Mid-Life Unfolds

Life Unfolds - Dedicated to "Attracting What's Next in Mid-Life and Beyond!" Have you reached mid-life or beyond and are you wondering what is next? Life Unfolds provides business and personal coaching and training to help you thrive while answering the what nexts. We specialize in helping mid-lifers achieve their dreams, change careers, retire happily and to thrive through transitions. More information can be found at http://www.lifeunfolds.com.



Sunday, November 19, 2006

Attracting Abundance

I have found that your attitude, a combination of thoughts and emotions, can directly lead to more abundance and prosperity in your life. One of the easiest ways to see this in your own life is with money. If you think you don't have enough money, you feel anxious, disappointed, even fearful. Your body will be tense, energy will stop flowing, your life moves in fits and starts, instead of freely and with ease. But start to think and feel that you have everything you need, that money flows easily to you, that you have enough, and your body relaxes, your life moves more smoothly and you'll generally be happier. So how do you make this change when you "really don't have enough money"? The attitude comes BEFORE the change, not the other way around. For example, you think I'll be happy when I have more money (or when I'm rich). But the truth is that when you are happy, you'll have more money (or be rich). This is a huge difference!

So here are some ways to jumpstart your positive attitude around money to get that positive flow going your way!

1. Post a $20 or $100 bill (whatever you can easily do right now) near where you work or even on your bathroom mirror. Leave money around your house where you can easily see it. Keep bills on the refrigerator, by the phone(s), on your closet door. Keep at least $20 in your wallet at all times. The idea here is to see that you already have money, plenty of it. You have money laying around your house and you see it all the time. Seeing it is believing it. When you see it, your reaction will be "I have money" or "There's money everywhere!" or "It feels great to have money." Move it around to keep it fresh. I keep a fake $1,000,000 bill in my wallet and every time I open my wallet, I say to myself, "I have plenty of money." And, I do! Leaving money around will help you to see that, first, it is only money, and second that it is easy to have it around you, and third, that you have plenty.

2. Appreciate the money you receive. When my hairdresser receives a tip, he kisses the money and says a short prayer of gratitude, every time. When you find a penny or a dime on the ground, do you pick it up? Or do you feel a rush of excitement for the money that is coming your way? Hint: choose the excitement and pick it up! If you pass it by, your message is you don't want money. Every bit of money that flows into your life must be noticed and appreciated. This is a surefire way to generate an increased flow of money to you.

3. Have your money send you a message. Take the largest bill you can afford ($20 or $50 or $100) and write a message to yourself on it. Post it near your desk or on the bathroom mirror or in your car, wherever you can see the message often. Here are some things you might write: "I love Mary Anne", "Money flows to me always", "I see money and it's only money", "I'm on my way to you right now", "I flow easily to Mary Anne", "Money comes easily to Mary Anne always", etc. Well, you get the idea. Pick the phrase that makes you feel buzzed or lighter. Write several. And yes, you can still spend the money when you desire. It doesn't damage the bills.

4. Write yourself a check from the Universe (or God). Take a check out of your checkbook or make one on your computer. Write a large check to yourself from "The Universe". Date it in the future, using a date you feel comfortable using. For example, if your check is for $10,000, do you feel comfortable using a date next week, next month, six months from now or a year from now? It needs to be plausible to you. This is not imaginary, you're putting in your order! Carry the check in your wallet and carry it with you. When you see it, just think, I get to cash this check soon.

I hope you find these ideas exciting and will give them a try. After all, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Leave me a comment with your results.

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Got Passion?

We hear so much about identifying our passions. Or following your bliss, so to speak. This may be a vocation which excites you, or a lifestyle, or a hobby. From experience, I can say that having passions makes life better. Most people do not identify their passions by "figuring them out" in their head. They feel them in their hearts and bodies, in their emotions. A passion grabs you, keeps you interested, may make you lose track of time, and keeps you coming back for more. Passions are not always comfortable; ask any artist who struggles with their expression of their art. But it makes life worth living.

Specifically, how do passionate pursuits benefit you and your life?

1. Our short time on this Earth is well spent, as opposed to squandered on useless or harmful activities. We feel richer, stronger, braver, more fulfilled with a passionate activity.

2. We feel increased satisfaction, joy, and happiness when spending our time on our passions. We spend time anticipating the activity, enjoy the activity while doing it and feel satisfaction after completing it.

3. Often our passions turn into our legacy. What we do with passion is usually done well. Sometimes these result in a strong statement about your life and how you lived.

4. Living a passionate life often leads to less stress and more harmony. Being engaged in these activities brings us more energy, less anxiety and depression, often a sense of the spiritual, and makes us generally happier.

5. We are more interesting to ourselves and others. When we do something we love to do, we have a deep and abiding interest in something. We usually like to talk about it with others, both to share our knowledge and to learn more about it. It may deepen our sense of friendship, community and our place in the world.

6. Following your bliss can help you to live a longer and healthier life. Being engaged in a passion is one of the factors found to help lengthen your life and to support your health.

