The Creative Edge

The Beat Go On

The Beat Go On

Resilience

The Light Bulb moments when a child is able to rollover or stand up, they see the world from a different perspective. They develop resilience from trying and trying again. They keep trying to get up over and over again. Resilience continually flows and helps us adapt.

As adults, business owners, and everyday workers or parents we have the capacity to develop a sense of gratitude along the way too. We become clearer thinking when we study, focus, and have positive goals.  It is never to late to develop the attitude of gratitude.

Linda talks about her time as a new teacher at the age of 21 and how fitting it was for her. She loved being a teacher and being with kids. She had the energy and could relate to the 7 year old children she taught.  We all need to stay connected to our “why” we do the things we practice each day.

She continues to discuss the 7 year increments in a woman’s life. These changes in life are teaching us to navigate and refine our skills and talents. We keep building resilience and joy. So many things are developing just as the small baby in the first 12 months of life.

Learning to Navigate begins early!

Enjoy each season of your life.

“Finding your calling is like finding your why! It is the reason you exist; your purpose for living. When you do that, it changes everything.” John Maxwell

What are the pillars of your life?
What are the common denominators in life? Emotions? Desire to be fed? The need to have contact with others and commune with one another? The ability to share ideas, read, travel, and brainstorm.

Are you ready to go back to school? Are your family members ready to do that? What is on your plate?

Going back to school reminds us to keep learning at all ages!

Join up with others. Accountability is so very helpful.
It helps us stay on track and grow. Studies have shown that public statements make us accountable. Partner up with people you trust. Have others you trust give you feedback.
Question what it is you need to learn.

Hospitality Goes Along Way
Understanding one another goes a long way. It gives us the opportunity to connect with our peers, our family, our community. We need to be adaptable to change.

Search for The Power of Prayer and The Opportunities of Growth

Take the next step forward; it may put you on the Escalator of Success.

Pity Parties

Pity Parties

Welcome to this weeks Podcast on Pity Parties.

  • Our Introduction is from Jim Haisler who welcomes our Hostess Linda Gullo
  • 1:45  Expectations going wrong
  • 2:45 The worst kind of tumor is a Pity Party
  • 3:30 Getting our attitudes stuck in the quicksand
  • 4:00 Focus on Positive things-Be Grateful
  • 4:45 Focus on a Specific Goal to carry yourself forward
  • 5:30 Take action -All situations are temporary
  • 5:45 The sooner you start; the sooner you’ll reach your goal
  • 6:00 Read the 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
  • 6:45 Look for Levity
  • 7:15 Don’t Isolate
  • 7:30 Physically move to help your mood improve
  • 9:00 Sorrows shared are divided; Joys shared are multiplied
  • 10:00 Freshen up -sprucing yourself up makes one feel better
  • 10:45 Be kind & generous
  • 11:00 Add music to your life
  • 11:45 Or praying may help immensely
  • 13:00 Add on a “tic-tac-toe” box and think outside of the BOX
  • 14:00 How is your memory today?

    How are you seeing things?

Remember that it takes one step forward that may put you on the escalator of success.

Promoting Positive Attitudes for Yourself and Others

Promoting Positive Attitudes for Yourself and Others

Learning from the past successes and failures can bring us significant opportunities to help one another.  Think about 10 people who played an important part in your life. They can be parents, grandparents, neighbors, or bosses.  What did they teach you?  Was it a spirit of kindness, organization, joy, or how to be social?   Every person we encounter has the capacity to lend us a helping hand or great insight.  What will you pass on to others?Linda shares how the way we learn either helps us conquer life and supports our lifestyles or deflates us.  Being aware of our own learning styles also can allow us to touch others in a positive way. Responding to the needs of one another quickly adds joy, affirmation that we are worth it,  and positivity.  As grandparents we can lend a helping hand in a way to parents simply because we have different skills, less pressure, and the wisdom to do the small necessary things that affirm children.

Enjoy the stories and ideas that may help you take the first step to riding the escalator of success.

 

 

Rising to the TOP

Rising to the TOP

Rising to the Top

Growth is ongoing and can be fun in the process. Not everything we do in life is easy. We become the best version of ourselves with practice and setting ourselves up for success. We develop levels of competency, levels of understanding, and in our approaches to tackling change.

