RELAAAAAAX ...

My friend, Nancy Swan Drew, ironically, drew this picture. I use the word "ironically" not only to put a word in between the words Drew and drew, but because my friend is also one of the hardest working people I know. As she proclaims "...I have never suffered from what is called 'creative block'; only a shortage of hours on the clock ...". I know this is true. I also know that Nancy has learned the importance of relaxation and how vital it is to her well being and to her art.

Unlike Nancy, many of us get stopped from time to time when a task is looming. The words don't come or the numbers don't add up or the marketing idea is far from the tip of your tongue. We struggle and stress and trip over ourselves trying to make things happen. We push and shove and punch ourselves in the brain. No WONDER we're exhausted and call it "having a bad day"!

RELAAAAAAAX ...

Relax into whatever is happening. Even when you have a deadline - ESPECIALLY when you have a deadline - this technique works beautifully. Take a walk outside of the building. Drink a big glass of cool clean water. Take 10 very deep breaths with your eyes closed. Go to the grocery store and take time choosing something yummy to eat. Treat yourself nicely. Stretch out.

 RELAAAAAAAX ...

Move into the feeling of the moment. It goes against what we're taught, it is discouraged at every turn, it is the exact right thing to do. It is not laziness or avoidance or diversion. We do use those excuses sometimes to not do what needs to be done. This relaxation exercise is for when we need to give our brains a lift, when the ideas have stopped, when the only thoughts we're having are self-deprecating or blaming. By removing yourself from your environment - whether through deep breathing or actually going somewhere - you increase your productivity 100-fold. 
And the words somehow fall into place, the numbers become magical again and the perfect marketing idea is triggered by something the sacker at the grocery store said as he put your treat in the bag. 
Persistence is important to success. It has to last a long time so be nice to it. Congratulate it and give it a chance to refuel. Say it with me now. One. Two Three ...

RELAAAAAAAX ...

Kittie asks you to comment (below) and to become a follower (upper right side of the page). Thank you, Nancy, for the gift of your art and words. To check out the books and art of Nancy Swan Drew, click here:  
http://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Swan-Drew/e/B001KJ5ZF0

Elephants In The Room

What if when every time one of our fears showed up, 

HUGE AND UNMOVABLE, 

we just laughed at it? 

What if we knew this response would change how we saw the fear? 

What if seeing it differently caused us to feel differently about it?

What if the feeling was less desperate and more real?

What if this more real feeling took away the panic and cleared our minds?

What if our clear minds had windows?

What if we looked out of the clear windows of our minds and saw new options 

and possibilities?

And what if the new options and POSsibilities became

LARGER THAN THE FEAR?

What would life look like then?

Please comment below .... 

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Photo credit: www.mountcarmelschool.net/.../index.html THANK YOU!