Tuesday Truth or Dare: It's a "Someday" Thing

Truth: People who are waiting for someday, will never reach their goals or experience their dreams.  Someday is an excuse not to take action!

When you are sitting back and saying "Someday I will leave my toxic relationship" or "Someday I will travel" or "Someday I will change jobs", you are effectively giving yourself permission to do nothing about your current situation because Someday doesn't exist!  It will never come so you remain stuck in your current and ongoing situation.

When you use "Someday", you're expressing your fear of change and the future.

Dare: Dump Someday from your vocabulary.  It doesn't belong in your life and will only hold you back from living a Big. Bold. Blissful. Life!

Write down one-big bold dream or goal that you want to make a reality. Give it a fabulous, sexy Name.  Now, Make a Date. Choose a specific Day to accomplish your dreamy goal.

Your Dream Goal Has a Name + You Can Look Forward to Your Date Together.

You are Closer to Success than You Ever Were.

7 day Challenge: 

Wake Up and Smile!

Put pen to paper & write down your big, juicy, 
dreamy goal.  

Give it a Fabulous, Sexy Name

Make a date with your dream goal.

Create a bunch of tiny small steps you will take to 
achieve your dreamy goal.

Make a date with each tiny step!

Celebrate every successful step you take along your path.

Feel Yourself Moving Toward Your Big Dream!

Make it a Great |Day!

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Are You Ready to Thrive: Live Life Fearlessly?

Download the 5-Steps to Transform from Victim to Victor Workbook:  

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I help women discover the big, bold, blissful lives they deserve! Ready to reclaim your future and start thriving? Book your free Discovery Session now!

Tuesday Truth or Dare: It's a Smile Thing

Truth: Take some time today to observe people and notice how many have frowns, or grumpy faces, or worried, hurried expressions.  And then look for the people who are smiling or have a relaxed, happy looking face.

I do this everyday and I'm constantly surprised that the grumps outnumber the happys!  

Smiling is contagious, sexy and wants to be done all the time! 

Dare: Add an over-abundance of smiling to your day!  There is no limit to the number of times your can smile each day.  There is no bad side effects.

The only effect that smiling will have on your day is elevating your joy factor.  Period.

Oh, one other big,huge, benefit:  When you smile at someone, you share joy and that's a good thing!

7 day Challenge: 

Wake Up and Smile!

Continue smiling throughout your day

Commit to smiling at one stranger every day.

Get your grumpy face off and put your smiling face on.

Smiling is easy, attractive, sexy, and contagious - Do It!

Make it a Great |Day!

Ready to Clear Out Life's Clutter & Junk?

Spring Clean Your Life

4-Week Virtual Program

April 7 to April 28

This course is for you if:

You're ready to create space for a New Fresh Perspective.

You're ready to let go of the clutter and junk that keeps you stuck

You want to shift your attention from all that is going wrong to all that is going Right!

You want to sweep out extraneous distractions, projects and tasks so you can easily prioritize and focus on your main goals

You’re ready for a Healthier, Balanced Lifestyle

You are ready to take the first steps to Living Baggage-Free

What you'll get: 

Weekly Group Call – we’ll all get together on Tuesdays at 7 pm (EST); 8 pm (AST) for a supportive and information filled phone conference.

My thought-provoking and action-taking worksheets that will get you letting go, setting goals, practicing gratitude and celebrating your life

Access to a supportive Facebook group of inspired Spring Cleaners!

Email Support for the duration of the program

A refreshed and shiny outlook focused on all the amazing possibilities and joy that were hiding under the dust bunnies!

Warning - By attending this workshop, you run the risk of 

Loving and Celebrating Your Self!

Your Investment: $97 US

Sign Up Here!

It's Thanksgiving! What a Perfect Time to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

You hear about practicing gratitude everyday and I'll bet you wonder "how on earth can it make a difference in my life?"

Well, an attitude of gratitude can and will change your life.  It will definitely raise your happiness quotient, it will reduce your stress and it will positively impact your overall sense of contentment and peace.

I was so skeptical when I was first introduced to practicing gratitude.  I thought how could being grateful possibly change my life for the better? I was healing from an abusive relationship.  Truthfully, I was drinking too much and engaging in destructive behaviours.  I really couldn't see anything good in my life for the present moment and the future was even bleaker.

