Smile More

Smiles are contagious. They can help you maintain a sunny disposition and also have the effect of making people respond to you in a positive rather than negative way.


We may forget to smile when we are in a hurry or at the end of the day when we are tired. It is hard to smile when we are sad, but when dealing with strangers and other people, a smile may help brighten the day and provide us a friendlier environment in which to communicate or work in. 


Here is a Lego smiley man to help you remember to smile more.

Another Desk Vacation

Last year, I featured some visual odyssey websites that allow you to take a mini vacation without leaving your desk. I've located some new locations for you to go visit and have listed some of last year's favorites.

First,  get ready to go on your mini vacation and empty your email in box, clear out your voice mails. Tidy the area around your desk and shred any needing to be shredded documents.  These tasks makes you productive although it may take you a while. After you have done these tasks you will certainly be ready to go.

Here are this year's desk vacation locations:

Note - All these are personal essays with wonderful photography that may make you feel you are in the specific location. 


Northern California - Write On Time - Traveling Tuesdays  - trip option to:
Salmon Lake California,
Point Reyes, California 
San Francisco, California

Maine - Maine cottage  from Sesame and Lilies

Virginia - James River, Surrey County  from Haven on Hanover 


Italy - Tuscany Beach Trip  from Villa Pacis

Canada - A trip to Vancouver from Windlost


On the list, last year - but well worth a return trip:


Greece - Santorini from Oia Santorini


Happy Traveling.

Waiting and Anticipating

Sometimes life means waiting and anticipating. Anticipation affects us within our head, body and heart at the time. We can have negative feelings in regards to upcoming changes and challenges or we can have a positive and motivated outlook. We can also have a blend of all these things.

I recall waiting for our brand new construction house to be completed. We would visit the building site almost daily to see what new components had been started or finished.  I was anticipating the move in process, setting up the house, and having life and living go back to "normal" instead of being in a temporary waiting phase of life.  Even now when I look back those three months (I know we were fortunate...others may have to wait years on home construction projects) seemed like the longest in my entire life.

Waiting takes it's toll, but it is our attitude that makes the difference. We can wait with patience, or wait in anger and frustration. Waiting isn't everything that is going on in our life. We can try to enjoy a portion of our day or time by refocusing on daily pleasures and activities.

Handling the Holidays

Holidays and vacations are a big transition from the daily grind.  Taking a holiday sometimes seems like work, especially if there is a lot of planning of the vacation and departure activity.

Holiday's can create crunch times in their preparation stages. A few years ago I planned a lengthy journey to England. This involved lots of advance planning and a minutia of details. In a while, I will start planning another big trip and I am at a bit of a loss to figure out how to make it better.

1) Take the planning one part at a time.

2) Don't expect every detail to be perfect.

3) Accept the concept that at least three things are suppose to go wrong with any big plan.

4) Follow the Crunch Time guidelines.

Crunch Time

Almost everyone and every industry has it's crunch time. For some it is at the end of the fiscal year or quarter. Others might find that their crunch time is a few weeks before the big scheduled event. Regardless of what the cause of the "crunch", it is always a good idea to look at the handling and management of the crunch.

• Take some formal time to review all of the necessary steps
• Do some calendering of required activities
• Build in some extra time for the unknown problems. They are bound to arise.
• Insert some time for taking breaks. Breaks can help reduce stress and keep you healthy.
• Close and celebrate. You and your team deserve it.
• Evaluate and make changes and workable adaptations for the next time. 
• Get your future crunch time scheduled on your calendar and protect it by excluding unnecessary tasks or chores during this time. 

What is Next? Beyond the Goal.

What happens when you reach your goal? While many Transition Your Life readers may not see the end or their destination at hand, I think discussing how one faces or handles this is of some importance.

When you reach your goal,  this is definitely when we need to first celebrate and savor in the moment of glory. This is something we should not miss.

Secondly, we need to appreciate what we or others did to help make the goal achievable. Very few journeys are journeys of one.  Sometimes upon reflection we realize others helped shape us and made contributions in ways we could not imagine. This might be the high school teacher, the motivational speaker, the neighbor down the road who always gave you a smile. 

Thirdly , once the momentum of arrival and completion has slowed, I believe we need to ask ourselves some questions relating to the accomplishment of the goal. Making an immediate evaluation of what we have done has some value, but when the goal or achievement is monumental, I think taking a few weeks to ponder this might be the best choice.

• Is your achievement as you expected?
• What lessons did you learn?
• What if anything would you do different?
• What in this specific achievement might be the lesson that is the first step on the next journey?
• Who else might you thank?
• Is there anyone who might be encouraged or educated, who is working towards similar goals?

Today the 1000 day sea project reaches it's destination. While the journey has been unique and offbeat, this might be a good a perfect timely example of how one needs to handle an achievement.

Falling Behind and Running Ahead

There are days when we think we are "ahead" and days when we are falling "behind". On the best of days we are right where we are suppose to be.

Here are some strategies to help you: 

When you are Ahead

First, mentally acknowledge yourself for being at the "ahead" stage rather than the "behind" phase. Second, take some time to build in a well earned break. Third, review the elements of your success. Sometimes we have developed new skills that have allowed us to move forward. Glean these as takeaways for the future.


When you are Behind

First take a deep breath, acknowledge where you are. Realize that this will not be forever.Second, spend some time working on strategies. How you might speed up, or move your project along? Sometimes we have to pull out of other unnecessary or less important activities to reach a project goal.Third, seek help. Many times we fall behind because we fail to enlist help. Sometimes that is what we need to move forward.