A Theme For A Year

WowCoach(tm)
DeskTopCoaching
January 1, 2002

In this Issue:
1.  Quote of the Week
2.  Do one thing every day that scares you
3.  The Perfect Present
4.  Total Success in 2002!
5.  Coaching Point

Welcome to the weekly edition of DeskTopCoaching. This
newsletter is designed to bring coaching into YOUR life.  Through
thought provoking articles, strong questions, and requests for weekly
action, we will bring a coaching slant to your life.

How do we make changes in our lives?  One step at a time!
Participate in the concepts of the newsletter and watch the shifts
begin to happen.

Our network grows by your referrals.  Please feel free to send
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Have a wonderful week.

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          "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find
            out how far one can go."
                                                        T. S. Eliot

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I was given a perfect present this year by a very dear friend.  A journal,
with many blank pages to fill.  The most interesting part of this journal is
the front cover, which very simply states "do one thing every day that
sacre you".

Many of you have read the newsletters over the last several years that
talk about the power and benefits of journal writing, living in the present,
etc. etc.  This small journal, in one statement, sums up much for me.  The
act of journal writing itself many times scares me - it is a way for me to
get my true thoughts and feelings out from deep within.  I have also talked
about creating themes for your life, and for your year.  Particularly when
it is this time of year of looking forward to the things we would love
to do over the new and fresh year.

I will use this simple statement as my theme, and my test, for the year.
If I am doing one thing that I am afraid of, or in some way scares me,
every day - I will truly be living in the present moment.  This can be
as simple as speaking my truth to a coworker, standing up for my
rights in what appears to be an unfair situation, or simply using that
powerful statement 'I disagree'.  It may go further and deeper and have
me exploring and taking on projects or tasks that I have no experience
in, that truly scare me to try.  I may even go further and plan a great
adventure!

Whatever my plans and dreams for the year will be, what a great tone
to set - to live in the present moment by doing one thing each day that
scares me.

What will your theme be for the year 2002?  What goals will you be
setting that will be authentic and true to you - not simply resolutions that
will fall by the way side by next week?

My wish for you is a year full of joy, abundance, and adventure.  In the
blink of an eye we will be right here again, ringing in the year 2003! Make
2002 a year full of present moments, filled with 'doing one thing every day
that scares you' - and brings you your true life.

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THE PERFECT PRESENT by Drew Rozell, Coach

The holiday season is well underway and somewhere amongst
shopping for gifts for your loved ones, treat yourself
to the perfect present. Folks, the perfect present is the
gift that continues to give all year long.

No, I'm not trying to sell you a membership to the
Cheese-of-the-Month Club. By the perfect present I refer
to making the choice to live your life in the now, fully
experiencing and celebrating the present moment. It's one
of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and it's
cheaper than a Chia Pet.

Why would you want to spend your life living more in the
present? Consider that 99% of the negative feelings you
experience are the result of dwelling on your past
or worrying about the future. When your thoughts revert to
your past problems and mistakes, your ability to make good
decisions becomes clouded by what WAS while simultaneously
obscuring the truth and goodness of what IS.

When focusing on the future, your mind fills with
unanswerable questions. What will happen? What should I
be doing? Will I ever get to where I want to be? What
if...? Your inability to answer these questions lead to
feelings of anxiety and frustration that keep you from
living in the present.

If we live our lives continually driving toward the
future, racing toward some finish line we've created in
our minds, the possibilities of the present whoosh past
unnoticed. Opportunities do not occur in the past or
future, they always occur in the present moment. Miss
them and they are gone.

One effective method of living more presently and being
open to the opportunity around you is to reduce the
degree of planning in your life. I know, I know. Seems
unthinkable to lots of folks. And while I acknowledge
that it can be beneficial to visualize the future (and
remember the past) from time to time, at least 90% of
our lives needs to be experienced in the present.
Planning is always about the future, right?

I notice that whenever I plan I create a picture in my
head of the way things are supposed to be. And when they
are not the way they "should be" I feel as though
something's wrong; something needs fixing. I get anxious.
Because I have an expectation that's not being met, I
now have a problem. There's less peace.

When I allow myself to operate without a plan, I open
myself up to the limitless possibilities of the moment.
The less I plan, commit, or promise, the more I am able
to see and respond to what the universe places in my path
in the moment. Life flows. The truth is that when I just
act in the present, things tend to work out for me much,
much better than anything I could have planned. Really.

From an attraction standpoint (the notion that like
attracts like), living in the moment makes perfect sense.
Being present allows us appreciate the wonder and
preciousness of being alive. While experiencing the
feelings of gratitude associated with this fantastic gift,
we're sending out positive feelings to the universe. As it
always does, the universe responds to us in kind. And when
we are feeling good, we attract more of what we really want
into our lives.

So how can the present be "perfect" when at times the now
feels anything but perfect? The present perfectly reflects
of all of your past thoughts, decisions, and actions. If
you do not feel good in the moment, the present provides
you with a clear direction of where you most need to make
a change in your life. Perfect, huh?

