Turn Off Your Phone and Be Present Now in the Moment

People want to engage with you and see your smile, listen to your words.

Nature wants to seen and be fully appreciated.  Nature is waiting to be discovered in all its amazing glory.

How can you possibly engage and communicate with real people if you're neck is bent toward the ground and your eyes are focused on your phone?  How can you connect with nature and her magnificence if your eyes are riveted to your phone?

I recently conducted a successful workshop on the topic of "Mindfulness and Connection".  Participants were asked to leave their cell phones at home....period.  I had anxious callers telling me how they couldn't do that because they were expecting a very important phone call from someone.  To each special request I simply replied leave your cell phone at home....period!

All the participants who attended complied and were pleasantly surprised to discover that their stress level was significantly reduced.  They were relaxed and enjoyed the conversation and looked forward to our next group chat.

There was a time not so long ago that your phone was connected to the wall in your house.  If you went out with your friends, family or just for a walk, your phone stayed at home!

You were free to simply enjoy the moment, the activity, and the people.

Action Steps to Live Phone Free 

Leave your phone at home, in the car, or the office for 15 minutes each day.

Meet up with family, friends or take a walk in the park.  Focus on the moment, what's happening right now.  Breath and relax.  Be present in your life.

After 7 days, increase the amount of time you leave your phone behind.

Remember - when the phone was attached to the wall, you survived, business carried on, family crises happened, your kids arrived at their destination, and anyone and everyone was free to leave a message.  You would get back to them at your leisure.

Disconnect and Kick the Phone Habit - you will be a new person in a very short time and you will look forward to your "no-phone time".

About Susan Ball

Susan inspires her clients to live the life of their dreams with passion, joy, and love. Susan is an experienced international Life Coach helping people discover and live their ideal life through NLP, Mindfulness, and G.R.A.C.E.

Learn more about Susan by visiting her Online, on Facebook

Say "YES" to Yourself and Create Your Best Relationship with You!

Best advice. Think about all the times you say "yes" when you really wanted to say no. Say Yes to Yourself and create your best relationship with you!

To create space for success and happiness in your life, it's important to make time for you.  How?  By saying no to others and yes to you.

Grab your copy of my Yes-No Worksheet and really explore your yes vs no options.  The worksheet will show you what you're missing when you say yes to stuff and then more stuff.

Start easy with 2 yes items that you want to change to no right away.  Write down a variety of ways you can say no (no maybes!).  Play with the words but always be clear that your answer is no.  Then choose the wording that feels right and practice, practice, practice.  

Once you have gotten your first no out of the way, you'll feel so much better, less stressed and you won't grow a huge wart on your nose!  The next no will be easier.

After you say no to something else, say yes to you.  Use the time to do something you "want" to do and not something you should do.

Have you scheduled your 30-Minute Free Consultation?

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Single-Tasking or Overcoming Overwhelm

When was the last time you focused on one task and completed it without interruption?

I'll bet  it was quite a while ago and I'm confident in my wager.  My confidence is because I speak with clients everyday in my coaching practice who are struggling with "I'm overwhelmed".

They are average people with jobs, kids, spouses, parents, friends who volunteer and get involved with their children's activities.  Their calendars are filled with due dates, to do lists, task lists, and appointments.  Some of their planned activities actually overlap leaving not even one second from the end of one activity to the start of the next!

Is that even humanly possible?  Is it healthy?  Does it leave time for just simply enjoying life?  NO!

A common result of too much overwhelm and busy-ness, is procrastination.  It all becomes too much and there doesn't seem to be enough time to do anything.

Overcoming overwhelm begins by adopting "single-tasking".  The fine art of doing one thing at a time.  The ability to delegate or forget about it.

Running around like a chicken with your head cut-off filling in the demands of "everyone" except you is not only unhealthy it is unproductive and not sustainable.

