Happiness is...

"Clownin' Around"

Hi everyone!

Y'all will be happy to know that today's word is "happiness" :-). The above picture is from a program I did last summer - we were talking about ways to feel refreshed and renewed about your work. A clown nose always helps, right??

I've been seeing articles recently about how happiness is a choice - something I've always told my workshop participants (and a few others, LOL!). I once saw a little notepad in a gift shop that said, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness is shopping in the wrong place!" While it made me smile, it also made me think about how many times we DO think money will buy happiness. Or maybe we think being with the right person - or having the right degree - or living in the right neighborhood - or having the right job...will bring happiness. All too often, if that's what we think, we will soon be sorely disappointed.

Happiness comes from within, of course. It must. If we depend on others for our happiness, it's really too much pressure to put on anyone. If we depend on money or things, the "shine" usually wears off pretty quickly, doesn't it?

This morning, I read an article about a couple who built their dream "cabin." It ended up being 10,929 square feet (!!!) on hundreds of acres. Nice cabin :-). But throughout the article, they kept protesting that it wasn't about the size (but the size kept coming into the conversation), it was about the quality. Hmmm, I think you can have quality in a little less than 10,929 square feet. At one point they admitted that, just like they did in their smaller home, they still "live" in basically 3 rooms - the kitchen, great room, and bedroom. Wow. Kind of says a lot about what brings happiness, doesn't it? I picked up another magazine just a few minutes later and read about a couple who lived in 128 square feet. WHOA! Talk about extremes!

Maybe what I'm saying is that often, a "happy medium" (get it? "happy" medium??) is all we need. My home is not 128 sq. ft. tiny and it's nowhere near huge. That makes me happy. It's big enough to operate my business from and still hold a husband, a BIG dog, and a little cat - and we're all happy. But I know I would feel absolutely claustrophobic in 128 square feet (not to mention having to go to the gym to shower - yikes). And I would be strained to the limit trying to care for 10,929 square feet - of course, I'd probably be paying someone to do all that "care"...but just thinking about trying to manage all the logistics makes me tired!

And what I've slowly come to understand is making me happier these days is my decision to simplify. I say "slowly" because dropping everything to "clean house" would not make me happy. I need to do something so significant at my own pace. I like the idea of de-cluttering, but throwing away just to lighten the load isn't the answer for me. I need to give it some thought. What brings me pleasure? What do I need to do my work well? How much storage do we really need - and why?? How much is too much of anything?

The question becomes then...what makes you happy? REALLY happy? Isn't it great to know there are no right or wrong answers to that question? It's all about you. The secret is that you need to know yourself well enough to come up with an answer. Do you?

Let me know what makes you happy!

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

Anticipation...

Greetings, everyone! Today's word can have so many meanings, can't it? I instantly think of "looking forward to something." For example, I have been patiently awaiting installation of our new fence and landscaping and ... ta da! Here it is :-)  It's not as high as we would prefer (community restrictions), but we love the look of it, the openness of it, and the way it highlights the beautiful flowers...

On the other hand...we filled out doggie adoption papers on May 21, but it appears our anticipation is misguided. It seems the doggie we were trying to adopt may no longer be available. I really felt this was "the" one for us. I could actually picture her following me around the house. Alas, it was apparently not meant to be.

BUT, I am anticipating some really fun things coming up in my work in the next few months - one is the Servant Leadership workshop in Chicago in June for the ALA conference (sponsored by ASCLA). That will be jam-packed with great information to help the participants learn and grow in their leadership styles. I hope they're anticipating it as much as I am! And while I'm there, I'll be meeting up with some of my favorite clients - a very good reason to anticipate a visit to the Windy City!

And this week, I found out I'll be "touring" the state (Florida), conducting some mini-workshops on refreshing and renewing yourself at work. That should be lots of fun and I'm really looking forward to it. I've teased potential participants by hinting about a special surprise I'll have for them. Shhhhhhhhhhh, I can't tell anyone - then they wouldn't have as much to anticipate, would they?

Whether it's a special get-together over the summer with friends or family, a good book you've been looking forward to reading, trying out some new recipes on the grill, a new project you've been dying to delve into, or a relaxing vacation (that's coming in October!),anticipation is good for the soul.

What are you looking forward to? Think about it and drop me a note - I love hearing from you!

Blessings,

Linda

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

www.LindasWorkshops.com

Vital!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for indulging my sporadic postings the past few weeks. I feel like I can finally get back on track with a weekly posting of "words to live by."

This week's word is "vital." There are probably a dozen definitions depending on the dictionary, but the one that really strikes a chord with me is "tending to renew or refresh the living." Of course, there's the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink. But I'm talking something that is vital to your soul.

When I conduct programs on "Returning Balance to Your Life," this is one of the issues we discuss. What in your life is urgent? You know, those pesky cell phones, the email beep, the kids tugging on your sleeve, the spouse wondering when dinner will be ready, the mortgage payment that is due tomorrow - yep, all important things, but maybe not vital to your soul.

When I think of what renews and refreshes me, a couple of things instantly come to mind: my workshops renew and refresh me ~ not the workshops themselves, but the comments I receive from attendees telling me that I have helped them make a change in their lives. The things I learn from researching and continually improving my workshops are vital to me. Quiet time is vital to me.

Let's take people out of the picture for a moment...what is absolutely vital to you? What feeds your soul and makes you feel that all is well with the world? What renews you? What refreshes you? What nurtures that deep place inside that keeps things right in your world?

So...here's the hard question: What have you been doing to make sure the vital things in your life become urgent, demanding immediate attention ~ and what have you been doing to make sure the things we normally say are urgent don't overtake your life??

Blessings,

Linda

http://www.lindasworkshops.com/

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com