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Seek out and share good news.
It’s true, we don’t need to look far to find negative news stories in the media. I also believe it is true that there is a “good news” story in every community – even amidst natural disasters and difficult situations. The challenge to you this week is to make a deliberate effort to find one of these stories --whether from your community or somewhere on the other side of the globe -- then share it! Post it on your facebook page, share it with your co-workers, and tell your family,and ask them to do the same. This is a powerful way to spread the epidemic of positivity! I'll start here ... but first thank you to Positivity Nation A Story About Chad Pegracke What can one person do to change the world? A lot, says Chad Pregracke. The son of educators and river enthusiasts, Chad grew up on, in, and around the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, where he came face to face with an alarming amount of unsightly and toxic trash that had accumulated along the rivers’ banks. When government officials ignored the problem after years of fielding Chad’s phone calls alerting them to the problem, he vowed that he would do the clean-up himself – one river, one piece of garbage at a time. In 1998 at the age of 23, Chad founded Living Lands & Waters, a not-for-profit organization based in East Moline, Illinois, that has mobilized more than 60,000 volunteers to collect over 6 million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers. ~excerpt from Jack Canfield's Inner Circle 7/11 What does success look like to you? What does it feel like? Where would you be? What would you be doing? Who would you be with? Ho would you know you were successful? Describe it ... in detail. And then answer the question, what stands in your way or holds you back from achieving your success? Breakthrough to Success can start the process of bridging the gap from where you are to where you want to be. Working with a coach can help you continue the process and help turn your dreams into your reality. For more information about Jack Canfield's BTS, the transformational event to be held this August, visit: https://ctg.infusionsoft.com/go/BTS2011/Patricia/ For more information about one on one coaching packages, submit the form below or contact me at 603-452-7350. One of the best things about being in transition is the opportunity to revisit priorities, goals and vision. Recently, huge budget cuts in my program have forced me to reflect, adjust, realign and get ready for some big changes ... both professionally and personally. Although the cuts could be viewed as devastating, they can also be viewed as huge growth opportunites for all involved ... myself included. As Jack points out, "action" is the last six letters in the "Law of Attraction" . It's time to go pack for the beach I could really use your help on a project I'm working on. Hopefully you're willing to take a few minutes to answer a few questions for me ... and learn something new about yourself in the process! Your time and effort are much appreciated!
Special thanks to Positivty Nation for granting permission to share A Year of Positive Action with you on this blog! Visit them at www.positivitynation.com A Week of Positive Action: Give someone a hug! Don't underestimate the power of human touch. Whether it is your kids, your parents, a sibling, a friend, or just someone who really seems a little “blue” or is going through a tough time, this small gesture could really turn someone’s day around...and it doesn't cost a thing! Give it a try! We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. ~Virginia Satir  This past Memorial Day Weekend was the 1st Annual Kindness Weekend in the Mount Washington Valley where I live. The Teen Clinic Peer Educators were joined by Michael Chase, author of Am I Being Kind?, and they hit the streets to give out free hugs. At the end of a day of random acts of kindness, including free hugs, we all came back to share our stories in a Kindness Rally. Check out this story about the power of a hug.
