Small Changes in Thinking CAN Make Big Changes in YOU

The Four Day Win (oops I added an “e”and typed wine the first time) is a behavior modification strategy shared with me by Martha Beck Master Life Coach Susan Hyatt shyatt.com.  It nurtures goal setting and I can sure use some help with that?

The process involves setting a four day goal and turning it into a success, a win. You start by choosing a small daily goal that you will commit to doing for four day.  A feasible goal makes a huge difference in succeeding.  So, make your goal, then cut it in half to make it ridiculously easy to achieve. I cut my original goal to write one hour every morning during my genius hours when I'm most creative, productive, and connected down to thirty minutes.

Step two involves giving yourself a small reward every day you achieve your goal.  I put together a basket of small gifts,  material rewards (pens, post-it, nail polish etc.), and post-it notes with nonmaterial rewards like reading for 1/2 hour from a yummy book or watching Oprah. I gotta say the reward part challenges me. But that’s the applause, the pat on the back, the “atta girl” we all crave.

On the fourth day of achieving your goal give yourself a BIGGER reward because you accomplished your Four Day Win. It doesn’t need to be expensive like an e-reader or an ipad (although I’m trying to manifest one) it can be a latte or trip to the park or something else that you like.

Three small rewards followed by a larger one allows you to experience life in small wins.  It breaks goals up into managable bites and creates a natural pause to relax in and enjoy your successes.  Then if you want, you can set another Four Day Win! 

It also provides a psychological boost.  Say I go to a yoga class one time, “I’m trying yoga.” But if I go to yoga four times “I DO Yoga.” See the shift, BE the shift!

LIVE YOUR DREAM

Blog Writing 101

The IDEA, EXECUTION, and PUBLISH POST button are three important elements to consider when writing a blog post. Each can terrify a beginner. But trust me you can do this.

IDEA - write about something you believe in that excites you. Something you are experiencing right now or something that you can’t get out of your mind translate well into blog posts that engage readers.

EXECUTION – short and simple is best. A three paragraph writing style similar to one I use in my Focus Phrase Process is a great structure for new bloggers to loosely follow. I say "loosely" because you may notice that this post does not conform to that style.☺ Also, remember to edit, edit, edit. Ask yourself “is this word, thought, or sentence necessary to tell the story?” If not, no matter how brilliant, lose it.

PUBLISH POST - clicking the publish post button used to paralyze me, but practice does make easier (remember there is no perfect). So NIKE (just do it!) You can always change, edit, or if you totally freak out delete it altogether. Nothing is carved in stone here, RELAX, hit PUBLISH POST and see what happens.

My guess is you will find many who appreciate your message and identify with you. Martha Beck calls them “your people.” Don’t let fear keep you on the sidelines another minute. Put yourself out there, BLOG, find “your people” and start building a tribe.

I’m hitting PUBLISH POST now!☺

LIVE YOUR DREAM

My Superpower

My secret superpower is survival, surviving conflicting feelings, surviving difficult life situations, surviving sometimes what it feels like to be in this moment.

My tongue-in-cheek not-so-secret superpower is sleeping. I can fall asleep within minutes of going to bed and begin dreaming right away. I know this because the “others” that share my bed, a.k.a husband of thirty years, gets tired of my startle response, sleep paralysis and screams of terror when he comes to bed. Not my fault. The dream train came around and I jumped right on.

Just last weekend waiting in an interminable line at the airport to check my luggage I struck up a conversation with a woman who sells medical equipment to monitor sleep. She informed me that falling right asleep, dreaming right away etc. are all signs of Narcolepsy. At least that what I think she said, I kinda nodded off!

Seriously, don’t let the opinions of others cause you to believe that there is something wrong with you or your superpower. Sleep serves as one of the most important restorative processes. Like air, you sure do suffer when you don't have it. So sleep well my friends because the world needs our strength to evolve and survive.

Dig deep, tell me what superpower do you posses that will help us save the world? Share freely, there are no wrong answers in my class!
LIVE YOUR DREAM

Learning to Fly

Butterflies sound so much prettier than how a nervous stomach feels

It’s RISE week and after that I fly to Phoenix for a Writer’s Retreat with Martha Beck. YIKES!

It’s usually after the sun goes down, that I start question myself “Am I ready? Can I do this?” The questions quickly turn to doubts and that’s when the party really gets started.

But experience has taught me that after dark fatigue often masquerades as doubt. So I say to the questioner and the doubter “I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Because nine times out of ten when the light of day arrives, they are gone.

So let's bask in the light. Learn, stretch, grow, and accept the butterflies as a sign of the metamorphosis that occurs as we leave the safety of our cocoons and learn to fly.

