Jane speaks about how the last three decades of you life can be even better then the previous ones were, I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to experiencing that!

Positive Psychology focuses on changing how you view life, looks at how making small changes to your actions can make a big impact to your entire life!

I like to think that this also proves that same process will work for Self Care. Taking Simple Steps every day! Deciding every day that you WANT to do something different.

Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application

PROJECT M-31: Simplify Your Life in 31 Days

Here at The Minimalist Path, a frequent challenge for many readers has been the direct guidance at creating a lifestyle that simplifies the current status of one’s life while building a maintainable minimalist approach.

* PROBLEM: There is a lack of guidance as to produce results quickly and easily
* SOLUTION: Break down the problem into small pieces that can be successfully achieved daily. Through the action steps and advice provided in PROJECT M-31, you will develop habits of simplifying your daily life so that you can address the greater lifestyle issues of clutter and chaos.

PROJECT M-31 is your guide to developing a simplistic lifestyle that allows you to finally do the things you love. This is an action plan to get you where you want to be.

PROJECT M-31 will lead you down a month long path that goes step-by-step through YOUR life through simplifying practices.

What to expect & What you will get by purchasing PROJECT M-31…

* IMMEDIATE ACCESS to 66 pages, 10,000+ words of straight-forward guidance
* Day by Day guide to simplifying your life
* A scheduled Task Time on each day to maintain a manageable lifestyle
* Simple Steps that are easy-to-follow and to the point
* Challenging yet Achievable Goals

What are some of the areas discussed in PROJECT M-31…

* EVERY major part of chaos in your life will be addressed
* Simple Tips that many of my readers at TMP have told me worked for them
* A ‘How-To‘ approach from the start that doesn’t lead to confusion or lack of focus

What you will be able to do once you accomplish the action steps in PROJECT M-31…

* Live a simpler life
* Have more time to enjoy the people, places, and things you love
* Regain control of your life

I hope you all take this opportunity to enjoy PROJECT M-31 and make significant progress at simplifying your life today.

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It is that time again… Time to figure out my person intention and focus for the year.

Let me tell you a little what the one word theme is… it is the value or intention that you want to make front and center in your life.  It is the value/intention you will use to make every decision in the next year.

The first year (2009) that I decided to create a theme,  I used “Holistic“, I used this year to “clean up” many areas of my life.  I moved to create a new lifestyle, I focused on my both my mental and physical health.

The second year (2010), I used “Level-up” as my theme, I used this to again make significant changes in my life, re-aligning my business to fit my vision for my future, changing names and clarifying the focus.  I trained for and competed in my first triathlon.

Last year (2011) I used “Leadership” I  wanted to spend more time, impacting more people. I wanted to create a legacy.  I did this, not is exactly the way that I had thought when I decided to take on this theme.  Oh but I most certainly did it.

I am still on my mission to show people that “through simple steps you can achieve YOUR passionate life.” I most definitely will be keeping that a big part of my focus through the year.

This year though I decided that I need to stop feeling afraid to take that next step, I have said for the last year, “I am on the verge of something great.”  Awesome right… WRONG!  The universe gave me exactly what I asked for… I stayed on the verge all year.     okay okay I learned my lesson.  This year, I am great!  This year I cross over the verge and create everything I want.

This year my theme is Wealth and Health.  I know, two words, it is just something that feels right for this year.  so… there is no more half way, there is no more being on the verge. there is only full throttle ahead!

Wealth – Attract more money into my life to provide more freedom.

Health – Heal the broke parts of my body to enjoy more freedom.

Do I know what the means for me?  nope. Do I know how it is going to happen? nope.  But it doesn’t really matter.  It is my intention, it is my focus, it is my end result for the year.

I would love to hear your themes!  Come on over to Facebook and share your theme

Photo Credit: by duckiemonster

Some of the benefits of buying the e-book:

1. Zen Habits essential articles gathered in one convenient place. No need to search or dig through the archives, print or reformat into a word processing program. That’s a significant time savings, which for you guys is extremely valuable, as your time is worth 50 times what I’m charging for the e-book.
2. Zen Habits made portable. If you’re going on a plane ride or some other location where you need some good reading, you can take this with you anywhere, even without an Internet connection.
3. It’s printable. This e-book has been designed for reading on the screen, and also to print out nicely.
4. It has a nice design. I hired Charlie Pabst of Charfish Design to do this e-book and asked him to give me a very simple layout. He delivered beautifully, and I’m proud to offer this good-looking e-book to you guys. Btw, Charlie does excellent work and does it quickly — a tough combination to beat. Check out his site.
5. It makes a good gift. Without spending a lot of money, you can give someone the gift of happiness and a simpler life by purchasing this e-book and emailing it to them. Gift-giving can’t get any easier!
6. It’s like a donation, where you get something in return. A lot of you have been generous enough to donate to Zen Habits, allowing me to achieve my dream of blogging full-time. Those donations continue to support me and my family, but buying this e-book is a relatively painless way to donate, if you feel compelled to do so, because you get some nice reading material in return.

