Good Morning all!! I want to send out a great BIG thank you to everyone who helped us raise money for the Weekend to End Breast cancer! It was a huge success thanks to you all!!
Michelle and I had a wonderful time at Queenston school on Friday. We spoke to the Grade 6 classes about entrepreneurship and owning our own businesses. The students are working on creating their own business plans and two of our customers - from one of the Grade 6 classes - suggested to their teacher that we should come in and talk. How awesome is that??!! We were both honored and proud to be a part of their learning experience. They asked alot of questions and we had a ball. Thanks everyone!!
Michelle and I have been talking for awhile about doing this. Last year, Melissa's niece had her birthday party at Tiber River and I was making the lip balms for them all. Melissa mentioned that I was the one who made everything and they started peppering me with questions. I was amazed at their interest and I ended up sitting there with them for over a half an hour, just answering their questions. I think I had more fun than they did! I truly enjoyed it. I loved their passion and energy and excitement - it was completely contagious!! It was after that that Michelle and I considered going to schools to talk about our experiences. Queenston school was our first, but we hope not the last. If there is a teacher, principal, student out there who is interested in us speaking at their school, please send me an email!! We are both people who enjoy helping and sharing the knowledge that we have and would love to have more opportunities to do that.
My kids are both home today, so it's going to be a fight for this computer. I'll try to get some paperwork done so they can at least have some time on here. It boggles my mind that at their age, I had no idea what a computer was and now one computer in our house is definitely not enough!!
Funny, but today I feel like I can breathe again. All of the major events are over for the summer (except my brother's wedding - and that'll be tons of fun!!) and now I can get back to concentrating on Tiber River. My head has been feeling split into a million different sections, each piece concentrating on it's own thing. With these things done, I feel whole again, and ready to tackle the stack of work on my desk. I also, for the first time in two weeks, feel normal - I've kicked that bug - FINALLY!! - and am back to me. SO SO glad to be back!!
LIFE WELL LIVED TIP #12 - Don't Sweat the small stuff (and all stuff is small stuff!) - Anyone know who said that? I don't but it's something that I've been forgetting lately but should have been repeating to myself over and over. I was asking myself this morning why I felt so relaxed? A good 10 hour sleep helped but I think I've been stressing about things that didn't matter and making myself uptight and tense. Now that everything is over, I realized what I was doing. I'm usually pretty good at not stressing about little things, but apparently, those little things can get the better of even a seasoned professional like myself :)! By little things, I mean things that I cannot change - too much work, a job I have to do that I don't like doing, someone else's problems, etc. So, to remind myself and anyone else out there who is stressing about things that don't matter, here's my question to all of us. Will stressing about things make them any better? No? Ok, then, let's start there. I find I waste more time and energy on 'What if's' than on actually getting the work done, or the situation resolved.
Now, keep in mind this is not a license to do nothing. On the contrary, it's a means to get things done or to deal with the stress. Here's what I do when I'm overwhelmed with work or worries. First, I block off 15 minutes to an hour, depending on how much work I have or worries that are on my mind. Next, I make a list of everything - all the jobs or every single stressor. If it's work that's stressing me, I prioritize what absolutely needs to be done first. If they all rank equal in importance, I randomly pick their order. The point is to tackle one at a time. When I put these tasks or worries onto a sheet of paper, I imagine that they are leaving me and finding a new home on paper. Now, they are no longer clogging up my mind. It's free to find solutions to these issues. I make a plan for everything - how to get these jobs done. Once the planning is done, I leave the worries on the paper, and tackle everything, one at a time. I now have a plan and a way to clear things off that paper. Nothing is in my head anymore. It's free to concentrate on the task at hand. Why pollute your mind with worries about all the other tasks that are waiting for you? Do one at a time, don't think about the others, and you'll get that piece of paper cleared in no time. The important thing here is that you clear your mind of all the worry. IT DOES YOU NO GOOD, IT ONLY MAKES THINGS WORSE!!!
If I'm burdened by worry about others or things that are totally out of my control, I do basically the same things. I write them down. I transfer ownership of them to that piece of paper. Sometimes I imagine that I'm putting them into a chest, locking it up and I (mentally) put it into a closet and shut the door. If there is absolutely nothing I can do to make the situation better, why weigh myself down with worry? Worry and stress can cause immense damage to your body and your spirit. You can help others by first helping yourself. Corny, I know, but it's so true. If you keep a positive attitude, by not becoming weighed down with the worry yourself, your mind will be free to help, not hinder the other person.
All of this comes down to changing your mind! A life well lived is a life where you can acknowledge the challenges you face and meet them, head on. Don't hide from them, don't stress about them. Write them down, get them out of your head, and then tackle them, one at a time. As I know, it's easier said than done and there will always be times when we are overwhelmed. But it is my hope that we can remember these tips and apply them most of the time - no one's perfect, right?!
a few weeks ago i was actually going to ask you guys to come into our class because we were studying community and professions. but i didn't know if you would want to!! now we are studying under the sea! maybe next year!
have a good day!
Posted by: Shayla Vokey | June 11, 2007 at 08:42 AM