Month: December 2016

It is important to rise to meet challenges that the world gives to you, or that you set yourself, somewhat regularly in your life. In saying that, the challenges that you give your energy to should only be ones that align with your goals and who you want to be as a person. The challenges absorb a lot of time and emotion, so attempting to take on a challenge that has very little to directly contribute to your personal development is essentially a procrastination and a waste. However, when you do choose to build yourself to overcome something that feels as though it is looming before you, it helps to sit down and remind yourself of your strengths and look at how they can be applied to this situation. Get out of piece of paper and write down all of the steps that are required for the task and all of the struggles that you anticipate that you may face when attempting to complete it. Then, next to each struggle, list a virtue that you have, such as determination or organisation, that will help you to overcome it. Then, on a separate list, write down the virtues that following through with this challenge will build in you. These could be self-control, confidence, increased understanding, etc. When you have mapped out these challenges physically and clearly demonstrated what it will require of you, your ability to succeed and the rewards in character that you will benefit from, the task becomes much more motivating and your success levels skyrocket. Give it a go, perhaps with your new resolutions that you are considering for 2017.

There are many personality types in the world and the way in which we respond to the unexpected and the unknown often show us a lot about ourselves. These reactions can vary depending on our stress and rest levels, circumstances and general mood of the day. However, a positive reaction to change, especially the unexpected, can do a lot to train your brain to become resilient and more positive in general. For example, if you experience poor customer service unexpectedly one day and it costs you time, money and emotional energy, you have two options – you can let it bug you all day and repeat the story to many people, escalating those negative emotions and letting them leak into the rest of your life. On the other hand, you can acknowledge that it was inconvenient, seek resolution instantly and then consciously decide to move on and purposefully enjoy the rest of your day so that not another moment is taken up with that negativity. This takes a large amount of willpower, but adheres to the idea that grudges and resentment are a poison only to those that hold it, and not the cause or object of the emotions. It is detrimental to your physical, emotional and mental health to continue to ruminate on negative experiences and shows an extraordinary maturity if you can acknowledge the experience and detach it from the rest of your life. This can also apply to situations with difficult co-workers or family members, inconsiderate drivers in traffic, rude strangers and offensive social media posts. Remember, you do not have to react to everything – and if you do react, you do not need to continue to engage emotionally with that subject in your mind once your reaction has been completed.

The way you speak and behave in all situations has a profound impact upon your mental state and deeper emotions. This is not simply concerning the way that you speak to and about yourself, but also about others. If the words you express are generally negative, you contribute to a sense that life is dissatisfactory and your mood soon follows. This principle also arises in the impressions that other people have of us. People build emotional ‘sketches’ of us based on the interactions that we have with them, the language (verbal and non-verbal) that we share and the attitudes that we have about life and other people. If you can consciously alter your language and behaviour to recognise positives in situations and people, your self-esteem will begin to rise, your appreciation for life and mindfulness will increase and others will be drawn to your positivity and vitality. This isn’t about repressing negative emotion, one can recognise, experience and express sadness, fear, disappointment and these other ‘negative’ emotions whilst also highlighting potential lessons learned, acknowledging that these feelings will pass and brainstorming potential positive solutions and outcomes. This is good practice to avoid negative emotional spirals and destructively negative relationships. Being a positive ingredient benefits yourself and others around you in extremely powerful ways and is one of the simplest remedies to combat the blues.

It is almost impossible to be your best and to give your best when you are running on empty. We all know people, and perhaps we are the type, that try to ‘do it all’ and ‘be everything to everyone’. Whilst noble in intention, this is unsustainable for long periods of time. You must take care of yourself to live authentically and help others in a significant way. Therefore, it may help to take time to review your key needs and the priority that you will give to them. These may include taking time every day to connect with yourself through meditation, prayer, reading a book, a cup of your favourite tea or coffee or an exercise class. These things shouldn’t be sidelined to put others’ needs ahead of yours. Ensuring that you get adequate sleep and rest, as well as healthy and sufficient food should be absolute non-negotiables. If you have small children who interrupt sleep, set aside times in the day when you can catch up on some rest by enlisting the help/taking turns minding children with a friend or relative. If you struggle with eating healthy food in appropriate quantities, it may be a good idea to enlist the help of a food delivery service – make sure that they are not ‘microwave meals’ as much of the nutrition is lost during reheating. You may even incorporate a fresh daily ‘super juice’ to enhance your vitamin and mineral intake. All in all, it is vital that you take care of yourself as a priority with your key investments made a top and inviolable priority in self-care.

