Month: March 2016

Kate's Tips, Uncategorized

Creating Time

by katemdahlinLeave a Comment on Creating Time
Creating Time

Some once said to me that”The Queen of England has the same amount of time in a day as I do.”

Its true. So why then can’t I get done everything she does?

Dr Merola says…

“Replace “I Have to” With “I Want to”

Whenever you think you absolutely have to do something, you’re a prime candidate for procrastination. “I have to” implies that you’re being forced to do something, which automatically leads to a feeling of resentment, and oftentimes rebellion in the form of procrastination.”

I had a friend tell me how being efficient in life was robbing her of having fun in life.

So let me ask you this…Are you being so effective and so progress oriented that you’re forgetting to play? To have fun. to Stop and smell the roses? (really when was the last time you bent down and smelled a rose?)

When being efficient out ways being fun, you risk not losing productivity but loosing your peace and happiness instead. Which then translates into hitting your max and not being able to make more time in life.

So today lets choose to rest. Choose to get down on the floor with your kids. Why not skip folding one more load of laundry or wiping one more counter and read a page of your favorite book.

Say NO to Deprivation, and YES to Fun!

Most people’s “average” of what their suppose to work is 40 to 45 hours per week. Working longer hours than this actually has the adverse effect of diminished return, meaning less and less real work gets done in the long run. For mom’s and especially those of us who wear more hats than just “mom” but we are working moms, business owners, community advocate’s, leaders, mentors, and bloggers…  this can be crazy because we are always working! There is no pause. 45 hours? You mean 90. Right?!

I strongly recommend you take at least one full day off every week to recharge. That mean’s OFF. Not a day to accomplish everything you didn’t get done all week. But really rest. What recharges you?

A Hike, brunch, reading a book, taking a class, watching a good movie, having some wine with friends. What about going to the spa?!!

Find space for fun and happiness and you will create more time in your life. You will learn to say no and give yourself this time. You will have more rest, more joy, and more zeal.

And my bet is you will be also more efficient and effective than ever before!!

Ecc 3: 12 -13 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

 

Personal Growth, Uncategorized

Values

by katemdahlinLeave a Comment on Values

I was at a conference last weekend where one of the speakers asked us what our values were? What do we want them to be?

immediately I had my husband forward me my typed out framed family values we have on our front table and I started thinking about my personal list in my journal and everything else but as thought out as I had been on this I realized that I still felt like I was missing something in the “Value’s”department.

In our world there are so many things you can value. it is almost overwhelming. Simpler times and places in history it was easier. People valued family, and staying alive. Period. there wasn’t much else. Now the list is exhaustive and it can be hard to pin point what you want to brand yourself as valuing.

This is a list I got from just google searching: Abundance, Acceptance, Accessibility, Accomplishment, Accountability, Accuracy, Achievement, Acknowledgement, Activeness, Adoration, Advancement, Adventure, Affection, Affluence, Alertness,Amazement,Ambition, Amusement, Anticipation,Appreciation, Approachability, Approval, Art, , Artistry, Assertiveness, Assurance, Attentiveness, Attractiveness, Audacity, Availability, Awareness, Awe, Balance, Beauty,Being the best,Belonging,Bliss, Boldness, Bravery, Brilliance, Calmness, Camaraderie, Candor, Capability, Car, Carefulness, Certainty, Change, Charm, Chastity, Cheerfulness, Clarity, Cleanliness, Clear-mindedness, Closeness, Comfort, Community, Compassion, Competence, Composure, Confidence, Connection, Consciousness, Conservation, Consistency, Contentment, Control, Conviction, Coolness, Cooperation, Cordiality, Correctness, Country, Courage, Courtesy, Creativity, Credibility, Curiosity, Daring, Decisiveness, Decorum, Deference, Delight, Dependability, Depth, Desire, Determination, Devotion, Dignity, Diligence, Directness, Discipline, Discovery, Dreaming, Drive, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Elegance, Empathy, Encouragement, Endurance, Energy, Enjoyment, Entertainment, Enthusiasm, Ethics, Euphoria, Excellence, Exhilaration, Expertise, Extravagance, Exuberance, Fairness, Faith, Fame, Family, Fascination, Fashion, Fierceness, Financial independence, Fitness, Focus, Fortitude, Freedom, Friendliness, Friendship, Fun, Gallantry, Grace, Growth, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Hopefulness, Hospitality, Humility, Humor,Imagination,Impact,Investing, Involvement, Joy, Judiciousness, Justice, Keenness, Kindness, Knowledge, Leadership, Learning, Liberation, Liberty, Lightness, Liveliness, Logic, Love, Making a difference, Marriage, Mastery, Maturity, Meaning, Meekness, Meticulousness, Mindfulness, Modesty, Motivation, Mysteriousness, Nature, Nerve, Noncomformity, Obedience, Open-mindedness, Openness, Optimism, Order, Organization, Originality, Outdoors, Outlandishness, Outrageousness, Partnership, Patience, Passion, Peace, Perceptiveness, Perfection, Perkiness, Perseverance, Persistence, Persuasiveness, Philanthropy, Piety, Playfulness, Pleasantness, Pleasure, Poise, Polish, Popularity, Potency, Power, Practicality, Precision, Presence, Professionalism, Prosperity, Prudence, Punctuality, Purity, Rationality, Realism, Recognition, Recreation, Refinement, Reflection, Relaxation, Reliability, Relief, Religiousness, Reputation, Resilience, Resolve, Resourcefulness, Respect, Responsibility, Rest, Reverence, Rigor, Sacredness, Sagacity, Saintliness, Satisfaction, Security, Self-control, Selflessness, Self-reliance, Self-respect, Serenity, Service, Sexiness, Sharing, Shrewdness, Significance, Silence, Silliness, Simplicity, Sophistication, Soundness, Spirit, Spirituality, Spontaneity, Spunk, Stability, Status, Stillness, Strength, Structure, Success, Support,Supremacy, Synergy, Teaching, Temperance, Thankfulness, Thoroughness, Thoughtfulness, Tidiness, Timeliness, Traditionalism, Tranquility,Trustworthiness, Truth, Understanding, Uniqueness, Unity,Valor, Variety, Victory, Vigor, Virtue, Vision, Vitality, Vivacity, Volunteering, Warmheartedness, Warmth, Watchfulness, Willingness, Winning, Wisdom, Wittiness, Wonder, Worthiness, Youthfulness, Zeal

