"You Deserve a Break Today!"

This last week I've been exhausted. Tired, running on empty, kind of dragging along. Definitely not operating at my best. Two weeks ago, I started taking these new supplements: a super powerful greens product and a powerful antioxident. I started feeling great, within hours of first taking it. More energy, better outlook and attitude, a greater capacity for productivity.

So, what did I do? I started working harder, staying up later so I could get more done and sacrificed my sleep. Now I'm paying for it.

I recently found this study on the Slacker News website, "New Study Finds More Naps Mean A Healthier Heart," (http://www.channel3000.com/health/10989723/detail.html) that said that it's great to take short naps during the day and that it may help your heart.

I've also heard that it's great to take a day of rest each week. I know that when I've tried it, it's had a huge impact on my health, outlook and emotional well-being.

Since most of us can ill afford to take that 30 minute snooze during the day, and it's even more difficult to take an entire day off and rest, I figure that somehow we can take some type of break where we just "do nothing more than enjoy or appreciate life."

I found this website that has some really beautiful images and sayings to encourage you to take that time. So, today or whenever you get the chance, take 10-15 minutes and check it out. Then, perhaps set up a daily time where you do nothing more than relax, recharge and renew your focus, whatever that looks like for you. Enjoy!

Here's that website: http://beinglive.com/win101/phwinspire501k.htm

We All Live on a Yellow Submarine

Vacations in outer space? Hotel Atlantis, underwater? Get real.

All this talk about success makes me tired. I guess I yearn for a true vacation where I can just sit still, doing nothing. We all need to kick back, relax and re-charge for an extended period of time. And during the week, what about taking one day and having that day be your "do nothing" day. Go ahead, give yourself a break. You need it. And your body desperately deserves it.

This week I came across an article in Business 2.o Magazine touting underwater real estate (www.cnnmoney.com). Fascinating stuff, check out my excerpts below. What it impressed upon me was that we all need to slow down from time to time and relax. Take a vacation at least once a year. Take mini-vacations each week by resting on one day of your hectic schedule. You get the idea...

Anyway, here are the goods on these two underwater hotels. And by the way, with real estate prices being sky high and land in relatively short (limited) supply, kudos go to the developers. These guys obviously have the creativity and brain power to think outside the box. Also, it illustrates the ingenuity of the human spirit, even if it's based on the profit motive.

From the article:

• "Hydropolis, a $500 million-plus, 220-room hotel under development near Dubai in the Persian Gulf. Billed as the world's first underwater hotel, the Hydropolis will be located, if all goes according to plan, 60 feet below sea level and cost $1,500 a night.

• Poseidon Mystery Island, a $200 million development off the coast of Fiji. When it opens in mid-2008, the hotel will be much smaller than Hydropolis and almost twice as expensive to visit. But it does boast something you don't get in Dubai: 24-hour views of one of the world's liveliest coral reefs."

Choices That Change Your Life, Guaranteed

Years ago I kind of just floated through life, without a whole lot of direction. It was commonplace for me to be swayed by my circumstances, and my attitude reflected what I was going through. My outlook was generally pessimistic and the words out of my mouth usually reflected a cynical disposition.

More recently, though, I have realized that:

• I can't CONTROL my circumstances.
• However, I can control HOW I RESPOND to circumstances.
• My attitude and outlook on life shape my circumstances.
• So, I can make choices that shape my attitude that gets me THROUGH circumstances.

My desire is to be joyful, happy and peaceful at all times. You, too, can make these choices that will change your life.

Though I'm not perfect and no one is, you can strive toward these ideals and watch your life be transformed. (I know this sounds simplistic and borderline "cheesy," but I encourage you to try it).

Daily, in everything you do, as difficult as it is, choose:

1) Gratitude. Keep your heart open and be thankful for everything that comes your way. That doesn't mean you have to like it, only accept it and stop forcing things to go the way you want. You'll find that life is a lot easier.

2) To be happy. Regardless of your circumstances, make a decision to remain happy. No one or nothing can steal your happiness unless YOU ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN.

3) To be joyful. Make a decision to focus on what is good and right with the world, instead of being obsessed with the bad, evil or wrong in society. This doesn't mean ignoring these things or becoming a positive pollyanna, but what you focus on is usually what you get.

4) To operate out of rest: Strive to function out of a place of contentment and acceptance, peace & faith, knowing that all things are working for your good. Repeat to yourself, "I no longer struggle but naturally attract those things in life that I want and need, and walk in the miraculous daily."