For many of us, work takes up a significant chunk of time in our lives. If we don’t intensely enjoy what we do and find a state of ‘flow’ – a mental state where you are challenged, engaged and thoroughly excited by something – at all, we may find ourselves resenting our work and feeling disengaged and even depressed for a significant amount of time in our lives. At LLUMI, we have worked with many people who have now successfully released themselves from the rut or treadmill of a job that does very little for them emotionally. They now work for themselves, doing what they love but for a fraction of the time that they used to spend working for others. The key step is to first identify what brings ‘flow’ to your life – is it playing or listening to music? Is it a certain sport? Is it cooking? Is it socialising? These areas sound like leisure activities, however there are enormous industries that surround each one and your skills and talents would be a unique and necessary contribution to that field. Essentially, if we deny ourselves and the world of our time in a ‘flow’ state, we risk robbing ourselves and others of critical discoveries, personal enlightenment and a sense of satisfaction that is missing in too many people. Yes, it is scary to exit a situation in which you get a set pay-check and you know the job well. Isn’t it scarier to know that you will only make that amount of money in your life, you will not experience change and you will feel that sense of dissatisfaction for much longer than necessary? Not one of our clients has regretted their change. Yes, they were scared to take the leap and to start building their own companies, but none of them experienced the grand failure that they feared. So, what have you got to lose? Apply for a new role – see what happens. Set up a Facebook page offering your flow service – see if it motivates you to get started on more tasks. Talk to that person that you know in the industry that you are interested in, see if you can get involved or volunteer for a day. The opportunities are out there and they don’t require you to drop everything right now – tentative and careful steps are possible and preferable, and they can lead to great things.

December is usually a time of year where our social calendars are packed with events, parties, buying gifts, attending festivities and getting out of the house (in Australia, it lands during the height of Summer). It can be hard to stay on target with work, health and financial goals. As with everything, however, preparation is key. In November or early December, draw up spreadsheets of people that you need to buy gifts for and how much you can spend – then you can shop for bargains early, online or in store, and ensure you aren’t rushing in a panic and paying top Christmas dollar with heightened levels of anxiety and stress. You can even research crafty ways of making gifts if you have the extra time and limited funds, too. Similarly, place the work that you want to get done into manageable chunks on a timeline for December, considering the extra social and familial commitments that you will be attending. Mark off the tasks once you have done them and you will not see your productivity decline. With health and fitness, this is usually the most difficult area – we reinforce the ideals that our clients have and how they are ‘part of their identity’. If you are wanting to be a healthy person, you then ‘aren’t a heavy drinker’, ‘will be getting up early for a run, so I won’t have too many’ or ‘would prefer a lighter meal’ instead of the deep-fried foods being passed around. Some great ways of staying on track are to eat a light and healthy meal before attending an event where unhealthy food will abound, so you aren’t starving. Don’t deprive yourself – enjoy the tastes of this ‘treat’ food, but you don’t need to gorge on it to enjoy it. Ensure you go at least one or two glasses of water for each alcoholic beverage you consume (if any). Dehydration is a major component of a hangover! Remember how good exercise makes you feel and avoid viewing it as a limitation or burden – the Summer months are a great time to vary your workouts; stand up paddle boarding, surfing, walks along the coastline, swimming in the local pool – you name it! Make it a social event to catch up with friends, if possible! December does not need to be a ‘write off’ – keep making each day count!

More and more studies are being published about the harm that our modern society is inflicting upon our bodies and minds – in the form of processed food, screen time, inactivity and a lack of a sense of connection between people. Without sounding like a hippy, perhaps it is time to focus on ‘reconnecting’ a little bit – with the natural world around us, with real food and in real relationships with people (giving them your undivided, one-on-one attention). Try waking up for a sunrise one morning this week and simply watching it. Don’t take a photo and share it on your social media platforms (#blessed), just watch it with no other intention than to start your day with something beautiful (warning, you may get addicted to this, every sunrise is unique and beautiful!). See what a barefoot walk in the park at lunchtime does for your stress levels and peace of mind one day at work this week. Eat a really healthy meal made mostly of raw fruit and vegetables and lean meat (optional) and see if your energy levels boost temporarily. Meet up with someone to go for a walk in a natural environment and leave your phones in your bags/at home/switched off. Really listen to each other and enjoy the time you have dedicated to that person. These experiments could kick start something within you to seek a more holistic and healthy existence. Which ones do you think could benefit you?

Hindsight it a beautiful thing – we see our past with clarity and simplicity that we often lack when we are living in the moment. An effective tool in keeping on track with your goals is to ‘feign hindsight’. We look at your life as your story – you are the sole author that dictates your decisions, actions and reactions in life. Each day, you write a new page of your story and it becomes immortalised as your history. When making decisions, it can be very powerful to think about how this affects your story – will you be proud looking back on this moment and this decision when it comes to re-evaluating your behaviour and goals? Is this behaviour in keeping with the type of person that you wish to be? How can this decision be something that you recognise as a powerful step towards living your dream life? Your answers to these questions should make your decisions a lot easier to answer, especially if the ‘heat of the moment’ and external pressure are getting to you. It also helps you to build your own integrity and sense of morality when you continuously align your decisions and behaviours with your ideal version of yourself. So, today is a new page – what would you like to write on it?