In fact, being present creates the only environment where
we constantly have the opportunity to live better every
single moment of our lives. Consider what usually happens
when we embark on a major transition, such as getting out
of debt, quitting smoking, or exercising regularly. When
attempting this sort of change, our efforts are quickly
thwarted when we become overwhelmed with future-oriented
thinking, questioning how we will ever maintain our
efforts over time.

When we live in the present, only the choices we make
today matter. This makes any transition more manageable.
And should we fall, we can immediately begin anew.

The truth is that the present is all that we really have.
I mean, have you ever thought, experienced, or acted
outside of the now? Didn't think so.

Finally, since tomorrow will never be promised to any of
us, I urge you to give yourself this gift of the perfect
present today and every day.

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Total Success in 2002! by Philip Humbert, Coach

This week, millions of people will make Resolutions that
will eventually disappoint them.  The majority of those
Resolutions will be quickly forgotten, or relegated to the
pile of "wishes" that never came true, but even sadder,
some people will achieve their goal only to be disappointed.

We live in a time when in many ways, "success" is far too
easy.  Using credit, anyone can create the appearance of
success.  Television taunts us with wealth, and infomercials
promise easy, instant success through a hundred "secret"
systems.  By defining "success" in terms of money, things,
popularity or mere notoriety, many people have achieved a
kind of success that is ineffective and unfulfilling.

From the beginning of time, the great thinkers have told
us that happiness is an "inside job", that joy and
fulfillment come from living "on purpose", and pursuing
our highest and best aspirations.  Whether the measure of
success was a gold nugget, or the latest electronic toy,
external measures of success always disappoint.  They grow
old, gather dust, break down, get stolen, or the batteries
go dead.

Now, lest there be any misunderstanding, let me quickly
say that I am a profound believer in the power of goals
and aspirations!  I love dreams!  Visions of future
achievements inspire and motivate us.  They tell us what's
possible, and they challenge us to do and become our best.

What I dislike are Resolutions that are unworthy of us!  I
detest them!  They waste our time and distract us.  They
burden us with challenges that get us nowhere.  They tempt
us to pursue phantoms.  They, literally, waste our lives.

Take time this week to write down your Resolutions for the
New Year.  Take time to dream, to think big thoughts, to
imagine a new world!  Take time to commit to the projects
and challenges that add meaning to your life.

Just please, don't settle!  Don't settle for goals that
focus on losing a few pounds or making a few dollars.
Don't settle for Resolutions that are too easy, to small,
too trivial.

Challenge yourself to be bigger than that!  Challenge
yourself to use all of your potential, all of your talent,
all of your abilities!

Here are a few areas you might want to consider:

1.   List the books you will read this year.
2.   Imagine a world of peace and generosity
3.   Experience more love, joy, and intimacy in your life
4.   Enlarge your sense of humor, your passion, your enthusiasm
5.   Stretch the boundaries of your spirituality
6.   Be happy
7.   Stress less, live more
8.   Spend and consume less, save and invest more
9.   Explore the upper limits of health and well-being
10.  Stand up, speak out, risk more
11.  Write poetry, paint, compose your own symphony
12.  Play and laugh
13.  Take on an impossible challenge
14.  Settle less often
15.  Do more
16.  Make more mistakes
17.  Learn more
18.  Embody the attitude of gratitude
19.  Laugh more
20.  Work hard, rest often

We do not know the upper limits of our spirituality.  We
do not know the limits of love, or how vast our
compassion, patience and generosity can be.  Science has
not established the boundaries of our dreams, or the
limits of hope.  We have begun to explore outer space, but
we know nothing of the outer limits of happiness,
contentment, fulfillment.

This year, Resolve to explore these things, to achieve
more, learn more, and become your "Best Ever"!  You may
end up doing more, or less.  You may make more money, or
less.  You may work harder, or not at all.  It doesn't
matter!  What matters is that you live well, that you
explore the limits of total success in your own way, in
your own life.  That is my wish for you - and for me -
in 2002.  Happy New Year!

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Coaching Point:

Dare to live the life of your dreams!  TODAY!

            "I have realized that the past and future are real illusions,
             that they exist in the present, which is what there is and
             all there is."
                                     Alan B. Watts

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Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. Permission is
granted to reproduce or distribute this newsletter as
long as this copyright notice and full information about
contacting the  author is attached. This newsletter is
produced by Dr. Janice Hughes B.Sc., M.Sc., D.C.

Dr. Janice Hughes is a Chiropractor who focuses on
health and wellness. She runs a private practice,
Whole Body Health, in Brantford, Ontario. She has created
an integrative health model which provides a group of
professionals partnering to provide lifestyle coaching
and education. Dr. Hughes is also a Coach who works
with individuals, teams or organizations who are
committed to getting ahead, changing direction or
simply growing.

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