3 Bold Steps to Kick-Start Healing After a Toxic Relationship

When I first left my abuser, I was obsessed and I mean obsessed, with finding the reason why he did what he did.  I had rationalized that if I discovered what was wrong with him, I could move on and get started on living my life again.

I spent a great deal of my life analyzing his behaviour and developing varied and compelling diagnoses.  With every diagnosis, I had lists of supporting evidence.  

I had all sorts of them:  Narcissist, Middle Child Syndrome, Toxic Parents, Anger Management, Alcohol Abuse, and so on 

But every diagnosis, only offered fleeting happiness.  I would celebrate what I thought was the perfect reason only to realize that it did not heal my hurt or my heart or my life.  I continued to feel hurt and lonely and lost.

It wasn't until I realized that not one of the "labels" that I was giving him was going to change a damn thing.  It really didn't matter if he was a narcissist or had nasty parents.  The bottom line: He was a fu*king class A dick. Period.

He hurt me because he could and because he wanted to.  

No fancy labels needed!

Once I stopped analyzing him, I was able to focus on me, my life, and my healing.  That moment was the beginning of my Healing Journey.  It was the moment I stepped into being a Victor!

I focused on these 3 Bold Steps:

Step One: Acceptance

This is a big, healing step.  It's time to own that it happened.  It just happened.  It was awful and painful and hurtful but it represents something that happened in your life that will ultimately shape you and create a better version of you.

Hot Tip: Give it a Name.  I call my period of abuse "The Incident".  When I speak with people, I can simply state when The Incident happened or after The Incident.  A generic name immediately diminishes any power your past has over your present and future.

Step Two: Looking Inward

Now you have time to take a close look at what you want and need in your life.  Take the time to really dive deep into your feelings and values:  What makes you smile.  What makes you feel happy. Where do you see yourself in one-year.  Two-years.  What do need in a partner.  What are your values - honesty, freedom, spirituality, humour, intelligence and so on.

Hot Tip: Dive Deep & Take Your Time.  What you value in life and what is acceptable and not acceptable is so very important to your future peace and happiness.  Take all the time you need to dive deep into your needs and wants.  Review.  Revise.  Release the ones that don't feel good.  

Step Three: Putting Me First

You are the most valuable player in your life.  Your well being, needs, wants, desires and passions come first.  Push back - but what about so-and-so, or my kids, or my job?  Yes, they are important but if you do not put yourself first, your mental, physical, and emotional health will quickly deteriorate and you will be of little value to anyone including yourself!

Hot Tip:  Do One Thing Every Day That is Just for You.  One thing is all that is needed.  It can be for five minutes, one-hour, or an entire evening.  That's your choice each day.  Have a quiet tea or coffee without interruption.  Read a chapter.  Chat on the phone with a happy friend.  Be creative.  Take a walk.  Go skating.  

One Simple Pleasure per Day will Improve Your Mood, Your Health, and Your Relationships!

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Blissful Self-Love 5 Day Challenge

I'm so excited to be hosting my Blissful Self-Love Challenge.  All the goodness starts on Monday, October 19th and it's totally Free!

For 5 days, I will send you emails with strategies, tips, and resources to boost your Self-Love, Self-Esteem, Self-Worth and Confidence.

You will Silence Your Inner Critic and Ignite Your Confidence.

Take the Challenge and Learn to Love You Unconditionally!

Join the Challenge

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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!

GRACE-ful Steps: Time to Release & Let it Go

Last week I wrote about the Gratitude - the first GRACE-ful step to reclaiming your big, bold life.  Now that you have added gratitude to your daily life, you're ready to move on to GRACE-ful Step 2 - Release - Let it Go!

I bet you're holding on to all kinds of negative junk.  The junk you're holding on to is cluttering your mind and your path forward.  Yeah, that's the truth!

The things you hold on to, bear grudges or perhaps feel angry and hurt about cloud your mind and prevent you from being the best you can be.

