Delete: Delete Internal & External Clutter
February 23, 2015 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever known somebody who could just light up a room . . . when they left? Sometimes known as energy vampires, delete the people from your life who are overly judgmental about you, are not supportive, take more than they give, or who don’t believe in you. They will suck energy right out of you.
There are two types of clutter, internal clutter and external clutter. External clutter is anything around you that “bugs” you such as dusting, people who take more than they give, dirty laundry, unread newspapers and catalogs piling up, the tacky souvenir your neighbor brought you, or other stuff laying around that is visual pollution. This type of clutter distracts you and drains you by taking up your space. Especially draining is clutter left on the floor dragging you down with negative energy.
Internal clutter is such things as dishonesty, secrecy, deceit, debt, unfulfilled promises, worry, anxiety, fear, miscommunication, obligations, or any other “messalanea” which is clogging up your circuits to think freely and be charged up. Delete this emotional, intellectual, or physical baggage and watch your energy soar. There are umpteen books on Feng Shui and the art of de-cluttering and aligning your space to make the energy flow more freely. Check out the perpetual calendar in the back of the book Organized at Last: a Tip a Day to Keep Clutter at Bay by Pat Moore, The Queen of Clutter. Also see Appendix B for other things that drain our energy. Until you plug up some of those energy drains and delete them from your life, no amount of refilling and refueling will have any staying power. Take a good look at your internal and external clutter and delete those energy suckers in order to have a lasting affect on your personal energy and your stress levels.
Unload your excess baggage. Unburden your heart, your mind, and your space by unloading extra emotional and physical baggage you may have been carrying around. Take stock of philosophies, beliefs, behaviors, and the stuff that may have served you in the past that doesn’t make sense today. Take a look at the reasons why you do what you do – can it be streamlined? Review the reasons why you prefer a way of thinking or behave in a certain manner. Is it just a habit (perhaps a bad habit?) or a learned behavior taught by somebody whose behavior may or may not fit your personality or your lifestyle?
Letting go of material items or self perceptions that no longer fit you or benefit you allows for a fresh start and can also lighten the stress load. Be prepared that a change in patterns may cause some uncertainty and stress at first. Sometimes the excitement and enthusiasm for creating a better way and a lighter life outweighs the stress that may accompany the change. Moving through the change at a pace that you are comfortable with and at a pace where you can assimilate it easily into your life will help ease the stress of the change and newfound energy will be a benefit to your life.
Simplify your life and toss out stuff associated with bad memories or junk. Better yet, don’t buy it in the first place and you will save your money/life energy and help the cause against unfettered consumerism and overuse of our natural resources. The same goes for junk food, over-packaging, and junk mail.
Contact the direct mail and telemarketing firms to have your name taken off their lists. For pre-approved credit card offers, call 888.5.OPTOUT to cancel solicitation from all three credit reporting bureaus for two years or permanently. For direct marketing solicitations, including catalogs, coupons, and sweepstakes offers, sign up for The Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service at www.the-dma.org for $5 or for no charge if you send your request to Mail Preference Service, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.
Put yourself on the national Do Not Call Register to avoid those pesky telemarketers by calling 888.382.1222 or visit www.donotcall.gov. The cost of saving junk is skyrocketing and takes its toll on your emotions and your wallet. Save your sanity and your spare time from their clutches. How much excess is in your life? What have your purged lately?
Backspace: Are Your Back Spaces (Attic, Garage, File Cabinet) Holding You Back?
October 23, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Is the thought of sorting and purging these areas draining your energy? Tackle one section at a time and reward yourself for getting rid of unused items and make space for new things in your life. Better yet, don’t replace this stuff and celebrate a more simplified lifestyle. Start a desk drawer amnesty program at work where colleagues clean out their work stations and donate the stuff to a shelter or other needy cause or given to the break room. Coordinate this activity to coincide with national Clean Out Your Desk Day.
Double your good feelings at home when you donate your stuff to charity or sell it at a consignment shop or on E-bay, and then you don’t have to clean around it. Excessive stuff drains your energy and clutters your mind with how to manage it.