Here’s the table of contents:

Introduction
Section 1: Simplicity

• Decluttering
• Single-tasking
• Edit Your Commitments
• Eiminate All But the Essentials
• Don’t Do Everything on Your To-do List
• The Art of Doing Nothing
• Declutter Your Mind
• 72 Simplicity Tips
• Eat Slower

Section 2: Productivity

• Purpose Your Day: Most Important Tasks
• Focus on the Big Rocks
• Clear Out Your Inbox
• Clear Your Desk
• Become an Early Riser
• Become Motivated When You’re in a Slump
• Make the Most of Your Laziest Days
• Decompress After High Stress

Section 3: Happiness

• Cultivate Compassion in Your Life
• Escape Materialism
• Practical Tips for Living the Golden Rule
• Accept Criticism With Grace and Appreciation
• Have Faith in Humanity, and Restore Kindness
• Boost Your Self-Confidence
• Live Your Life Consciously

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Mindfulness exercises let you “tune in” to yourself. Distractions are let go, and your brain power is increased. The exercises help you think more clearly and concentrate better. The best news is that they are easier than you might think to learn.

Easy Mindfulness Exercises

Anytime you are stressed, stop, and carefully watch yourself to identify what’s bothering you. You may be expecting something bad to happen, or perhaps there is an argument going on just below the surface of your consciousness, or you’re worried about something, or in pain in some way. Notice everything you can.

This self-observation is crucial. It will get easier as you do it more. You’ll start to realize just how many things are going on in your own head, distracting you.

Now deal with these mind-irritants. Make the phone call that’s on your mind, take an aspirin, apologise to whomever you were fighting with. You can write things on tomorrow’s to-do list, to get them off your mind. And if there’s nothing you can do right now, tell yourself that. When you do this exercise, you’ll feel less stressed, and more able to concentrate on the tasks at hand. You can have more brain power today.

A Better Mindfulness Exercise

Sit down, relax and breath deeply through your nose. Let your eyes close and be aware of your breath going in and out. Move your attention to your body, one part at a time, noting sensations of cold, hot, tight, sore and anything else you identify. After a few minutes, start listening to sounds in the room, without thinking about them. Just listen, while still maintaining an awareness of your body and your breath.

In ten minutes or so, or when it feels right, open your eyes and look around as if you are seeing for the first time. Let your eyes rest on an object for half a minute, examining it without talking about it in your mind. Then move to another object, and another, while still maintaining an awareness of your body, your breathing, and any sounds. Just stay in this state of mindfulness for a few minutes, until you are ready to get up.

When you are aware of your body, breath and immediate enviroment, you are more fully “in the moment.” Your mind is in a receptive state, with fewer mental distractions that can prevent clear thinking. An exercise like this before important mental tasks will give you greater brain power, specifically more focus and concentration. Today is a good day to learn something new. Why not try one of these mindfulness exercises?

photo credit: by -RejiK

How do most of us gauge our image? We look through the lenses of others. What they see shapes who we are. There is something wrong with that picture for sure.

Let’s think about this for a moment. Everything that we are originates inside of us. Our brain stores memories from our past. It also stores our learned behaviors like riding a bike or walking. An emotional tag is attached to each of these events. There is no possible way that another human being could have access to those brain imprints.

With that being the case, how can they look at us from the outside and tell us what we should be all about? It’s impossible. What we project comes from who we perceive ourselves to be inside. If someone doesn’t like that then they are rejecting us.

Rejection is painful, but it is not our pain to bear. The pain belongs to the other person. If they have a problem with what they see in us, there is a problem with their lens. We tend to criticize in others the very traits that we wish we had ourselves. That’s how the green-eyed monster works.

It is true that sometimes we can have character traits that rub people the wrong way. If you are too blunt or too indecisive, people may tend to shy away from you. Someone pointing this out will do so from a place of love not criticism. They want the best for you so they take the time to help. That is in sharp contrast to someone whose words cut deep when they are supposed to be “doing it for your own good.”

As humans, we were created to grow and evolve. Part of growth is realizing characteristics that we don’t need anymore and getting rid of them. It is okay to reinvent yourself as long as you are doing it for the benefit of you and not someone else.

In life we meet very few genuine people. We are usually suspicious of them because we often hide behind a mask ourselves. It is refreshing to know people who are not afraid to be accepting of themselves, flaws and all. They could teach us a thing or two about painting our own self-portrait.

Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn’t fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn’t dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships?

Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.

This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day just barely existing.

But you know what?

Life could be so much better, if  we follow our passions and learn to aim higher!

The most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can’t do this. It’s too hard. It’s too impossible. No one can do this.

However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment.

Remember that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So fly it does.

On the other hand, some people suffer from dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result? Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.

If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself clinging on to the impossible dream.

Try this exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life. Under one header, list down things ‘you know you can do’. Under another header, write the things ‘you might be able to do.’ And under one more, list the things that that are ‘impossible for you to do.’

Now look at all the headers strive every day to accomplish the goals that are under things ‘you know you can do’. Check them when you are able to accomplish them. As you slowly are able to check all of your goals under that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’

As of the items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move the goals that are under things that are ‘impossible for you to do’ to the list of things ‘you might be able to do.’

As you iterate through this process, you will find out that the goals you thought were impossible become easier to accomplish. And the impossible begin to seem possible after all.

You see, the technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high, and start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is unwise to set a goal that is truly unrealistic.

Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.

On the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But, through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now realities.

Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline. But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.

Ask any gym rat and he or she will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your comfort zone. Remember the saying, “No pain, no gain”? That is as true as it can be.

So dream on, friend follow your Passion! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.

Photo Credit: by morberg

On this page you will find several awesome resources that you can use to start your journey to eliminating stress from your life.

The First item is a Video that reviews 50 strategies that you can use day to day to get rid of stress.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Second item is a mp3 of my favorite tips from the video and how I use them in my life.

My Favourite Stress Relief Strategies

The Third item is a Stress Management Self Care Assessment

Stress-Management-Self-Care-Worksheet

Please enjoy these resources! Take care of YOU!