We do know that changes can be hard. They can also be fun and allow us avenues for meeting new friends, colleagues, and neighbors. At Delight in Living, you are encouraged to like yourself and reach for the stars. We walk the journey with you for support. We want you to succeed at every level.  Rising to the top is easy when a person voluntarily makes changes.  It is when we are forced to make changes that we rebel and feel victimized.

You are unique like this brick layered support beam! You are strong, stylish and can achieve height in your endeavors. Taking one day at a time allows you to be stunning in all that you do.  It gives you time to level up in your education.  Each course you take, every time you teach yourself something new, you are leveling up and creating portable equity.

Encouragement!

Portable equity goes with you forever.  It is the reputation you create.  It is the resume of skills, education, and knowledge you have within you that can be applied to everything you do.  For me, I am an organizer; it is easy for me to create systems and evaluate on the spot the discrepancies in being efficient.  It was something that I began training for in college.  I worked for a professor who was absent minded.  He would misplace everything and make it difficult for the graduate students who needed him to sign off on projects.  Within 2 to 4 weeks, I had his office organized with systems that he could follow.   I recall finding 2, 3, and 4 copies of dissertations that students had turned in because he kept losing them.  I put order to the chaos in the office.  Those skills multiplied as I taught school, worked in offices, and carried me into my own counseling and teaching practices.

You too have skills that are portable.  Make a list now of the ones that you own and let them start working for you.   Are you a fast learner?  Are you super coordinated?  Do you comprehend facts quickly?  Are you bilingual? Do you understand other people with compassion and clarity?  Are you a communicator?  A great listener?  Are you easy going when things get stressful?  Flexible when changes need to be made? A faith filled person who helps others feel better?

Leveling up can have a style of its own!

These are all steps to Rising to the Top!  Take the first step forward, it may put you on the escalator of success.

Is Simplicity the New Game Plan this Year?

Is Simplicity the New Game Plan this Year?

Living life well can be as easy as playing a game.  Once you have decided on a plan of action it is a big adventure.   In this podcast of Mini Miracles from Minor Moments Linda has a few thoughts on Less being better for us.  Less stress, less clutter, fewer choices might lead to a happier lifestyle for you.

Podcasting Delights

As Linda flips the page to another thought, it turns into celebrations.   We all need to celebrate.  It may be a birthday that holds special meaning, a retirement party from a long held job, or the advent of a new business?  It could be any number of achievements.

Graduations help to  create new  starting points and close the door to an old chapter.

We all look to see how the future will open the door to new things, but just take time to watch children play and try to join in.  How are you going to get the energy that they have?  Is it seeing things for the first time?  I think that is why so many of us want to travel and be adventuresome as we get older.   We want new experiences, sounds, and joyful moments.

A Prize

See what I found?

Finally, in this podcast Linda tosses out the idea of grabbing on to an encouraging WORD.   Name it and claim it as a possibility for growth and adventure!  Blossom, seize the day, and make it special to you!

Teaming Up is a Great Idea

Teaming Up is a Great Idea

Over the many generations, the idea of teaming up has made sense.   In the days of adventure, when people needed to hunt for their food, it was common that warriors and hunters teamed up either with another person or a companion dog to catch their prey.   In the development of religions, people worked together to go into remote areas together for safety.

Team Work is Fun and    Profitable

Growing up we were taught to meet up with friends and stay connected.  Today that should be easier, but I am not sure it is that easy.   Yes, we have our phones and many other ways of communication, but going places and doing things together isn’t always easy.  Schedules, work demands, and family obligations often demand we split up.  Parents pick up one child while the other parent takes care of dinner.  We just find ourselves split and doing less together.  Figuring out how to “Pair Up” again is a good idea.   After all we can save on fuel, feel connected, and prioritize.

Memories are made and recorded when two or more people are enjoying things together.   In my late 30’s, I worked with a Franciscan Nun who was always going out of her way to make people feel better.   Often she would bake something special or gather items needed for the elderly couples nearby.   These people we often farming people who were shut in due to injuries or ailments.   She’d tell me, “we are going to visit …” and away we would go.   She had been taught from her order to always go with someone and she followed through with that understanding.   I must say even though she has passed on, I still have vivid memories of running these purposeful errands of mercy as a team.

