4 Habits of Happy Famillies

POWERFUL LIVING, POWERFUL YOU This Week's Topic: 4 Habits of Happy Families Links Margaret's Website More About Margaret Coaching Teleclasses Margaret's Writing Margaret in the News Join Our Mailing List Join LinkedIn Network of Friends Link to Margaret's Blog In the News & Upcoming Events Welcome to our new subscribers! You inspire me to keep writing. Please keep forwarding the newsletter along. Thank you for sharing this column with your friends around the world. Article in College Connection Magzine a publication of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Navigating change: a roadmap to independence" Ignite Your Fire - 8 Week Challenge How is YOUR eight week challenge going? We are four weeks into the challenge. We are 50% there!!! If you haven't yet begun...that is okay...start today...it isn't too late! Select something that has been pestering you and go for it over the next month ... a cluttered closet, a foul mouth, a soda habit...YOU name it and YOU can conquer it in the next four weeks! For those of you well on your way...here are some reflections questions to help guide you through the next week: Why is this goal so very important? ('WIIIFM' - remind yourself what is in it for me - in the long run!) What are your successes? What is working? What isn't working? What adjustments do you need to make? How are you and your buddy best supporting each other? What is your celebration at the end? For extra motivation start planning it today! Use your answers to these questions and your reflection time to help propel you to the next level! You can do it!!! This Week's Topic: 4 Habits of Happy Families Dear Friend, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." ~Leo Tolstoy A friend recently reminded me, her father on his death bed, wasn't detailing professional successes, of which there were many. Rather, he was looking around at his family - at each of his children - appreciating the moments they shared together and the joy they brought him. As we are in the middle of the holiday season filled with family time, this week I want to focus on your family and review recent research that suggests that happy families share four common characteristics. Give Thanks - Be Grateful Ideas to Achieve: Select five things to give thanks for each day and write it in a journal or have your children write it in a visible place in your home. Pick one family member each month and have each family member write a letter of gratitude to this person. To celebrate, around the dinner table read the letters aloud. Once a week at the dinner table have each person give thanks aloud for five things that have occurred that week. Have Satisfaction in your Choices Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College and author of the book "The Paradox of Choice," says, "explicit lessons are the least important ones. The most important thing you can do is to model the behavior for your child." Ideas to Achieve: Repeat three times, "You get what you get and you don't get upset" Lead by example, when we question our choices rather than stand firm in them we lead a ripple effect through our communities, workplaces, and homes. When you make a choice that just isn't right, focus on your lesson. Life isn't about the end point, but rather the journey. Choices define the journey. Lose yourself in the moment - Focus on the Moments of Joy Research indicates that happy people focus on the moments of joy in their life. Ideas to Achieve: Take time to remember the good things in life - open the history books of life and share. Document the joy in your life through the photo albums, stories, and even the internet. As you drive around your town remind your children, that is where you had your first...step, piano lesson, ice cream cone, etc. These anecdotal stories help cement joyous moments. Spread Out the Joy Research illustrates that when you compare a group of people who spend a day doing things to please themselves vs. a group of people who help others ... the group who helps others feels happier and more joyous at the end of the day! Ideas to Achieve: Put this research into action in your own home, community or office ... challenge people to give their time and resources to others...let them reap the joyous benefits. Remember more isn't always better ... for your children space out the giving and receiving of presents and space out their activities. Make It Happen This week select one of the four ways above to add joy to the life of your family. God bless you and your family. I hope you are able to return to the basics and have a happy, healthy and joyous holiday season. To ensure you receive our newsletter each week, add Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com to your address book or your approved list of senders. Blessings to you, Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, Margaret's first book for emerging women will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved. www.MargaretPundmann.com.

