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. 

This is a best of post.

Transition Your Thinking

We often have more time for reflection as Autumn sets in. Your thinking determines your mood, attitude and your choices. How are you thinking today?


Cloudy or Clear Thinking

Thinking Outside the Box

Bottom Up Vs. Top Down

Non Thinking as a Strategy

Under thinking

Over thinking


For more thoughts on thinking visit Terry's Thinking - A blog about thinking.

Look at "Shoulds" and "Coulds"

Are you failing to listen to the should and the could's in your life? By transforming our shoulds into "do's" and "will"s we may accomplish many things.  However, sometimes our should and coulds are things we might want to avoid doing entirely.

1. Take a look at your shoulds and coulds

Spend some time over the next few days listening to your inner talk and your external communications. Take note of the number of times you express or think the word "Should" or "Could". If you have a high frequency of shoulds or coulds, (Perhaps 5+ a day) you may want to spend some "thinking, development and planning" time around them.


2. Delve into the shoulds and coulds

After you have listened to yourself over the last few days, you may find some frequent shoulds and coulds. Take time to jot them down in sentence form.

I should get more sleep at night
I wish I could keep my desk clear
We could buy a new car



3. Analyze your should and could's for future work and change.

Let's say you want to get more sleep. How can you go about making it come to fruition? By brainstorming you may come to some possilble solutions.

For example:  

I should get more sleep -  To get more sleep, go to bed earlier or stay in bed longer. The should becomes a will when you decide to go to sleep earlier or set your alarm for a later morning wake up.

We could buy a new car - Deciding to buy a new or different car, is a process and project. You may choose to get a new car when your current car reaches a certain mileage, or if maintenance fees exceed the cost of a monthly payment. Your new car might be more advantageous when you have to start driving to your new company's office (which is further away) to keep fuel costs down. A new car might make more sense after you have paid off other debts or saved a certain dollar amount. The could becomes more of a strategy and plan development when you look at the when and why components.


4. Transform your should and could's to wills, when's, why's or later decisions. If you formalize and bring these shoulds and coulds  to the next phase you will allow more space for things to happen.

5. Erase your negative should and could's from your mental and verbal vocabulary.  Sometimes we have stuck should and could's which can not be easily transformed into action or do not warrant further thought about.

For Example:

I should have said  ..... instead of ......
I could have read the directions three times and caught my mistake (after improperly assembling a complex piece of furniture)


Spend some time working on your should and could's and you will likely transform your life.


This is a best of post from 2009.

Rightsize Your Life

There is always a lot of talk about downsizing and rightsizing. Let's look at thiese concepts in a small immediate way. How can you rightsize your day? Let the day starting tomorrow be your practice day. First let's define rightsize. Rightsize means creating a day with enough hours to do the desired tasks at hand, a day with some form of joy and laughter, healthy eating and physical activity. We can plan our day by getting our "to do" list planned ahead of time, making sure we have the ingredients for healthy eating and include some form of physical activity.  We can also work to connect with loved ones, friends and acquaintances. Some of you may also want to include some spiritual or meditation time.

Here are six elements of  rightsizing  your day!

1) Select tasks that suit the day
When I say a day with enough hours to do the desired tasks at hand, I mean creating a productive and effective "to do" list. One that is doable for the hours we have available, leaving some wiggle room for unexpected issues.
2) Plan to eat right
Create a menu from what you have on hand, or figure out what you need to order to have a healthy kitchen. Make sure you have plenty of water to drink, as water will help energize you and keep you hydrated. Avoid overindulgence. Make good food choices throughout the day and evening.
3) Include daily exercise
Every day needs some form of exercise. Make sure this is part of your day.
4) Cherish your relationships
Work to connect with the ones you love or care about.
5) Include joy and laughter
We all need some fun in our daily life. This can be having a good conversation, or watching a situational comedy to get our laugh on. We can also find joy in nature. Just take some time to enjoy your environment.
6) Work in some spiritual time or meditation
Whatever your beliefs, having some time spent on spiritual devotions or using some time to meditate will serve you well.

Keep the six elements in mind when planning your tomorrow and every day after. Rightsizing your day is the foundation of rightsizing your life.

This is a post from my other blog - Terry's Thinking.