Look, See, Move - Are You Ready?

What happens when you are faced with an opportunity to do something different? Do your palms sweat? Does your mouth go dry? Do you feel like you are going to be sick? That was me - the queen of indecisiveness. Not making a decision was easy and I could blame the results of my inaction on everyone else. "I didn't do anything. It was them."

For those of you who are regular readers of LifePrints, maybe you noticed the absence of posts in the last two weeks. There is a reason for that. I've been making decisions and all of them kept me away from my blog. Let me explain....

Two weeks ago I left for a seven day seminar in the mountains above Napa Valley, California. I went to PSI7, the second course offered by PSI Seminars. Along with 95 other people on my team, I learned what it meant to trust myself and to trust others. I left tons of emotional baggage in the valley below a spectacular cliff line. I figured out why I do many of the things I do that slow me down and get in the way of my goals and happiness. I also figured out I don't have to be that way.

We make hundreds of choices everyday. We decide between thousands of options, mundane things, really. But for me, the choice to speak up with a solution or join in a conversation were paralysing moments in time. I knew if I just stood still the opportunity would pass and I'd be safe.

Something interesting happened to me on the third day at the seminar. I'd been confronted over and over with the clear knowledge that based on results, the way I normally ran my life wasn't working so well. I decided to do something different and throw myself completely into the events and lessons that remained during the week. Every chance I had I chose to do what my heart told me was right...I made friends - I spoke up when I knew what I had to say was important - I contributed to the events instead of hanging in the background. And here's the clincher, when it all came together...

I have never been an athletic person and I have an intense fear of heights. Ask anyone who knows me. During one event, I harnessed up and climbed a 30-35ft telephone pole, balanced on top and leapt for a trapeze bar hanging out in space. I caught it and I found myself when I did. I literally danced as my belay team lowered me to the ground. Best of all, I have pictures to prove it. My favorite is me, perched just below the top of the pole. I love the look of determination on my face as pushed past my terror and I set my mind to standing up.

"This is the look, see, move seminar people! Didn't you know that?" I can still hear the staff shouting those words. Well, my life is the same..."Life is look, see, move, Lisa! Didn't you know that?"

I do now. I get it. So since returning from this transformative, empowering week, I've been using my time to reconnect and truly connect with the people in my life. I'm learning that it takes much more effort to "be engaged" in each day than it does to just trudge through it, head down, eyes cast on the sidewalk.

So I'm reordering my priorities. I have some great stories percolating for LifePrints. They will be up very soon but computer time now falls squarely behind family time.

Here is in a nutshell what I want to convey to you, my precious blogging friends - When you look at a situation, see the potential, and move before the opportunity passes you by. Be it as small as a smile to a stranger, a kind word to the checkout clerk or as risky as starting a business you know will make you happy or telling that special someone how you really feel about them.

Follow your heart. You'll be glad you did.

200th Post - I Love Celebrating Milestones

Yesterday's post, Final Salute, was the 200th post on LifePrints. I think that's a noteworthy milestone. I'm proud of myself. Two hundred times I've searched and found positive stories to share with you. I think that is an accomplishment.

With that said, I'll be taking the rest of the week off. I'm headed cross country to be in a wedding. Not just any wedding but the wedding of someone very close to me. She's weathered a great deal of heartache and the happiness she's found is well deserved. I'd say it's the result of many prayers.

I'm not one of those people who think that someone else can make you happy. It can't. If you don't want to be happy you never will. But finding another person of like mind, a person who adores you and loves to make you smile - that's definitely a gift from God that should be cherished and nurtured - and, of course, the by product of such a gift is happiness for those willing to open their hearts.

I'd say that the bride at this wedding has an open heart and she is basking in the glow of this new found love. Can't wait to see her and meet this special man. See everyone next week. If it's okay with my special friend I might even post a few photos from the occasion. What could be more positive than a post about LOVE!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Spread some love and peace in your lives. Take care of yourself and love one another - that should be easy.

How To Be Happy - Practical Advice

According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of "The How of Happiness", we are not complete hostages to our genetics. Happiness is 50% inherited, 40% up to us, and 10% stressers out of our control. She came to this conclusion using data from research on identical and fraternal twins. This goes against previous wisdom that said happiness is controlled by genetics and life circumstances. Lyubomirsky says we can be happier by using simple 'happiness intervention strategies'.

