Tag Archives: how-to

Take 5! How To Make A Good Day Great Without Even Trying

Posted in inspiration, Mompreneur, Perspective, Uncategorized by

 

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I’m happier when I take a few moments to focus on what’s good.

For the last few years I have been taking a moment to focus on something really small and really good every day. Yesterday this photo was taken during one of these moments. 

It’s more than just gratitude. Acknowledging the good stuff, however minor, and being thankful is an energy changer.  A mindset shifter.

In 2012 hubby and I decided it made sense for me to leave Corporate HR and Training communications behind. It was the right decision but the shift in routine and a series of illnesses threw me for a loop. Anything like that ever happen to you?  I was accustomed to feeling great and serving others and feeling relatively happy, then suddenly it was all gone. Even though I was busy concentrating on getting well, it was almost unbearable.  I had to think of something. Scaling back from trying to find my perfect life and instead working to embrace the present was a much better choice.

A little later I started keeping a list of 5 things each day that I loved or experienced or appreciated or enjoyed. The rule I set was I couldn’t make the list in advance (I cheated a few times) and I would take 1 minute to just reflect on each of the 5 things.  Guess what?  It was magical.

I put the list on my original blog with the goal of recording 3000 positive memories and experiences. I invited others to participate. It was beautiful how a few moments spent mining for gratefulness changed me and those around me.  That’s why I always hashtag “focus and take time”.

Daily we simply cannot “overcome” all the difficult people and encounters or inner feelings we meet. But we can use the law of substitution to shrink the present negative circumstances.  Just by creating this simple practice and teaching others how to do it got my is shift in gear. 5 little thoughts are amazing when you want to quickly move the energy in an otherwise negative room.  Or yourself.

Mining yesterday was easy. I took off my consultant hat and put down the laptop and toured a historic factory in upstate New York with my family. I found so many but here are just 5:

Construction workers waving hello

Huge red-orange Flowers

Meeting Matilde from France 9B2F09D8-D9ED-4F79-8BCF-6EBC533744AB

Groundhogs in the garden

Ice cream sandwiches by the fire truck

Try this. Focus and take time. Challenge your employees and teams and kids and spouse and self.  Who knows what might make tomorrow’s list? 

We pass treasures every single day. Be determined to see them. 

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As a small biz owner, are you reluctant to tell your brand story on livestream?  Are you gripped with uncertainty at the suggestion of using IGTV, YouTube or creating edited video?  Do you get sweaty palmed when you think about scripting daily social media posts, your next blog, or  your “about me” page or bio?  No need. Helping you lose the negativity while finding your voice is what I do best. Get on my calendar for a free 20-minute catalyst session.  Together we can do this.  

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Looking Down and Looking Back – One Woman’s Perspective on Life After the Workplace

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What did you focus on today? Was it the big important thing that is always right there and needs your attention? Or was it the small almost silent whisper that edged its way to you tapping for you to take notice. If it was the latter I hope you decided to #focusandtaketime. Because it is most often in the silence that the miracles appear.

I took this picture last week from my hotel in Dallas. I couldn’t help but think of all the nights I stayed away from my family and was submerged in work and activities based on someone else’s agenda. I loved my team. My work. I loved coaching and mentoring and teaching others to be excellent. Both at their jobs and and as people.

For many years while I did the corporate grind, Dallas was a second home. It was fast paced, exciting, my work seemed to matter and I strived to be really great at it. The view was from way up and everything looked good on the ground. The only problem was that the ground home, far away in New Jersey/Maryland, and I could not divide myself and be in two cities at once. The place I longed to be was with my hubby and my kids…that was the place that mattered. I was home plenty, but I was missing a lot too. It wasn’t the concert here or there or the shows. Every parent misses a couple. It was the little things that no one remembered to tell me. It was little everyday-mundane-seemingly-boring-too-unimportant-to-recount things. I’m still discovering things 5 years later.

It’s like watching a big city from high up. You don’t know what the sights and sounds are on the ground. When you see the movement of the highway and the people and the traffic, you imagine what it sounds like. And you can remain fairly neutral because it doesn’t seem like much. But sometimes there is laughter. And sometimes there is weeping. Other times there is confusion. And every now and then there is a bittersweet contentment. Sweet because you recognize the joy. Bitter because you are too high up to enjoy it.

No matter how much I love a city (and I treasure them) I prefer the whir of my family to the whir of a plane taking off. When you are a work at home mom or mompreneur, there is a delicious banter that will drive you both out of your head crazy and out of your heart happy. No win in the boardroom compares to my daughter, son, hubby and me, taking time to bond over the Bible at breakfast. Can you do it from a distance? Sure. While in between flights? Yes. Running to a conference call? Of course. But the best memories are built from blocks picked up by hand. Because the beat of a city should never drown out the beat of your “most important”.

The portfolio of my Mary Kay business, coaching, writing, and supporting my husband in his ASL interpreting business is keeping me from idly looking out of windows wishing I could hear “what’s going on down there?” Getting to be home to see, hear experience more is worth putting the suitcases away.

What about you? Are you a corporate warrior but wish you could be at home? Are you looking down and out from way high up but longing to be closer to the ground? There are ways to make a plan and start your exit. Let’s talk.