Happy Thanksgiving...Let Us Give Thanks

POWERFUL LIVING, POWERFUL YOU This Week's Topic: Happy Thanksgiving...Let Us Give Thanks
Links Margaret's Website More About Margaret Coaching Teleclasses Margaret's Writing Margaret in the News Join Our Mailing List Join LinkedIn Network of Friends Link to Margaret's Blog	In the News & Upcoming Events Welcome to our new subscribers! You inspire me to keep writing. Please keep forwarding the newsletter along. Thank you for sharing this column with your friends around the world. Article in College Connection Magzine a publication of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Navigating change: a roadmap to independence"
Ignite Your Fire - 8 Week Challenge How is YOUR eight week challenge going? We are three weeks into the challenge. Did you have a false start? That is okay...start again. Or perhaps you haven't started at all...no problem...it isn't too late! Pick something that has been pestering you and go for it over the next five weeks ... a cluttered closet, a foul mouth, a soda habit...you name it and YOU can conquer it in the next five weeks! For those of you well on your way...here are some reflections questions to help guide you through the next week: Why is this goal so very important? ('WIIIFM' - remind yourselfwhat is in it for me - in the long run!) What are your successes? What is working? What isn't working? What adjustments do you need to make? How are you and your buddy best supporting each other? What is your celebration at the end? For extra motivation start planning it today! Use your answers to these questions and your reflection time to help propel you to the next level! You can do it!!! This Week's Topic: Happy Thanksgiving ... Let Us Give Thanks Dear Friend, "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W. J. Cameron In the United States, each year we gather 'round with our family and friends and celebrate Thanksgiving. I've always loved this holiday because it is purely American and cuts across cultural and religious divide. Once Halloween has passed, there is eager anticipation for the Holidays. We work hard to complete projects at work, we clean our homes, we cook food to be shared, we decorate our homes, many of us travel, and we prepare our homes and our hearts for this joyous holiday. In all of this preparation we often get overwhelmed and become irritated with all around us. We are ready for it to be over before we've even eaten the turkey and before the tryptophan results in a nap. The question I want us to consider this week is, How can we each make the most of this holiday and ensure that we turn Thanksgiving into Giving-Thanks? Let's make this year about giving thanks for the blessings around us rather than perfecting what is already pretty good. Close your eyes and imagine that Thanksgiving has passed. The dishes are done, the house is empty, you are back at your desk working away, but you can't remember what was said at the table because you were so worried about...the food, the decorations, a looming project at work, the mess. This year you have a chance to prevent being derailed by the minutia. This year stay on track. Set your attitude on gratitude and your thoughts on thanksgiving and turning it into action! What is important about this holiday is spending time with those we love and giving thanks to them and for them. So as the chaos sets in - avoid the temptation of getting bogged down in what must be done and let go - what is done is done and what isn't done just doesn't really matter. Allow yourself permission to return to exactly what is important about this holiday. Remember that having meaningful connections and coming together as friends, families, and communities is what Thanksgiving is really about. Enjoy this time! Make It Happen This week give thanks, above and around. Below are some ways to give and show thanks. Let's give thanks for Our electricity; Our heat in the Winter; Our running water; Our firefighter; Our postal worker; Our abundance of food and water; Our home; Our freedom to worship. Before you leave your office for the Holidays Write a note to three people you work with and say, "thank you;" Write a note to three clients and thank them for their business this year; Call three people and simply tell them what they mean to you. Before Your Thanksgiving Meal Visit a local shelter or charity and cook for and serve others; Cook Thanksgiving dinner for a family around you who is in need; Invite those who are alone to break bread at your table with your family; Donate warm clothes and nourishing food to your local church or temple. At Your Thanksgiving Meal Have everyone at the table say what they are thankful for; Have everyone focus on each person for a minute or two and say what this person means to them, and what they are thankful for about this person. God Bless You and Your Family. I hope you have a tremendous time Giving-Thanks during the Thanksgiving Holiday. To ensure you receive our newsletter each week, add Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com to your address book or your approved list of senders. Blessings to you, Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, Margaret's first book for emerging women will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved. www.MargaretPundmann.com.

