Happiness tips

Recently I was coaching a group of clients on the phone. One of the assignments to one of the people was to stop during the day and breathe. Another assignment was to give herself a pat on the back. I recently heard from the client that these small steps were making her feel less stressed and more accepting. Happiness really is within reach–if we just try. Professor Tal Ben Shahar, a well known “happiness specialist”, suggests that there are six steps to happiness. The first requires that we give ourselves permission to be human! That means accepting our emotions and sitting with them instead of rejecting them. If you are having a hard time, hire a coach and set your course in the direction of happiness…that is one transition that will surely pay off great dividends in your life!

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini
Your transitions coach
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

Not taking oneself too seriously

Sometimes I think the secret to enjoying life is not to take myself too seriously.    This is not something that comes naturally to most of us–I don’t know at what stage of our life we lose our ability to be playful and to see how whimsical life can be.   Surely, transitions from childhood to adulthood make it easier to be serious.  We leave college and all of a sudden we have to be “grown-ups.”  We must be responsible. 
Along the way, we lose our ability to play. When do we become so self-important that we cannot take a moment to laugh at ourselves or enjoy the moment without an agenda?  I tell people that I am the definition of “high maintenance.”  This is part of not taking myself too seriously…I do realize that I still need to have control,  but I also realize that I cannot control much more than how I respond to what life sends my way.

In The Art of Possibility, author Benjamin Zander talks about “Rule Number 6″…this is the rule that says “Do not take yourself so seriously”….what a great gift to remind ourselves, even when we are in the midst of difficult transitions, that if we enforce Rule Number 6,  life will be full of wonder.

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini

Life and transitions coach

See more about your transitions coach at www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

How will you be mindful this week?

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

For all job seekers and connections!

Here is an excellent article for people looking for a job or for those who are receiving calls from people they may not know to well. I love the part about remembering that one day you may be in someonelse’s shoes! Great advice on working within one’s network to learn more about opportunities! And don’t forget–don’t make your next transition along…hire a coach to help you find your vision and encourage you along the way.
NYT Article on Networking

Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini

A mini high-school reunion thanks to Facebook

My graduating class only had 35 kids…very few indeed. One of my best pals back then was a dynamic young woman named Johna. For 20 years, she and I lost touch. Then recently, through the use of linkedin and facebook, we reconnected. As luck would have it, we found ourselves in the same city at the same time and we both had time for a dinner. I went with some trepidation–what would it be like to see someone whom I had not talked to in 20 years? We really used to be best friends when we started college, and then our lives drifted.

Well, suffice it to say, that our experience of meeting again was a magical experience of reconnecting. We both concluded that this was the right time to meet each other…and how curious to see how in 20 years our paths had at times been parallel and at times not, but we are in similar good places in our lives now.

So, to those of you out there reading, what are you doing to use social media to reconnect person to person? How is the experience for you? I’d love to hear!

Life is amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com