Paste: Paste up Your Personal Mission Statement
July 19, 2018 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Post a copy of your goals, your vision, your ideal day, your life line, or your treasure map someplace where you can review it daily or weekly. Creating a visual reminder of the big picture you seek sets it in your mind and generates internal motivation and pictures to energize and inspire you. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day issues, inconveniences, and irritants of living, that we forget the big picture. Sometimes we need that big picture to help pull us through some of that yucky stuff we have to wade through to get to the other side.
I have made a habit of doing an annual mission statement and personal vision for my ideal life as well as writing down 100 things that I want in my life. I have been doing this for 20 years and find it quite interesting to see what was on my first list. Some things on your list may be easy to acquire or accomplish and other things may take you many years to achieve. It’s always good to have intermediate milestones to whet your appetite for more success.
Research has shown that our energy is enhanced when we are actively working on achieving a goal. I keep my treasure maps in my walk-in closet. I have also had them in my garage and inside my medicine cabinet door. One study concluded that 39% of the people who use your bathroom will look inside your medicine cabinet, so I decided to give them a show with my treasure map.
Reaffirming our mission on a continual basis gives us strength and energy to handle our challenges. The benefits of visualizing what we desire have been proven time and again. Seeing a picture of yourself in a positive state in the future sends a signal to your brain and your body to prepare for this end state and you subconsciously start behaving in ways to make it true.
Physical energy accounts for only 30% of our total energy while 70% of our energy comes from our emotional energy. Emotion is energy in motion. Get yours in motion through positive visualization. I have found that creating Treasure Maps – posters of pictures and words that you have cut and pasted from magazines that represent what you want in your life are like magical magnets to what you visualize for your life. The act of physically creating the poster and being on the lookout for images to add whenever you skim through a publication keeps your visions on the top of your mind and you are more likely to act in a manner that is congruent to achieving your vision if you see it clearly each day. Get your scissors, glue, and poster board ready.
New Name, New Vision, New Mission
April 22, 2013 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever driven past a store-front and seen a canvas banner hanging in front of the old signage “Under New Management” and wondered what will change with the new management? Well. . . . consider this post to be my virtual canvas banner. We may look the same on some levels, but many new great things have taken place. We’re under new management, new name and new vision with a new mission. We’re shaking things up around here and we wanted to share the good news with our fans.
After lots of paperwork, forms, phone calls, re-writing of vision statements, mission statements, life purpose workshops and several trips abroad to ruminate on what the future should look like for moi; we are fully sailing under the new banner of GaiaHart.com. Funny how many people have divulged to me that they had changed their name or go by a nickname after I shared my name change story with them. . . quite fascinating, the name thing.
Still getting the details of websites, the blog now has a new facelift while dealing with other digital stuff and the old monikers of Gail Hahn and Funcilitators.com, but we are in full swing with a new personal name of Gaia Hart and doing business under my new name and continuing with BizBuilderCards.com. Rest assured the bits and bobs will be changed in the near future to match the new legal names.
What does this mean? It means I outgrew my old name, threw off the old persona, stepped up to a new potential with a new name: Gaia = Greek Godess of Earth Energy, and Hart = Heart stemming from the School of Love as evidenced in my life purpose created in my fingerprints. The Gaia Theory is that the Earth is self healing and that there is an interconnectedness to everything. I like that – the thought that we are all connected and healing together. It represents a spiritual growth and change in the mission and structure of my life and my work which represents my life purpose. . . . which is helping you find yours. . . .
My company name change from Fun*cilitators to my new personal name moves the energy from the focus on fun, teambuilding, and organizational training and keynote speaking to working with clients one-on-one in a personal or small-group setting to help you discover the art of living and leading Hartfully. Voila – a new mode of sharing my expertise in creating energy at all levels for leaders, executives and entrepreneurs. What this means for me is that I get to go deeper with each client and what it means for you is that you get my undivided attention to your needs. We get to pick the location of our working together and how we work together – completely customized to fit us both. Funcilitators.com served me well and served thousands of satisfied clients over the past 16 years and now it’s time for a change to better serve my clients with what they need most – personal attention and expertise to shine the light on their blind spots and ignite their energy to another level.