“A JOURNEY OF WORDS"- Discover the wisdom of your own words.

Are you ready to take the next BIG step toward living your dream?

Want to understand yourself better and find more meaning and direction in your life? We create our WORLD with our WORDS. Our thoughts become things. When we tell ourselves we can, we can and when we tell ourselves we can’t, well you know how that usually goes.

The words we use every day get strung together and become the fabric of the stories of our lives. Want your life’s journey to be a beautiful tapestry worthy of you? Join me, Caren4u in an online writing experience focusing on the wisdom of your own words.

Mary Anne Radmacher’s thought-provoking, inspiring words (Radmacher Focus Phrases™) begin a conversation that leads to exploration and discovery. Even if you don’t feel like an accomplished writer this class is for you. It's about so much more than writing. Write to inspire your inner strength. Write to develop a habit of using your own words to keep you focused and aimed in the direction of your dreams.

Focus Phrase writing is a small investment with huge returns. While it is about writing it is more about what you discover as you explore and write. The insight gained doesn’t end when the class ends, it lasts a lifetime.

This is a guided writing process conducted online. I offer feedback unique and specific to your writing and discovery. Encouragement and support, no extra charge, that’s just how I roll!

A JOURNEY OF WORDS begins on June 7th and concludes June 25th. $129 covers three consecutive weeks of writing Monday – Friday. Ready to enroll? Reply to caren4u@comcast.net and I will get you registered and paid.

Want a shorter class, I offer A JOG OF WORDS. $40 covers a one week preview that introduces you to the Focus Phrase writing process. At the end of the week, you can decide to continue on with me or enjoy having participated in the shorter class experience.

Here’s what some of my participants have to share about the process:

“This turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to prod my inner wisdom and to actually allow myself to creatively explore beyond the obvious. I found this to be freeing and exciting.” Anne M.

“I imagined this course would get me thinking about life choices big and small, and help me focus on my needs, but I didn't know that some choices would become very important and very clear. I've been able to set my priorities and complete some challenges that have enriched my life in marvelous and unexpected ways.” Michelle A.

Live Your Dream - http://carenalbersinspirations.com

Turn a Rut into a Groove

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the dimensions (Ellen Glasgow). You can get out of a rut but you can’t get out of a grave that is for sure. But changing a rut into a groove, now that’s a whole other animal.

Last year my husband and I were trying to decide whether to ship one of our cars to Florida where our son and his family live. On our longer visits rentals were very expensive but we we didn't want to increase our carbon footprint by buying a third car to keep down there (tree-hugger I know).

We weighed the pros and cons. Half the time my car sat in the garage and the other half I knew could plan more efficiently. Plus, I have a bike and legs that I have been meaning to use more.

This idea met with skepticism from our well-meaning friends and family who couldn’t imagine EVER being without a car. But it has worked out wonderfully and has even brought us closer together. In the year that we've been car sharing only a couple of conflicts occurred that were easily remedied.

Changing this rut into a groove brought unexpected benefits. When I want the car during the day, I chauffeur my husband the short three miles to work. My friend is encouraging me to get a cap!

In the car, we are present with each other and connect in a way that we hadn’t been after 30 years of marriage. We now plan our weeks together and engage more in each other’s days. One our short commute, we talk about our work, our days, our dreams and encourage and support each other.

The car thing may not work for everyone, but I encourage you to pick something that you’ve always done a certain way and turn it upside down. Play with changing some aspect of your life and I’ll bet you will find hidden benefits, too.

My new groove has me walking more and has brought us closer together and renewed our connection. It taught me that “LESS can be the new MORE!”

Faith and Hope

The wind blows softly, gently at my back as I ready to pull anchor and hoist my sail, next stop New Orleans. Today, the winding down begins, the remembering of what to take, the necessities and luxuries to make our next stop MOST enjoyable. Risking sacrilege, I’ll call next week a holy week, two birthdays and one wedding anniversary in the span of five days. Glory be!

Soon, we'll be on the road again navigating a charmed life, a good life for which I am appreciative and grateful beyond measure. My roadmap to inner peace had some twists and turns, surprises and incomplete data, but I didn’t let that deter me. Faith pointed the way and I followed. Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual or a guarantee. We have to show up and do our part and keep doing it.

Experiencing a good life is like adjusting the knob on a toaster. No matter how careful we are sometimes it comes out too dark and sometimes too light, but we don’t stop eating toast. We keep tweaking the dial in the hope that THIS will be the time it turns out a perfectly golden brown color swimming in butter. That's what keeps us going.