Teaming up goes beyond physically being with another person.   We can team up in business to make things run smoother for our clients.   We can team up as parents and provide a united front for our children.   It makes us more consistent and simplifies family rules.

We can team up in approaching community needs.  Our local Crystal Lake Kiwanis runs a yearly Santa Run on the first Sunday of December.  We do it in conjunction with many other groups who work together.   We have teamed up to help one anothers causes and make the Community even stronger.  In the process, we have come to appreciate one another more.   It is great fun with a great purpose, as well.

Take the one step forward today to team up, it may put you on the escalator of success!

Thanks to Jo Anne Ollerenshaw for the photograph!

 

 

 

 

Be Cheerful

Being cheerful begins with feeling good within ourselves.  Linda shares a quick rundown of her latest fun project.  Hopefully you will be inspired to find some minor moments that move you into recognizing Mini Miracles.

Cheerfulness

 

Take the one step that will put you on the escalator of success.  Share with others your joys and sorrows.  Connect and become refreshed.

Surrounding Yourself with Beauty

Surrounding yourself with beauty can be easy.  Earlier this morning I was listening to a radio show.  The host was on a Pilgrimage to Central Europe and the group was visiting Vienna, Austria for the day.    Immediately my thoughts took me to a beautiful morning when I visited there many years ago.   I recall a bright sunny morning on the cool side filled with beauty.

We were in a metropolitan area of the city walking along the shops.   A coffee shop had their tables spilling out the doors onto the street where people were sitting and engaged in lively conversations.   A dog was laying down under the table near the feet of its owner.   Another store, not yet opened, had its windows filled with handbags and shoes.   I would have stopped in if they were open to see the beautiful pieces.

Beauty

Color, Fragrance & Beauty

A  stroll down the street eventually took us to the apartment where we were lodged for the day.     The street had a block of variety of floral shops with friendly owners caring for their blooms.   Even though we were in Vienna for only a short time, seeing the Ferris Wheel in the distance and taking in the early morning complexion for the day was awesome.  I immediately found myself buying assorted fresh flowers.

I will forever remember the fragrances, the beauty, and the freshness of the city.   Surrounding myself with life giving times is part of how I chose to live.  I enjoy nice things, simple pleasures, and prayer-filled moments.  I radiate colors, soft music, and lovely architectural times into my life.   Style and beauty is all around.  I like order and simplicity.   It manifests itself in the art, culture, and joy of people gathering together to break bread and share a drink.  It comes to us in the kindnesses and words from other people.

This year our lilac bushes were sparse from a trimming last year, but what blossomed smelled so lovely.   The green field of Lilies-of-the-Valley scented our yard, and the Peony Bushes currently in bloom continue to open with the busyness of small ants on parade.  One may have a one room apartment or a simple trailer to live in, but making your environment beautiful impacts your life. The joy you gain can be shared by the  your uplifted disposition.  That’s why we pump music into waiting rooms and the smell of fresh leathers in our cars.   We unconsciously thrive on making our environments clean and welcoming.

Do something to make your home, your workplace, and your environment cleaner.   Neaten up and refine what helps you be the best person possible.   Share your creations and the joys your encounter with those in your midst.   Make you own memories come alive.  Find a book to read.  My suggestion is one by Alexander Stoddard who talks about decorating and bringing beauty into one’s day.

Taking the first step may put you on the escalator of success.  Have a Blessed Day!

 

Consulting with A Friend?

Consulting with a friend is always a good idea.   It gives us a quick perspective that isn’t necessarily our own.   It lends us support and can be a moral support when we can confer or talk with someone we trust.

On a deeper level, many of us are believers in a higher power.   We talk and pray with God and feel secure in that relationship.   When we are threatened or confused, we seek out help from people and professionals around us.  We feel supported all the time and understand that our lives have a design and plan that can’t be seen for now.

