HAPPINESS: WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL?

MY SUCCESSFUL DAY

I talk a lot about what makes people feel successful.  It comes up with every client that we all start out with dreams when we are young, but many times life gets in the way. 

Today is my day to feel successful.  I see my name in print as a contributor to the book "What We Love" and it shows me that I can write and demonstrate follow through.  It helps me to “feel” successful and know that I can accomplish any goal I sent out to complete.

Much of my past is filled with writing.  I spent over a decade editing newsletters for professional organizations.  I wrote and edited many articles and essays for empowering women.  I learned there are so many women who write for fun.  It starts with diary writing and moves to journal writing.  There are paper journals and journals you can keep in an online journal which can be kept private or shared with the world.

Order from Amazon

Writing can be personal or educational, entertaining or delight your imagination.  Whether you intend to write for the public or not, it is a successful feeling to see your book in print.

There are many reasons to write.  Clients are asked to write out their dreams, their feelings and the goals in the process of taking an amazing journey and feeling successful.  During the process of writing, it generally comes up that they like to write.  Sometimes they want to do more of it.  I truly believe that everyone has a book in them, they just need to get it out.

For those who know they have a book in them, they will need to determine what they want out of becoming an author, they need to find their “why”.  Everyone needs to know the real reason they wanted to write.  There are answers from everything to “I just want to document a part of our family’s story and I will be satisfied if only those close to me ever read it” to “I want to become famous and sell millions of books or make it a part of a series”.  No matter what your “why” is this is the time to make those dreams come true.  

Steps to Success

Writing starts with pen on paper on day one or keys on the keyboard.  Once you have decided to write, you just get to writing.

“You can’t edit a blank page”

Order "What We Love" from Amazon and find my article entitled “Love is the Answer!”.  Leave a review on Amazon and comment below to let me know you were here!

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

#Book Review, #What We Love, #Success Coach Joy, #Writer, #Author,  #Happiness 

Copyright © 2019

HAPPINESS: Loving Your Amazing Journey. Start where you are.

In love with Your Amazing Journey called Life.

No matter your age, you have embarked on a journey that will eventually amaze you.  It starts with a home town, a family, a childhood home or many childhood homes and sometimes several families.  I read somewhere that everything we go through is preparing us for where we are now.  One fascinating thing is that we can use our past to have excuses for why we are where we are, but studies show that people with the same background … hometown(s) or families … can take a different path and result in various types of success, or no success at all.

Your Amazing Journey

What I am trying to say is that it is our background that has an impact on who we are but more important than that is the choices we make in life as to where we are on the path to success.

First, we need to assume that everyone wants to be on a journey to success.  Next, we need to assume everyone believes they deserve success or that they believe they can really attain it.  That is where we get to ALLOWING.  Not everyone chooses to allow joy, happiness and unlimited potential to be part of their reality.

It is a pretty tall order to expect coaching to help your journey in the areas of health, wealth AND happiness, but it is a holistic expectation for a well-rounded journey to success.  As you read through the essays here, you will find many similarities with coaches who help you define goals and build a roadmap to your ideal destination.  Here, there is no difference in that.  The difference is the emphasis on the groundwork, the background work of defining a dream, believing you can have it all and then allowing it to happen.

So many people are looking at the obstacles in their lives and realizing that they are their own worst enemy.  We may make many excuses, but it is important to understand that it is a circumstance and an excuse, and we need to move past that.  We need to journey to the place where we expect situations to resolve with grace and ease.  We must expect to come out of a bad situation on the other side where we learned something that can move us forward on our journey.

Steps to Success

Picture life’s journey like on an upward staircase.  Sometimes we can feel the downward momentum and yes, it is important to feel those sad moments of life, but we must move toward the upward spiral.  It is the upward moving momentum where we can place our focus for success.

Believe me when I say the physical, emotional and even spiritual momentum of the upward spiral can change the way you look at life and the way life spins toward you.  Success is allowed, expected, and welcomed on your amazing journey.