A very wise friend who was tired of hearing my tale of woe asked me one day, "What are you grateful for?"  Huh!?  She simply said "What about music? You love music.  It brings you pure joy."  She was right.  Music did and on countless occasions music helped me get through a rough patch.

So, it turned out I did have something to be grateful for.  I decided to earnestly give gratitude a shot and see what happened if anything.

Gratitude worked for me and it will for you too!

Start small - take 5 or 10 minutes and write down or just reflect on things you are grateful for. When you're ready, start your gratitude journal or jar.  Each week or month, reflect on all that you have been grateful for.

Say Thank You with a Smile- to the servers, to the police officer, to your children's teacher, to your spouse, to anyone at anytime who does something to make your life better.

Write a Letter of Gratitude - Have a teacher, coach, co-worker, old friend, or mentor who has made a difference in your life? When was the last time you told them?  Sit down and write a handwritten note of thanks for the difference they have made in your life.  Deliver it by hand or pop in the mail.

Next time you are outside or with a group of people, instead of checking your phone, take time to simply enjoy the moment.

Exercise your gratitude muscle often.  You will be grateful you did.

How do you practice gratitude?  Would love to hear how you bring gratitude to your daily life.

Susan

I Broke-Up With My Daughter

and I feel free, fabulous and authentic.

It was a difficult relationship and I often felt that my soul was being dug out with a spoon every time we engaged with each other. It was time for a change!

Relationships can be wonderful, loving and mutually beneficial or they can be draining, stress-filled and grossly one-sided.  The relationship with my daughter was the latter.

It was one-sided, demanding, overbearing and she felt no compassion or remorse.  Kind words and gestures were way beyond her scope of understanding.

I hung in for a very long time.  Why?  Simply because there is societal pressure to continue a relationship based on family connection, blood or a specific set of labels.  In our case, our labels were mother and daughter.

I felt more like a doormat and an instant ATM.  My punishment for not behaving as she expected, banishment from my grandsons.  Do it mother or you will not see or speak with them.

The day came when I'd had enough and I was at my lowest point and I decided to break up with my daughter.

The words came easier than I thought they would.  Actually, once I said it, I started to feel amazing and that great feeling has continued to this day.

When you think of your "relationships" and your labels, is there one that you would like to break up with?  Yes, indeed!

Now imagine the peace and tranquility that would invade your being if you sent that person packing?  You feel amazing, calm and look forward to your day and life.

It can be done!  I know I did it and everything about my life has improved.  I will love my daughter forever.  Liking her is a whole other matter and I don't.

Healthy relationships are not defined by labels.

Connect with me and schedule your 30-minute complementary session.  It's simple Visit my website  or send an email

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.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

It's been awhile since my last post - I broke my wrist and hand in 2 places while enjoying the amazing beauty of Cape Breton island.  The wrist has not healed very well and it is still difficult to type but I miss writing in my blog and I had a plan for expanding into guest blogging that will happen in 2014.

As I reflect on 2013, I realize I have so much to be grateful for and welcome the new year with a sense of curiosity and excited anticipation.  Did I make mistakes?  You betcha!  I didn't focus on what went wrong but on what I learned and how I can improve based on what I learned.

I spent time celebrating my accomplishments, reaching my goals, reviewing my mistakes, and generally, enjoying each and every day and the experience that came with it.

As you review 2013, ask yourself these questions:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
2. What are you most proud of?
3. Did you learn from your mistakes?
4. Did you adopt an attitude of success and gratitude?
5. What did you do to celebrate and recognize your accomplishments?
6. What great things do you have planned for 2014?

Start 2014 with a flourish, change your attitude and put these simple strategies to work every day:

• Practice positivity and gratitude.  
• Wake up and embrace the new day.  
• Sit back at night and celebrate your accomplishments.  
• Have real conversations and smile frequently.  
• Laugh and share laughter.  
• Encourage your inner child to come out and play.  
• Choose adventure and wonder at the world around you.

I'm looking forward to getting back to writing and finishing my e-book in 2014.

Have a wonderful holiday season!  Resolve to embrace change.

