Guest Post: Create an Encouragement Box by Jamie Ridler
February 2, 2012 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Articles, Blog posts, Featured, Fun, Inspiration
When I saw this post from Jamie, I just HAD to share it with you guys – I have an encouragement book but I forget to dip into it when I need it…but this encouragement BOX idea is FABULOUS! It’s right here by my desk twinkling at me! Let me know if you try it, and feel free to send me (and Jamie!) some encouragement to fill our encouragement boxes!!
“We all have dark and discouraging days, especially when we’re stretching ourselves to new heights and reaching into new places, and sometimes we need a little support. That’s why I created my encouragement box. The concept is very simple. Whenever someone says anything loving or supportive or beautiful to me, either on my blog, over email or in person, I take a moment to write it down on an index card and pop it in the box. I keep it simple, just a short phrase, so that I can read it quickly and easily. I keep the box open and visible to me when I’m working at my desk.
Whenever I’m feeling discouraged or down, I glance over and am able to see something true, meaningful and personal that reminds me that I am loved, that people believe in me and that the work I do makes a difference. It inspires me each and every day. And on particularly challenging days, when I’m feeling down and discouraged, I pull out a few of these cards and drink them in with my tea. It helps wash away the mood of the moment, connects me to what’s important and inspires me to keep on keeping on.
An encouragement box can take whatever form inspires you: a pretty bowl filled with little pieces of coloured paper. a gift box with notes written on the backs of old holiday cards, a folder in your inbox. The most important part is that you use it. If you’re inspired to gather your encouragements using calligraphy, stickers or coloured pencils, go for it. If that sounds like a beautiful idea but actually leaves you with another to-do list item and piles of cards waiting to be created, come back to basics. The beauty really comes from the love and the thought behind the words – and that doesn’t need any dressing up at all.
Personally, I’ve committed to keeping the process really simple. I buy a box and some blank index cards from the dollar store and keep them on my desk. I gather encouragement on the fly, not worrying about using a particular format or pen or even whether it’s neat. Making it easy has kept me with it. I’m on my third year of encouragement boxes!
May your encouragement box hold precious treasures that remind you daily of how amazing you are.”
Jamie Ridler is a creative living coach and the director of Jamie Ridler Studios. From the Creative Living with Jamie podcast to the Sparkles creativity e-course, Jamie’s work helps women find the confidence and courage to discover and express their creative selves so they can be the star they are.
BIG love and thanks to Jamie who is one of my favourite people on the planet right now! Jamie, thank you for letting me share this wonderful practice. xx
Love
Donna.x
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Stop Looking At What You Ain’t Got
November 24, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
Anyway, on the radio today T.I featuring Rhianna “Live your Life” has been playing, which starts “Stop looking at what you ain’t got and start being thankful for what you do got.” Which gives me the perfect message really doesn’t it? Especially in tough times, it’s a really great practice to stop complaining about what we don’t have, and be thankful for what we do have. It reminds me of a Lenny Henry sketch in which he talks about a tribe who greet one another with ‘how are you? And your wife and family? And your goat?’ – and that’s it because that’s all they have.
Imagine if someone were to greet you with ‘How are you? And your husband and family? And your car? And your wardrobe full of clothes? And your 25 pairs of shoes? And your widescreen television? And your electric power shower? And your tinted moisturiser? And your laptop? And your 200 CD’s? And your fridge with it’s own ice-maker? And your 43 saucepans? And…’ You’d be there for HOURS! Days, even.
So for today, even if you’re not in a place that celebrates Thanksgiving, give thanks anyway for all that you have – not just the material possessions, but the love and friendship and joy that surrounds you. And I want to thank you for reading, and for giving me an audience to play to!
Love
Donna.x
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Do You Know How Beautiful You Are?
August 22, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
For the last week, I have been doing the chopra centre 21-day meditation challenge. In yesterday’s meditation, this poem was referenced.
Saints Bowing in the Mountains
Do you know how beautiful you are?
I think not, my dear.For as you talk of God,
I see great parades with wildly colorful bands
Streaming from your mind and heart,
Carrying wonderful and secret messages
To every corner of this world.I see saints bowing in the mountains
Hundreds of miles away
To the wonder of sounds
That break into light
From your most common words.Speak to me of your mother,
Your cousins and your friends.
Tell me of squirrels and birds you know.
Awaken your legion of nightingales—
Let them soar wild and free in the sky.
And begin to sing to God.Let’s all begin to sing to God!
Do you know how beautiful you are?
I think not, my dear,
Yet Hafiz
Could set you upon a Stage
And worship you forever!-Hafiz
Do you know how beautiful you are?
Love
Donna.x
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Guest post: Stuck in a Rut? A Simple Solution
July 18, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Articles, Blog posts, Featured, Inspiration
My friend Sam shared this on her blog last week and I loved it so much I asked if I could share it with you guys – enjoy!
“
I am an avid watcher of TED talks. I love the people they draw, the ideas they have, the inspiration they bring to my life.
Today I wanted to share a very short (3 min 27 sec) talk from a TED conference held in February of this year. The speaker’s idea for getting out of a rut and creating change in your life is incredibly simple and therefore easy to implement.
The Dakini Grace philosophy is one of creating sustainable change in people’s lives. It’s not about waiting and hoping for a different lifestyle. It’s not about putting off life changes until you’ve had the next baby, bought the next house or retired from your job.
It’s about starting now by starting simply.