Stay tuned for what is to come. . . new designs, new programs, new ways to connect to your capacity. Our BizBuilderCards.com biz has expanded immensely in recent months. We’re now doing business cards, custom calendars, photo albums, canvas prints and more gourmet goodies to send your gratitude to those who matter in addition to our traditional custom cards, postcards and tri-panel cards. Why not test drive the Gratitude Challenge by sending 30 cards in 30 days to see how it changes your life and the lives of others with a simple connection and thoughtful word. . . brownies never hurt as a thoughtful gift either. Check it out at SOCGratitude.com/9431. Let me know your results – I’d like to share the good news stories with our fans.
What does your name represent? What does your business name represent to you and to others? What’s in a name is a whole lot of meaning. What kind of meaning are you giving to your business and your life? Does your current name represent all that you could be or something that you were? Have you outgrown your name or are you itching to change? Only you know the answer to that.
Bouncing Back for Your Comeback: Getting Real About Resiliency
February 12, 2013 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
As the economy limps out of the pits with so many people fallen down during the past few years; I’ve noticed how some people have bounced back quite nicely while others are still stumbling along. It’s curious to me what kind of characteristics, behaviors, mindsets and other stuff do the Bounce-Backers have that the Stumblers may not possess….or just not know that they possess?
After many lengthy conversations with clients and others who have both bounced back and stumbled back; along with more research and reading on the topic of human resilience and the art of the comeback. I’d like to share some of the findings from my hunt for answers.
Psychologists agree that some people are born with more resilience than others and they also point out that it’s within all of us to cultivate more resilience by adjusting how we view adversity. Do we let it become our total reality forevermore or do we think of it as a temporary detour, a bump in the road and a minor setback? Do we let our adversity (name your favorite: divorce, death, disease, debt, addiction, foreclosure, job loss) define us, or is it just life? I’m pretty sure nobody who has lived very long has escaped all of the aforementioned situations. Resilience refers to our capacity to deal with discomfort and adversity. It’s not just a reactive skill set, but a set of characteristics and traits that enrich our lives.
Highly resilient folk are adaptive to situations, remain flexible and even welcome and thrive on change. It keeps them on their toes, excited for new challenges and they expect to bounce back and have the confidence that they will. There is no question in their mind that they have the skill sets and the mind set to attain something bigger than the adversity flavor of the moment. They have a knack for creating good out of what may seem to others as bad luck. They can see the other side and are creative thinkers.
According to top researchers here are the 5 most powerful ways to get real about resilience and bounce back for your comeback:
1. Positive Thinking, even in the midst of adversity. Resilient people can still hold positive thoughts about positive outcomes during a negative situation while others may only hold onto the negative and really can’t see the positive in an adverse situation. Our emotional patterns are triggered by our thinking patterns. So if we want to curtail negative emotions, start with more positive thoughts such as how did this seemingly “bad” thing happen and what good can come of it – what is the lesson. One way to build on this skill is to notice, appreciate and be grateful for more positive things in your life to build your positivity muscle and build resilience and make positive life deposits, so when there is a negative withdrawal; you already have so many grateful deposits that you can balance it out.
2. Look for the Learning Point. The more you look for the lesson to be learned in adversity and how it can help you grow, evolve and become better; the more you use it as a tool for growth, then the more you will rise above the issues. When you become bigger than your problem, your ability to handle bigger and bigger issues grows as well. Learn to problem-solve as soon as you see something looming. Cultivate your curiosity about adversity issues and embrace a learner’s mindset.
3. Be in Service – Gratitude Pushes out Fear. When gratitude and service in love and kindness come in the front door; fear runs out the back door. Open your mind and open your heart to turn situations around and teach others how you got through it to help them through similar adversity. How can you pass along what you learned to others seeking help and support? Put things into perspective by being grateful for all the things that are going right in your life so when adversity strikes, there is a much bigger ratio of things that are going well. One of my mentors challenged her people to change up how they answer to the ubiquitous question of “how are you doing?” and I will challenge you to the same. Instead of saying “fine”….say “I’m grateful, and you?”. It reminds your brain how grateful you are to be alive and be in the presence of others who care enough to ask. See how you feel after practicing that little change in your life for a few weeks. It’s a reminder to yourself just how grateful for everything we are.