Stress Awareness Week - September 8th to 14th, 2013

Stress is such an unnecessary part of our lives. Stress Awareness Week gives you the opportunity to learn and try new things to help understand, manage, and remove stress in our everyday lives.

Join us in September for the first annual Stress Awareness Week. There are all kinds of free classes and information sessions for you to take part in from JTW, the Cumberland YMCA, Hatha Yoga Room and more. As well as some great workshops

Schedule of Free Events

When What Where

Sunday Sept. 8th (1pm) - Sensory Walk (Susan Ball NLP) at Downtown Amherst
Sunday Sept. 8th (4pm) - Laughter Yoga ( Wallie Simieritsch) at JTW 
Sunday Sept. 8th (6:50pm) - Zumba (Jen) at the Cumberland YMCA

Monday Sept. 9th (8am) - Guided Meditation (Susan Ball NLP) at JTW
Monday Sept. 9th (12noon) - Reconnective Healing (Hazel Coates) at JTW
Monday Sept. 9th (6pm) - Group Hypnosis (James MacDonald CH) at JTW

Tuesday Sept. 10th (12noon) - Reiki (James MacDonald/Kim DiStatio) at JTW
Tuesday Sept. 10th (6:30pm) - Power Pump (Shawn) at the Cumberland YMCA

Wednesday Sept. 11th (8am) - Guided Meditation (Susan Ball NLP) at JTW
Wednesday Sept. 11th (12noon) - Reflexology (Kim’s Goddess on the Go) at JTW
Wednesday Sept. 11th (6:30pm) - Cyclefit (Jen) at the Cumberland YMCA

Thursday Sept. 12th (12noon) - Kangen Water (James MacDonald) at JTW 
Thursday Sept. 12th (5pm) - JTW Open House: Meet and greet with our practitioners

Friday Sept. 13th (8am) - Guided Meditation (Susan Ball NLP) at JTW
Friday Sept. 13th (7pm) - Gentle Yoga at the Hatha Yoga Room

Saturday Sept. 14th (10am) - Drumming Circle (Gretchen Smith) at Victoria Square


Workshops at JTW Natural Health Guidance Centre

Tuesday Sept. 10th: Authentic Self Workshop (Susan Ball NLP)
Time: 6pm Cost: $20

Wednesday Sept. 10th: Feng Shui: Clear Your Clutter, Clear Your Mind (Wallie Simieritsch)
Time: 6pm Cost: $20

Friday Sept. 13th: Authentic Self Teens (Susan Ball NLP)
Time: 3:30pm Cost: $15

Saturday Sept. 14th: Communicating with Children (Susan Ball NLP)
Time: 1pm Cost: $20


For more information or to register for any of these great events and workshops, please contact Charlene at 667-1119

Presented by: JTW Natural Health and Susan Ball NLP Success Coach

In partnership with: Cumberland YMCA, Hatha Yoga Room, Wallie Simieritsch, Gretchen Smith, 
Devine Meditations, Hazel Coates, Kim’s Goddess on the Go, Dianna Stewart

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!

________________________________________________________

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

Book your Free Consultation?

Choose Gratitude

A grateful heart is a happy heart.  It's so easy to take things for granted:  the information your coworker sent you the fact that your car is running, and even the food you're eating for dinner.  The fact is, most of us have gotten into the habit of ignoring all of the good things in our lives.  Instead, we focus our mental and emotional energy on being upset about what's wrong and what we don't have.  Yes, cultivating an "attitude of gratitude" might sound cliche, but it is important to your overall health and well-being.  Studies have actually shown that thankful individuals are 25% healthier than their counterparts!  To start tapping into the power of gratitude, simply say "thanks" to the people who help you or smile at you or offer a compliment throughout your day.

Action Step - Find a wide-mouth jar with a lid and each day write down a single "I'm grateful for _____" statement.  Fold it and place in the jar.  At the end of the week, month or year, empty your jar and read all the things you have to be grateful for.  You will be pleasantly surprised!

Choose Gratitude as Your Attitude

________________________________________________________

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

Book your Free Consultation?

Life is like Coffee Movie - Inspiration for Happiness!

The message in this movie is wonderful and thought provoking.  Enjoy watching then grab a cup of coffee or tea or juice and focus on the richness and pleasure your drink brings you.  Use all your senses to explore your current cuppa and practice Living in the Present Moment.