They are baggage.  Heavy, overloaded baggage.  The kind you would pay extra for when you travel.  And the kind you are paying a hefty price for right now!

You’re so much more than 

your old baggage.

It’s time to let it go.

You want to free yourself from your baggage and get on with living.  I know this from personal experience.

I was holding on to junk that had been handed to me during a violent relationship.

I had bags containing anger - at him, at me, at people who should have rescued me.

I had bags containing guilt - my children saw some of the bad stuff, my family kinda warned me and I didn't listen and these bags led to new bags filled with:  AnGer!

And so the spiral went and I truly believed this would be my state of mind for the rest of my life.  I was a victim and victims are angry and depressed and guilty. Aren't they?

The things you hold onto, bear grudges or perhaps feel angry and hurt about cloud your mind and prevent you from being the best you can be.

You don't need to know HOW to let go, 

you just need to be WILLING.

Action Steps & Worksheet:

Releasing & Letting Go begins with 2 questions:

What Do I Need to Let Go Of?

How Do I Benefit From Holding On?

Create a list of what you need to let go of and right beside each one, write down the reason you're holding on to that emotion, feeling, person, situation.

Be brutally honest with your Reason!  Releasing and Letting Go will only happen when you're honest about your motivation for holding on.

The reason will be your aha moment!  It will provide you with insight into your "why" and that's the moment you will begin to Let it Go!

Deep Breath  -  Let it Go  -  Smile  -  Repeat 

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So, What Are You Going to Do About It?

I have clients who will say to me I want to be like you to which I respond You Can with a little work and authenticity!  There is no magic pill, potion or spell that I can prescribe that will make you get up in the morning with a smile on your face looking forward to the day as an adventure in the making.  The prescription writer is YOU!

Not too long ago I found myself dreading the mornings.  I would wake up thinking yuck, another friggin' day, when will this end, what is the purpose of getting up!  I was dreary to say the least with absolutely no plans for the future and nothing to look forward to.  I was on the cusp of filling my prescription for anti-depressants. I was low and the few friends I had probably hated to hear from me.

I had no money.  I had a dead-end job in a big shiny corporate office.  I squeezed myself into a subway car at a god-awful hour of the morning to be surrounded by miserable looking lemmings.  I had a relationship that had run its course.  I had decided that my present and future would be lonely, broke, and defeated.

Sound Familiar?!?  I'm sure there are folks reading this right now who can relate to how I was feeling about life and you're wondering how did I turn it around.

It started with a good and true friend.  They are the friends who ask you the hard questions.  These are the friends you want.  Tip:  Get rid of the nodders! Nodders are your "pretend" friends - the ones who nod and agree with everything you say.  

We were having a coffee and I was doing my usual life is so rotten, I hate my life, blah, blah, blah.  She kept asking me one question:

So, What Are You Going to Do About It?

What a stupid, irritating question!  I was livid.  I wanted her to find the solution for me, NOW!  For some odd reason, my friend wouldn't cooperate and kept asking me that question.  I went home and decided I would not be friends with her anymore which of course, added to my Down on Life Story.  

A strange thing was happening though.....I couldn't get that question out of my head!  When I would think about my finances and wanted to wallow in self-pity, this little voice would ask "Well, Susan, what are you going to do about it?"  The question followed me everyday and everywhere. I wanted to answer the question just so it would go away!

Because of my encounter with a true friend, I learned two very important steps to get me on my way to writing a new chapter.  To begin writing yours, complete these steps:

1. Honestly think about your friends and family and determine who are the "nodders".  Nodders will not help you in your journey.  Drop them from your friends list and replace them with true friends who will ask you to be accountable to you.
2. When you find yourself feeling down because you're thinking about your debts, or how you will never be able to travel to Australia, or how you will be stuck in your dead-end job forever,

STOP, take a deep breath and ask

"So, ____________, what are you going to do about it?

Remove the nodders and keep asking "what am I going to do about this" and you're on your way to writing a new chapter in your life. Oh, and feeling so much better about all the opporuntities that are waiting for you!

