4 TIPS TO SELF-CONFIDENCE

Who couldn’t use a big dose of  self-confidence? I know I need a boost from time to time. And now that you’re at the beginning of a NEW YEAR and  you’re hoping for a NEW YOU, AN EXTRA SHOT OF CONFIDENCE  is what the doctor ordered.

But how do you get it? What if you’re feeling “not confident” at all, or you have a bad case of “low self-esteem”. Or you feel as awkward as a big lady sitting on an ostrich!

The antidote?  Always act as if you’re wearing a crown. Always act like you know. Always ACT like you’re confident. Fake it till you make it! And it WORKS!

It’s true that your feelings affect your behavior but it also works the other way around. Your behavior can affect your feelings.

Here are 4 ways you can “act” that can help you APPEAR confident and thus GAIN confidence:

1) Be grateful- Look for ways to thank God and others for all things.

2) Help others- Reaching out to help others takes the focus off yourself and gives you more confidence.

3) Stay positive- Looking at the bright side of things increases your confidence.

4) Smile- Smiling helps you to appear friendly ( and FEEL friendlier ) and friendly people appear confident and thus GAIN in confidence!

Self-confidence is the beginning of  a NEW YOU in 2012! Start cultivating this characteristic into your life for a HAPPY RENEW YEAR! Our goal at RENEW is to help you grow  healthy in body, mind, and spirit. Check out our product page for products that will RENEW and REFRESH you!

Sandy

 

 

LIVING INTENTIONALLY IN 2012

Are you totally happy with your life right now? Are you content? Are you the kind of person you’ve always wanted to be? Have you done all that you’ve wanted to do up to this point in your life?  Do you have all that you would like to have?

If money were no object, what would your life look like? If you could BE a certain kind of person, what would you be like? If you could DO anything you’d like to do, what would you DO? If you could HAVE anything you like, what would you have?

Maybe you don’t like thinking of these kinds of questions because you think,” I’ll never have what I want anyway, so why frustrate myself?” Or maybe it’s hard for you to even KNOW what you’d like if you could have anything you wanted. I first want to point out here that you don’t have to focus on monetary things in answering these questions. You might be a very altruistic, caring, giving person and you feel you have “enough” and you’d like to give to others. So THAT could be part of your answer to these questions. The point of the questions is  to get you thinking so you’re INTENTIONAL  about your life and not  letting life “JUST HAPPEN”.

But then there are things  over which we have NO CONTROL. We can’t choose our parents, the color of our skin,  the circumstances under which we were born or WHERE we were born, to name a few. There are some things that we have to accept and with which we need to be content. It helps to  keep in mind the serenity prayer, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

So keeping all this in mind, and focusing on the things you COULD change, ask yourself the questions again. What would your life look like if you could DO, BE, and HAVE anything you’d like?  Begin thinking of 2012 as the year in which you are going to LIVE INTENTIONALLY! Get a sheet of paper and write across the top, ” LIVING INTENTIONALLY IN 2012″ or another way of saying it might be, “LIVING PURPOSEFULLY IN 2012″. Use the words  that resonate with you. Under the heading write, “The kind of person I’d like to be”. Then make a list of the characteristics that you would like to have, the habits you would want, the attitudes you would like to display…anything that would describe the kind of person you would  like to be. Right about now you might be thinking, ” Well, I can’t change my personality, this is who I am, I can’t change the person I AM!” Yes, you CAN!  You may have some tendencies or habits formed from your life thus far, but they don’t define you. You can become the person you want to be AND MORE! After listing the KIND of person you want to be, then make lists of “What I would like to DO” and “What I’d like to HAVE”.

In our upcoming workshop we’ll show you how to follow through with “Living Intentionally” and finally becoming all that you’d like to be. Why go through life and let it “just happen”? Take a step this year to become the NEW YOU! Be courageous and change the things YOU CAN! Check out the last post for more information about our workshop, “HAPPY  RENEW YEAR”.

Hope to see you there!

Sandy

You Are Invited to a Happy Renew Year Event

HAPPY RENEW YEAR

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

FROM ALL OF US AT RENEW

MERRY CHRISTMAS

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Skipping All the Hype This Christmas

It’s the final Saturday before Christmas weekend. I learned on the news last night that a term has been coined for this day – Super Saturday – and, according to a friend who already experienced it this morning, this includes a mad frenzy for shoppers similar to that of Black Friday (the big shopping day following Thanksgiving).

Personally, I am skipping all the hype this Christmas and enjoying it immensely.

Several weeks ago, my husband and I made the decision that we would like the focus to be on charitable giving this year, rather than on getting gifts. So we proposed to our grown children that what we wanted for Christmas was to send them some money, and the gift from them, back to us, would be to share stories about charitable ways that they disbursed the designated money.

We said we would be happy to still buy gifts for them – it’s just that we did not want to receive any. After some thought, the response came back from our kids and spouses that they would be fine with not exchanging gifts this year; that our focus could be totally on the charitable giving at our Christmas gathering. (I think they are still doing traditional gift exchanges with the other sides of their families.)

So this morning, over a relaxing cup of coffee with Christmas music in the background, my husband and I finalized the various ways that we would spend money on charitable giving. It has been delightful to simmer on possible ideas through the course of the past weeks, allowing the focus to be on others in need, rather than ourselves.

The nativity set near our Christmas tree

Since we do not have to fight the crowds, stand in long lines, or spend time wrapping a bunch of presents, we also discussed using that extra time for a couple of service opportunities to help those in need.

It is peaceful and calm and way less stressful this holiday season. We are finding it much easier to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, and our hearts are filled with gratitude and joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior into this world.