A group of teens I am connected with shared the story of their Free Hug station set up on the corner of Main Street. The donned their iHug pins and held up their signs and offered free hugs to passersby. They met with some resistance at first. They reported back that only about 1/3 of the people they met accepted their free hug offer. One person yelled, "why the hell would I want a free hug!" They persisted. About 2 hours into the morning, three girls came running back to tell me this story. They were walking down the street holding up their signs, Mikayla leading the way. From about 50 feet away, a woman saw the sign and headed toward her with outstretched arms. Mikayla put her arms out as they walked toward each other and met in a huge hug. The woman held on tight and Mikayla felt her crying. When they pulled away the woman shared that seeing that sign was not at all what she expected on Main Sreet that day ...but it was exactly what she needed. The day before she had lost her best friend to a terminal illness and she was feeling quite alone. She thanked the girls for their Free Hug brigade and then all four of them embraced in a group hug. Seritonin levels flying high and four lives touched forever. Needless to say, as their energy rose, the free hug campaign got stronger. Their success rates rose and they became more confident that hugs could really make a difference to strangers. They focused their Kindness Campaign to not just strangers on the street. They targeted the "bank ladies" and a whole host of people that serve them during their day to day lives. They delivered hugs and smiles and thank yous to the banks, retail clerks, wait staff, and service workers all along Main Street. Then they got in their cars and headed to the Mall to deliver some more hugs and random acts of kindness. I hear from a good source that a year long cross-country Kindness Tour is being planned. And it all started with a simple hug with a stranger. Stay tuned for the launch of www.kindnessmiles.com ... coming soon to a community near you! Summer is a great time to slow down the pace, spend time in nature doing whatever it is you love to do and to reconnect with friends, family and ourselves. I love being near the water; either relaxing by the water reading or on the water in my kayak spending some quiet time with the loons. Often, when I get quiet, I find myself reflecting on my life ... where I was, where I am, where I want to be. I used to push those thoughts away. I didn't feel empowered to do much about the way things were in my life. Gratefully, those days are no longer. Now I look forward to time to pause and reflect and welcome the thoughts that come through the quiet. I notice the feelings that go along with the thoughts and listen for the quiet whisper that leads me to the next right step, the next inspired action, the next miracle. Today I'd like to share 3 tools to make your quiet reflection more intentional and help to support you in discovering what lies ahead. You will need paper and pen to complete these short exercises. 1) Three Questions??? Simply answer the following questions about your life as it is now: What’s good? What’s not so good? What’s on your list to improve? 2) The Magic Wand Simply answer the following questions: If I had a Magic Wand and I could just touch you on the head and instantly make something happen to you, what would happen? What would that feel like? 3) The Life Alignment Wheel Print out the Life Alignment Wheel Worksheet from the link and follow the simple instructions. 
In my own personal work as well as the work I do with clients, these three exercises often provide lots of information about where we are and where we'd like to be and give us a foundation for creating the life we truly want.
Join me for your free 30 minute Summer Reflection Clarity Call where in just 30 minutes I'll help you: ~Create a crystal clear vision for what you want ~Identify the blocks and challenges you are facing ~Come away with renewed energy toward making your vision your new reality Call or email today to schedule your appointment at 603-452-7350 or [email protected]. I look forward to talking with you! We know that ongoing, comprehensive sexuality education about growth and development, sex, love, relationships and values is key in helping kids make healthy choices and reducing behaviors that put teens at risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection. In the wake of the recent federal and state budget cuts, our outreach budget for comprehensive sexuality education programs just sustained a 47% cut. After careful evaluation of our clinc and outreach programs, we are being forced to eliminate puberty education in the elementary schools. The middle school programs will be shortened. Parent programs and other community education programs will be cut. Our teen clinic hours will be reduced by 33%. Programs in grades 9 through 12 will remain intact. This is tragic. We have one of the very lowest teen pregnancy rates in the country. We know what works. We have implemented evidence based practices and have been seeing consistent results for years. Prior to the cuts, we were in the process of developing a program to address the common themes we are seeing in the teens who are becoming pregnant. If we had the ability to continue our work, it has the potential to serve as a model for the country to further reduce unintended pregnancy in teens and young adults across the country. That work is now on hold. Although classroom teachers may take over teaching the puberty and sexuality education classes in the elementary and middle schools, the outcomes will surely not be the same as having specially trained sexuality educators teaching the subject matter. When rumors of impending cuts began, I could see the handwriting on the wall. I've always wanted to develop a program to support healthy communication between parents and kids around sexuality, as I often get calls from parents asking for support and resources. Apparently, the time had come for me to do just that! Let's face it ... having the sex talk with kids is not always easy for parents. However the research has become more and more clear that parents have the most influence over their kids about sexual decision making. Teens wish their parents were more open with them and parents are always calling me to support them in talking with their kids. I tend to like change and often find myself seeing life's challenges as a place where opportunity lies. So as the legislature was slashing the Maternal and Child Health budget, I found myself developing a program called The Sex Talk Series for Parents that provides resources that will help them have better conversations with their kids about growth, development and sexuality. At the same time, it is my hope that perhaps the program will fill in a gap created by budget cuts and maybe even produce some support to continue on with the next step in preventing teen pregnancy! And if I do say so myself, I think my new program, The Sex Talk Series for Parents and the accompanying resource guide is quite good ... while being reasonably priced! Check it out ... subscribe ... pass it on ... twitter it ... facebook it .... email the link to whomever you think might benefit. http://www.talkingwithtrish.com/the-sex-talk-series-for-parents.html And, of course, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the program or about how I can help you reduce teen pregnancy in your community. For my next project, with my newly found spare time, I'll be working on a sexualtiy education teacher training module and an online coaching program for teens! More on that later ... for now, I'm heading out on the lake to hang out with the loons. It is a spectacular day to live in the lakes region of NH!  "If you could go out every day to a very large tree and take five swings at it with a very sharp axe, eventually, no matter how large the tree, it will have to come down.