Extra stuff also costs extra money to store. (U-Store-It facilities, garden shed, larger home, filled garage, bulging cubicle, more credenzas) Think of the cost of renting a storage locker or pod and multiply the monthly rate by how many years you plan to keep renting it instead of making a decision to toss your stuff or sell it. There is cash in your closets and back spaces – it just takes a little time, effort, energy, and focus to reap a huge payoff of stored up energy that has been leaking into the depths of the dark spaces.
Simplify your life to boost your spirits and get rid of all those responsibilities, excesses, and unnecessary things that drain on your brain. Allowing only the things that you can comfortably handle into your life helps decrease the stress of thinking that bigger is better.
The American capitalistic system is set up to forever strive and not arrive. Rethink how much you really need to be happy, then listen to your inner-voice and not the advertisements or your neighbors. If you don’t need much, own much, or owe much, you don’t have to work as much; which allows more time for family and friends. What obligations, excesses, or other time-wasters can you cut out of your life? Are your back spaces clutter-free or are you closing doors on them in hopes nobody will notice? Are your back spaces representing a picture of you that you would like to present to the world, or are you living in fear that you will have unexpected visitors? Hopefully you aren’t primed to be a guest star on the TV show Hoarders: Buried Alive. Honestly….what are people thinking…..
Home: How is Your Home Life?
June 24, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Is your home a sanctuary of safety and security or is it a part-time job? Is your home a place to unwind or it is a place that winds you up tight? Take a look at the emotional and physical environment that surrounds you and opt for low-maintenance alternatives. How are your relationships and your leisure lifestyle? What we do in our free time speaks volumes more about us than our job title.
Are you creating an authentic lifestyle the way YOU want to live, and not following somebody else’s guidelines? Are your relationships energizing or emotionally draining? Is your home life congruent with your work life? Does your home life recharge you or exhaust you? Does your home accurately represent who you are today or are you living amongst hand-me-downs or yesteryear’s things? Does your home really reflect your spirit and who you want to be?
Look at your leisure-time patterns and adjust them to improve your energy. Our home life needs to be refreshing, rejuvenating, and nurturing for us to recharge for the workweek or whatever the world throws at us. Do an inventory at home and figure out what is holding you hostage. Take action to create a welcome and hospitable home to envelope you in peace, comfort, and joy.
Space: Is Your Space Energizing or Draining?
April 2, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Is your space pleasant, comfortable, and workable or does it create stress? Are items easily accessible? If you are left-brained (analytical), are things stored vertically or behind closed doors? If you are right-brained (creative), are they stored horizontally or within plain view? (A.k.a. piles) These left-brained and right-brained preferences have been shown to work well with the work styles and organizational styles of each type of person. Where are you on the continuum?
Figuring out how to adapt your systems to fit your style will relieve both stress and lost items, and earn you more time for fun. Do your desk accessories accommodate these preferences? What is the color of your space, what type of furniture is in that space, and how is it positioned in the room? The key here is “organize to energize”. We save valuable time, energy, and mental frustration when we are more organized and working with our brain-hemisphere preference.
Research from the National Association of Professional Organizers suggests messy professionals waste up to six weeks per year (over one hour per day) looking for lost things. Does your space project a positive image for you or your organization? Seek out furniture, accessories, and storage devices to help you instead of hamper you in getting yourself organized. Write down what your ideal work or living space would look like and let that be a guide to what needs your attention to work towards that idea.
Using full-spectrum or natural lighting can increase your energy and productivity by 25% over fluorescent or incandescent lighting. Studies in hospitals, schools, and businesses found that fluorescent lighting could sometimes give people headaches or irritate them with the buzzing and flickering, and also annoy the eyes with its unnatural glow. Those who can work or live with more light from the sun or with full spectrum lighting which better mimics the sun will have more energy.