May you, too, experience some of the peace and joy this Christmas.

Sherrie

7 TIPS TO A LESS STRESSFULL HOLIDAY

With all the wonderful things this season of the year brings, it can also add more stress to your lives. So here are 7 tips to help you celebrate the season with more joy and less stress.

1) Simplify   You don’t have to do EVERYTHING! Pare your activities down to what is most meaningful for you in this season and eliminate the rest. Make a list of  the things that are important to you and which will make this a meaningful celebration. Keep a tradition or two that is important to you but don’t feel you have to continue everything you might have done in the past.  You can even say “no” to some parties if you want. ( I’m giving you permission ) Make a LIST of the activities that you want to keep.

2) Plan Ahead    Now that you have a list of meaningful activities and traditions that are important to you, put them on a calendar. I make out a special DECEMBER CALENDAR that I download from the internet and decorate it with Christmas stickers and brightly colored pens to mark special occasions and things to do like a day to decorate the tree, cookie making day, Sunday School Program, etc. There are some things you can do well before the season begins as well. We take a family photo during the summer when we’re all together to send as a Christmas card. It’s an informal photo but we make it a bit special by having everyone dress in the same colors much to the chagrin of the guys.

3)  Set Aside Time To Relax     Make sure you set aside time to just sit and take in the REASON FOR THE SEASON. Help yourself to a cup of hot peppermint tea or hot chocolate  and read a meditation or devotional. Also take time to be thankful no matter what your circumstances are.

4) Give  Of Your Time       Even though this may seem contradictory to simplifying your life, taking time to serve others who are needy is always worthwhile. YOU also gain from this as studies show that people who help others tend to be happier.

5) Make A Spending Plan     Money can be a stressful issue this time of year but if you decide how much you can afford and then plan your gift buying from that you’ll be better able to stick with your plan. If money is tight, consider giving ” homemade coupons” for fun services you’ll provide, for example  “breakfast in bed once a week”. Get creative! You can also make your own wrapping paper to save money. Our daughter once wrapped her gifts in newspaper. The sports page and auto page for the guys, cartoons for the kids, and recipes and decor for the women. It was their “green” Christmas for helping to save our environment. They were really cute! And for next year, begin right after Christmas to set aside money every month for next year’s Christmas.

6) Double Up Your Fun    If you can combine two activities into one, you can accomplish more! If you would like to bake cookies but also want to begin a tradition of spending quality time with children or grandchildren making Christmas memories, plan a cookie baking afternoon. You’ll be beginning a tradition, making fun memories, and having cookie treats to have on hand as well. Brainstorm other activities that you can combine.

7) Choose a Positive Attitude    This may seem a no-brainer but we can get so bogged down with activities that we get tired out easily, worry about the endless expenses, complain about the busyness etc. BAH-HUMBUG!  Instead, follow the plan above and make a DECISION  to choose JOY this Christmas season. If you’ll follow the tips above it will help you to be more intentional about including those things that are most meaningful to you and eliminating those that are not. Then it will be easier to choose a great attitude! You’ll want the season to last forever!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

MAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

IS YOUR LIFE OUT OF BALANCE?

Are you living a balanced life? Do you even know what a balanced life might look like? Life can get so busy that before you know it, your life  can feel out-of-control and unbalanced. That can lead to more stress and less joy. So what can you do about it?

Consider your life according to the following six areas:

Personal ( mind, body, spirit )

Relationships

Home

Work/Job

Giving

Financial

Whatever is going on in your life can be fit into these 6 areas and they must be in balance in order to maintain sanity in your life and live a life of less stress and more joy!  You might be thinking that you don’t have the TIME to fit in MORE AREAS into your life. But if you PLAN INTENTIONALLY to balance your life in all these areas, you will feel as though you have more time as you live a full and balanced life.

We are  planning a workshop beginning early January 2012 called, HAPPY RENEW YEAR. A specific date  and  place will be forthcoming. This workshop will teach you how to balance your life in these areas in order to live more joyfully and with less stress. This workshop will:

1) Help you find your gifts, strengths, and values

2) Define your passions

3) Set goals

4) Work the above into the six  areas of your life

5) Live passionately with LESS STRESS AND MORE JOY

6) Live a balanced life

We’re giving you plenty of time to plan ahead for this event before the holidays get busy and you get distracted. This event will help you in setting goals for the new year and help you be able to live the life you’ve only imagined. We will be sharing more about this in future posts and newsletters but we wanted to give you plenty of planning time. There will be a fee of $15 for the workshop with Renew consultants getting in FREE. Plan now to attend with a friend.

Include Something FUN in Your Day

I must admit, sometimes I take myself too seriously. I can get bogged down with all I have to do, and I’m guessing that you may occasionally do that, too.

Tonight I have the rare opportunity of not having any pressing deadlines from my regular job. (I work from my home office, so often I work well into the evening hours.) Along with not needing to work, my husband happens to be gone for the evening. So, I have the delicious opportunity of doing whatever I want! It is not too late for me to include something fun in my day!

What I want to do is to play the piano. Now that the weather is cooler and the windows are shut, I don’t need to worry about my playing being heard by the neighbors. There is a problem, however. As much as I have a hankerin’ to play the piano, I can’t, because I no longer HAVE a piano! We gave that to our musical son and daughter-in-law years ago.

Then I got to thinking, I’ll bet I can find a keyboard on the internet. Sure enough, I discovered that by typing a search for “online keyboard” I had several to choose from! (I chose ButtonBeats.com) I discovered the options of adding percussion, changing the instrument sounds, and even recording. So I have spent the last hour or so just goofing around with playing a piano online. It was fun. And now I feeled renewed and relaxed.

Sherrie