Greetings! 

With the year winding down, people seem more stressed and exhausted than ever.  This year has been a tough one for many, both personally and financially, but out of adversity comes strength.  I know I am not the only one whose resilience has been tested this year!  It’s a cliché in many ways but think of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon – the struggle is what strengthens its wings and allows it to fly so effortlessly.  My wish for you is that the challenges of 2009 will enable you to rise far higher in 2010.

Wishing you a safe, peaceful and happy holiday season!

Here’s to living your inspired life,

Best wishes

Anne

Stress Busting Thoughts.....

Life as we know it comes with its fair share of stress, some of it positive but a lot of it negative.  We need some stress in our lives so that we are motivated to perform at our best, to feel energised and challenged.  Too little stress (yes, there really is such a thing!) leads to boredom and lack of purpose in life.  On the other hand, too much stress leads to indecisiveness, breakdown of relationships, fatigue, illness and depression.  How each of us deals with stress is dependent on what we perceive to be a stressful situation and how much faith we have in our ability to cope. 

Our minds are incredibly powerful and help us either cope with stress or create more stress for ourselves.  Is your outlook on life predominantly positive or negative?  “Positive thinking” is a term which has been bandied around so much that it has lost much of its meaning.  Being positive is not about being in denial and pretending everything is fine when it is not.  It is also not so much about thinking positive thoughts as about feeling positive emotions.  If you feel upbeat, and expect good things to happen in your life, they are more likely to do so.  It’s about being hopeful, and having the confidence that you have the resources to cope with any stressful situation that may arise.  

People with a positive outlook are generally more resilient and bounce back quicker from adversity.  You can help build your resilience by having support systems to rely on during tough times.  Learning to keep things in perspective and being aware of how you perceive and respond to stressful events is also important in building resilience.  It can be helpful to avoid negative people who drag you down with their constant complaining about how hard life is.  Beware too of being bombarded by bad news in the media.  By all means stay informed, but avoid being a news junkie as this leads to feelings of fear and depression.

Finally, we all have a little voice, or saboteur, in our heads that warns us of doom and gloom, who tells us we are not good enough, or that we are stupid, or that we will fail if we try.  Learn to be aware of this negative self talk and question the assumptions made.  Once you take control of how you talk to yourself you will be on the way to making positive changes to your outlook on life, luck and everything else.

Spotlight on...

StuartR - Business Performance Consultants

Inspired Life is proud to be associated with StuartR, a group of professionals whose goal is to help your business, big or small, achieve increased performance levels.  StuartR offers a range of services provided by our shareholders, all aimed at increasing productivity and ultimately bottom line profit.  These services include Coaching, Training, HR, Recruitment, IT, Legal, Marketing, PR and Accounting. 

If you are looking to take your business to the next level, then drop us a line and we will be happy to see how StuartR can help you achieve your business objectives.