Tips to Make Your Mornings Easier and More Productive
Are mornings the the most difficult part of your day? Some of us find it tough to get going in the mornings no matter how much sleep we have had.
If you are a Mum and you need to get children dressed, fed and out the door with backpacks and school books, mornings can be very grueling. Now even if you aren’t a morning person, there are some strategies that you can engage that will help you feel motivated and looking forward to the day, as opposed to dreading it.
Try the following tips to help you cope with those challenging early mornings:
1. Get to bed on time the night before to ensure you are getting enough sleep. Of course, sometimes even if you have had your required sleep, you will still feel weary in the morning when you wake, but that may be due to the actual quality of sleep you are getting. This could be the very reasson why you can’t get up with a smile on your face in the mornings. So get to bed on time for a week and monitor yourself in the mornings to determine if you feel any different.
2. Try waking up earlier, I know its the last thing you want to do but this might give you a little more time in the mornings to get organised. If you’re trying to squeeze every possible moment of sleep into your schedule, when you do get up you have to madly rush around, which is too stressful first thing in the morning. Much better to wake up and allow yourself a very quiet, calm moments before your feet hit the floor! Enjoy the sunrise while you have a leisurely cup of coffee, before the rush begins.
3. Preparation. Get organised for the morning the night before. Do whatever you can the night before to make your mornings easily and less stressful.Make sure your keys are in the usual spot, make the lunches and organise the backpacks, and have everyone’s clothes laid out. That way when you wake in the morning there is much less to be stressed about!
4. Turn some music on. My music teacher always taught me to make sure I had music in the house with my children. Nice relaxing music in the morning can be a beautiful way to start your day. It can ease you gently into the day whilst keeping you calm, even if you are busy! Enjoying these first few moments that you’re awake can make a massive difference to your entire day.
5. Meditate. Meditation is great for calming your life down or slowing your life down. It allows you to center yourself and go back to a state of peacefulness which in turn can carry you throughout your day. I would recommend though that you mediate in an upright position so you’re not tempted to fall back asleep.
6. Try to develop a positive mindset. If you have a tendency to be grumpy in the morning, make a conscious decision to start your day in a positive way. Try to imagine the wonderful things that may come your way today. If you have something not so pleasant that you have to face then try to focus on all other aspects of your day which are positive.
7. Be thankful. Start your day by giving thanks for everything you have in your life. Being grateful sets the tone for the day.
If mornings just arent your thing, try to make them easier on yourself and others by remembering to use these strategies and I think you will be surprised at the difference they will make!.
Many new and interesting topics have recently been added to our site, and I do hope that you, our reader, enjoy these.
Lisa’s Chair
This is a new section that I would recommend you visit often. Written by a dear friend who, some four years ago was hospitalised for what was termed a “routine” operation to fix a painful buldging disk in her back. Unfortunately Lisa only just found out a few weeks ago that she has a genetic disease that caused blood clotting and a possible stroke whilst on the operating table. This resulted in her inability to walk again and Lisa’s Chair is written by Lisa herself and is an account of her journey these past four years. A journey of hope, despair, desperation, dependency, courage and finding herself again. Every few days Lisa writes from heart about her ongoing journey in the hope that it will inspire others to continue to be positive irrespective of the card life decides to deal you.
I have added some new products that I have personally tried in the last month or two and do hope you will try them.
Affirmations
To me one of the single most powerful exercises you can do on a daily basis, affirmations tend to “keep you on track” if you like, help you to remain positive, provide you with an inner peace and can bring all type of abundance to you. So many of us stumble upon the power of affirmations as adults but we really should teach this concept to our children early on. On our Affirmations page I recommend Louise Hay’s “Think, I Am: Teaching Kids the Power of Affirmations”, they make a great Christmas present for your children or grandchildren.
The Law of Attraction
I went into our local bookstore last week on the hunt for a new meditation CD. I have had the same old trusted CD for the past 15 years and as we moved home recently, it is nowehere to be found! So I was loathe to buy another one as that one had been my favorite for so long! Anyway I grabbed my CD and sitting on the shelf next to it was the Law of Attraction Boxed Set by Esther and Jerry Hicks. Don’t ask me why, but I brought it home. On these CD’s the basics of the original Teachings of Abraham® are outlined. To be honest when I sat down to listen to the first CD I found it tough going, so I put it away and sat down to listen to it again the next day. Strangely enough this time the message was so clear to me and I understood how all things, wanted and unwanted, are brought to us by the Law of Attraction. I came to understand the part we all play in this. I really do recommend you purchase this 5 cd set. I regard it as one of my most important purchases so far!