Life is like Coffee Movie: Do you know people that just seem to be happier in general? Do you say to yourself, "I want to be more like them"? Often, the happiest people in the world don't have the best of everything...they just make the best of everything!

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It's time to realize your full potential and create lasting, sustainable positive change. Explore your potential and focus on your dynamic future....Life Coaching Works!

Take the first step to Living Your Life to the Fullest and

Book your Free Consultation?

How to Avoid Being Mr. or Mrs. Grumpy Pants

Today, I was host to Mr. Grumpy Pants who happens to be my husband.   He's a truck driver so he spends 4-days away from home driving around the Maritime provinces.

He had a particularly bad week on the road this time and he brought it home with him and infused our home with his negative mood.  How selfish of him to bring the "past" into the "present" in such a negative, grumpy, ugly way!

We all experience something negative during any given day.  It's what we choose to do with that negative experience that matters.  My husband's negative experience happened a full 2-days before he even got home!  Talk about dragging Marley's chains around with you.  I could smell his festering brain.

When you bring your bad mood, lousy experience, and  negative energy home, you contaminate your home and all the people and pets that live there.  Suddenly, the feelings and mood go from enjoying the moment to misery or arguing or resentment.

So what do you do if you have had a bad experience that lasted a few minutes and you want to remove the negative energy and feelings before it ruins your whole day?

Stop Reacting to the Stupid Stuff - Seriously!

The babysitter is 5-minutes late and so, you're going to be a grouch for the rest of the day and into the evening and maybe the next morning because you're anticipating she might be late again!!  You get cut-off while you're driving, oh my!  As events go, these are small, irrelevant, and inconsequential and you get to make the choice about how you're going to let them effect you.  Are you going to carry them with you and let them snowball into a huge, ugly mass of anger and resentment?  Or could you look at each individual event when it happens and simply look at it as a small mistake, a funny moment and then keep moving on with your great day?  To start feeling greater happiness and contentment, start by stopping to let the little things grow up to be huge and ugly.

Drop Your Irritation and Anger

When you find yourself feeling angry at someone or something.

Stop, Take a Deep Breath, then Let It Go!  

Just let it go. 

It isn't worth ruining your day, someone you love's day, your health and your general well-being.

Roll On - Your Life is Happening Now

It happened, it's over, move forward.  Living in the present moment, living life to the fullest is about moving forward.  Roll On!

Choose to Make it A Great Day!

Change the Channel

Just like on your TV when the picture is bringing you down, you can choose to change the channel and get a new picture.   Negative thoughts are accompanied by pictures of the things that are stopping you.  Focus on the negative image and visualize it turning black and white and getting smaller and smaller until it's a little dot.  Now pick up the dot and throw it over your shoulder so it's behind you.

What you think becomes your reality - the perfect reason to take control and Fire Your Negative Committee.

Imagine the possibilities when you free yourself from negative thoughts by choosing to focus on positive thoughts, choosing to visualize things going amazingly well, believing with absolute conviction that you will make it happen!

Choose Gratitude

A grateful heart is a happy heart.  It's so easy to take things for granted:  the information your coworker sent you the fact that your car is running, and even the food you're eating for dinner.  The fact is, most of us have gotten into the habit of ignoring all of the good things in our lives.  Instead, we focus our mental and emotional energy on being upset about what's wrong and what we don't have.  Yes, cultivating an "attitude of gratitude" might sound cliche, but it is important to your overall health and well-being.  Studies have actually shown that thankful individuals are 25% healthier than their counterparts!  To start tapping into the power of gratitude, simply say "thanks" to the people who help you or smile at you or offer a compliment throughout your day.

Action Step - Find a wide-mouth jar with a lid and each day write down a single "I'm grateful for _____" statement.  Fold it and place in the jar.  At the end of the week, month or year, empty your jar and read all the things you have to be grateful for.  You will be pleasantly surprised!

Turn Resolutions to Accomplishments

New Year's "Accomplishments"

Oh, those pesky New Year's Resolutions, restrictive, untamed and with a big chunk of hope thrown in for fun. 99% of resolutions fail. Not a good statistic, I know and there are great reasons for the high failure rate.

