Mastering Habits and Routines: Strategies for Success

May 2023

Our habits and routines play a big role in shaping our lives, affecting everything from our productivity and health to our overall sense of well-being. Although people often use the terms interchangeably, there are some important differences between habits and routines.

Boundaries

April 2023

Personal boundaries are important for maintaining a healthy and fulfilling life. These boundaries can be physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual. Physical boundaries refer to personal space and touch, emotional boundaries include our feelings and emotional responses, mental boundaries involve our thoughts and general beliefs, and spiritual boundaries relate to our spiritual and religious practices and values.

The Ideal Decision Making Process

March 2023

It's estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day; the consequences of which are both good and bad.

Decisions are choices made between two or more alternatives. It involves the selection of a course of action based on information and hopefully reasoning. Decisions can range from simple everyday choices to complex strategic ones.

Remarkable Relationships

February 2023

We are all going to die.

“It is difficult to provide an exact percentage of people who die alone, as it can vary depending on factors such as age, location, and overall health. However, studies have found that a significant number of older adults, particularly those who are socially isolated, may die alone. For example, a study conducted in the United Kingdom found that around 20% of deaths among older adults occurred in people who lived alone.”

Definitely a Bot answer.

Mission Ready

January 2023

We live for the weekends where we have almost as much structure just aiming towards different things. Trust me, I’m not knocking habits, they’re lifesavers!!

But, how would you like to wake up and when your feet hit the ground you’re off on a newish adventure? What if you had a real purpose and meaning for your every day?

Celebrate December

December ushers in a number of holidays and celebrations. Apparently 15 in all however, the biggest of these are Hanukkah and Christmas.

Five Keys to a Purposeful Life

What if you woke up before the alarm refreshed from a great night of sleep? What if you were awake and energised looking forward to the day ahead before that cup of coffee? What if you knew that each day was a day closer to the way you would really like your life to be? Or better still, what if you were living that life right now? A vision statement will set you on that path!!

Living the Life You Are Meant to Live

Come with me on a journey! A journey to October 20, 2023.

I sit in my Dodeka lounge chair with heated seats on my deck and look to the east. I see a beautiful azure sky, not a cloud in sight and several peaks of the Rocky Mountains. The air is a little crisp but I have on my favourite golden yellow wool sweater and black Merino wool pants.

Change is inevitable; constant yet not consistent; predictable, yet more often, not.

I have heard it said that change happens over time. I would argue that change happens ALL the time. Time moves on and moment by moment we’re just that much older or if physically moving, we’re in a different place. I have a granddaughter whom I have watched growing/changing. At her age, change is so significant and quick. As we age, the process seems to slow for a while but then seems to pick up speed again later on. 

We find comfort in predictable changes - the seasons, the movement of the sun in relation to the time of day, the growing and harvest seasons for food, how certain things will progress.

I read a book.

The book is, “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller.

Yes, I read it to myself, but I am also in the process of reading it chapter by chapter each week for the month of July, and foreseeably for the month of August in my regular Wednesday, 12 noon, Facebook LIVEs.

You can see them here:

https://www.facebook.com/heather.m.oreilly/

I’ve just completed a book, “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action,” by Simon Sinek and I am challenged. Being challenged is a very good thing; at least it is for me!

I also feel much better about my inability to completely articulate why I am in the business I am in. On page 56, Simon explains, “The part of our brain that controls our feelings has no capacity for language. It is this disconnection that makes putting our feelings into words so hard.”

We have many friends and acquaintances.

Some are exceptionally good for us, some good, some not so good, and still others, well, let’s just say they’re not in our best interests to pursue or have in our lives.

Some of these “friends”, while not the best for us, are still comfortable. Comfortable in the sense that we know what to expect of them, that they’re not the most reliable, but we’re used to them.

February is, arguably, relationship month! Due in no small part to Valentine's Day.

I was reminded several times in the span of one day recently of the importance of consistency. It was prevalent in so many areas that day that I really had to take notice. One particular topic was about relationships; something I never really thought about within the context of consistency. Consistency, yes, in habit change, in health, in finances, in one’s employment, and in one’s spirituality, but never had I considered consistency in relationships. And then I saw a short segment by an individual, unfortunately I cannot recall who it was or where it was that I heard it, who spoke about (in a nutshell) how easily we give up on relationships without really pursuing what we’re trying to achieve

My reason for doing this interview series was to learn a bit about the elements that are involved in becoming your authentic self. I was, and still am convinced, because I’ve seen this so often, that way too many people are living vicariously through other people! They’re not living a full and purposeful life of their own, and they’re unhappy and angry and short tempered! They’re actually “borrowing” or have “acquired” values, beliefs, and habits from other people. When confronted with new or novel circumstances, they don’t know what to do! They react instead of respond, and we all know that isn’t always the best for healthy relationships

The extended family will be arriving over the next few days and you remember back to the fiasco of two years ago when things went … well … sideways? Then Covid hit and you couldn’t redeem yourself because no-one could go anywhere last year! So everything, everything has to be perfect this time! You know exactly what will be eaten at what time and on what day, the activities are planned for specific times of the day and on what days. People have asked what they can do but if things are to go the way they have to, then best to do it all yourself.