The American way of life is all about productivity and the value we place upon it.  This generally means how many hours we spent at the office, how many things we crossed off our to-do lists, projects you completed, goals accomplished.

Another way of being ‘productive’ is by doing nothing When used in correct proportion and at the right time, nothing can be the most productive thing we can do – that’s the reason why we should give ourselves a snow day at least once a month, regardless of the weather report!

Rest, relaxation and leisurely activities are productive because they recharge our batteries, an essential requirement that fuels ourselves to carry on. More important, there is an ebb and a flow to our lives, and when we’re in a time of rest and disengagement, that’s often when the big idea, the solution to the problem, the words that we’ve been trying to force just appear….almost effortlessly.

You must let the ebb ebb and the flow flow. If you’re too busy doing, doing, doing, thinking, thinking, thinking, then there is no room for creativity to bubble up from within or inspire from without, to discover what you really want or feel, or for you to heal.

When you do a session with me, I am able to identify your rhythm of ebb and flow, and how the whole work/life balance dance fills your world. Sometimes you might not even realize how ‘off’ you are…and that’s exactly what’s been holding you back in your career, relationships or health.…..so give me a buzz, I’m here to help and look forward to working with you soon!

P.S. Looking for a little extra reading material on your extra day off?  Here are a few more PGG’s that seem like good ones for today. Enjoy!:

One Day at a Time

The Rhythm of the Saints

Freeze Frame

A Body at Rest

World Wide Web

(*Today’s PGG was originally posted on February 16, 2010)

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If you like what I write, you’ll love what I have to say in person!   Click on above links for info about my coaching and speaking services and contact me today.

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Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness . ~ Khalil Gibran

If you look for truth, you may get comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and, in the end, despair. ~ C.S. Lewis

New Year’s always stirs up thoughts about what we want to change in our lives, but that means you need to have a good idea of what needs to change in the first place – and like the famous prayer says, have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Getting to that accurate perception is the first step, and might actually be more important than making the change; therefore perhaps our work this year is to ‘snap out of it’ and instead see ourselves, situations and people as they really are, not how we’d like them to be.  Then and only then can real change begin.

Humans, especially 21st century versions, want what we want when we want it; our media and technology only makes this worse, fueling our impulses and imagination with its magnified distortion of time, place and interaction; they enable us to more easily delude ourselves in thinking our situation is one way when it is in fact another; when we think a job, our health, or a relationship is positive when it’s not, or vice versa. They distract us and makes us forget that anything lasting is a process and requires massive amounts of reflection, patience and perseverance.

As the biblical saying goes, ‘Know the truth and the truth shall set you free’.  It’s not always fun getting there. Letting go of lifelong dreams and illusions as well as accepting ourselves, people and circumstances as they are- relinquishing any hope that they are or will become what or who you wish them to be- can be extremely painful and, in fact, feel like a death that you need to grieve.

The good news is that knowing and accepting the truth affords us a more profound, productive and meaningful life experience when we know what is real. When we live from that place we can then make better decisions about addressing any situation, how to improve it or let it go – the more accurate the assessment, the more effective the solution can be.

Because of my talent for connecting the dots, cutting through the ‘crap’ and getting to the root of things quickly and directly, my clients might not like what I have to tell them at first – yet they always come back to me days, weeks or years later and admit it was not necessarily what they wanted to hear, but ultimately exactly what they needed at the time. (And saved them thousands of dollars in therapy!)

The truth can be overwhelming but once you acknowledge it, you can really start to move forward. So before you seriously embark any resolutions, begin there. It’s strong medicine to start off the year, but essential if you want to get healthy in any area of your life.

Feeling like A Change is Gonna Come, but not sure how to make it happen? Give me a buzz and I’ll be the doctor with the diagnosis and that spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down! ❤

(*Today’s PGG was originally posted on January 7, 2014)

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If you like what I write, you’ll love what I have to say in person!  Click on above links for info about my coaching and speaking services and contact me today.

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One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others .~ Nelson Mandela 

Revolution is the evolution of humans into a higher humanity . ~ Grace Lee Boggs                  

Those of you who know me or have been reading PGG for a while know that my passion and mission in life has always been to contribute to world peace, mostly through my work best expressed in my mantra that personal transformation is the key to social transformation.

So it should come as no surprise that I profoundly relate to and revere the lives of these two nonagenarians, the late 95 year old Nelson Mandela and the 98 year old activist and author Grace Lee Boggs, who literally embody this philosophy in every cell of their beings; who have demonstrated it externally with their activism and sacrifice for racial equality and social justice, and internally by the wisdom they have gained and generously share from nearly a century of experience, observation, and most importantly, reflection.   

Both started out as ‘radicals’, and even Mandela up until 2008, were branded as terrorists with the requisite FBI/CIA files because they initially saw the only way to overthrow the entrenched power structure was by employing the more literal and sometimes violent tactics of revolution through organized movements and a spirit of rebellion. But through trial and error, incarceration and maturity, they eventually evolved; they gave themselves permission to change their minds, learn and grow in light of new information, experimentation and once again, reflection – ultimately coming to the conclusion that in order to change the world they would have to change themselves.