• New Year's Resolutions are TOO BIG to handle for one person even if you believe you have gobs of will power.
• TOO MANY to Handle! Really, you're gonna lose 50 lbs by February 1st, quit smoking, stop drinking and be a nicer person all in one go?
• The resolution is worded Passively and Negatively. Surprise! I want to quit smoking; I want to lose weight; I want to blah, blah, blah.

Turn your New Year's Resolutions into New Year's Accomplishments!

Follow these simple tips and you'll be on the path to celebrating your Accomplishments before you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards!!

• Chunk it Down and Add Some Fun. Take the time to reflect on the one change you will make this year - Will you quit smoking? Will you eat more fruit & veggies? Will you travel? Will you enjoy every day? Will you dance in the street weekly on Thursdays?
• Pick One, Only One. Now you're focused on one change that you will achieve in 2013. Smile! You have taken the first step on your journey to success.
• Start with small steps to success. Today I will include one healthy vegetable side dish with dinner

• Smile even when faced with a challenge and make it a great day
• Replace soda with water
• Lace up my running shoes and walk for 10 minutes

• Change your language to be pro-active and positive - state your change in "I will, I can and I am". Saying you "want" to do something is wishy-washy and opens the door to the million excuses you're going to give when you don't succeed

Small step changes are realistic and manageable. Write your Statement of Success. Celebrate your successes every day. Your result will be a happy, healthier life where you congratulate yourself for meaningful successes rather than berate yourself for failure.

Here is my statement of success for 2013!

I am a nature lover and I will plan my days off to include enjoying the natural environment while relaxing and reflecting on my personal and career successes. I will wake up every day, smile and look forward to a new day with a sense of curiosity and adventure.

Happy New Year!!

Susan

NLP Life Coaching - Awaken Your Potential

Live in the Moment

Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow. It takes practice.  To truly live in the moment you must realize beauty in every moment, and in every day activities. This is your life, embrace it and live it to the fullest!

To understand how to live in the moment you must first realise that this is about participation rather than just observation. Living in the moment is a conscious act and is easily achieved when you commit to making these easy changes to your daily routine.

Spend time in nature.  Spending time in nature will "fill your cup", calm your spirit, quiet your mind, and feed your soul.  Time in nature reconnects you to the natural beauty around you and the inter-connectedness of all things.  Connecting with nature can be a walk in the park, a stroll along the beach, time in your garden, star gazing at night, or watching the changing sky at sunset or sunrise.

Take notice of the world around you. No matter what you're doing, look for and find something beautiful around you. Maybe on your way to work or school, you go over a beautiful bridge, or you get a view of the sunrise behind the city buildings. Realizing these small things can bring life and happiness even to the most boring or routine days. Be thankful for those little things.

Focus on whatever you're doing. Even if you're just walking, or wiping the counter, or shuffling cards - how does it feel? There's probably some kind of commentary spinning through your mind, and it probably has to do with something other than what you're doing. Let those thoughts go and focus on what is (not what was, or what could be). In Buddhism, this is referred to as mindfulness. Pay attention to your senses - touch, sight, smell, sound, and taste. Pretend it's the very last time you'll ever experience whatever you're experiencing. Have you ever been so engrossed in something that it seemed like the rest of the world just disappeared? Living in the moment is about creating that state of mind at any time. Slow down and savour the present. 

Be thankful for what is. When you find yourself wishing for something you don't have, or wishing your life would be different, start your quest for your wish by being thankful for what is already in your life. This will bring you back to the present moment. Make a list of what you are thankful for right now even if all you can think of is that you are alive and can breathe. You don't want to miss the gifts right in front of you, because you are always looking beyond what is in the present moment to what once was or what might be. When you are thankful for what is, you'll be happy to be in the moment instead of some place else. 

Smile, Smile, Smile!  When you wake up, Smile and you will set a positive open tone for your day.  Smile frequently throughout the day.  The more you smile, the easier it becomes and you will find yourself smiling even when life tosses you a curve ball. Smiling sets your tone of appreciation and awareness for the day and opens your mind.  Random acts of smiling are appreciated by everyone!!

Enjoy your day, live in the moment and be grateful for what you have.