A HarvardUniversity study confirms this fact that the impact of light on the eye improves attention focus and energy production in the brain. Other studies have also linked the body’s hormonal and biochemical balances with sunlight and darkness as it relates to our personal energy. Moderate exposure to sunshine helps boost our immune system and our body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Healthcare professionals have known for years that patients who get fresh air and sunshine have a better attitude and improve better than those who don’t. Those with Seasonal Affective Disorder or the Winter Blues have a sensitivity to lightness and darkness. Those living near the Arctic Circle must contend with the light situation in other ways such as wearing light masks to improve their energy.
Take inventory of your space. Is it filled with light and beauty? Beauty in any form is intoxicating. Surround yourself with beauty to raise your spirits. Be mindful of what you see in your home, your office, or out your window each day. Create your world so you see scenes to delight your eye and rid your environment of unsightly obstructions. Place a birdbath outside your window, hide your air conditioner with potted plants, hang stained glass in a window with a dreary view, collect great art, or display the art projects your children or grandchildren made for you. Live beautifully.
Interior designer and philosopher Alexandra Stoddard has several super books on living a beautiful life. How are you contributing to the beauty in your life? What do you see out your office window or kitchen window? How can you improve upon your surroundings or interior spaces to improve the beauty? What can you do personally to improve your own beauty because you are part of other people’s environment? Adult learning theory states that we learn better and are more productive when we are in pleasant surroundings. Take a look through fresh eyes at your surroundings and make some changes to bring in more beauty and enhance your vital energy.
What Colors Can Do to Specialize Your Space and Affect Your Mood
November 8, 2013 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Colors have a powerful effect on mood, and work their magic spell by helping us get in touch with our emotions. Colors can soothe, inspire, energize, and rejuvenate, and they set the mood and atmosphere of a room. So what is your home doing for you? Is your living room a drab den or a sensational salon? What about the bedroom? Is it a run-down retreat or a palace of passion? And what changes can you make to ensure that your living spaces are working for you? Understanding the rules of color and mastering the secrets of color mixing will help you create the right mood for your rooms. There are no rights and wrongs — the most important things are to have fun and to be creative. And the simplest way to revitalize your home is with paint.
Color wheel. Do you want warm or cool, dramatic or neutral? The color wheel is an invaluable tool for choosing the hues, tints, and shades based on your personal preferences. An unlimited amount of color combinations are possible. The wheel is divided into 12 equal sections, each displaying a primary, secondary, or tertiary color. The “warm” and “hot” colors are on the right hand side of the wheel, and the “cool” and “cold” colors are on the left. Black, white, and grey are the neutral colors, and don’t appear on the color wheel.
Primary colors. These are the three key colors that cannot be formed by any combination of other colors — red, blue, and yellow.
Secondary colors. When you mix equal amounts of two primary colors you get secondary colors — purple, green, and orange.
Red + Blue = Purple
Red + Yellow = Orange
Blue +Yellow = Green
Tertiary colors. Mixing primary colors with secondary colors in a 2:1 ratio will produce tertiary colors — red-orange, yellow-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green.
How to use the color wheel:
Knowing the colors that harmonize and work with each other will help you create a tasteful theme and avoid making a rainbow riot. Here are some basic color schemes to get you started:
Complementary colors are found opposite each other, such as red and green or yellow and purple. They always go well together, hence the term complementary, and are easy on the eyes.
The meaning of colors:
Green. Bountiful in nature, the color green is life, growth, and health — a reassuring sign of renewal and regeneration. Situated in the center of the spectrum, green brings balance and order. The eye makes no adjustment to accommodate green striking the retina, making it a restful and soothing color.
Pink. Gentle and soft, delicate and feminine, pink quietly nurtures and soothes. It is the tender side of red, and invokes feelings of romance and enchantment. Bright pinks are energetic and youthful, while vibrant pinks are full of passion, though they are not as aggressive as reds.
Orange. Warm and sensuous, orange represents ripeness and happiness. It is a fun and exhilarating color that promotes feelings of excitement and hope. Orange is a combination of red and yellow, and shares common traits with both. It is forceful and demands attention, but is less intense than red, being mellowed by the presence of yellow.