They came to understand that indeed humanity is made up of humans and that humans were going to have to deal with other humans in order to get anything done. So we’d better be the best we can be as individuals and try to get along and get past our differences and disagreements, because the reality is that we must co-exist harmoniously – whether in a racially divided African country, a rundown bankrupt American city or in your very own household.

We are living in extraordinary times and it is no accident that you are who you are at this moment in history.

What does your humanity mean to you?  As our world continues to go through turbulent changes and upheavals, it will be up to us individually and collectively to do our part to ‘tear down’ where necessary and rebuild a more enlightened society that reflects our evolved humanity.  But we have to start with ourselves, and do what we can in our immediate environments to demonstrate our own revolution – which, by the way, does not happen overnight or with a magic pill, silver bullet or special app.

It is only through keen observation, deep reflection and inner and outer sweating effort and energy over a long period of time directed towards improving ourselves and serving others that true transformation can take place. Then, if we’re lucky, by the time we reach our 90’s we can look back and see how our journey has positively and productively unfolded in both a personal and political way, and be proud of what we accomplished and the legacy we will leave behind.

Wondering how it will all go down if you take up the cause? Give me a buzz and I will incite a riot in your heart to make the most of what you got, so at the end of the day you know it’s gonna be alright!

(*Today’s PGG was originally posted on December 11, 2013)

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It has always bothered me that most New Year Resolutions seem to revolve around losing weight and getting in shape. Gyms especially bank on this, with classes and machines overflowing those first two weeks in January only to dwindle back down to those who have been going all along. The attrition is a perfect example of not heeding our internal ebb and flow, in addition to Spring being a much more natural time to do make such changes. So don’t feel bad if this describes you!

Instead, why not think about detoxing and tuning-up your mental and emotional diets, adjusting your atmosphere and exercising a more positive attitude towards yourself and others?

In 1981, the advent of something called Music Television (yes, kids, that was MTV in the olden days) meant that Video Killed the Radio Star.  Although the sentiment initially applied to the music industry, it has evolved to our 24/7 multi-device-always-on, entertainment/info news cycle, and delivery of much nonsense and nuttiness through a gazillion distribution channels both online and off.  The combination of media and technology is a powerful force that can either enhance or erode our humanity, but with direction we’re going in, it seems like video has killed our sanity.

In a way, we’ve always been our own little radio towers with what we think and feel, but now we are literally transmitting these thoughts and feelings in more tangible way with our gadgets and gizmos. What are you receiving and what are you broadcasting?  How is it impacting your state of mind and mood?

What do you tune-in to on a daily basis? Which intoxicating sights, sounds and stories infiltrate your being: cat videos, pundits, housewives, serial murders, frenemies? I admit I enjoy a little Micky D’s now and then, but like Morgan Spurlock, remember what happens to you when you ingest that all day, every day. If we are what we eat (and we are) then we are what we read, watch and listen to as well. In the schmorgasborg of programming out there, the pickins’ are slim when it comes to nutrition.  Whether TV or social media, strive for the majority of your consumption to be thoughtful, uplifting, educational, informative, and know that good comedy is actually medicine.

(P.S. I hear there are some quality series that exist – but it’s curious we’ve coined the term to “binge-watch” say, Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. What does that do to your sensory digestive system, what kind of hangover would you have from that?  How could you have used your time and energy in a more productive way?  When you are cranky the next day is it due to your emotions or Walter White’s?)

I am not anti-TV/media/technology. I say all things in moderation. The trick is to become conscious and not be spoon fed whatever the suits and advertisers want us to eat!  Try a TV fast and realize you’re not missing all that much.  You’ll have time to sleep more, learn to cook or finally begin to meditate. It’s up to us to control our technology, and not allow our technology to control us. 

So if you’re dragging in the morning, think about what you watched on your screen the night before. If you can’t get any work done or fall asleep, how many hours did you allow yourself to be led astray via random Facebook or Twitter feeds? And what it is that you are creating or contributing with your wifi and widgets?  

In an increasingly desensitized and distracted world with so many folks feeling stuck, confused and frustrated in their career and life, who are searching for purpose and meaning, and want to enjoy better health and relationships in their lives, we must constantly pull out the weeds of static in and around our thoughts and emotions in order to operate at a higher frequency and create the best environment for ourselves and others.

Much of what is on television and the internet these days is white noise, so protect yourself with some radio silence.  Not quite sure how to detach from the media madness? Give me a buzz – I’ll help you march to the beat of your own drum in harmony with the independent soundtrack of your soul and keep away the Karma Police, who are there to remind you that you always have a choice.

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If you like what I write, you’ll love what I have to say in person!  Click on above links for info about my coaching and speaking services and contact me today.

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