~Ron Scolastico This advice was shared with Jack Canfield when he was in the process of publishing his first Chicken Soup for the Soul book ... the book that quantum leaped his career. Out of this advice, Jack developed the success principle known as The Rule of Five. Jack recommends thinking about your breakthrough goal or any goal you wish to accomplish, breaking it down to bite sized pieces and commiting to taking five action steps every day toward accomplishing the goal. Jack also uses the mantra, "Yard by yard, it is hard, but inch by inch, it's a cinch." He also teaches a corresponding success principle and called "The Swiss Cheese Method" where he recommends chunking down large goals into smaller, bite sized pieces that can easily be broken down into specific action steps. In addition to my work goals, I have a closet project that's been on my mind since winter. I have to walk through the space every single day and it's taking up way too much energy that could be well spent in more productive ways. Basically the upstairs of the cape I live in is "the closet". I have transformed the room at the top of the stairs into a walkin closet as well as the place where everything gets stored. Needless to say, in order to get to the closet part, I have to navigate through tote boxes and laundry baskets full of clean clothes (I don't enjoy folding and putting away laundry!) and other things that end up at the top of the stairs and in that room. Ordinarily I would spend hours on this project until it was completed. However, the weather has been amazing, my kayak is calling me as is my business development plan that I have to implement before the middle of August. I'm not really up for tackling this project head on. It seems overwhelming, which is exactly why I've been procrastinating on it for so long. A few days ago, while trying to find something amid the clutter, I decided I've had enough. I set a goal to clean the closet by August 15th. I am using the Rule of Five to accomplish it. Five things a day. Well I revised it a little to energize the effort a bit, after all, I am in summer mode and have more flexibility than during the school year. So I made it a 5 plus 5 and 10 more. 5 articles of clothing folded and put away. 5 articles of clothing hung up. Plus 10 extra minutes a day toward clearing the clutter. The progress I've already made in just a few days is amazing. Some days I go for a few minutes more past the alarm I've set if I am so inclined, which most days I am, but it's not required. Instead of being overwhelmed, I feel good about accomplishing what I've set out to do. When I go upstairs every morning, I see the progress. My energy has shifted and it feels good! How can you apply The Rule of Five to your goals? How can you break down your big goals into 5 action steps? Perhaps making 5 phone calls or sending 5 emails or mailing out 5 proposals to advance that business goal? Perhaps doing 5 small things to connect with your kids or your partner throughout the day to support that relationship goal? A step could be a simple phone call, an email, having lunch with a colleague, doing online research, random acts of kindness to help raise your vibration and thus give you more energy to do another 5 things, Just 5 simple action steps. The extra added benefit that cannot be underestimated is that when I am in action, cool things begin to happen. It's as if the Universe is conspiring to support me in my efforts by bringing me insights, opportunities, connections and creative ideas. Focused action creates flow and brings forth impulses towards inspired action. The only action I have left in me righ now is sleep. But before I do that, I will spend a few minutes filling my mind with a vision of my breakthrough goal as that tree, me with the axe and my Rule of Five action list and let my subconscious mind orchestrate the rest as I sleep. To learn more about the Success Principles, visit https://ctg.infusionsoft.com/go/TSP/Patricia A few of the things that top my gratitude list this time of year are the lake across the street from my home, my kayak, the neighbor who so generously lets me store my kayak on her beach and the flexibility I have in my summer work schedule that allows me to escape to the lake on a whim. Needless to say, I find myself heading out for an hour or two most sunny days to pause, reflect and rejuvenate. As I've shared previously here, I work with teens. They generously share their tech expertise with me on a regular basis ... literally teaching me how to text, how to connect facebook to my phone, how to download apps,, check email, use GPS, among other things that are way over