Brown. Natural and organic, down-to-earth, and neutral. Though sometimes saddled with a reputation for being boring, brown is representative of wholesomeness and goodness, and promotes feelings of stability and order. It is simplicity in a chaotic world. Lighter shades are particularly soothing, while darker hues are confident and dependable.
Red. The color of passion, romance, love, and lust. Red is hot, fiery, and tempestuous — a powerful and intense color that evokes a sense of urgency and excitement, and stimulates the heart to beat faster. Red demands attention and will bring out the extrovert in you. It’s not for the shrinking violets.
Blue. Cool and calming, blue symbolizes serenity, purity, and loyalty. In many cultures blue has an important role in religious belief as a bringer of peace. Darker shades project an image of power and authority — police uniforms are blue, and a blue power suit is a favorite of the corporate world. Lighter shades are refreshing and uplifting — they encourage creativity and stimulate the imagination.
Purple. Full of magic and mystery, purple is the color of royalty, and represents opulence, wealth, luxury, and magnificence. Balancing hot red and cool blue, it has the properties of both. Purple can be uplifting, and is a soothing balm to mind and nerves. It also offers a sense of spirituality, and it symbolizes intuition and imagination.
Yellow. Representing the warmth and radiance of the summer sun, yellow is energetic, vibrant, cheerful, and optimistic. It’s the good mood hue, and shines with hope, happiness, and joy. Yellow enhances the intellect, activates the memory, and aids communication and concentration.
Upgrading your living spaces:
There are plenty of other ways to bring a burst of color into your life without the use of a paintbrush.
Living room
Use these additions to make your dream living room warm, cozy, and inviting. I found a wild rug and I mean wild in color and pattern and just HAD to have it. It so happens that it perfectly matched the cicles design on my chairs and my apple-green wild couch. Something happened on my way to being “of a certain age” that I replaced all my silk Chinese traditional dark green rugs with some crazy patterns and fun colors. Guessing I’m feeling like a freer spirit and can decorate however I want and this makes me happy…it’s light and luscious.
- Decorative throw pillows and cushions — add some fresh color and a touch of style and vitality.
- A colorful painting or digital photographs — take a few snaps in the park or around town, and frame the best images to create your own art.
- Colored pillar candles, plates, and vases — place on a sideboard or table, and think of grouping them in threes. Objects look more interesting in groups than on their own.
- Flowers — let nature enhance your living space.
Bedroom
- Your decision of whether you want your bedroom to be a passion palace or a blissful oasis will determine your color choice.
- Layer your room with linen — use embroidered sheets, satin quilts, pleated cotton bed skirts, and cozy and colorful drapes.
- Change the lighting — buy colored lampshades and painted light bulbs.
- Rugs — add to your room’s rich and lush appeal.
- Artwork — buy a huge canvas or print or hang your own creations.
Bathroom
Your bathroom is a serene sanctuary, and there are some simple ways of adding sparkle to your cool, calm oasis.
- Accessorize — consider a decorative mirror, colorful containers, pictures, matching towel sets, and decorative towel bars.
- A colorful rug — freshen up the floor.
- Color-changing faucet — provide quite literally a splash of color, as the water changes color as it runs through the faucet.
Colorful tricks
- To make a room appear larger — paint all surfaces with the same color from the warm end of the color wheel. Paint the ceiling a lighter shade to make it appear higher. Large furniture appears smaller if it is the same color as the walls.
- To make a room feel cozier — use colors from the warm end of the color wheel. A warm color on the ceiling will make it feel lower, and therefore comfier and more intimate.
Articles to Energize Your Work Wealth & Well-Being
September 22, 2010 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I’ve been remiss about blogging since last month, but have been ferociously writing articles for your reading pleasure with links to each article following the title. I decided to give it to you all in one fell swoop so you can pick and choose which suits your needs instead of piece-mealing it into several blog posts.
Below are links to articles I’ve written on energizing your work and your life. They are written for enlightened execs, entrepreneurs and employees on how to revitalize at every level and energize individuals and organizations.