Here we have a young adult who is conferring with her trusted friend, Zoey.   Our pets have a way of understanding that people do not offer.   They give us reassurance, but not necessarily advice.   Sometimes we already have knowledge, but lack the confidence.   Our loyal companions fill the voids in our lives.  Zoey can’t make a decision for her, but he is able to be a reassurance and sparks a moment of levity during an UNO game.  Then again, maybe they have a secret formula to winning, who knows?

 

What do you think?

Consulting with someone who keeps things private!

God has given us people and a way of understanding.   That is why we gather together to celebrate our Birthdays, Graduations, Anniversaries, and other significant religious holidays.  We share one another’s joys and walk with one another during times of sorrow.  We witness for each other the way to emerge through challenges.  Being alone can become a dangerous habit.  We are meant to team up and be in community.

United in service and with ideas helps everyone involved.   Together we are stronger and able to help one another.   It helps to have someone at the other end of a seesaw to fully enjoy being on the playground.   The same holds true in balancing our lives.   We enjoy the company of a spouse, the time in sports with our children, and the playing time with our pets.  It’s the time sitting with a friend and enjoying lemonade that makes a hot summer day more pleasant and relaxing.

As the years pass, it is the siblings that are able to laugh and share funny childhood stories about mom and dad.   It is the cousins laughing about falling out of the tree house or the hide-and-seek games of youth. So remember that consulting with a friend, a counselor, or a family member will restore joy.   It can bring  resilience to an ailing person.   Loneliness is monster that robs us of emotional support, mental energy, and fun.

Enjoy your weekend.  Pick up the phone and call someone who is alone.  Reach out and wave to a neighbor as you pass bye.  Smile at the young mom struggling with small children as a sign of encouragement.

The Wellness Warrior at Work

Who is the wellness warrior?   Why of course, I am thinking about our minds and how we can be the best version of ourselves.    Thinking things through and making the minute-by-minute decisions makes us all wellness warriors!

Today is a bright day filled with hope that Spring in coming.   It has come in with a vengeance.   Cold weather, lower than normal temperatures, and snow have hit us hard.   Along with that today’s sunshine gives us hope of warmer days ahead.  Our plants want to grow and we are ready to see them sprout.

Chill Out!

Does this Wellness Warrior Penguin help?

As I walked outside with Rosy today, I noticed how carefully she proceeded out the door.   Beyond the door was a sheet of ice that could take anyone of us down to their knees.  She has learned that dashing outside can be dangerous.   She has slipped too.   So as she walked into the snow covered grassy area, I retreated to get the salt container.   I sprinkled the salt pellets on the walkway.  I hope it is the last time we need it this year.   The forecasters yesterday evening gave us hope for sunnier days this next week.   I couldn’t be more grateful for their predictions.

Then when I got to work, I encountered the same glassy surface as I stepped outside of the car.  Once again, I got into the suite and exited with salt for the area where I park and sprinkled a coating around the car doors.  So what does this have to do with being a wellness warrior?

Mentally we are making conscious and unconscious decisions all day.  We wake up and all have our ways of getting out of bed and moving ahead.   For people like Mel Robbins, she uses her 5 Second Rule to navigate forward.  5,4,3,2,1, and move!   For me, I stretch and wake up with a prayer I was taught by a High School Religion teacher, Dr. Finer.

We decide to bathe, answer the doorbell, or put on the coffee pot.   We may toss on old clothes to take the dog outside, or begin waking up the kids for school.   Our schedules, routines, and age all contribute to the decisions and timing we decide upon each and every day.   For me, putting down salt for a spur of the moment decision based on being practical and safe.   For you, it might be to call a dentist, because you’ve been putting it off.  So what is it you need to do today?

I like to think that being well means taking small actions on a continual basis.   We follow our instincts and training to call our family members and stay connected to essential people.  Wellness and keeping focused on what we are doing is a series of small ongoing choices.   Choices we make all day from the moment we pop out of bed.

Today be you own wellness warrior and think about your moment-to-moment decisions.   Are you reaching for a jacket or running out the door without a coat?   Are you having something warm like coffee, but then having a good breakfast following?   Are you watching the drivers around you or on your cell phone?  Guess it is time to decide.