Walk Away from Drama and its Creators~Surround Yourself with People who Make You Laugh

Irresistible Women

"The World is in desperate need of Irresistible Women~

Women willing to be enthusiastic, alive, and expressive regardless of the circumstance;

Women not afraid to tell their truth or speak up for what they believe in;

Women at ease being intelligent, sensual, and compassionate all at once;

Women who do not compete with, demean, or do battle against others but who see everyone for who they really are: 

Fellow human beings also in search of a great life and love"  

Marie Forleo

Walk Away from all the Drama and People who Create it

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the 

drama and people who create it. 

You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. 

Forget the bad and focus on the good. 

Love the people who treat you well, pray for the ones who don't. 

Life is too short to be anything but happy. 

Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

Marie Forleo

My Table of Eight Incredible People Includes 

YOU!

Thanks to Christine Veloon for sending these thoughts 

from Marie Forleo in an email inviting me to send it on to eight women who have touched my life as I touched hers~and she has touched mine. 

Never one to do things small, I chose to send this message out 

to all of you out there~met and unmet~who make the world a 

great place for all of us. 

Because of you, I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams.

Please share this with the people in your life who make you feel 

blessed beyond your wildest dreams...and let them know how 

much they touch your life!

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

A Mother's Day Message to the Children We Love

A Mother's Message to Children Everywhere

A mother's greatest wish is that you'll find your place in the world where you can enthusiastically contribute to the people and environment around you. 

You'll discover your greatest enjoyment in life will naturally evolve out of making the world a better place.

Don't be deterred by obstacles. Discover your passion and let it drive you past the challenges you face.

Know you have everything you need within you to deal effectively with whatever challenges life brings you.

Seek to do your best today—and every day.

Enrich the world....And of course....LOVE YOUR MOTHER!

'I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.' E.B. White

Believe in Yourself and Improve Your Outlook on Life: Switch from the Negative to the Positive

How to ReCreate a Positive Outlook on Life 

In a single moment of quiet you can choose to turn your focus from the negative to positive.

In a single moment of choice you can decide to reach out to others instead of dwelling on life disappointments.

In a single morning you can decide to wake to a heart full of love and a world that is safe and full of opportunity.

Small Daily Decisions Over a Lifetime Add Up

What do you want yours to add up to at the end of your days? 

Do you like your daily outlook? 

If not, do you care enough about yourself to make the switch?

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn--An Uplifting Sanskrit Poem by Kalidasa

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn! 

By Kalidasa, 5^th century Sanskrit poet

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn! 

Look to this Day! 

For it is Life, the very Life of Life. 

In its brief course lie all the 

Verities and Realities of your Existence. 

The Bliss of Growth, 

The Glory of Action, 

The Splendor of Beauty;

For Yesterday is but a Dream, 

And Tomorrow is only a Vision;

But Today well lived makes 

Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, 

And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. 

Look well therefore to this Day! 

Such is the Salutation of the Dawn! 

Thanks to Sneha Bhat,  Counseling Psychologist & Wellness Coach at Creative Excellence Actualized, Ostrich India for sharing this poem in our LinkedIn MBTI and quote discussion group.

To Feel Good Act with Integrity

I have value and wealth inside me

'The man who cannot believe in himself cannot believe in anything else. The basis of all integrity and character is whatever faith we have in our own integrity.' Roy L. Smith 

Integrity--Don't Leave Home without it!

• Who are you? How do you want to live your life?
• How do you want others to see you? 
• Are your internal beliefs in sync with your actions?
• Twenty years from now, will you feel good about how you acted today?

I don't know about you, but when I have to speak up about something I know the other person isn't going to like I get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

I don't like conflict and I don't like hurting (or being hurt by) others so I'm always paralyzed into inaction while I ponder if and how I want to open my mouth. Even after I speak up--no matter how carefully I've crafted what I had to say--I still feel uneasy. 

But is this dis-ease around speaking my truth a bad thing? I don't think so. For me it is the short-term consequence to choosing to act with integrity. And acting with integrity is what makes me feel good overall about my life.