7. You become more centered in who you really are (underneath all the masks). Pursuing your passions is one of the best ways to express your true self. If you feel deeply about an activity, it usually means that it comes from your spirit or your heart. Just the act of following your passion can help you to understand your own desires and strengths and challenges. Self-awareness can lead to a more satisfying life and relationships.

8. Passions can be a way of "getting a life". Many of us live a shallow, unengaged life, just going through the motions. Discovering your passions can lead you to feel engaged and more whole, a part of things, a contributor to life instead of a consumer of life.

9. Doing what you love creates a sense of accomplishment. Accomplishing what you set out to do can increase your self-esteem, make you feel better about yourself and generally help with confidence in your abilities. Who doesn't need that?

So make your 2007 goal one of discovering at least one new passion for yourself. Get engaged, try new things, follow your curiosity, or seize on one of the opportunities offered you. If you need help with discovering your passions, I can help through my coaching and workshops. Contact me at maf@lifeunfolds.com.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Your Personal Ecology

In his book, Retire Early and Live the Life You Want Now, John F. Wasik introduces the concept of a personal ecology. He asserts that you can find a new prosperity by balancing your personal ecology. So what is a personal ecology? Wasik states:

"Ecology is a beautiful word that is all about relationships. It shares the root word oikos with economy, which is from the classic Greek meaning household. A figurative translation is keeping your house is order. Physicist Fritjof Capra has an even broader definition that calls ecology "the study of the relationships that link all members of the Earth Household". That lofty idea doesn't exclusively refer to the place in which you live, however. It refers to the life energy you spend in working, commuting, relaxing, family time, playing, worshiping, or any other activity you can name. The relationships to these different "rooms" of our lives are interdependent. None can exist independently."

So your personal ecology is about the relationships between all your activities and people and places and things and how they combine to create you as a whole person. These affect in a positive or negative way your thoughts and feelings and your physical body, your whole person, your life.

We talk a lot about Earth's ecology or the ecology of a particular natural resource, such as a river's ecology or a prairie's ecology. But what about your own personal ecology? What are you doing to make sure it is healthy, thriving, balanced, and nurturing? This requires stepping back and looking at the big picture of your life. It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand our personal ecology when mired in the daily grind or the details of our problems and issues. Wasik contends that without this big picture view and attention you can never achieve true prosperity. Just as a prairie or a forest or a river needs a balance of nutrients, rain, sunlight, microorganisms, animals, plants, etc. to remain healthy and viable, so do you need a balance of nurturing and challenging physical, mental, emotional and spiritual activities. Your life can be out of balance, just like that river or the swamp or the prairie, by having too much or too little in any area of your life. The good news is that you have control over your personal ecology, unlike a river!

Wasik's Principles of Personal Ecology include:

1. "We can balance our lives." The relationships between ourselves and our work, our leisure, our family, our fiends, community, our spiritual lives, our health and everything else can be brought into harmony and balance. Take out a pencil and paper and draw a picture of your life. You can use diagrams or a pie chart or symbols, whatever is meaningful to you. What do you see in this picture? Is everything included? Is anything out of balance, too large or too small? Are you happy with where your attention is going?

2. "Money can be used to propel our dreams." Attending to money is attending to our life energy. Money represents our life energy. Where and how you earn and utilize it can tell you a lot about the health of your personal ecology. Money has tremendous power in this world and in our lives. Is this area of your life weak and ineffective or is it robust and full of vitality?

3. "Work can be redefined and help us reach our goals". Work can be defined as any productive activity, whether paid or not paid for. Rebalancing work can include how much time you spend doing it, how much focus you put on your work, and whether work brings you satisfaction or dissatisfaction. What work are you doing? Is it interesting to you? Do you like to do it? Is there something you can do to bring in more satisfaction? Do you have interesting work outside of "paid" work? Hobbies? Other interests?

4. "Personal growth will make much of the struggle easier." Personal growth is an admirable life activity. One that brings tremendous rewards in the form of an easier life, happier relationships, clarity and authenticity. Personal growth can include both inner psychological and spiritual work and "outer" work such as learning new skills and behaviors or becoming more educated. Personal growth is a lifelong activity, not just for your "college" years or your work years.

Because his book is about early retirement, his principles focus on work. But this concept can be expanded to include your entire life such as community, family, friendships, spiritual work, psychological growth, physical health, mental health and growth, emotional health, home, hobbies, works of service, etc. What does your personal ecology include now and what would you like it to include? A personal ecology does not expect that all areas are equal, but that they are balanced so that you have more of what you want and need and less of what you do not want and need. For example, maybe you are spending too much time and energy on work and not enough on your family. Or possibly you are spending too much time on the sofa and not enough at exercise or play. It is YOUR personal ecology and the end result will be health, balance, happiness, and more energy and vitality.

What steps can you take today to begin the rebalancing necessary to make your ecology healthy, thriving, productive and vital? Remember, small steps count!