Let me know where you are on your journey.  

Leave a comment, even one word. 

Let me know you were here!

Twyla Jane

#HAPPINESS, YourAmazingJourney, #Dream, #ExpectSuccess, #AllowSuccess

Copyright © 2019

HEALTH: O for the love of Nature

The Awareness of Loving Nature.

Do you go hiking, exploring caves or backpacking through the wilderness for days on end without seeing a car or a single soul?  If you do, you probably already know the love of nature.

This is for those of us who never knew nature and don’t know what they are missing.

Sometimes people say, “when is the last time you stood with your feet planted firmly on the ground?”.  What they mean can be when is the last time you stood up for yourself or someone else or something you believe in.  But, what if they mean when have you stood on the ground, bare feet, right on the ground.  Last summer?  When you were a kid?  Never?

Many of us know what it is like to stand for something, but we do not know what it is like to actually stand with our feet touching grass.  It’s not so much about identifying when we last were barefoot, but about feeling the warmth of the soil, the feel of mud or dirt or the feel of the forest floor?  There is something to say about looking at nature, whether it’s the birds in the trees in a city park or the cliffs and barely visible trails in the woods.  There are actual health benefits to being in nature.

Being outside helps us feel better emotionally if we give it a chance.  Science is proving that nature contributes to our physical wellbeing.  It can help reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones. 

 

Nature provides us with more than food and water.  It provides us with building material, fiber and is a natural medicine for our bodies.

Spending time in nature is recommended for depression, brooding and other mood disorders.  It can increase our creativity and allow us to feel free.  This can result in opening ourselves to discovering our innermost dreams and sharing those dreams with others.  It allows us to consider really connecting with other people.

It is well known that walking is good for our health but walking outdoors involves our curiosity to combine exercise with awareness of the many ecosystems around us – that of the insects and other animals.  It can inspire painting and other works of art as well as our creativity for expressing ourselves through words flowing like poetry.

Getting in touch with nature can be as simple as exploring your neighborhood or driving to a nature center or park but the feeling of fresh air can’t be bought at a store.  The scent of flowers and plants affects the levels of serotonin and brings about focus, relaxation, and feelings of joy.

Even sitting in nature is better than not.  Walking, hiking, backpacking or serious camping may not be in store for you, but the benefits of being in nature outweigh the known impacts of being sedentary indoors.

How has being in nature impacted you?

Comment Below:  Winter Bloom in my yard

#HEALTH #LoveofNature #BenefitsofNature

Copyright © 2019

HEALTH: Is Sleep a necessary evil?

Do we need sleep for success?

If you love to sleep, you can’t understand why some would call sleep a necessary evil.  I remember hating sleep and I was sleep deprived for many years while I was happily surviving on 5 hours … or less … a night.

Taking a holistic view of finding happiness and success requires that we make some efforts to have improved health.  One of the simplest ways to maintain vitality is to respect sleep. 

The Only Place YOU Have to Live

The body has a job to do during the sleeping hours to let it repair damaged tissues, improve memory and boost the immune system.  Most of us care about anti-aging for the skin and controlling body weight, but have you read the research on how sleep is a simple, yet effective way to improve health in those areas and many more.

If you thought the benefits were eliminating bags under the eyes and morning grumpiness, please know that sleep helps heart, mood and brain function.

 Sleep helps memory and learning.  While teaching test-taking tips and I learned a technique to retain your study material is to stop studying the night before the test.  Don’t cram and read right before the test, instead stop studying early and get a good night’s sleep.  This allows the information to be stored properly so they can be recalled later when needed.  Your brain is responsible to send signals to the body for physical and involuntary movement.  It also manages problem solving, handwriting, hearing, and memory.

Getting enough sleep is a small price to pay for good health when studies show that your heart will be healthier with 7 to 9 hours of sleep.  Also, honoring the sleep-wake cycle is protection against cancer and other diseases.