5 Strategies to Stand Up For Yourself

POWERFUL LIVING, POWERFUL YOU This Week's Topic: 5 Strategies to Stand Up For Yourself! Links Margaret's Website More About Margaret Coaching Teleclasses Margaret's Writing Margaret in the News Join Our Mailing List Join LinkedIn Network of Friends Link to Margaret's Blog In the News & Upcoming Events Welcome to our new subscribers! You inspire me to keep writing. Please keep forwarding the newsletter along. Thank you for sharing this column with your friends around the world. Article in College Connection Magzine a publication of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Navigating change: a roadmap to independence" Ignite Your Fire - 8 Week Challenge How is your eight week challenge going? You are two weeks in ... six weeks to go! Questions to Take Your Success to the Next Level What are your successes? What is working? What isn't working? What adjustments do you need to make? How are you and your buddy best supporting each other? Take time to answer these questions to take your success forward another week and to the next level! This Week's Topic: 5 Strategies to Stand Up For Yourself Dear Friend, "The soul that is within me no man can degrade." ~Fredrick Douglas~ Do you have a hard time standing up for yourself? Do you continue to say 'yes' when you really want to say 'no'? Do you tolerate condescending comments or forceful people because you fear conflict? Do you take things personally? Then keep reading...this week is for you! This week, we are focusing on an area where many of us struggle - at work, at home, with family, with friends, with colleagues - standing up for ourselves! Standing up for yourself isn't about being right, it isn't about soothing your ego, and it isn't about dominating. What is standing up for yourself about? According to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, standing up for yourself is righting a "grave injustice." If your first inclination is, grave injustice, this isn't what is happening to me, read on. I want to expand on this - a grave injustice occurs when your voice is quashed, when your being is minimized, or your existence marginalized. Your being and your voice is a true gift from God. A gem for this world, and no one ... yes, no one has the right to minimize you. When we fail to stand up for ourselves, we teach our bosses, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, colleagues and friends we don't deserve to be heard. And, what they learn is one of two things: they can continue to press down upon us or worse yet, that they, too, don't deserve a voice. Let's look at 5 strategies to help you reconnect with your voice and stand up for yourself: 1) Strengthen Your Backbone The foundation or sturdiest part of anything is the backbone. How is your backbone? In order to know your backbone, you must know yourself. And to know yourself, is to accept yourself and value yourself. 2) Learn to Say No! Often saying 'no' to others is saying 'yes' to yourself. We need to reframe what no means to us. As children we are taught that no is a bad word, as adults we must learn that often saying no means holding firm to that which we most believe. 3) Draw Boundaries We each need personal boundaries around important activities in our life. Think about what is important to you that has slipped from your life. What are you not able to do for yourself because of others demands? Where necessary, draw boundaries around your activities and your time. 4) Stop Saying "I'm Sorry" Often we can fall into the trap of saying, "I'm sorry" to keep the peace and defer conflict. If you are in the wrong, of course apologize, however, if you aren't in the wrong hold off the apology. Saying nothing and allowing things to just be can help others realize the impact of their words and actions. 5) Hold Up a Mirror When someone continues to push down on you and minimize you and it becomes apparent your silence has no impact,you must speak up! As you speak up, state the facts and remove the emotion. As you begin to speak up, feel the power of your own voice. Hold up a mirror to those around you; let them clearly see the impact of their words and actions. If you aren't able to get through bring in a mediator. Make It Happen This week pay careful attention to how you treat those around you and how you are treated. Be watchful if you begin to minimize people in your life, change course immediately. On the corollary, observe how you are treated. Do you run from confrontation? Employ the 5 Strategies above to Stand Up for Yourself! Be proud and be strong! Own your power! To ensure you receive our newsletter each week, add Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com to your address book or your approved list of senders. Blessings to you, Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, Margaret's first book for emerging women will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved.www.MargaretPundmann.com.

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11 Time Management Tips!