She had test subjects write letters of gratitude, perform acts of kindness and keep 'best possible selves' journals to outline future goals. Up to nine months after the study ended, the people involved said they had kept up the techniques on their own and were significantly happier than in the past. These techniques put into practical terms the principals of the 'Secret' and positive thought theory.

Here are a few other options to create happiness that Lyubomirsky says will enhance your daily life. They are common sense ideas that we so easily forget in our rush to be, do, and have.

Don't overthink, she says. When you catch yourself stewing over some situation or hurt...STOP. These negative, worrisome thought processes are like poison to your body and mind. If you just have to worry, set aside no more than 30 minutes in the evening to ruminate. Chances are when the time comes, the situation bothering you will have worked itself out or seem less consequential.

She tell us to learn good coping skills. Write down (purge) traumatic experiences or talk to someone about them. Learn how to argue with or negate pessimistic thoughts. Don't dwell on negative self-talk.

Savor life's joys, Lyubomirsky teaches. Relish ordinary moments of happiness and pleasure, like a good meal or a hot shower. Stay in the moment and truly experience the good in your life.

Cultivate optimism by finding ways to celebrate the good things that come your way. Instead of telling others about your bad day tell them about the good things that happened. If we choose to see them they are there. Have parties and celebrations just because...the baby took his first steps, you paper trained your puppy, or your daughter got an A on a difficult test.

Be joyous and laugh whenever you can. And for heavens sake, laugh loud and strong, feel it in your gut. Let go every now and then and just be plain silly. Be a kid.

Try it, then share with me the techniques you use to change your mood or to celebrate your bliss. I'd love to hear them.

Secrets to Happiness from the Dalai Lama

On this day, when most of the United States is recovering from too much turkey and pumpkin pie, I thought I'd share with you the wisdom of the Dalai Lama. Here is his advice on how to achieve happiness. But even achieving is a misnomer...he would probably say to stop trying and just be.
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone every day.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

Be gentle with the earth.

Once a year, go some place you've never been before.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Have a wonderfully relaxing weekend and enjoy the company of your friends and family. Remember to be thankful for what you have and what you love. Be thankful for yourself, your body and your mind.

The Kindness of Strangers - New York With A Smile

Not long ago I posted that New York was one of the most polite cities in the world. Even I said, "Yeah. Right." And now I say..Yeah. The Reader's Digest researchers were right. In my experience New York City is a friendly city crowded with smiling faces.

Ever heard anyone say, "When you go to New York don't smile, don't look people in the eye." Well, I didn't take that advice. I smiled. I talked and people talked back. They smiled back. They held open doors and offered an umbrella when I got drenched walking ten blocks in the rain. Taxi drivers told me cute stories about their youth. They shared information to make the trip to a new city more pleasant. They made me feel welcome in the backs of their cabs.

I traveled to the city with a new friend. Someone I'd never met in person before we stepped of
separate planes in Chicago and into each others lives. For the next few days she'd share her hotel room, her friends and her excitement about the future of her career. She listened to me talk. She waited while I bought tons of souvenirs and steered me away from that last shop when she knew I'd "spent enough."

She shared her friend, a well-established author with an animated smile. He took us to dinner and imparted great wisdom about the road ahead of both of us. "Don't worry. It's in the bag, girl!" He encouraged every time my confidence wained. Over cider ale, I watched him, envious...he's only thirty and has been in the business for thirteen years. "God, do I wish I'd had my head wrapped around my goals at seventeen. I'd be in his shoes now. Books on the shelves, books in foreign countries, books on contract, books on deadline. My Goodness! Someday!" He is an inspiration.

I reconnected with an old friend. We met near his work and went out to a long lunch. I can't explain how great it was to see him again, listen to him talk, and watch his gentle face, to know he will always be the same sweet man I remember.

I walked out of the rain and into a store, sans umbrella. The man behind the counter said, "You look happy." I said, "I am happy. Anything else is a waste of my time."

And I meant it. I'm looking forward to the new year and the fun it will bring. I'm looking forward to another trip to New York to launch the next phase of my career. I'm looking forward..happily!

Oh, and on the celebrity spotting front. My friend saw Tori Spelling. I saw Holly Hunter and Condoleezza Rice! Pretty cool, huh?