Keep Your Eye on the Ball

For football fans, the season is just getting into its prime. But for baseball fans like me, we are lamenting the end of another season.

In baseball and life, we often hear, “Keep your head in the game,” and “Keep your eye on the ball.”  We all intuitively know what that means but, how do you combat the distractions and adversity of everyday life to do that?

First, you must understand that you are the only thing and/or person in your life that you can control. Second, confidence in yourself to achieve your goals is critical.  If you believe you can accomplish the goals you set for yourself, you can combat the mental chatter that tells you the goal is impossible.

In order to achieve your highest potential, you have to create a plan.  Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Create a Clearly Defined Mission:  A mission defines why you are setting the goal, how you want to be perceived, and what you want to accomplish.

Focus on the Process:  Break down your mission into bite sized pieces.  Focus on only one piece at a time.  The process can be broken down into the form of a timeline with milestones, a to do list, or by steps.  Use whatever format feels right to you however, it is critical that you write down your mission and the process.

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Are You an HSP?
I recently came across a very interesting website about a newly identified ‘type’ of people called Highly Sensitive People (HSP). Undoubtedly, some of you will read this column and recognize yourself. Some will wonder: How are these characteristics different from what I feel on a daily basis? As an HSP, I can give you unique insight into this ‘gift.’

As an HSP, your internal empathy dial is turned on high all day. You are constantly taking in the environment around you. A normal person would know someone is having a bad day but, HSPs pick up their vibe and the vibe of everyone in the general vicinity. We know just how bad of a day all of those people are having and internalize it.

For the HSP population, loud sounds are very distracting, florescent lights drain our energy; contact with people is very difficult if we are having a bad day and our energy is low. Strong smells (i.e. burnt popcorn in the microwave or strong cologne) create an additional mental distraction. Since HSPs are so empathetic, we are the first ones that people come to with problems because we are easy to talk to and do not share in gossip. Sometimes we are sitting on emotional and sensory empty with no relief in sight.

According to Dr. Elaine Aron, the author of the 1996 book The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive in a World that Overwhelms You, the following are a few behaviors that are common traits of HSPs:

Sensory Overload: HSPs experience a heightened awareness of the environment that they are in through their five senses.

Stressed Out and Looking for a Way Out: These individuals will seek out quiet or dark spaces or a place to be alone to seek relief from being upset or stressed.
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Cold & Flu Remedies
Our family just suffered our first bout of the flu.  We are usually a healthy lot but we have been burning the candle at both ends over the entire summer.  We have fallen into the bad habits of eating a lot of processed and quick foods, sleeping less than we need, and working long hours at home and on the job.

According to WebMD, a few simple changes in habits can aid in avoiding the common cold and flu:

  1. Wash your hands
  2. Get at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night
  3. Drink plenty of fluids
  4. Consider taking supplements such as Vitamin C or Zinc
  5. Don’t touch your face or head with your hands
  6. Get fresh air
  7. Do aerobic exercises
  8. Don’t smoke
  9. Limit alcohol consumption
  10. Relax

Since there is not a cure for either the cold or flu, many over the counter medications are designed to make your symptoms more tolerable or to help you sleep through the experience.  I personally don’t like the way cold medications make me feel so, I try to use home remedies when possible.  Below are a few of my favorites that have minimal side effects:
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Dream Books & Bucket Lists
About two weeks ago, it hit me like a ton of bricks -- I will be 40 in two years.   I am not sure why the realization came to me in the middle of my workday.  I was not being reflective about my life, I was just going about my day, in the usual routine, in the usual way and WHAM there it was – the big 4-0 staring me in the face.  I don’t feel or look close to 40 just the opposite, I feel like I am in my twenties.  Maybe that was why I became so introspective about it.  

Stay with me, this is not going to be a lengthy discussion about how my life is over or things have never gone my way over the last 38 years.  I have a great life.  I am going to celebrate!  I just did not realize that the celebration had crept up on me so quickly.

I have lots of planning to do for this great new adventure in my life.   If you are at this point or closer to your next big life change, take this journey with me.

When I was 22, I created a dream book.  The book has traveled with me, been in every desk drawer at every job, and has been carried from pillar to post.   It is very simple.  I used a spiral bound, 50 page, 4”x6” set of note cards, a pile of old magazines, saved fortune cookie fortunes, favorite poems, newspaper clippings and stickers to compile my book.  I assigned one page per goal or dream.  Going through the magazines, I found images to represent the dreams or goals.  I pasted the pictures into the book.  Each page represented a separate dream but somehow, the book created a picture of the life I envisioned for myself.  I included material wants and emotional needs.  The images depicted how I wanted to look, a picture of a family, a picture of my dream house, and pictures representing emotions such as love, romance, fun, and peacefulness.
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10 Tips for Saving on Back-to-School Shopping

I know it seems early to start thinking about back-to-school but, for many of us, the next school year is less than a month away.   I wanted to share a few tips on how you can reduce the costs and the financial stress experienced by your family. Recent research shows that financial stress is linked directly to weight gain. The average family spends approximately $500 per child for back-to-school supplies and clothing.  If you have children, you know the beginning of each year brings a flurry of expenses.  If you have more than one child, the costs can be astronomical!

You can reduce those costs significantly by making a few small changes in your buying strategies.

1. Make a realistic budget that is within your means and stick to it

2. Only use cash to pay for back-to-school items.  This will make you more conscious of how much you are spending and will reduce impulse buys.  Additionally, you will save money by not paying interest on the credit card or the loan.

3. Take an inventory.  
  • Are the last year’s uniforms or clothing in good shape and fit properly?  If so, save some of your budget for later in the year when replacement is necessary.  If not, can you sell the old uniforms at a consignment shop or passed down to a younger child?
  • Do you have left over notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, etc from last year?  
  • Is the backpack from last year reusable?
4. Shopping for bargains
  • Save sale papers from local stores and compare prices
  • Use coupons
  • Buy off brand items
  • Don’t buy all the school supplies needed until after school starts.  On the first day of school, ask what items are immediately necessary.  Buy those items and purchase the rest when stores put overstocked items on clearance.
  • Shop online at bulk office supply stores
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