Wallpapers
For all my wallpaper lovers, check out my Wallpaper page as I have added lots of new free ones for you to download!
Making a conscious effort to live in the present moment, allows you to think calmly and with clarity. This, amazingly keeps you free from the stresses of life.. With a little effort this is a habit worthwhile forming. The art of mindfulness or living in the moment isn’t easy but is achievable.
With so many distractions such as, fears, frustrations, worry and stress, it is hard to cope with what is going on around us. However once you be accustomed to your new habit, you will wonder how you ever lived any other way.
How do I make living in the moment my new way of life?
These steps will help you to achieve present moment thinking……..
1.Meditate. When meditating, the most important thing to focus on is your breathing, releasing your thoughts as you go. Meditation is the art of living in the moment, accepting things as they are. Blocking out or allowing distractions to wash over you. Practicing these things will help to quieten your mind, which is of the utmost importance.
2.You cannot change the Past, you must accept that it has been and gone. Not always easy to do, particularly if there are some serious issues in the past, but once you accept past situations, you will feel better about yourself. Don’t dwell on things you cannot change. It is so much harder to concentrate on the present moment, when the past is clouding your thinking. Clear your mind. You will be able to face the present moment without grief or regret, when you learn to accept the past for what it is when those thoughts arise.
3. Accept the future with open arms. Just as you need to leave the past behind, you need to accept the future. None of us know what the future holds, so worrying about things we cannot change is futile. Relax and accept what the universe offers, it is going to happen anyway!
* How many hours from your precious day do you waste by sitting around thinking about what you’re going to do? When you stop thinking, you have more time to actually do it!
4. Be mindful. Even the most mundane of chores should be done with an open mind. Being mindful ensures you pay close attention to what you are doing in the present. Open your senses to what you are doing, you will be overwhelmed with an abundance of positive feelings you didn’t think you were capable of.
5. Get in touch with nature. Take some time to get in touch with nature, as they say,”Stop and Smell the Roses”. You can go for a walk enjoying the sunshine or just sit under a tree.
Always remember you must take the time to Relax
In maintaining a relaxed attitude, you will achieve conscious living if you keep trying.
7 Anger Management Exercises to Help you Remain Calm
Mastering anger management is about being in charge of your emotions and taking the time to stop and think prior to speaking out. If you fail to control your anger you may very well destroy important relationships with those around you leading possibly to physical and certainly emotional damage and you will undoubtedly, harm yourself in the process.
Before looking at 7 Anger management exercises lets take a look at anger and what is represents. Always reported to be a “bad” or “wrong” emotion we need to understand that anger does in fact serve a purpose, and is there to tell us that something is really wrong. Anger really is a failure to express one’s emotions in an appropriate and productive manner and outlined below are some anger management exercises designed to help you keep a cool head.
1. Don’t React. Take the time to think about any previous situations that have gotten you into trouble in the past. At the time you probably reacted immediately to the issue in an angry manner. Remember that whenever you are presented with a situation that is stressful to you, do not react. Stop and think through what is really happening, decide how you feel about it and then decide how you are going to act.
2. Breathe. If you are in a situation where you have let your emotions gain control and you are feeling extremely angry, then take the time to stop and breathe, slow breaths in and out until you are able to regain control and get back into this mindset of emotional control.
3. Don’t Worry quite so much about other people. Sometimes we get very caught up in how other people perceive us and what opinion they have of us. When this happens and we try to please everyone and make everyone happy, we tend to forget about ourselves which can in turn leave us feeling angry and resentful.
4. Include Exercise in your Life. A consistent and regular exercise routine can help you to release pent up emotions and frustrations. If you feel anger welling up inside, you can always take yourself for a walk or a run, or a game of golf, anything that is an avenue for releasing that anger in a healthy way.
5. Never Hold a Grudge. Holding a grudge against someone, even it is truly warranted, only ends up hurting you at the end of the day. Try to practice the art of forgiving and forgetting. In some instances this may be very difficult to do, but will actually bring peace into your life.
6. Learn the Art of Relaxation. If you are tired and stressed, anger has a tendency to arise more often. Relaxation techniques such as meditation or yoga, soaking in a bath, deep breathing exercises, listening to music – are all strategies to help you to relax.
7. Learn How to Appropriately Express your Anger. When you feel anger, the trick is to try to identify why you are feeling it, what does it really mean? Then you must quickly try to express this anger appropriately, causing minimal damage to yourself and to others. Remember suppressing your anger is not the answer, and this could over time, make things much worse and can lead to issues with depression and more.
