#1 Bestselling Author, Speaker, storyteller Ronda Del Boccio, The Story Lady

Posts Tagged ‘Personal Development’

“Don’t look back. Leave it all on the track!”

Inspirational Quotes from the movie Racing Stripes.

I watched a movie recently that made me think of you—the success-minded person striving toward fulfilling your dream.

The movie is called Racing Stripes. I want you to rent that movie as soon as you finish reading this post! Because you will have a good time and have a dose of courage at the same time.

racing Stripes is about a zebra who watches horses run and yearns to run on the track with them. Naturally, he is faced with a number of obstacles, including the fact that most of the world thinks he’s weird and different and doesn’t deserve to be among their lofty selves.

Yet Stripes cannot lay aside his dream. Running is in his heart. I know you feel that way about your own passion. You couldn’t set it aside for long even if you tried, right?

Stripes’ coach tells him, “Don’t look back. Leave it all on the track!” It’s not until Stripes is truly tested beyond his limits that he learns exactly what that means.

And everyone who is writing a book, starting a business, or creating any lasting legacy is just like Stripes. You’ll be tested beyond endurance. You’ll face obstacle after obstacle…

What do you do?

What do you do when you’ve trained and trained for something—whether that “something” is running a business or running a race—and you’re there on that Big Day…

You’ve poured your time and energy into this moment. You’ve sacrificed so much to get here to this defining moment.

And somewhere in the middle of that race or that product creation or that launch or whatever your Big Moment is, you get tired.

You get so tired from all the effort, and you don’t know if you can make it. You get shaky and exhausted, and probably your “monkey brain” starts spitting out things like, “You’ll never make it.” “It’s OK to give up. You Tried.” You could wish for some inspirational thoughts to pull you through at that moment, but you’re too tired to muster them up out of nowhere.

Scott Sharp Armstrong, my good friend, colleague and mastermind partner, faced just such a moment running a marathon… Scott is the author of Boston Marathon or Bust and the Best Affirmations Handbook..

It happened around mile 19 of the 26 miles. He didn’t think he had it in him.

He said, “The wheels fell off the bus…” Here’s what happened next…

When you’re tired—when doubts creep in..those are the moments of golden opportunity. You can choose your own outcome.

The difference between giving up and winning your own mental game comes from your decision. You can let your mind talk to you and cause you to give up, OR—

You can decide to be the one who talks to your brain. And if like Scott you’ve practiced ahead of the Big Moment (which you definitely need to) then it will be easier to throw down a stream of inspirational thoughts and positive messages that fortify your courage..

Because it is courage you will need when you’re pushing beyond all imagining and forcing yourself to move through the pain, challenges and other difficulties you face.

You can’t practice overcoming obstacles when you’re facing a mountain. You want to support your courage and fortitude every day in little ways.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Write a long list of positive “I am” statements you can use, such as…

• “I am strong.”
• “I can do it!”
• “have the power!”
• “I overcome all obstacles.”
• “I am a winner!”

2. You can put these around your house, repeat them to yourself and get used to telling yourself these things every day.

3. Use a voice recorder, your cell phone (which probably has one) or a free program like Audacity to record your own voice saying these things so you get used to hearing yourself in your own voice saying them.

4. Stop watching the news, because bad news is negativity.

Resource

I absolutely love Best Affirmations Workbook,which I call the 30 Day training program for your mind. You get a simple lesson to do each day that takes only a few minutes. You’ll train yourself and get practice. It’s very affordable,

Give yourself the gift of the Best Affirmations Workbook at ProfitableStorytelling.com/affirmations

flu

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Pplayfulness doesn’t have to go away when you are an adult. I LOVE playing!

When I was a kid, my parents gave me an elf doll that had a soft body and braided string for legs. I had the best time making that elf dance.  It looked a little bit like what I’m about to show you…

This is a little holiday cheer for you today! I got together (virtually) with my friend Gina Gaudio Graves, the JV Queen, host of Relationship Marketing 101 Radio,  to bring you a very special dance.

I bet you never knew I could dance like this!

No matter what you celebrate during the winter season, I wish you joyful holidays this year and always.

A HUGE thank-you to Office Max and Jig-Jab for Elf Yorself!

Follow your bliss.

Ronda

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How Can Writing Help You Work Through the Stages of Grief?