4. Honoring Yourself and Your Body – Taking Care of the Temple. Cultivating good health habits, eating right, getting enough sleep and exercise help make our body strong and our resilience strong…or at least easier to deal with the stresses that come with adversity. I just heard a story by Brian Williams on the Nightly News that stated 41 million Americans are sleep deprived costing companies over $63Billion per year in productivity loss. I don’t know about you but if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m worthless. My brain doesn’t fire as fast, I’m groggy, I can’t focus and my energy wanes. Good sleep is essential to building resilience. Taking care of yourself also means taking care of your social connections and I don’t mean social media and the so-called “friends” you may have online. I’m talking the real deal. The people you can call when your car breaks down or when you break down to come listen or help or lend a hand. Real friendships, love and connections help build resilience. During my world travels; I’ve always found that if I’m traveling solo and bump up against an adverse action it feels a little scary, but if I’m with a friend in a similar situation it becomes and adventure and a challenge and we rise to the occasion and start problem-solving.
5. Laugh Through it – Hold onto Your Humor. Not that it’s a laughing matter, but laughter can get you through some tough spots. It can be pain relieving – as found by Dr. Norman Cousins in his famous book Anatomy of an Illness, finding that 10 minutes of good belly laughter can induce 2 hours of restful sleep without medicine in patients. As a Certified Laughter Leader; I’ve lead groups and coached individuals and practiced laughter to reduce tension during tense moments. When you consciously choose to be playful with a situation, it becomes empowering that you do have a choice in the matter and it signals to your brain and body that you are bigger and better than the adversity – you can laugh at yourself or the situation. Laughter is a release of tension – the same as crying and sometimes you do both, but get it out of your system to build your resilience.
Those are your marching orders to help you bounce back for your comeback. I hope you find some ideas that help you get real about your resiliency and here’s to facing adversity and laughing in its face. Cheers to you for your courage to step forward from (temporary) setbacks!
Your New Year Assignment
January 28, 2013 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
So now that you’re past all the partying, whooping it up and forgetting about real life for severl weeks; it’s time to hunker down and get a little more serious about what you really, really, really want out of your life this year. I’m not talking about those crazy resolutions of losing weight, working out more and eating right…. although those may be a part of the plan. I’m talking the deeper stuff, the soul-connection kind of stuff that will move you towards your life purpose. What I call the Hot 100 list.
Writing down, or typing, cutting and pasting or digitally pasting photos, pictures, drawing and coloring AT LEAST 100 things you can do to move your life forward towards your purposeful goals this year. For left brainers and the check-listers; numer your page 1-100 and then write down your desires so you can feel the success when you check them off. For you right brainers, use the Vision Board method and cut and paste to your heart’s content. For the most bang for your buck, do both. And READ YOUR LIST and LOOK AT YOUR VISIN BOARD DAILY. Don’t sock it away on the shelf only to dust it off and look at it next year.
Studies have shown that these images get locked into your subconscious and there is a wee bit of magic that happens as you begin manifesting your list. It must be viewed often to keep it on the top of your mind and let is soak into the back of your mind. Stretch yourself to come up with at least 100. I always have more – there’s just too much to do, see, be to stop at 100. Let it simmer for a while, come back and add more. Some goals can take several years to attain and some can be done in an afernoon – write them down. One of my goals took 27 years to achieve. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes when you can cross one off the list.
As part of your assignment; take the Gratitude Challenge. I dare you to send 30 personal cards to 30 people in 30 days at http://socgratitude.com/9431
What’s really cool is that you can also create your vision board on one of the cards and send it to yourself so you have a portable version. I took a photo of mine and carry it with me on my iphone so when I’m in waiting mode; I can pull up my dreams and desires, read my life purpose, check out my life vision and then do a gap analysis and see what I already have achieved and what I still need to do.
Happy writing and card sending. Report back to me how it went. Cheers!