This weekend I went to a class on mindfulness– defined on Wikipedia as calm awareness of one’s body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself.  I will add that mindfulness brings about a noticing of our own thoughts and emotions,  which is essential if we want to bring change of any kind into our lives.  Transitions are hard,  even when we seek them–but they will never happen in a sensible way if we don’t usher them in with full consciousness.

As we start a new week, what will each one of us do to bring awareness in our lives?  Even if there is no time to stop the frenetic pace of our lives, I hope we will indulge ourselves in a few moments where we are not in autopilot.  Whether you are doing the dishes, driving to school or work, exercising or working, take a minute today to be fully present in the moment.  And let me know how it goes! The question really is–can you afford not to be present?

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini

www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

Your Transitions Coach

Thanks to a friend who is also a coach, I realized yesterday that the sadness about preparing the house for sale was not about detaching from the walls (after all, I have done that before!). What the sadness was telling me is that I was in transition–and declaring the end of an era. My friend used the analogy of reading a chapter book–one chapter has ended, and now I sit staring at the blank page before the next chapter starts. Despite the excitement that surrounds the next part of the story, there is sadness that an important chapter has ended. Being able to name what the sadness was about suddenly made it lift–oh yes, I said to myself. There is much to be celebrated about the last chapter, but also some grief about letting go. It is ok to sit with it…suddently, just as it had come, the wall of emotions that had enveloped me over the last few days is dissipating…and leaving space for the the joy that lies ahead.
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
lifeinbalancecoach.com

So the March numbers for Facebook and Twitter are in–they are experiencing record growth! What is this phenomenon about? Will you join the bandwagon? What will you do with it? If you are participating in the fray, what is it doing for you?
I don’t think ignoring technology is a wise move–it only makes you obsolete and old. A former UT professor of communication said to me that we should be careful not to join just because we want to be younger–I agree. The reason to join is not to become who we are not, but to participate in an interesting cross-generational dialogue. We stay young by learning. Facebook and Twitter are good places to learn about others and maybe about ourselves.
There are plenty of articles out there to guide us through the process. But the most important question to ask is: what will bring to the table? How will you show up?
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
Here is a good article for starting on Twitter…
http:/Marketing With Twitter

Whether in your business or in your daily life (think in relation to others!), what is the difference between being in control and choosing? Aside from the obvious negative connotation usually associated with control, dig deeper. What distinguishes the two?

Take the example of the housework that needs to get done around most homes. The wife wants the kitchen counter cleaned a certain way, the husband cleans it another way. The wife then accuses the husband of not doing it right…and he says she is control freak. True or false? What are the choices people could make here? Does the counter have to look a certain way? Can there be flexibility and possible outcomes that are all desirable? Maybe a less perfection? What is the dream beneath the idea that the counter has to be just so?
If you have to have the chore done your way or the highway and nobody can come close to doing it that way, you might explore whether you have some issues of control. If however, you can be flexible–maybe you do the task yourself without holding a grudge because you decide that it pleases you to have the kitchen counter looking a certain way and it is worth the effort. Maybe you decide that it is better to have the other person help, even if the counter does not look exactly like what you think. What are the choices that you can make that enrich your life and that of the people who work or live with you? What is the control about? “Inquire within” and look for the answers that will make your business and your relationships richer!

Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

Thanks to Jill (see her cool blog at mysolis.com )or pointing out in a comment to my previous thoughts that the stuff of web 2.0 can be great for business. I completely agree with her! There are new opportunities for people to use Facebook, Twitter and the like to provide useful information–and, no, what you had for lunch does not really qualify…but maybe a cool new lunch place would! Yet, I still see people, especially older ones, that resist the technology change.
I wonder, moreover, if the arrival of “wiser” folks on Facebook will make the younger ones migrate to other “hiding places”! The recent story of the person who twittered about her new job offer at Cisco (as published recently in a NYT story) and presumably lost it before she even started is currently making the rounds on the internet….and is a reminder that the young users could teach the old folks how to use twitter, and the older folks could use the young ones what are appropriate limits !!!! As usual, everyone has something to offer–if we just remember that we all have our strengths!