When sleep deficient, the body goes into the production of stress hormones increasing blood pressure and the risk for heart attack and stroke.   The stress hormones increase inflammation creating a greater risk for diabetes and depression.   Also, your cells produce more protein during sleep allowing repair from UV rays, toxins, and stress hormones.

Still resisting sleep?  I thought sleep was a waste of time.  I read about inventors or geniuses who needed little sleep, but once I learned how valuable sleep is in causing the body to age, I gained a new respect for it.

Candle Magic

There are many techniques to encourage good sleep habits.  Allowing your body and mind to wind down an hour or so before you go to bed is a proven technique. 

Watching TV news before sleep is bad for your health as stories that portray violence are not good relaxers.  If you choose to listen to media before sleep, a good choice is meditation music and nature sounds for calming the mind and body.  Meditation does not replace sleep, but it is focused time to slow down breathing and relax muscles.

Change your relationship with sleep.  Restlessness, insomnia and sleep problems can be healed.  Seek a professional if lack of sleep continues after consciously preparing for sleep before going to bed.

Yes, we need sleep for success.  We need sleep for health. 

Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live.

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

Copyright © 2019

HAPPINESS: Success, is there enough for me?

SUCCESS.  There is no lack of success.

How do you define success?  Truth is, success is different for every person.  Everyone must define success for themselves and set about believing that they will achieve it. 

The Sky's Not Even the Limit

I have worked with women who defined success as:

1. Find someone, leave someone, tell someone, ghost someone … find love
2. Start or Finish the book they know is inside them … release creativity
3. Get a job, get a better job, start a project … make more money

Everyone is on an amazing life’s journey to success.  There is no shortage of success.  There is plenty there for everyone.  It is not uncommon for someone to tell you about their journey of discovery or self-improvement efforts to meet their goals.   There are weight loss goals, anger management, career goals and hundreds of personal development and financial goals that help to make people feel successful. 

I have coached busy women for years who realize they must take time out for themselves to improve their situation. 

Step one is making time to think through what success means to you and then allowing that to happen.

I’ll bet you thought I was going to say that once you define what success means, you then need to map out the strategy and exact steps to get there.

Yes, that is one thing that life coaches and coaching programs offer, but my experience tells me that once you know what you really desire and what success looks like to you, it is time to relax, reflect and let success in.  Allow it.  Believe it.  Know you deserve it.

Many are held back by not believing they deserve success.  It’s OK that we have times of doubt, but so many people deflect their success with negative thoughts and feelings.  No matter how you define success you must believe that you deserve it.

My blooming Christmas Cactus

There is no secret that it is a good idea to follow a plan to get to where you want to go but be aware that a lot of time needs to be spent determining if you are ready for success. 

Believe that you can live your dreams and success will find you. 

My approach is to take time to define what you want and then allow it.  Then take strategic steps.  

Baby steps are may be necessary.  Taking time to celebrate even the small wins is mandatory.  Be assured that if anyone, anywhere has been able to achieve success, you can too. 

Once you believe and do not hold yourself back, you’ll be surprised at how easily you move through the steps to success.  The sky is not even the limit.

Joy Harris

Just For Fun

Success Coach

You Define Success

#WEALTH #Success #SuccessCoachJoy #LiveYourDreams #BelieveinYourself

Copyright © 2019

WEALTH: Success, team or individual effort?

Following Your Dream = Full Life Satisfaction

In Matthew Kelly’s 2007 book, The Dream Manager, we learn about the profile of a company, where dream manager is a position in a fictional mid-size company.  Employees can meet regularly with a dream manager to discuss defining their dreams and working toward a plan to “live their dreams.”   

Today’s companies expect their employees to be creative and put their ideas to work for the advantage of the company.  Many companies expect people to work together as a team for better productivity, more centralized focus and the motivation to do their job efficiently.  

How do they motivate people to be great employees?  They encourage team members by listening to them as individuals.

Following Your Dreams

In The Dream Manager, Matthew Kelly describes employees openly discussing their personal dreams and how to fulfill them.  Employees talk through the importance of finishing their education, buying a house and pursuing creative hobbies.  The dreams do not have to be about climbing the corporate ladder, building a better department or sealing the deal.   The concept of having an assigned dream manager illustrates that people who are happy in their personal life more productive employees. 

