New Years Day 2012

Today I thanked my friend for hosting a NYE party and a number of friends who asked after my poorly daughter.

I can't help thinking that this kindness thing so far is just documenting things I do anyway - and isn't it the minimum of how we should be?Perhaps in time being aware of doing them will increase my positive self image?

Perhaps I should try harder!

For more inspiration, here's some information and a link to "1000 Mitzvah's" the story of another woman's kindness project.

link to: 1000 mitzvahs

Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, IPA: [ˈmɪtsvə], “commandment”; plural,mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, “command”) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. The term can also refer to the fulfilment of a mitzvah as defined above.

The term mitzvah has also come to express any act of human kindness, such as the burial of the body of an unknown person. According to the teachings of Judaism, all moral laws are, or are derived from, divine commandments.

Mitzvah Ideas

Here are some ideas to get you started on your own mitzvah/kindness efforts:

Make a meal for a new mom

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

Donate children’s clothing to a local shelter

Donate centerpieces or flowers from an event to a hospital

Hold the door for someone

Send a gratitude card

Send a condolence card

Visit a shiva house (house of mourning)

Volunteer at school

Bake some cookies or a meal for a new neighbor

Compliment someone

Tip the housekeeper

Let someone’s employee know they did a great job

Surprise someone with flowers

Donate Blood

Donate money in honor or memory of someone

Visit a nursing home or senior center with your kids

Parents With Tweenage/Teen Children: 

Have your kids run a Lemonade Stand, Bake Sale or Car Wash. Give the proceeds to their favorite charity. If you let the organization know that you will personally deliver the donation maybe they will shake their hand or at least publicly acknowledge their efforts.

Collect outgrown coats, toys, books and donate them appropriately.

Volunteer to deliver meals on wheels, pass out charity cards for a non-profit.

Collect partially used gift cards (www.giftcardgiver.com) to give back to a non-profit.

Mentor younger children in something.

Offer babysitting services for a single parent.

Take a family volunteering vacation.

Seniors 

Volunteer in a school reading program.

Become a foster grandparent.

Become an ESL language teacher.

Arrange a fundraiser.

Work at a school cafeteria.

Volunteer to work with animals.

You are what you think

We can develop this idea further but essentially your thoughts and the environment you surround yourself with impacts on your emotional wellbeing and energy.
Feeling low? Remind yourself of times you were truely happy, watch a favourite DVD, listen to music with positive associations and great memories.
Numerous studies show that even reading a list positive or negative words affects you. Derron Brown and Richard Wiseman (Quirkology) have both demonstrated this on their TV shows.

"Your persistent thoughts become your reality"

Surround yourself with positive people; reframe negative situations to look for the proverbial silver cloud; listen out for, and challenge, your own negativity. How do you choose to influence your mood and energy levels?

Walking into happiness

At a happiness talk I experienced 'walk innovation' - a process developed by Adam Shaw, experienced in nursing, Reiki, NLP and more!

The process involves five steps:
Grounding, Breathing, Focus, Gratitude, Being Present

In groups of three we walk and breathe and focus on gratitude - What do you really love?
Observing the other two in my group was great while I focused just on my breathing and getting grounded, questioning someone I didn't know about what made them happy was wonderful.
My 'questioner' discovered that I love nature, beauty, beaches, long hot summers, rolling waves, exhileration, creating things, having friends and family with me, being appreciated, and candy floss.
I got quite excited by candy floss because I was really focused on what I loved about it, it's associations in memories and positive emotions. I surprised myself (another positive emotion!) and left measureably happier and more energetic than when I arrived.

Big Rocks Prioritisation Theory

This is a story with a moral: planning is the key to time management - and stress reduction. It appears in many forms - always reported as true!
Here's my version, with some food for thought at the end:

In the book “First Things First” Stephen Covey describes a story that one of his associates experienced on a seminar. In the middle of the lecture the presenter pulled out a wide-mouth jar and placed it on the table, aside to some fist-sized rocks.
After filling the jar to the top with rocks he asked, “Is the jar full?”
People could see that no more rocks would fit, so they replied, “Yes!”
“Not so fast,” he cautioned. He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, “Is the jar full?”
This time the students replied “Probably not.”
The presenter then reached a bucket of sand below the table, and dumped it on the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Once again he asked “Is the jar full?”
“No!”, the students shouted.
Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and filled the jar completely, asking to the public what they could learn from that illustration.
One of the participants answered, “If you work at it, you can always fit more into your life.”
“No,” said the presenter. “The point is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first. . . would you ever have gotten any of them in?”
This little story can be applied to all aspects of your life.
The question then becomes: out of all your activities, what are the big rocks? More importantly, are you making sure that they are going first into the jar?
The professor then produced two cans of beer and proceeded to pour them into the jar, effectively filling the empty spaces between the rocks, pebbles, and the grains of sand. The students laughed. “Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
“The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children, and your close friends - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else. The ‘small stuff.’ If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.
“The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness: Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing.
There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities; the rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and asked what the beer represented. The professor smiled; “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers!”

Now what can you glean from this for yourself?
What are your big rocks? What do you care about in life? What are your top priorities?
What do you want? What goals do you have in connection with your family, your friends and your life partner, your career, your health?
If you don’t currently have a romantic partner, are you making the time to meet new people? Is optimal fitness important to you? What about spirituality, community service, politics or finding new ways to make a contribution to society? What about having fun, seeing the world and enjoying new adventures?
Take a minute right now to jot down what you consider the big rocks in your life.
After you finish writing down the five, six or ten areas that are a top priority for you, think about how much time you are spending in each area. Is your life balanced, or has one area of pressure taken over your time?

Are you willing to make a commitment, right now, to putting those big rocks in the glass jar of your life? To make a positive change now?

The point is: unless you put the big rocks in first, you won't get them in at all.
Plan time-slots for your big issues before anything else, or the inevitable sand and water issues will fill up your days and you won't fit the big issues in (a big issue doesn't necessarily have to be a work task - it could be your child's sports-day, or a holiday).

Put the Big Rocks First

About me

Welcome to my blog!

In my blog you can follow my path in my world of NLP, Time Line Therapy (TM) Hypnosis and EFT.

You can also see my creative endeavours, I draw, paint and take photos.
I also intend to show how I follow my own advice and you will see examples of 'homework' I have done that I set my clients.

My company is called Positive Change Now, I set it up to help people make positive changes to their lives and work.

Everyone changes all the time, often people want to change and don't know how, that's where I come in.

My therapy and coaching work is light hearted, fun, creative and positive - positive emotions are known to counteract negative emotions - and always highly focused on specific outcomes and goals.

Serious results!

When someone makes a change they get a buzz - and that what drives me, because I share that buzz everytime!

my website is www.positivechangenow.co.uk
email me at katharine@positivechangenow.co.uk
find out more about EFT at http://www.emofree.com/a/?3460