Day 1 and Intro
 

Welcome to Day 1 of Frazzled to Freedom!

 

You’re here because you’ve realized that you’d like to create a better life for yourself and those you care about, one that has a lot less stress in it.  You’re most likely one of the people that believe it’s possible to be positive even in a world that focuses on the negative.  And you’re someone who is willing to take ownership of your life rather than to let life drag you by default.  I congratulate you on that.  As you can well imagine, not everyone feels the same way.  Many struggle thinking they have no say in how their life goes.  Or they think that being positive is impossible, that it’s for people who don’t face the realities of life.

 

We are all in this world together, all 7 billion of us.  We have more in common at our core than the media would like us to believe.  But we also have our differences especially in how we view success.  Some think it’s money.  Some power.  Some say if you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, then you’re a success.  We all get to define what that means to us.  

 

We also vary greatly on what makes us happy.  The movie titled “Happy” shows that some of the happiest people on the planet have the least material goods.  What is their secret? 

 

That’s been my quest for close to 20 years – trying to figure out why some people are happier and more successful than others.  Why some people are stressed and others who may be living in much worse situations are not. What are their secrets?  Their strategies?  Can anyone use them?  

 

Over the next 30 days, I’ll share some of my favorites.  I’ll layer them one small bit at a time, asking you to keep an open mind as you collect them.  Some may be new to you.  Some are old familiar friends.  Gather them up – in a notebook, on a tablet, or just in your mind and decide which you’d like to try now and which you’ll like to save for perhaps a later time.  All are my take on the various concepts taken from all the books I’ve read, seminars I’ve attended, mentors I’ve studied with, online classes I’ve taken. 

 

So let’s get started!  Day one - here we go!

 

 

Day 1:

 

Everything begins with how you start the day.  If you start on the negative path, it tends to build momentum and before you know it, you’ve lived a less than happy day.  I put this first because I believe how you start the day is the cornerstone of how the day rolls out.  

 

So here's the plan for you:

• Decide that starting tomorrow, you’re going to say something positive when you first get up.  Pick something you’ll remember.  If it’s a bit outrageous and makes you laugh, all the better because you’re starting the day in a positive way and positive attracts positive. Here are some things I’ve heard and used:

  • “I love my life!”  as soon as your foot hits the floor – even if it’s 5 am!

  • “I made it.  Yippee!”

  • “Hello gorgeous!”

• Afraid you won’t remember?  Do what I did for awhile.  I used the song “Happy” as my alarm. It's a great reminder.  Now I use "Extraordinary" from the Broadway show "Pippin" because it reminds me each morning that each of us is extraordinary if we choose to look at ourselves that way.

• It will take several days of repetition before this becomes habit but know that it will soon stick.   Once you've done that a few days in a row, you can expand things a bit.  Many people create more of a ritual with the morning because they realize how important it is to set the tone.  Here are some things I’ve done and some I’m working on:

  • Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual

  • Go to some place quiet in your house.  Some people set up a special corner/chair for this.  Some even light a candle (although I’m pretty clumsy in the morning and that could be dangerous!)

  • Start a journal and write down 3 things you’re grateful for.

  • Get up and stretch, drink some water and start your day

• Notes:

  • What a great example for your kids!  What if they did this too?

  • Some of the most successful people in the world do this every morning including Tony Robbins (He has options of "Hour of power" or "Thirty to thrive") and Oprah Winfrey

  • Not a morning person?  Neither was I but I do it anyway.  I also stopped saying I’m not a morning person.  We tend to become what we say we are.
     

Great!  That's it for the first lesson.  Simple, actionable, and certainly possible.  Tomorrow just try to get up maybe 15 minutes earlier than you usually do.   (Note: if the little voice in your head chirps in that it still wants to sleep, tell it “Thank you for sharing but I’m going to focus on starting my day a new way.” 

 

Have a wonderful day!!! 

 

P.S.  Now you can choose to continue to the next day or wait until tomorrow.  Either way, here's a link to the next lesson.