For anyone grieving the death of a loved one, the holidays can be tough. Military families remembering their fallen warrior have an especially difficult time. Though military wives and husbands know the dangers their spouses put themselves into, that doesn’t make the loss any easier.

Grieving does not end after the funeral, and you go through various stages of grief. What if there were a tool

The Today Show ran a wonderful story about a girl from Texas named Kaylee Roberts who wrote a letter that changed her life.

Kaylee’s dad Kasey died in Afghanistan in spring of 2008, and Christmas has never been the same since, because her family still grieves the loss.

So Kaylee wrote a letter to “Decorated Family”, a program that provides decorations for military families to ease their grieving and help them get into the holiday spirit.

The letter Kaylee wrote was so touching that it attracted the attention of her local WalMart AND the Today Show.

Watch the video of the segment and stick with me, because I have a gift I would like to offer Kaylee and her family that will help her develop her already significant writing skills.

First, see the transformative power of writing…

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

As you saw in the video, Kaylee’s powerful letter and her desire to bring back cheer for her family have not only changed their lives, but also touched millions more through the media.

That’s nice for Kaylee, but what about YOU?

How Can Writing Help You Work Through the Stages of Grief?

Writing is a beautiful way to remember all the times you shared with your loved one who has died. It is also an excellent tool to work through your emotions.

Let me briefly share the stages a person goes through when grieving a major loss. (This happens with the death of a person, of course, and it can also happen with any major life event).

Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified 5 stages of grief, which are as follows:

Stages of Grief

The progression of stages is:^[2]

1. Denial – “I feel fine.”; “This can’t be happening, not to me.”
   Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of positions and individuals that will be left behind after death.
2. Anger – “Why me? It’s not fair!”; “How can this happen to me?”; “Who is to blame?”
   Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. Any individual that symbolizes life or energy is subject to projected resentment and jealousy.
3. Bargaining – “Just let me live to see my children graduate.”; “I’ll do anything for a few more years.”; “I will give my life savings if…”
   The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. Psychologically, the individual is saying, “I understand I will die, but if I could just have more time…”
4. Depression – “I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”; “I’m going to die… What’s the point?”; “I miss my loved one, why go on?”
   During the fourth stage, the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. This process allows the dying person to disconnect oneself from things of love and affection. It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.
5. Acceptance – “It’s going to be okay.”; “I can’t fight it, I may as well prepare for it.”
   In this last stage, the individual begins to come to terms with his mortality or that of his loved one.

As you well know, grief isn’t always “pretty.”

Sure –  Sometimes you remember the good times, the quirky habits, and the memorable moments. These memories make you smile, laugh and feel good along with the melancholy.

Other times, however, you feel overcome with sadness, grief, anger or other strong emotions. You may feel emotions so strong and so “unlike you” that you hardly know what to do.

Yes, those are all part of the stages of grief.

Whether you decide to go through any sort of counseling or not, there are things you can do for yourself and for your family to help get you through the grieving. (Note I’m not saying “get over it” –  but get through it.)

Journaling Writing about them in a journal or even a file on your computer is incredibly powerful.

Let your feelings out. Don’t hold back, no matter how strong, how “ugly” or how overwhelming they seem to you. Remember, emotions come and go. Don’t deny any feeling or say it shouldn’t be there. Simply allow yourself to feel it and then allow that emotion to shift, as it most definitely will.

Resource

Write on Purpose has more than a dozen ways to use writing as a tool for everything from stress relief to self-expression to moving through powerful emotions to  personal transformation. The package includes a bunch of useful and fun tools. You get an audio teaching which includes myself with The TallTrees in which we talk about the power of writing.

You also receive your own personal Transformation Zone, which has the various activities and tools I mentioned earlier. Plus, you  have access to a community of people who all love to write.

Through the end of 2010, the Write on Purpose package is 20 percent off.

Claim it now at WriteOnPurpose.com.

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Today's word is bosky, part of this week's theme, Into the woods. It is a (adjective) and is pronounced [BOS-kee]. Click to read the definition, origin and see it in action!

Fri: flummox | Thu: contravene | Wed: impede | Tue: stymie | Mon: occlude |

Today's word is flummox, part of this week's theme, In the way. It is a (transitive verb) and is pronounced [FLUM-ahks]. Click to read the definition, origin and see it in action!

Thu: contravene | Wed: impede | Tue: stymie | Mon: occlude | Fri: pneumatic |