on the important matters in my life, despite the daily distractions. I call them “destructive distractions” since they carry destructive power. I learned to regroup and refocus on my priorities to ease anxiety and create a balanced life. My best advice to you: find time for yourself!
Here are 10+ Steps to Feeling Alive and Productive
1. Deep Breathing.
Honestly, we sometimes get so rushed and pushed in so many different directions and being occupied with life that we tend to forget to slow down and smell the roses! We must slow down and take a few deep breaths. It helps us to calm down, to gather our thoughts and start all over or move on. I love to listen to the calming water fall sounds like I did in the bookstore and just relax by closing my eyes and connecting with nature sounds.
2. Stay Positive
You may say, “Yeah, right Tatyana!” Positive people have better results and outcomes in any difficult situation. It does not mean that positive people do not have stress. They do. They just handle it differently. Their minds are programmed to expect positive results. Negative and positive cannot exist together, so we must choose one or the other.
When things went wrong in my life and my business, or something just did not work out the way I expected, I often felt like giving up or quitting… but, I made a choice of being positive, even though I was hurt or disappointed because I knew something better would come out of it.
3. Pamper yourself
When is the last time you took time to enjoy a relaxing candle lit bath, took a long walk, or listened to soothing music? You deserve to love your mind and body and create positive energy around yourself! I love to listen to meditation music. A few minutes of listening to this type of music helps to release negative energy that can build up. As they say, “If Momma is not happy, no one is happy!” And don’t forget, you can also indulge in a nice velvety piece of dark chocolate!
4. Don’t worry about the little things in life
If it is not a big deal, let it go. We often put too much attention to things that just do not matter. We make little things look like elephants and create a reality around it. Once you realize that certain little things do not serve any purpose and cannot be undone, you can move forward.
5. Learn to forgive
Forgive others and forgive yourself. Believe in forgiveness and forget it. Forgetting is a part of forgiveness. Forgiving yourself for mistakes will free you to do what you need to do and prevent you from sitting in the mud pile of sorrow, pain and misery. Forgiving yourself for what you have not done or done poorly will allow you to move forward.
6. De-Clutter Your life
De-cluttering your life means less stress. Do not feel that you have to be a supermom or a super-dad and try to do too many things at once! Multitasking can clutter your life and create chaos. Determine what needs to be done first and stick to your plan. Write a list of things that are IMPORTANT. Usually the most important things will always tend to be on the top of the list. As they say, “the creme always rises to the top”. You will always know what is important to you.
7. Use the word “NO”
It is a quite negative word, however it could also be your best friend. There are times we must learn to say “NO” to the requests and demands of others and sometimes isolate ourselves from the rushed world. I love making casseroles, stews and bake desserts for friends who are sick, or for someone who has just had a baby and needs assistance… or even just watching someone’s else child though I have my own jungle at home with my two boys! Often, we are afraid to say “NO” because we wonder what people would think of us or if perhaps they might think less of us. NO is a powerful word, so learn to use it wisely!
8. Find positive people
Surround yourself with positive people who understand and support your life, your vision and believe in you! They can enrich your life in many ways. The most positive people in my life are my kids! They are the ones who got me interested in meditation and learning how to relax..I heard my son Timothy saying “Mommy, lets meditate and relax”. I never told him about meditation and he is the one who welcomed it in his life.
9. Be Grateful
Count your blessings, one by one. Consider all your challenges as blessings because there is beauty in challenges. Be grateful for happy and joyous moments in life. Be grateful for the little things that bring a smile to you. As they say, be thankful and pray when it rains and pray when the sun shines. It is all GOOD!
” To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven” -Johannes Gaertner
10. Take care of your body
Make sure to sleep at least 8 hours. An adult in America sleeps on average 5 hours a night. No wonder people are stressed and tired. Sleep deprivation is right at the top along with bad eating habits, causing countless health problems. Create an exercise program and do it every day. Make it a habit. I made a choice of eating healthy and a daily walking program… plus, drinking high ph water called kangen water. Our well-being is a mirror of who we are.
11. Control what you do with your thoughts.
It does not matter if you have negative thoughts or positive things. It is about what you do with them. Do you like them, nurture them? Your thoughts are like ice cream flavors. However, you only have one choice, one flavor at a time. Remember only you are in control of your life and well being. Take baby steps and practice simple things that can ease your anxiety and create more harmony and balance. Have you ever been ina situation where you wanted to make a huge leap into the future only to realize that you failed? The reason for that is that your mindset is not aligned yet with the quantum leap you wanted to make. Your views on life and how everything works have not changed. Life is not always a bed of roses and learning how to improve your life takes time and wisdom.
12. Be Creative
Creativity is the force behind productivity. Once you become creative and the ideas are flowing, you can then laser focus, providing you an opportunity to come up with solutions that you never thought possible. Once you are creative and love what you do, it accelerates your productivity. I remember myself being involved in projects I loved and I felt very creative about… I could accomplish any task! In order to be creative we must relax, be tranquil and be at peace with who we are!
I want to end with a beautiful and simple quote, “Things do not change, we change”… Do not be afraid to make little changes in your life, because it is all for your good!
Have a great week!
Tatyana Gann, Nashville TN
(c) Copyright 2011 Tatyana Gann. All Rights Reserved.