Life is Amazing! LIve Well.
Anna
lifeinbalancecoach.com

So I have been doing more reading and thinking about the new “social media”…especially relevant after my recent arrival on Facebook!. According to a NYT story on the Austin Festival South By SouthWest, folks attending the most successful part of the festival are not musicians…they are people dealing in the new media!!! Says the NYT, however, that the folks creating content seem too busy to have time to consume it! And in any case, I wonder…what does this content really mean? Do I really gain from knowing that my 21 year old nephew is “stoked” about an upcoming weekend of sports? (Which, in my old fashioned mind, might mean simply a weekend of watching too much television!) What about the old friend who thinks Florida is too pretty? What am I gaining here? What is the content?
It feels to me like I am entering a whole new culture. But the question for me is, does the connection pay off or does it simply mean a huge loss of privacy? What do the young people out there think? What does it mean to be truly connected?

Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna

http://www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

At the urging of my young Italian cousin, Luisa, I have recently joined FaceBook.   I have been on LinkedIn for a while, thinking of it as a professional network.   The function of LinkedIn has been to reassure me that as I face a huge transition in my life, there are people to whom I am connected–and that those bonds will follow me wherever I go.  But what does FaceBook do?   My husband John asked me “do you like it?”  The answer is…I don’t know yet.   Clearly, it makes me notice the difference between being old and young.  There is a whole new lingo to learn (really, what does it mean on FaceBook to tag someone? To poke them?) and then there is a level of discourse that does not really conduce to deep conversations.   I still have to find my way around it.  

Would love to hear what other people are getting out of these social networks and how they use them….

In the meantime, I remain confident that 

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna 

http://www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

Sometimes I wonder what is the value of experience. On a personal level, I think we find our own experiences mean something. What we have lived through in the past may guide in the present and prevent us from taking a similar path to the one we have taken before. After all, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing every time expecting different results. So, if we cannot plead insanity, we use experience to change our response or our course of action when we see a pattern that is familiar.

Still, I wonder–is there any value in sharing our experience? Can it be so powerfully communicated to another person that it will change the way that person walks in her life? I do not know the answer–maybe it will become more obvious as I age a little longer. What do you think? Would love to get the conversation going!

Life is amazing! Live well.
Anna Grassini

Ok, so the drop dead dealine for filing the 2007 taxes is coming up in a month.  I have never before taken such a long time to file–especially since I have had all but a little piece of data since back in May! What has kept me from filing? And I fear I am not alone! What holds us back? Normally I am not a procrastinator–so what happened this time that made me delay filing taxes?

I will not bore you with the list of excuses I could come up with.  Rather, I am willing to use this experience to open the conversation.  What our our energy drainers? What are the things that hold us back from being on top of the wave? Is fear of success one of them? Is fear of failure another?  What a great thing to explore with a coach.

So, rush along and get ready to file your taxes (I am!) and get on with all that you have been procrastinating on.  And then, hire a coach and figure out how to move forward with great courage and optimism.

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini

Do you know someone in your life who has been touched by cancer? What if we put the power of all of us to work for the cure?  We have the chance.  Join me in supporting the campaign for  ”The Infinite Power of One” –and let’s prove that together, we are more powerful than cancer.
Twelve leading cancer centers are asking all Americans that can, to go online and donate $1.  I am asking you to consider doing so.  Simply log onto their sponsor, www.celebrations.com/cure to make your donation.  Then add your picture to their Healing Mosaic, which is a visual representation of the infinite power that one person and $1 can have on our health. After you make your donation, come back and share with us how it feels to have the infinite power of one and to work together to make our world a better place to live.  Thanks for joining me!

Life is Amazing.  Live Well.

Anna Grassini

Want a coach? Visit me at www.lifeinbalancecoach.com