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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

Your Baggage-Free Life Begins with GRACE-ful Steps

Following up on my last post where I told my personal story of moving from Victim to Survivor to Thriver, I want to talk about how I healed and created my Big, Bold, Baggage-Free Life.

My journey from feeling small, worthless and deeply unhappy to an amazing and wonderful life filled with joy, happiness, and endless opportunities, was not smooth or without ups and downs.

But it was so worth it and I highly recommend taking the first step: Gratitude, Gratitude and More Gratitude

A friend introduced to me to the idea of keeping a Gratitude Journal and I remember thinking at the time "what a ridiculous idea!"  What on earth did I have to be grateful for?

She gently asked me to just do it for a week and if it's not adding positive value to your life, then stop.

The first day I opened my journal I sat and stared at the blank page and sighed.  My mind was blank and then it occurred to me that I had spoken with my baby girl that day and for that I was grateful!

That was my first entry and 20 years later, I am a faithful keeper of a Gratitude Journal!  It starts my day and ends my day.

Gratitude began my healing journey.  It opened my mind and my heart to what I had and all the amazing possibilities that were waiting for me.

Practicing Gratitude every day saved me from becoming a bitter, angry, lonely, depressed old hag and for that I am truly grateful.

Gratitude helped me begin the important process of Letting Go.  
Releasing all of my negative labels and emotions and putting my past in the past where it belonged.

There are 5-Steps in my GRACE-ful steps program:

Gratitude - What am I Grateful For?
Release (Letting Go) - What Can I Release (Let Go)?
Authentic You - How Can I be Authentically Me?
Challenge - What is my Next Challenge?
Embrace - What Can I Embrace as Possible?

I'll explore more about Release in my next post and continue the journey through all the steps.

Your life is so much more than the pain, anxiety, and despair you're feeling.  You can have a big, bold, baggage-free life.

It's waiting for you on the other side of the pain. All it takes to get there is one step at a time.  You can do this and you'll be glad you did.

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My Personal Journey from Victim to Survivor to Thriver

It happened in a split second and I almost let it negatively change my life forever.  But I didn't and I'm so grateful.

I loved him and I trusted him and then he hit me and choked me and sexually assaulted me and cheated on me.  I was devastated. My world was crashing down around me and I felt betrayed, powerless, worthless and humiliated.

I found a small bit of the feisty me and charged him.  In Ontario, the police file the charges and he was arrested and put in jail.  And then the insult upon injury happened - his girlfriend bailed him out of jail!

So it ended. I was unceremoniously thrust into the label of "victim".  At the time it satisfied many of my needs. I could cry and whine.  I could drink excessively.  I could feel sorry for myself.  I could be self-destructive.  I could treat men like garbage.  I could be a righteous bitch. I could believe that it was okay because I WAS A VICTIM!

I had other negative labels that had been attached by "that guy" - loser, stupid, useless, ugly, fat, etc.  You catch my drift.

There I was stuck with labels and limiting beliefs that were certainly not the kind to live a vibrant and happy life.

I longed for the me that was free and confident and could do anything she set her mind too.  I wanted to find her again and love her and be her.  I wanted to fulfill my dreams.

Underneath all the labels I had acquired was "me" and I wanted her back.  I wanted to write new chapters for my life.  Chapters that were filled with happiness, brightness, joy, passion and life.

I wanted to reclaim my light spirit and I did.

I met a friend who dedicated her life to helping others and was very successful.  She told me that words have power and that by changing my words, I would begin to change my life and find the me I had lost.  

That day I changed my biggest negative label Victim to Survivor. Immediately, it had a positive impact on my behaviour and it boosted my self-confidence and my will to achieve my goals and dreams.

I was coming back.  I was scared to let go but I knew that I couldn't embrace new beginnings while I was hanging onto the past.

It was a journey and sometimes I felt I would never be able to live a life light of heart.  But I persevered.   I accepted the challenge and stepped into my life beyond the hurt.