I find that generally speaking, when I’m angry its more to do with fear than anything else. So next time you feel angry STOP and try to identify with what the real issue is.
Children and Anger
I am sure we all from time to time have watched in horror at the degree to which our children young and old can display their anger. I know my own children could get extremely angry and upset and throw tantrums when they were little. It is very difficult to try to talk to and reason with a very young child and we have to rely upon their body language to try and assess the situation and determine what is causing the leve of anger they are experiencing. Really easy to do isn’t it when you have a 2 year old SCREAMING THE HOUSE DOWN!
Likewise the same can be said of teenagers and young adults. It is often very difficult to determine what is causing their anger and it could be any one of a thousand things.
The most important thing though is to teach our children appropriateness in terms of expressing their anger. Yes it is perfectly normal healthy to experience anger as an emotion however it is not acceptable if that anger involves inflicting physical or emotional pain on another.
A really good resource that you can listen to in the comfort of your own home is a 75-minute audio recording by Parenting Expert Toni Schutta where she talks about the typical anger triggers for children, calming techniques to use and really understanding what anger is all about. I would recommend you give it a try – “Children’s Anger: Triggers and Solutions for Coping.”-grab your copy here.
Meditation can benefit your body, mind, and spirit. Tests and studies that monitor brain waves of people during meditation have shown that you achieve deep relaxation and increased oxygen intake during meditation. It even raises your pain tolerance!
In addition, meditation can lower your blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol. Studies have also shown that when you practice meditation, you may have lower levels of cortisol and free radicals, which reduces stress and slows the aging process.
“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.” – Buddha
Meditation techniques date back several hundreds of years. When someone mentions meditation, an image of monks in dark robes sitting for hours in silence may come to mind, but this is not the case. Meditation is mainstream and its benefits are for everyone!
Meditation Styles, Types, and Methods
There are a number of different ways you can meditate, and meditation is different for each person. Meditation is a truly personal experience. Finding the right type of meditation for you may take a bit of time and practice, but the benefits are certainly worth the effort.
While there are various types, don’t let that overwhelm you. Start with something simple. Dedicate yourself to learning the technique, and see the benefits in your life. If one type of meditation isn’t right for you, try another one.
Three of the most common meditation techniques are Yoga, Mantra, and Mindfulness Meditation. Although each of these types are unique, there are also similarities.
Mindfulness Meditation
* Buddhists call this type of meditation “insightful or vipassana meditation.” It is insightful because you become acutely aware of all that is happening, both physically around you and inside your mind. You become aware of all these things without judgment.
* You usually start by concentrating on your breathing, and then progress to the thoughts and ideas bouncing around in your mind.
Yoga Meditation
* Yoga is wildly popular because it relaxes both the body and mind. It’s a form of exercise that incorporates meditation. Meditation is one of the five principles of yoga, with the other four being diet, exercise, relaxation and breathing.
* The goal in yoga meditation is to focus on one point to achieve self-realization.
Mantra Meditation
* Mantras are phrases or words that you repeat. When you think of those monks meditating, you might imagine them saying, “Ommmm.” This is their mantra. Yours can be that simple or more complex. You can say it out loud or silently while you meditate.
* Those who practice Mantra Meditation believe in the power of words.
In order to receive the most benefits from your meditation, you should practice it on a daily basis. The amount of time you spend meditating will be a personal choice. Some people realize benefits in 10 minutes, while it takes others at least 30 minutes.
If you’re unsure which type of meditation is right for you, seek the guidance of a qualified coach or instructor.
Once you practice meditation, you’ll develop preferences customized for your own mind and body. Find your balance and create your own meditation style if that’s what works best for you.
Once you make the conscious decision to meditate, you’ll find new peace, comfort, and better health in your life as a result. Get started today!
When learning the basics of the type you’ve chosen, be prepared to spend more time in meditation. It takes time to learn how to clear your mind and become totally relaxed.
As above, use these meditation techniques to feel better and empower yourself right now!
Mastering anger management is about being in charge of your emotions and taking the time to stop and think prior to speaking out. If you fail to control your anger you may very well destroy important relationships with those around you leading possibly to physical and certainly emotional damage and you will undoubtedly, harm yourself in the process.
Include Exercise in your Life. A consistent and regular exercise routine can help you to release pent up emotions and frustrations. If you feel anger welling up inside, you can always take yourself for a walk or a run, or a game of golf, anything that is an avenue for releasing that anger in a healthy way.
Meditation can benefit your body, mind, and spirit. Tests and studies that monitor brain waves of people during meditation have shown that you achieve deep relaxation and increased oxygen intake during meditation. It even raises your pain tolerance!
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