Your Life Path and Satisfaction Determined by Small Daily Decisions over a Lifetime. 

What difficult decisions do you face? In the last three days--what decisions did you face about how to conduct yourself? 

Life is full of intrigue and drama--especially in love and work. Every day you make decisions about getting in, staying in, or getting out of relationships. Your choices determine the course of your life and how satisfied you are. 

The one constant throughout your life is you--you are the only one who travels in your inner circle 24/7. 

You are the only one who sees behind your eyes and deep into your heart. Only you know whether you act with integrity.

Integrity: How do You Experience Yours?

While choosing to act with integrity may feel scary or uncomfortable when you're in the midst of turmoil, after the emotional fog lifts you can see this is what strengthens you for life ahead. 

Acting with integrity is what gives you the strength to be brave enough to speak up the next time in such a way as to achieve the best outcomes--despite the initial dis-ease.

Make a conscious decision to be strengthened, not hardened by your life experiences. 

"When you choose to act with integrity, you are strengthened by the experience; when you choose to act out of fear, anger, retaliation or hate, you are hardened by the experience."

What IS Integrity? Words to Live By

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not." Oprah Winfrey 

"The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their words." Junius 

"Integrity means that you are the same in public as you are in private." Joyce Meyer 

"You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside." Alan Cohen 

"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." Alan K. Simpson 

"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." Samuel Johnson 

"Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity, than straightforward and simple integrity in another." Charles Caleb Colton 

"Calamity is the test of integrity." Samuel Richardson 

"Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise, and trading on your integrity and not having dignity in life. That's really where failure comes." Tom Cochrane 

"Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect." Thomas S. Monson 

"Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people." Dennis Prager 

"Once you get rid of integrity the rest is a piece of cake." Larry Hagman 

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. 

She Let Go--a Poem by Rev. Safire Rose

Hello? A Message from the Universe

• What have you been struggling with of late?
• Where do you need to let go?

This is another of those 'just had to share with you' messages that found its way into my life. 'She Let Go' was sent to me by Chris V.--a woman who has recently dealt with divorce, a loss of parents, personal health and pain issues--and who had to learn how to let go and move on with life.

She knew I would love this poem and I'd be compelled to share it with you.

It is brilliant. Enjoy!

She Let Go 

by Agape Minister, Rev. Safire Rose

She let go

Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of fear. She let go of judgments. She let go of the
confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her. She let go of all the 'right' reasons.

Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn't ask anyone for advice. She didn't read a book on how to let go.

She just let go.

She let go of all the memories that held her back. She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right. She didn't promise to let go. She didn't journal about it. She didn't write the projected date in her Day-Timer. She made no public announcement. She didn't check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn't analyze whether she should let go. She didn't call her friends to discuss the matter. She didn't utter one word.

She just let go.

No one was around when it happened. There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing. 

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be. A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

Here’s to giving ourselves the gift of letting go…

There’s only one guru. Look inside….

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

How to Thrive Despite Difficult Times

'Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.'  Howard Thurman

A Dream of Hope   

Do you ever have dreams that profoundly affect you? I do. 

One night I dreamt I allowed myself to be killed over and over again to show others how I came alive again. Although I died again and again in the dream, it was in fact a dream of hope--not a morbid one—and that's why it had such a profound effect on me.

At the time I had been contemplating how to help other laid-off and unemployed people maintain hope for their future--

"What was the secret to turning around those feelings of hopelessness so people beat down by life could reemerge victorious and fully involved in life?"

What I realized was my dream showed me the answer to how I maintain my own ability to thrive despite discouraging times--

"When I am 'deadened by life experiences' I refocus my attention away from the deadening experiences and put it back on things that make me come alive. By choosing to be among 'the living' again, I reemerge triumphantly and show others I have come alive again."

Within You is the Desire to Serve the World Fully Alive

Sure, your life difficulties and this economy can still make you feel like a quivering bowl of Jell-O--stuck in indecisiveness and failing to act because you don't know what the right step is that will work out for you.