Ready to get your positive energy back in check?  Looking to clean up your self-talk, create a personal affirmation plan or ease your way into releasing your negativity so your positivity can reign?  Complete the questionnaire for a free coaching strategy session.

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Don’t Miss The Weekly Sunday Corner Show on YouTube:  Bit.ly/ChatoneYT

Coaching Website:  ChatoneMorrison.com

Facebook:

@chatonemorrisonconsulting

@princessofpositivity

@chatonemorrisonMK

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Is Information Overload Stealing Your Positivity?

Posted in Communication, emotions, Positive Thinking, positivity, Strategy, Uncategorized by

IMG_7625Are you simply trying to juggle way too much information? Think of all the blogs, vlogs, Facebook posts, tweets, Instagram and Pinterest pics, Snapchat, Periscopes…the list goes on and on.  It can get to be an over the top habit that moves from serving you to enslaving you. Don’t get me wrong.  I am a lover of knowledge.  I contribute and I consume.  But what happens if you start to feel that you need ALL of it for your success.  How can you know what is for you?

“OK Chatone”, you say.  “We hear you Princess…but what if I need the information for my big idea?  What if I’m building a new brand or company or product and I need to research and figure out what to do to be successful?  What then?”

You are right.  When you researching, learning, and growing into something that you have never been before, knowledge is key.  Bear in mind, though, that all data is not good data.  If you need something very specific, working with a coach…a great coach…is generally where you need to look.  For the last 15 years I have consistently worked with one coach or another and it has helped me to make great strides in grabbing my goals.

However, one of the greatest advantages has been the ability to learn to quickly decipher what information out here is for me and what is not for me.  That level of discernment has served me in such a big way!   You know the feeling of buying the wrong thing on line with all the promises but then nothing happens?  You feel nothing.  You do nothing.  You have no resonation.  No soul-ping at all.  Why?  Because the information did not serve you.  It just seemed like it. For me, working with various coaches helped me to memorize the sound of the ring of truth.  Then it’s easy to buy the right records and sing along.  

What about you?  Still searching and unsure?  Haven’t made the coach/mentor/consultant investment yet?  Well until you do, I’m here to help!  Check out these 5 ways to quickly evaluate information so you don’t have to waste your time or your money!  (See if you can find the poem…)

Is it 100% True?  Pick Good PEARS. Look for Proof, Experience, Authenticity and Realistic.  It should be easy to do this.  But the information out here is in overload format!  And when you want success, there is a fantastic claim about everything ranging  from how to trim fat from a raw chicken to how to trim fat from your thighs!  Tip:  If the information sounds too good to be true, it generally is!

Is it Really For You?  Every Guru isn’t for you.  Every gift is not meant for you to open.  For example, you read about an amazing writing coach who is offering a program.  She has 10 best sellers under her belt and has helped with over 500 clients to become best sellers also.  Wow…she must be for you, right!  No!  Not if you hate writing.  Haven’t read a book in 15 years. And the thought of a bookstore gives you hives.  What excites today will demoralize tomorrow if it’s not for you.  Buyer beware!

Does it Make You Feel Blue?  Great question, right?  Take a good look at who or what you watch the most.  Perhaps it’s a top coach or trainer well renown in his/her professional.  Content is flowing 24/7 and you know they must have what you need…look at their success?!  But do you feel uneasy, annoyed, frustrated afterwards?   Is their mode of motivation positive or do you sense an element of condescension?  We are all gifted with the ability to almost automatically pick up on the energy of others.  We just have the tendency to justify it.  If you want your positivity to show up and stay up – Shift Accordingly!

Would You Share it With Your Crew?  Sharing is an integral part of the fabric of our society.  We specifically share what serves us personally.  Think of the last time you had an amazing dinner at a hidden gem restaurant.  Think about the last motivational book or article that you loved.  Even think about the diet or exercise program that you feel truly served you.  What was the first thing you wanted to do?  SHARE!!  Sharing is the social lifeblood of today’s media. So, if you consistently that you would NEVER share with anyone in your inner circle…simply ask why?

Afterwards Do you Feel Like You Grew?   If you are able to get through the first four “poetry points” you have chosen great content so absorb on!  Right?  Well…there’s just one more thing.  Let’s bottom line all of this.  Growth is the key reason for taking in information. We are growing or dying.  It’s that simple.  Without it you might as well just  sit on the couch and look out of the window instead of expending the mental energy needed to examine and apply the content that you have chosen.  So pick morphy material!  If the material is stagnant and can never be applied to anything new or is the same old, same old don’t expect anything to change.  

Chances are, the volume will only increase.  But equipped with these 5 steps you can turn up exactly what you want to hear and mute the rest.  Be well!

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Summer Positive Vibes

Ready to get your positive energy back in check?  Looking to grow or do something you haven’t done in a long time?  Complete the questionnaire for a free coaching strategy session.

 

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Don’t Miss The Weekly Sunday Corner Show on YouTube:  Bit.ly/ChatoneYT

Coaching Website:  ChatoneMorrison.com

Facebook:

@chatonemorrisonconsulting

@princessofpositivity

@chatonemorrisonMK

Instagram:  @realprincessofpositivity

Periscope/Pinterest/Twitter:  ChatoneMorrison

Shop for Mary Kay Here:  marykay.com/chatonemorrison