Tomorrow look at your mega huge calendar of things to get accomplished and pick one - just one.  Write it down - I will do/finish/meet with/visit/enjoy this one thing.  Do not take on any new projects or appointments.  Break down your task into steps and achieve each step individually and do a good job so you can smile at your success.  

I have become committed to the idea of single-tasking and the health benefits in choosing to back away from the dreaded multi-tasking.  

I would love to hear if you are a single or multi-tasker.

How Distorted Are You?

Do you over-generalize?  Think that there is only black or white solutions?  Dwell on one little negative thing so that you ruin your overall enjoyment of an experience?  Are you a fortune teller?  Or do you see catastrophe at every turn?

Grab your copy of my Cognitive Distortions worksheet so we can discuss all the unique ways we distort our experiences.

"Cognitive Distortions" are so common and you are not alone.  These distortions negatively impact our daily interactions with others and ourselves.

Recently, a client came to me to overcome childhood sexual abuse by a close family member.  We discovered that she had not discussed what happened with any of her immediate family members effectively isolating herself from her circle of support.

She had applied the big cognitive distortion - Jumping to Conclusions which includes Mind Reading and Fortune Telling.

She had convinced herself that sharing her story would result in those closest to her treating negatively in the future.

I'm happy to say that with encouragement and understanding of her personal distortions, she shared her story and discovered that her sister had also been abused.  40 years later they are closer than ever and they have each other to talk to and that's healthy and healing.

Look at your copy of the Cognitive Distortions worksheet and then openly discover how you distort your experiences and effectively, sabotage your happiness.

When you realize how distorted you are, you can start the journey to change and positive experiences.

More on this topic will follow - it's a big change that will have an incredible impact on your life.  Pay attention to your distortions.

Note to the Monday-Haters Club - Stop It!

What is with all this hating on Mondays?  I open my Facebook on Monday mornings and see a litany of cartoons bemoaning Monday.  Some even have dogs hiding from Monday!  There has been a song written based on a serious crime committed because the shooter hated Mondays.

When you stop and think about being part of the Monday-Haters Club, what are you really setting yourself up for?  Will you be bright and bubbly and happy?  Off to work or school with a glowing positive healthy attitude of gratitude?

No, No, No!  You will be creating a day filled to the brim with negativity.....period.  How could your day be anything but negative if you wake up and the first thing you say or moan is "I Hate Mondays?"  "Mondays Suck"  "Monday Again"

Is that how you want your day to be - filled with negativity?  I can't imagine that would make you happy or less anxious or depressed.

Note to the Monday-Haters Club - STOP IT?!?

It's time to change your attitude toward Monday.  You will be grateful and open up a wonderful world of possibilities. Mondays are a gift to you in the present.  They are wrapped in possibilities for creativity, exploration, happiness, and enjoyment.  Monday marks the beginning - what will you begin?

I love Monday and all days that are gifted to me.  I open my "presents" with a smile, a sense of curiosity and gratitude.

After all, Monday is "My Day" and it can be yours too when you change from hating to loving.  You will open your own world of possibilities.

No matter what day of the week it is,  Choose to Make it a Great Day!

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t's time to realize your full potential and create lasting, sustainable positive change. Explore your potential and focus on your dynamic future....
NLP Success Coaching Works!

Take the first step to Living Your Life to the Fullest

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Your Body is Listening

Be mindful of the words you choose to describe your body. If you talk about having a slow metabolism, for example, or being prone to a certain disease, then your body will interpret those comments as commands and will work hard to manifest them. Here are a few things to remember:

What happened to you is in the past. Do not keep talking about it unless you want it to continue.

Disease need not be hereditary. Avoid labels.  Avoid comments such as "it runs in my family".

Give your body positive messages on a daily basis to overcome your negative thoughts and fears. (i.e. My body is strong, fit, healthy, flexible and attractive.)

Positive Thoughts attract Positive Outcomes.

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Do it Differently - Choose & Want It!

That's How Happy People Do It!