 

Whew!!  Becoming clear with what is truly important to you is key. It can help keep you focused with your time and energy of what really matters, for you. Your able to get closer and closer to the exceptional life God has for you.

So As I looked at all of this I realized I wanted the ultimate Value. What is the over arching theme to my life? What do I want people to see and say about me.

Its Faithfulness to Zeal.

I have done multiple personality tests and this seems to show up often.(Zeal)  Just in case anyone does not know what zeal is, the definition says: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.

Life can make me tired, exhausted, want to sleep more, veg more, and become self-absorbed. In order to be impactful, to be a Reflection of Christ, to have order, or generosity, or hospitality, or a strong marriage, I have to be energetic and full of persisting enthusiasm. I have to be faithful to this.

Faithfulness. That is the key. That’s THE value. The big one. If I can allow the world to interrupt my values with “stuff”,  I’ll miss what I’m called for uniquely. Most of us are easily distracted, and I am not an exception to this.

Faithfulness will keep me targeted. Faithfulness and Zeal will act as my compass to draw me back to all those things that are on my list of important and not just urgent.

So what’s your list of values and why?

120137-elvispresleyquotes1

 

Kate's Tips, Uncategorized

Identity Shifts

by katemdahlinLeave a Comment on Identity Shifts
Identity Shifts

I had a real big scare recently. Big. BIG! I mean really enormous.

To not bore people with the details I’ll just say this. After an amazing hangout time with my little sister over a long week-end I sent her home to find out that night she rushed to the ER having a heart-attack. She is 20 years old.

My sister is my best friend. She is also my only sister, (I have three brothers too). She is the one that introduced my husband into my life and the one who came up and took care of my toddler while I was in the hospital having my second child.

I taught her how to put on make-up and to drive. I let her hog the covers and share my room. She was/is a mini-me and I was her second mother. Literally.

As a Lifestyle Coach, I am well aware that when transitions in life happen (whether self made or circumstantial) your identity can shift. When this happens you can be swimming upstream not knowing what to do with your new self. Fear can take over. So what do you do?

Take Action:

Confront your fear. Often, our immediate reaction to fear is to become immobilized by it. I know. I actually did everything but confront what was in front of me when I heard the news of my sister. I wanted to pretend it was fine. She was fine. I needed to do normal things and pretend it was normal. Don’t cry. Don’t talk about what was going on in my head or how I was feeling. NOT what I recommend.

As a result, we may procrastinate a task that intimidates us. Or fearing we will make a blunder, we don’t do it at all. The way to overcome this gut reaction is to face it head on. Do the thing that scares you. Call the doctor about that “thing”. If you are afraid of screwing up an assignment, dive into it with everything you have. If you are scared of a social situation, go with the intention of making one new friend. By tackling our fears head on, we reduce the power they have over us, and therefore are able to conquer them.

By finally, (by force) going to the doctor to figure out what was going on with her body. my sister gained some valuable insight about her health and it saved her life.

Don’t wait for things to come crashing because you don’t think your capable or fear of the knowledge of “________” has you immobilized. The fear of having that knowlege scares people. It could shift your personal identity if you knew “__________”…so you’ll ignore it. DON’T. It could save your life. It could be the best shift in your identity that’s ever happened. Or it could just be the next stair step of growth. Just don’t put it off. Your going to have transition happen. How you handel it, makes you who you are.

 

Change Your Approach:

If you know something you have done in the past did not work, change your approach. For example, if you were up for a promotion at work and did not receive it, ask yourself “what did I do last time and how can I do it differently this time?” Often, by changing our approach to a certain situation, we can completely change the outcome. With changing your outcome you are changing your results and your future results!

Create an image of fearlessness and confidence. Be fearlessly authentic. Be fearlessly brave to move forward at all times.

What would you say is your top priority?

Do you allow circumstances to happen to you or do you make your own circumstances?

When something happens are you an immobilizer or procrastinator?

I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions – Stephen Covey

PS. My sister is doing well and recovering amazingly. She is putting health as a top priority.