I have successfully achieved many of my goals - learning to drive, graduating with honours from the University of Toronto, travelling and experiencing vibrant countries and falling in love again.

Me and my beautiful daughter on my wedding day!

It is possible to get your life back after a traumatic setback.  Not only can you get it back, it will be bigger and bolder than it was before.

I can confidently declare myself a "Thriver" who's loving life every minute of every day.

I let go of the past and

embraced my bright future.

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 Live a Baggage-Free Life.

Learn more about Susan by visiting her Online, on Facebook

4-Steps to Breaking Up With Your Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs zap your energy and keep you stuck by telling you over and over again that you can't achieve your goals or that you're not worthy of acceptance and success.

The Top Ten Limiting Beliefs are:

• I'm too selfish/loud/shy
• I'm a bad.... (eg I'm a bad parent/friend/son)
• I will never be successful
• There is never enough money (or money doesn't grow on trees)
• It's too late for me to.... (change my career etc)
• I will never....(be successful, find love, travel etc)
• I always disappoint people
• I am not pretty/slim/clever enough
• I'm not good enough/I don't deserve...(happiness success, wealth, love)
• "I can't do it!"

In many cases, limiting beliefs are perceived as facts.  Beliefs are not facts.  Beliefs are your perception of the truth and perceptions can be changed.

Signs and symptoms of hidden Limiting Beliefs:

• You have negative thoughts or feelings more often than not
• Negative patterns keep repeating themselves - money problems, relationship problems, feelings of despair 

Breaking up with your limiting beliefs 

is the first step to a Baggage-Free Life. 
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The 4-Step Break-Up

Step One - Recognize and Acknowledge

Take a look at the top ten limiting beliefs list (top of post) and write down any that sound familiar to you.  Take a look at your list and jot down ways they are negatively impacting your life - money, relationships, career, goals.

Now that you have identified your personal limiting beliefs and acknowledged how they impact your life, it's time to change them.  Think of your limiting beliefs as your subconscious blueprint and blueprints can be changed so they reflect what you really want!

Step Two - It's Just Not True!

In fact, you need to recognize your limiting beliefs for the liars they are.  Then you will see that you can edit or completely delete your limiting beliefs.

Say to yourself, "it's possible that I believe some things about myself and the world around me that are not true."

Great!  You have successfully opened the door to let your new belief in.

Step Three - Everything is Replaceable

Time to replace the old negative limiting belief with a positive new enabling belief.

If you want to create permanent change, you can't just get rid of the old mental pattern, you have to replace it with a completely new one that will take its place.

Use positive words that focus your brain on possibility!

I Am - I Can - I Will - I Choose - I Am Willing To - My Potential 

There is never enough money turns to:

I Choose to Improve My Finances

It's impossible for me to be happy changes to:

I Allow Myself to be Happy

Say your new positive enabling belief out loud.  Does it feel true for you?  Not quite..change it until it feels fabulous.

When you say it, you want to feel confident and ready to move forward with a positive mindset. 

Step Four - Repetition and Reinforcement

Positive affirmations work by reprogramming your thinking to believe that what you want is possible, attainable, and already happening. 

My personal favourite affirmations are:

Every Day in Every Way, I'm Getting Better and Better

I Will Enjoy Every Minute of Every Day

I Am at Peace With My Decisions

I repeat these 3 times every morning before I get out of bed.

Write them down, say them out loud, sing them in the shower, know them off by heart so you can call upon them in a moment of self-doubt.

These are your new Positive Enabling Beliefs - Live Them!

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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 Live a Baggage-Free Life.

Learn more about Susan by visiting her Online, on Facebook

Creating Positive Change Means Breaking Up With Your Daily Routine

Every day, I work with coaching clients who say all the right things and then do the exact opposite.  They hope to experience growth, but they resist change.  They want less stress, yet they indulge in drama.  They long for better relationships, and then they refuse to trust anyone.