When was the last time you did something different?  Oh, it could be anything like a new route to work or watching a movie outside your comfort zone or joining a group to discuss books, politics, current events or wellness.

What stops you?  

Age?  Inspiration?  Confidence?  Family?  Time?   Money?   These are the common excuses used when I ask this question.  I'm sure you're familiar with all of them.

What if I told you the real reason that you have stopped doing it different, is an over-abundance of "shoulds" and "oughts" and "musts" in your everyday thoughts and language.

Let's start with Should and Ought and Must - my least favourite words and the first ones I get my clients to abandon.  Yup, I want should and ought and must left in the rain in an alley somewhere - gone, forgotten, abandoned!  

When you use the word "should", your body language actually changes - your shoulders hunch forward and you slouch.  Slouching closes off your breathing and as a result you start a pattern of shallow breathing instead of healthy deep breathing. 

Next comes that uneasy feeling - stress, anxiety, and guilt.  And the final feeling is one of resentment when you do complete the "should" or "ought"  or "must" task.

That's a lot of negative pattern behaviour because of three little over-used words.  You know a negative mood swing is about to hit you when you hear the words "should" or "shouldn't", "must" or "mustn't", "ought" or "ought not".  

These patterns of speech and our negative reactions go back to some authoritarian figure, a parent, a teacher, a neighbour, or a respected elder.  How many times did you hear "You should be doing your homework" and did you jump up off the couch with a smile on your face and go do your homework?  No, you slouched off the couch, probably put up a bit of an argument, and then went to your room, shut the door and maybe did your homework = Stress, Anxiety, Guilt and Resentment!

When you hear yourself using should, ought or must, challenge yourself by asking these easy questions:

What other choices do I have?  What would happen if I didn’t do it?

Or these questions for "shouldn't":

If you say, for example, "I shouldn't spend money on this", ask, Why shouldn't I spend money on this?  What would happen if I did?  What would happen if I didn't? 

Once you've answered the questions, you will know whether you "want" to complete the task, favour, or purchase and you will feel satisfied and happy with your decision.

When Should, Must and Ought shift to Want and Choose, you will feel that you have made the decision that you want to make and move forward towards completing the task in a light and positive manner.  And when that happens, you will feel so much better!  MOST IMPORTANT – if you choose do perform the should request you are now doing because you want to and from a position of power

Choose to it Differently by Questioning Should and Answering with Want!

Visit Susan Ball, NLP Life and Business Coach and book

your 30 minute Free Consultation!

Want to Improve Communication with Children & Teens?

I know you do!

I'm offering an important workshop on September 22nd, 2012 in Amherst, Nova Scotia that will give you NLP communication tools and resources developed to enhance and improve your communication with children  and teens.

Familiar Scene?

Change the picture quickly and easily!

There is always something new to learn and to teach and flexibility and awareness is key to a successful future with children and teens. I will help you understand and reframe the challenges you are experiencing with your own children or the children you work with or teach.

You will come away with fresh ideas that will open your eyes and mind.

Learn how to read your son or daughter better, how to set anchors that will quickly and easily shift their behaviour. Learn what is important to your child and how to influence them by acknowledging what is important to them. Improve your child's reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Technology is changing more rapidly than the average person can keep up with and these changes affect how children process information and act on the information they have processed.

In this workshop, you will learn about the power and influence of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on children and teens and the importance of working with this generation of future leaders. Discover what's new, what's changing and the role internet and social media sites play in the development of children and youth.

Learn the simple changes to your language that move your child away from negative behaviour.  Does "Why" work?  How about "Try"?  Any "Shoulds" in your arguments?  All of these simple words will cause a downward spiral.  You will quickly go from conversing to arguing.

Join me and learn how to communicate effectively with your children and teens.

Who Would Benefit from Attending the Workshop:

Parents, Teachers, Grandparents, Counsellors, Coaches, Youth Workers

If you have children or work with them, don't miss this opportunity!

Visit My Website to Register