People have feelings and circumstances and situations which cause them to get distracted, make mistakes or lose focus on the job.  But people who work toward personal goals and have someone to help build a plan, tend to be loyal, contented employees, committed to excellence in their home and work.

There comes a time when you realize you need a team to get your ideas to market, promote your work and sell your products or services.  

Challenges occur when your team does not understand working together or focusing on a common goal. 

Teamwork is talked about in most companies, big and small, but it is the forward-thinking company who realizes teams are made up of individuals who work better in a cooperative environment where team members are happy.  

Many of us do not get close enough to our co-workers to know if they are “living their dream”, but companies who celebrate personal accomplishments and support people taking positive actions are ahead of the pack in getting the most motivation out of their workforce.

The solopreneurs among us are proud to be their own boss and set their own hours.  I have seen many to rise to the top with a home-based business that allows them to set the bar for excellence, set the pace and build income driving projects and campaigns that allow them the financial wealth to live their dreams.  Eventually, they may rely on virtual assistants, graphic artists or webmasters to help keep the pace and achieve the level of excellence they desire. 

It is important to know that a little encouragement of everyone on the team or everyone who supports your dream should have and build a dream of their own.

Theodore

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

#BookReview #Wealth #Success #FollowYourDream #LiveYourDream #Solopreneur #Teamwork #TheDreamManager

The Dream Manager is available at your library, local bookstore or through my affiliate Amazon link: 

Copyright © 2019

HAPPINESS: Short Heartfelt Meditation

Happiness is contagious.

Some say they have experienced something “heartwarming” and that makes them happy.

Does the heart have the capacity to “warm up” or have its own feelings?

Modern science has proved that there is a healthy coherence between your brain and heart.  In fact, your heart has more capacity to produce feelings than your brain.  Your heart has the strongest electrical and magnetic fields in our body, even stronger than your brain.  Your heart and brain are in constant communication as your heart is sending signals to your brain to communicate with your body.

Our feelings and emotions are creating waves of energy that radiate to a field that is felt throughout our bodies and beyond.  They now have technology that can measure the field of energy around your heart which sends vibrations to your body, the whole room and can be felt all around the world.

A worthy life goal is to “let happiness in”.  Allowing happiness invites more happiness for you and the world.  It is contagious.

Science has identified brain-like cells that are concentrated in the heart that has been dubbed “the little brain in the heart”.  These cells in the heart can learn and think independently from the neurons in the brain and they can remember and communicate with us, even without the brain. 

We have been conditioned that only the brain communicates with us but we have learned that by harmonizing the heart and brain we are able to deeply feel compassion, display intuition, and process information more quickly.

Gandi said, “Happiness is when what you think and what you say, and what you do are in harmony”.

It is important to harmonize your heart and brain and it can be accomplished in 3 amazingly simple steps.  Find a comfortable chair and follow along: 

1. Bring your awareness to your heart.  This can be done by placing your hands in the middle of your chest with gentle pressure, using fingertips or palms, it does not matter.
2. Then slow down your breathing, then slower.  Breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth.  (Taking about 6 deep breaths becomes a signal to your body that you are ready to get in touch with stillness.)  Then just breathe normally.
3. The next step is to spend a few minutes creating a deep a feeling in the center of your chest.  An example of a deep feeling is compassion, appreciation, gratitude or feeling deep care -- for yourself or others.  Choose one of these deep feelings or any combination of them.  Then return your awareness to your day.

These steps work together to create harmonization between your heart and your brain.  Practice it for a short time daily.  Repeating this exercise helps your overall happiness as it positively impacts aging and immune response along with overall healing.

Let me know your experience with this meditation in the comments below.

Joy Harris

Success Coach

You Define Success

#Happiness #Heart/BrainCoherence #Coherence #GreggBraden #Heartmath #Meditation