But here's the thing--within you is a desire to serve the world--fully alive--using your unique skills and talents. But what are they and how do you access them when you feel deadened by your current circumstances?

What makes you feel Fully Alive?

When you're in the midst of dealing with major life issues--like caring for aging parents, dealing with divorce, being laid off, or graduating from college into a poor job market--it creates an emotional cloud around your thinking. Trying to make logical, rational or heart-felt decisions about your purpose or life calling can feel like you're asking the black 8-ball a question and getting 'reply hazy, try again'. 

This is when you must choose to actively take steps to rediscover your passion.

Have Faith in Your Inner Wisdom--and Take a Step

Act as If: When your senses are numbed have faith in your inner wisdom to shines a light on the path that makes you come alive--then act as if--and take a step. 

Trust, but Verify: This is a variation on 'trust, but verify'. In this instance you trust your inner self to know your path--but you test the truth of that wisdom by taking action. You'll know soon enough if you want to continue down this path or choose another direction.

Life is an Experiment

All of life is an experiment. You start with a hypothesis--or idea of the truth about what makes you come alive--and you actively test your theory through taking practical steps to see if you indeed come alive by taking that path.

Ready to Come Alive? 

• Make an active choice to be back among the living.
• Refocus your attention.
• Act as if.
• Trust, but verify.
• Choose actions that show others you've come alive again.
• Choose actions that show you care about life.

Don't let your life experience keep you down. Choose to triumph over the obstacles that get in the way of you coming alive. You always have another step to take.

What Makes You Come Alive?

• What puts a twinkle in your eye?
• What gets your blood boiling?
• What makes your heart race?
• What's something you'd really like to sink your teeth into?
• What captures your mind's eye?

"Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable."   H.L. Mencken


Share the Love--Lightarted Postcards, and Heart-felt Gifts

Contact Susan for custom-made gifts. New cheerful designs are always available.

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Moving Past Disappointment and Public Failure: The Resiliency to Bounce Back

'The point isn't to learn to fail it is to learn to bounce back.'   Rosabeth Moss Kanter Harvard Business Review blog

How do you handle Public Failure?

Think about your past moments of 'public failure'--what did you want to do? How did you handle your disappointment? How did you feel about failing in full public view?

Perhaps You:

• Put yourself out there to a new love interest, but your advances were rebuffed.
• Worked for an organization for many years and then you were laid off.
• Let everyone know you really wanted a job you applied for, then you didn't even get an interview.
• Left your job for another 'better opportunity' but it didn't work out and you ended up unemployed.
• Were married for years then your relationship ended in divorce.
• Worked hard to get a contract or grant then you failed to get it.

Public Failure--The Crisis

Failing sucks--especially when we experience it in a personally meaningful area. 

In those moments we experience failure--after we've put everything we have into meeting a goal or achieving a dream--we're left exhausted and disappointed. The natural reaction is to retreat and hide--and never ever stick our neck out like that again.  

Last year I had one of those moments.  After spending two solid days working on a grant application with a very short window to complete and submit on-line I experienced technical difficulties during the submission that resulted in our missing the deadline. I'd failed the team pure and simple.

Ugh. I wanted to hide. I'd let the team down. I screwed it up. But where can you go to hide your head and lick your wounds when your actions are so public?

  

The Chinese symbol for crisis is two pronged, meaning 'dangerous opportunity'

The Dangerous Opportunity

The Chinese symbol for the word 'crisis' is two pronged--meaning dangerous opportunity. In our moments of crisis--such as a public failure--we always feel the danger but how can we also recognize the opportunity that gives us the resiliency to bounce back?

Anytime we put ourselves out there in a public way we run the risk of feeling vulnerable and exposed. But we also increase our chances of experiencing the thrill of success--and that is the first place the 'dangerous opportunity' lies.

When I told my daughter about my disappointment she repeated a phrase back to me I say to her all the time, 'All things seemingly good or bad work in our favor'. 