my head. They have also taught me about mp3 players and recently helped me pick out the one best suited to supporting my kayaking breaks while supporting the development of my business as well as my personal growth. My teen neighbor still doesn't understand why I've chosen to download Yanni, meditation scripts and a couple of audiobooks to my mp3 player. He is always suggesting plenty of his own iTunes favorites for me to check out, which I politely decline. Today he is patient with me as we wait for my favorite business book to sync from my laptop to my Sansa Clip. I head out with my earbuds, walking toward the lake with my paddle while listening to Jack Canfield's 30 day Success Priniciple Journey. I've done this program a few times over the years, but each time I listen it brings me to another level. It also reminds me of how far I've come and how much my life has shifted and changed in a relatively short time. It also provides me with an amazing step by step process to continue my journey and get me where I want to be. Don't get me wrong ... I am fully present in each moment, however, I believe it's important to have a clear vision to help me stay on purpose. There's something about being on the water for me. Perhaps it's an astrological thing. Who knows. I do know that today the lake is calm and peaceful and I am completely open. As I paddle, I listen to a few key principles that I've been needing to revisit lately to shift the stuckness I've been feeling over the past few days as I struggle with the transition between the busy school year compared with the much slower pace of summer. I fully enjoy each and every moment I'm out on the lake, but there's a 9 to 5 work ethic thing that pops up every once in awhile that I've been fighting with while developing my business. Perhaps that's what has me listening to a business book while I'm taking a break. Then again, I am living my life purpose and it's all good fun and it doesn't ever really feel like work. I have a clear vision for my legacy. Having it alive in my brain and my being is what keeps me focused and committed on my day to day journey. It's what keeps me clear about my goals and helps me focus on the action steps I need to take along the way to making my vision a reality. As I paddle, I close my eyes and reflect back to my Breakthrough to Success experience last summer. I clearly remember the energy in that room and the transformation that happened for so many of us in just 7 days. I've been missing the experience lately, but as I visualize the room full of people and feel the energy we shared at BTS, I am literally there. The human brain is an amazing thing and visualizing is a tool I've come to know, love and use on a regular basis. As I continue to paddle, I reflect on how my life has changed since I got connected to the Success Principles and since I came back from BTS and began to incorporate Jack's work into the work I do with both teens.and adults. Finally, with no audiobook playing, no music, no paddling, I close my eyes, clear my mind, take in the sounds of the water lapping against the shore, the birdsong all around me and the tickle of the dragonfly as it takes a break on my hand ... I focus on my breath and all I am grateful for ... and prepare to go back to work for the afternoon. For more information about the Succes Priniciples 30 Day Audio Course visit: https://ctg.infusionsoft.com/go/TSP30/Patricia/ For more information on the 7 day BTS experience click on the picture below. And of course, if you have any questions about the Success Principles, BTS and how I incorporate this into my work with teens, feel free to email me at [email protected] or call me at 603-452-7350  Practice forgiveness – not only for the actions of others, but forgive yourself of your mistakes. Release the past and its hold over you.
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." ~Louis B. Smedes "Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business. Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another's control... to be locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past. Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare." ~Lance Morrow On a personal note, I need to dole out a dose of forgiveness today. I've been distraced by someone else's nightmare for way too long. I love what Lance Morrow said, "Forgiveness frees the forgiver. It extracts the forgiver from someone else's nightmare.": Thank you Positivity Nation for this Week of Positive Action as well as your permission to share it! Visit them at www.positivitynation.com |
Transition on Purpose
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