Lee’s Insights

I’m happy to share this video I stumbled upon on You Tube, directed by coreylarson -only 17 years old from what I gathered. Great job!

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I just had lunch today with my friend, Alan Eisenberg -we caught up on a number of issues and just generally reconnected. I was very excited to see we are both really focusing on moving forward in our individual areas of passion. Our lunch was an unexpected source of renewed energy. I recommend you make the time to have lunch with a good friend this week -it’s good for the soul!

Anyway, Alan has a great blog on the subject of bullying from an adult perspective. He is generous with his sharing of very personal first-hand experiences and is successfully building community awareness through his blog, by networking with others with the same mission as well as working on his documentary (contributions are welcome!). Read his story and about his efforts at: http://bullyinglte.wordpress.com/

My Coaching challenge: Have you overcome a challenge that you faced as a child -or as an adult? Think about starting a blog -others can always benefit from your experience and you’ll be amazed at the the healing you’ll experience when you really “know” that you aren’t the only one that went through it. Go to www.wordpress.com to start your blog today! Oh… and schedule lunch with a good friend today!

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Studies have shown that even 15 minutes a day of quiet meditation can have amazing benefits -decrease in anxiety and depression, increase in energy, increase in mental acuity, and the list goes on.

I recently decided to make having a consistent meditation practice top on my list of personal priorities and I can’t believe the resources that have suddenly presented themselves. Among my favorites is the book “Wherever You Go, There You Are - Mindfulness Meditation in Every Day Life” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. In his book, Kabat-Zinn explains the principles of Mindfulness in meditation in easy to understand language. In addition to explaining the basics, where to meditate, how to get ready, how to sit, etc., he gives some examples of wonderful simple self-guided meditations. One of my favorites is Mountain Meditation -this is a perfect meditation for people who feel pulled in many different directions, people who are impacted by other people’s moods and demands and anyone who is generally feeling stressed and out of control.

Picture a majestic mountain, any mountain that you can clearly visualize -the more detailed the visualization the better. The mountain is standing tall and strong, it has been there for thousands of years. All around the mountain the weather changes from beautiful sunny skies to hurricane force winds to snow and ice, but the mountain always stands firm -the activity just whirls around the mountain but does not affect it day to day. Now, sit quietly and focus on your breath going in and out -relax and breath… as the thoughts come in and out of your mind, picture yourself as the mountain -sit up tall and strong like a mountain, firmly grounded to the earth -let the thoughts and the stress and anxiety whirl around you without affecting you, the thoughts of people and situations that are pressuring you are just thoughts and you are a mountain, sitting strong. You are who you are, who you have always been, regardless of the “weather” happening around you. Sit with that feeling of power and majesty, breath in and out slowly and relax for as long as you feel comfortable doing so.

This meditation practiced for only a few minutes a day will do wonders for your self confidence and strength. You will begin to understand that the issues that come up are just part of life, they are normal, but you don’t have to let them affect you. You can remain calm, strong and tall -who you are can remain constant.

My coaching challenge: Get Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book. Read it and pick a meditation you think will work for you and practice it for just 5 minutes a day. I promise you will see results!

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There are those times and I know I’m not the only one, when we hit a dip in the confidence area -where suddenly (or does it slowly creep up on us?) we feel less smart, less prepared, less witty, less valuable to the world, and it’s in those times where our ability to achieve can come to a grinding halt.

What to do? Get a confidence boost! Just like happiness begets happiness and misery begets misery, confidence begets confidence. The key to getting it back is to start small -or start big, if you want, but just start somewhere! Research shows that any personal achievement, any little change for the better will begin to make us feel more confident -of course, the bigger the accomplishment, the bigger the stretch out of our comfort zone, the more confident we feel.

Here is a list of confidence boosters:

Start an exercise routine

Get a makeover

Try a new hairstyle

Go skydiving

Join toastmasters

Try a new hobby

Spend time with good friends

Write a list of all of your good qualities –no judgement from you!

Wear only clothes that make you feel great

Get a plan together to pay off debt

Take a class

Set a small goal and achieve it -do that every week

Make something

Get a spray on tan

Get a manicure

Take an online course in something you are interested in

Take a long walk

Start a blog (check out www.wordpress.com)

Make a dream book -a scrapbook of everything you are and want –cut pictures out of magazines

Sign up for a race or other challenging athletic event and train for it in a group

Refinish a piece of furniture

Cook a fabulous meal for a friend and serve it on your good china

Take a wine tasting course

Write a book

Help someone in need

Donate to a charity or participate in a charitable event

Say a prayer for someone else

Say a prayer for yourself

Read a book about something interesting and share what you’ve learned on the internet

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about something you care about

Learn to meditate

Take a yoga class or get a DVD and try it at home

Start to eliminate negativity from your life -thoughts and people!

My coaching challenge:

Pick three things you will do (or come up with 3 on your own) –write them here along with the dates you will do them, you will be amazed at how much better you will feel!

1. ________________________________________ date: _________

2. ________________________________________ date: _________

3. ________________________________________ date: _________

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