POWERFUL LIVING, POWERFUL YOU This Week's Topic: 11 Time Management Tips Links Margaret's Website More About Margaret Coaching Teleclasses Margaret's Writing Margaret in the News Join Our Mailing List Join LinkedIn Network of Friends Link to Margaret's Blog In the News & Upcoming Events Welcome to our new subscribers! You inspire me to keep writing. Please keep forwarding the newsletter along. Thank you for sharing this column with your friends around the world. Article in College Connection Magzine a publication of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Navigating change: a roadmap to independence" Ignite Your Fire - 8 Week Challenge How is your eight week challenge going? What is working...what isn't? Make readjustments today! If you haven't started...Here is how you join in the challenge: Step 1: Decide what you are going to change, reshape, get rid of, or add to your life (This must be a specific, measurable goal. For example, increase sales by 20% vs. increase sales or increase GPA from 2.9 to 3.5 vs. increase GPA.) Step 2: Pick a coach who wants to support you. This can be a friend, family member or co-worker. Or if you would like, I would be honored to be your coach and partner - just email me at mp@margaretpundmann.com. Step 3: Pick a celebration of any type to reward yourself at the end. Step 4: Chunk it down. Break your goal into 8 pieces - for the 8 weeks of the challenge. Each Sunday/Monday you will put together a plan for that week. If you can't make the plan yourself - get a 'SME' - subject matter expert - who can advise you and help you develop a plan. Step 5: Go for it! Believe in yourself! Step 6: Share your journey with friends, family and your coach! This Week's Topic: 11 Time Management Tips Dear Friend, "Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life." ~Alan Lakein Time is a finite resource. Each day we have a limited number of hours and once they pass they are gone - regardless of how we used them. How we use our time and how we allocate our energy is a choice. Some days we get it right and other days we find that the day has passed, but we didn't accomplish all that we set out to do. This week I want to focus on eleven tips to help "get it right!" When we properly manage our time we actually achieve more while we have more free time. In so doing we have better control of our lives, meet deadlines and lead a more balanced, less stressful life. Use these 11 tips to help you master your time and therefore master your life. The Pareto Principle - the 80/20 Rule The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the effects come from just 20% of the causes. As it relates to time management, 80% of your measurable results and progress come from just 20% of the items on your daily to do list. Spend time where you get results! The problem is that we are all so busy fighting fires that we never get around to the most important few activities that lead to the greatest results. Take Time to Plan and Organize Set aside time each week and each month to get organized. Each year reevaluate your systems and see if they still support the most effective and efficient results. For example, are your files set up properly at work, do you have a place for your car keys at home ... critically reexamine your life and see what needs to be updated. Set and Review Goals Goals help us find direction and maintain focus. Set specific goals. Use the SMART method, developed by world renowned management consultant, Peter Drucker to 'stress' test your goals. Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Tough Consider Your Biological Prime Time Is it morning, afternoon evening when you are at your peak? As you schedule activities do the most important, most challenging tasks when you are at your best. Create a To-Do List Schedule daily tasks on your calendar so that you plan both the activity and the timing appropriately given your daily schedule. Allow time for interruptions in your schedule. Prioritize As you schedule your daily tasks consider what is the most important and when are you at your best. Think Effectiveness and Efficiency Effectiveness = identifying the right thing to do Efficiency = doing it right Practice Intelligent Neglect Learn what can wait. Identify those tasks that will not have long term consequences if you don't complete them. Use the Swiss Cheese Method The Swiss cheese method, developed by famous time management specialist Alan Lakein, is based upon the premise that you can begin important tasks even if you have only five minutes. When you are avoiding something, try to break the task into smaller pieces, set a time to complete each piece, and work on putting together all the pieces to complete the task. Review Your Progress - Use the "5 minute Rule" At the beginning of each day take 5 minutes to ease into your day. Take time to plan your day and create a priortized to-do list. At the end of each day recap and review your day this will help you to make necessary adjustments to your schedule immediately. Be Flexible Plan for interruptions and distractions. Time management experts often suggest planning for just 50 percent or less of our time. With only 50 percent of your time planned, we have time to handle interruptions and the unplanned "emergency." When you expect to be interrupted, schedule routine tasks. Save (or make) larger blocks of time for your priorities. Remember life is about juggling so everying won't always work out perfectly, but as my favorite saying goes..."proper preparation prevents poor performance!" Make It Happen This week pick one of the 11 Time Management Tips and weave it into your life! To ensure you receive our newsletter each week, add Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com to your address book or your approved list of senders. Blessings to you, Margaret. P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up. Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author of numerous articles on living your most powerful life. Stay tuned, Margaret's first book for emerging women will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks. Please feel free to forward the "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter to friends and colleagues, but please forward in its entirety. The "Powerful Living, Powerful You" newsletter is written and distributed by Emerge Enterprise. Copyright © 2008 Margaret Pundmann. All rights reserved. www.MargaretPundmann.com.

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