Hearing that from my daughter made me feel really good. Why? Because it isn't about whether we succeed in every situation, its about how we handle failure and put everything to good use--including modeling how to deal with disappointment.

How to Thrive despite Public Failure

According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the difference between those who thrive despite public failures and those who throw in the towel in defeat is how we handle the losing or failure. 

Rosabeth Moss Kanter HBR blog

"The difference between winners and losers is how they handle losing," says Kanter. "That's a key finding from my ongoing research on great companies and effective leaders: no one can completely avoid troubles and potential pitfalls are everywhere, so the real skill is the resilience to climb out of the hole and bounce back."

Kanter goes on to say that even the most successful people face setbacks--and to have the resiliency to bounce back from mistakes or failures we must be willing to learn from our mistakes.

Embrace the Daily Dangerous Opportunities

While we'd all love to succeed without facing public humiliation in the process, it isn't the way it works. 

We must accept the danger as well as the opportunity with each public step we take. The only way we can avoid public failure is by failing to step into life and actively go after things of importance.

To achieve our goals and dreams we must embrace the daily dangerous opportunity inherent in life.

Choose to move past your disappointments and feelings of shame for public failures. Learn to embrace each of your failures as evidence of your active participation in a successful life. Choose to learn from your failures--and as soon as you are able, take the next step to make a contribution, or connection that propels you toward your dreams.

Be brave. 

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." 

Helen Keller

 

For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Break Free! Prove Yourself Wrong

'We must not allow our own limited perceptions to define us.' Lightarted Sue (with a nod to Virginia Satir)

Frozen in Fear? Failing to Move Forward?

What's the secret to dealing with what ails you? You've got to get up, get out, and keep going doing things that will both calm and energize you!

How do you do that? Stop proving yourself right and start proving yourself wrong!

Stop Proving Yourself Right 

We all like to be right, right? So why, you ask,  would I ever want to prove myself wrong? How can proving myself wrong help free me--and of what? 

The answer lies in what it means to break-free and prove yourself wrong. We all carry around beliefs with us that act as barriers to taking actions on a daily basis.

Our beliefs prevent us from seeking work and relationships, starting new adventures, and from following through on healthy choices.

In this season of New Year Resolutions, I started to observe my self-talk to find why I fail to take action.  Here's what I found about a couple of my beliefs-in-action:

• I'm too tired to walk the dog at the end of the day. So if I fail to go out before work--that's it--the dog doesn't get a walk.
• I'm too tired to go to the gym after work. If I fail to go at the beginning of the day, I won't do it.

And you know what? Every day I failed to walk the dog or get to the gym before work I headed home to sit down for the rest of the evening--and proved myself right every time! Amazing--100% accuracy!

You are no different from me in proving yourself right on a daily basis that you can't do things you want yourself to do. 

"If we are to break free and move forward in some aspect of our lives we must give up being right--and choose to prove ourselves wrong."

Break Free: Prove yourself Wrong

Breaking free by proving yourself wrong means you step past belief barriers preventing you from moving forward by moving into action one step and one day at a time.

Start by making a short list of beliefs that may be preventing you from taking actions that would improve your life. Then choose one belief barrier to step past by taking action

Belief Barriers

• The job market has changed. I'd just embarrass myself by walking into an organization to drop off a resume or to talk to someone directly about a job.
• I'm too tired to go out after work. 
• I'm too busy to meet anyone.
• I should have started saving for retirement earlier. Now it's too late.

How do you want to Prove yourself Wrong?

• Get a job by walking in and asking for one.
• Drop off 3 resumes to places you'd like to work.
• Ask 1 person for a job referral. 
• Ask one person to go out for a friendly night on the town.
• Spend one hour setting up a LinkedIn account.
• Drive to the gym after work instead of driving home.
• Leash up the dog when you get home from work and go for a walk.
• Make a contribution to an IRA.

Prove you can do things differently.The more you prove your belief barriers wrong through taking daily actions, the sooner you'ill set yourself free to pursue the life you want.

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.


If you're interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the Lightarted Living mailing list. Sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.