I will host some talk shows on similar topics on my weekly Energized Entrepreneur Show: http://thewinonline.com/node/5978 and each show is 10-15 minutes. So if you want to listen to some of the articles, they will be available in the coming weeks.
Here’s a list of the articles – free to view and read and if you download or use any portion of them, I would appreciate credit and a link to my websites www.GailHahn.com, BizBuilderCards.com and Funcilitators.com as they are all copyrighted material.
Enjoy!
Gail Hahn, the CEO (Chief Energizing Officer)
Office Olympics: Original Games that Put Minute to Win it to the Test
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767082/office_olympics_original_games_that.html
Twisted Training: Creating Experiential Training Programs to Engage, Inform, Inspire & Entertain Employees
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767112/twisted_training_creating_experiential.html
Extreme Shopping Around the World
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767316/extreme_shopping_around_the_world.html
Travel Holidays Around the World
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767378/travel_holidays_around_the_world.html
Spa Experiences Around the World
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767570/spa_experiences_around_the_world.html
50 Ways to Communicate, Connect and Build REALationships
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767652/50_ways_to_communicate_connect_and.html
Insider’s Secrets to Follow Up and Follow Through
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767738/insiders_secrets_to_follow_up_and_follow.html
Fun Shui: De-mess to De-Stress, It’s a FACT of Life
The Importance of Play in Our Day
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767790/the_importance_of_play_in_our_day.html
Reward, Recognize and Re-energize Your Enterprise:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5767876/reward_recognize_and_reenergize_your.html
Fun Shui: Organize to Energize Your Work and Your Life
www.associatedcontent.com/article/5766954/fun_shui_organize_to_energize_your.html
Edit, Add, Appreciate, Energize
October 20, 2008 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Sunday evenings seem to be a time to get revved up for the coming week. It’s at this time when I tend to think about these 3 simple things that will energize me for the coming week – moving me forward in creating the life I want to lead.
- Edit: What can I edit from my life this week? A material object, thoughts, habits, behaviors, people, work or activities that don’t serve me well any more. It could be an article of clothing, a negative perception, a food, an annoying or sniggly trait. Let it go and move on to greener pastures. What is holding you back or what is causing your stress that you need to edit? Where are your bottlenecks or frustrations? Do you have excesses in your life that you need to edit or dial down? How about unfettered consumerism, debt, or unbridled shopping or retail therapy that is out of control. Edit your perspective on your point of enoughness, your needs and wants.
- After all my moves, I’ve realized you can’t just edit once and be done with it for material things. Life changes and your needs, wants and priorities change. That’s why I keep going back to re-edit and simplify. Pare down to the essence of what it is that creates joy and happiness in your life and edit out the clutter – internal or external clutter.
- Add: What can I add to my life that will bring me more joy, happiness, energy, health, wealth or whatever. Reinvent one thing such as perceptions, creations, activities, objects, recipes, people, business contacts, a route to work or walk, a new friend, new music or a new book. How about adding new beliefs or trading some of the old beliefs that may not be true to you now for what works for you as an adult. Take inventory of what your parents taught you that worked when you were 8 or 18, but not when you’re 48. Times have changed and our thought processes and perhaps some beliefs should change as well. Our beliefs rule our behaviors and our results. What can you add or edit in that area? What might be missing in your life that you’d like to add for a fuller, richer experience on Earth?
- Appreciate: What or who needs more appreciating this week? More fully appreciate someone or something and say your gratitude out loud or to yourself for these things. Act on your promptings. Send a card right now to somebody who needs to hear from you: send me an email and I’ll show you how to send a free card at Gail@BizBuilderCards.com. The more you do it, the more it gets ingrained into your brain. Do this one on a daily basis for even more impact than weekly and this can become a new habit that you add which adds to other people’s lives. Appreciate your surroundings, show your acknowledgement to those who serve you, rejoice in your beautiful environment. If it’s not so beautiful – add to it or edit to make it so. Who needs to hear from you today or who needs appreciating?