In other words, what they say they want and what they do with their time are disconnected.  It’s important to note, though, that I get it.  I understand where my clients are coming from.

I used to make the same mistakes.  Change is hard to deal with.  Needless drama can be addictive.  Relationships take a lot of work.  I’m sure you can relate.

In a nutshell, we're stuck in the same familiar patterns and comfortable routines.

Wake Up - Repeat!

Think about it.  We ultimately become what we repeatedly do. It's breaking the pattern and changing your routine that will cause the positive changes you're seeking in your life.

To Break Away, Add these Changes to Your Daily Routine and Your New Pattern Will Be:

Wake Up - Smile - Make a Positive Change - Repeat 

Exercise your Integrity.

Living with integrity means:  Not settling for less than what you are capable of.  Communicating clearly and asking for what you want and need from people.  Speaking your truth, even when others judge you for it.  Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your morals and values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.  

Steer clear of drama and those who create it.

There comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the needless drama and the people who create it.  Staying out of other people’s drama is an incredibly effective way to stress less and smile more.

Let It Go!  Let Them Go!

Be positive and spend time with positive people.

Happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them.  Raise your awareness to your own inner strength and positivity.  You are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life.  You can either give negativity power over your life, or you can choose to be positive instead by focusing on the great things that are truly important.  So talk about your blessings more than you talk about your problems.  Just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing.  

Be You. 

Too many of us prefer gentle lies to hard truths.  But make no mistake, in the end it’s better to be hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie.  

Don’t try to be what “they” like – be who you are.  The people worth spending time with will be genuinely interested in spending time with you - warts and all.  And that works out well, because you won’t be happy being anyone else.

Remove Your Labels.

“Human” is the only real label we are born with.  Yet we forget so easily.

To become attached to a negative label like depressed, divorced, diseased, rejected, or poor, you believe that's who you are and how you are defined.  These are negative labels.

Switch them to Positive Labels - Label Yourself capable, confident, worthy, loveable  valuable, happy, grateful - keep going, you're doing great!

Ask yourself the right questions.

What questions are you asking yourself?  Are they helping you better understand your purpose?  Or do they have your mind spinning in circles?

Questions act as guideposts and they have a powerful influence on the direction of your life.   The questions you hear most often come directly from YOU.  So instead of looking outside yourself for answers, start asking yourself the right questions.  For instance…

• “Who am I?”
• “What do I want?”
• “What are my labels?”
• “What do I want to give?”
• “What’s the next step I can take right now?”

It’s all about self-inquiry.  That's how you will stay true to your principles, pursue your desires, grow through adversity, and add value to the world around you.

Notice the changes that have happened and celebrate each success.  At the end of the day, write your personal "I Did It" list.  You will be amazed at how successful you are and you will see how small changes are positively worth it.

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

Help Me Celebrate My Birthday - Take Advantage of My Special

Feeling Stuck?  Feel like your Spinning and Going Nowhere? Is it time for a Change?

October is my Birthday Month and I celebrated my fabulous 58th on the 4th of October!

To celebrate, I'm offering a special Birthday Coaching Rate of $58 per session for the month of October.

Get in touch and start living your life with joy, happiness, freedom and authenticity.

PS - pass on the good news.

Call 902.660.2701 to chat!

Yes, I Want to Get Unstuck!

Special Rate expires October 31, 2014.

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.

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.

Dreaming, Planning and Doing

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”  Gloria Steinem

Just a few hours to go and I'm so excited! 

2014 is the year I set my dream in motion and make it my new, amazing reality!  My visualizations are popping with colour and sound and textures and motions.  They are a whirlwind of activity.

What am I up to you ask?

Living in a small, quaint village in France for 6 months every year.  I want to successfully rent a small cottage and write, relax, enjoy good food and learn every nuance of French language and culture.

My success will depend on planning through goal setting.

Let my journey begin!

What dream to you want to make reality through planning and doing?

Happy New Year, Susan

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.

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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