We don’t need to know how we’re going to deal with every turn in the road before we take the first step. We simply need to be willing to actually take that step. And then to step again. And again.
As we build momentum, personal growth comes from taking the time to notice the joy, the satisfaction that is always available when you choose to be fully present in your life. As we step into that, the goal becomes less significant and the journey everything. For it’s the journey which teaches us; which changes us. Read more
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OnTheBeach – Celebrate Good Times
June 2, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Articles, Blog posts, Inspiration
Most people don’t, they save their celebrations for ‘big’ occasions only and miss out on the opportunity for daily celebration. Last year I was coached by Sandy Grason and celebration is a big part of her coaching program – and I loved it so much, I make it a big part of my coaching program now too. And it never ceases to amaze me that it is something that most of my clients find ‘difficult’ to remember.
We’re just not used to celebrating our lives, our small achievements, sometimes even our big achievements. One of my clients recently reached a major goal. When I asked what they’d be doing to celebrate, they answered in all seriousness “Working toward the next goal”. Hmm. Well, there is always another mountain to climb, another goal to reach for, another problem to sort out.
And the bad news? There always will be! Life will never be ‘perfect’ because the purpose of life is to grow…and why grow if life is perfect? There will always be something new and shiny to reach for because that’s what we do, that’s life. The good news is that this means you might as well celebrate every small (and big) achievement – then you get to celebrate a lot, have a lot of fun and enjoy each of your accomplishments.
Whether it is completing a blog post, paying off a debt, getting a promotion, finishing the housework, doing the exercise you said you’d do, celebrate everything. Find reasons to celebrate you. Frankly, I think you could celebrate you just for your smile, or your loving heart, or your unique wonderful-ness, but I’m guessing most of you won’t. So find something to celebrate this week – maybe something you’ve done this year and never did celebrate – and big or small, celebrate.
The reason this was on my mind today is that I paid off my credit card debt, finally! Woohoo!!!! I am now officially debt free. All my money is my own, I don’t have to give a big chunk of it to my credit card company. Hap hap HAZAH! You can tell I’m happy, right?! Anyway, to celebrate, I am going to the theatre to see the Jungle Book in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait! I hope your celebration is as much fun. Oh, and your celebration can be a chocolate biscuit, an episode of your favourite tv program or a bubble bath and a magazine…it doesn’t have to be lavish and expensive, it just has to be a celebration.
Something to play with
Find something to celebrate this week and find a way to celebrate it. Once you’ve done one celebration, find something else to celebrate and celebrate that! And don’t forget to leave me a comment to tell me what you’re going to celebrate.
Love
Donna.x
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The Diamond in the Rough
May 31, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
This morning I read this lovely article, and it got me thinking – how many of us are hiding the diamond within us? How many of us aren’t fully owning our magnificence? How many of us are standing on the sidelines, just watching life go by around us, thinking we can’t make a difference?
The truth is that you are a wonderful, brilliant, creative, special human being. And if you can’t see that, you need to find people who can show you who you really are. You are capable of so much more than you think, and it is a criminal waste for you to hide that diamond. There are many ways to uncover and polish that precious diamond, including connecting to your source, coaching, playing to your strengths, reading/watching inspirational material, looking in the mirror and seeing the diamond looking back at you.
The main thing you need is a willingness to mine that diamond. I promise you, it is there just waiting to be found. Please, please mine for it, polish it and start shining – the world needs you.
Love
Donna.x
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Pieces of a Puzzle
May 26, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.” Deepak Chopra
You are an important piece of the grand puzzle – do you own that? Do you live that? Do you see how amazing, how beautiful, how wonderful you are? Or if something is currently darkening your brilliance (lack of self-belief, fear, feeling directionless), do you see how amazing, how beautiful, how wonderful you are? I can see the wonder of you from here…I hope you see it when you look in the mirror!
Own your own magnificence – own that you are a part of the grand puzzle, an important part. What can you do this week to show your faith in your importance?
Love
Donna.x
PS I couldn’t say ‘jigsaw’ as a kid, it was a ‘jinksaw’ – just thought I’d share that!
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Accessing Your Intuition
May 24, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
So, a couple of weeks ago I asked you to share with me the ways you access your inner wisdom, and promised to share the final list. Some of these are direct ways to access your inner voice, some are indirect, helping you to get quiet enough to hear that voice.
1. Visualisation
- Future self
- Wise man in a cave
- Wise woman in a cottage
- Board of advisors
2. Meditation
3. Writing
- Journal prompts
- ‘free’ writing eg morning pages
- Write to your business/intuition/future self/God, asking and answering questions
4. Brainstorming
- Mind maps
- Group brainstorm
5. Prayer
6. Silence
7. Yoga
8. Exercise
9. Nature
10. Singing
11. Masterminding
12. Reading/listening to/watching inspiring material
13. Like-minded people
14. Talking to clients
15. Dancing
16. Art
17. Ask a specific question, then get quiet so you can hear the answer
- What is my gut feeling?
- What does my heart say?
- What does my soul say?
- Go to sleep on the question and let your dreams answer (keep a pad and pen by the bed to capture the answer)
18. Driving
19. crafts
20. Doing what you love
21. Staring at the stars
22. Body awareness (noticing how you feel when you think of a particular option/idea)
23. Take a bubble bath or shower
24. Doing mindless tasks like housework
25. Get someone to ask quick-fire questions, and don’t think, just answer
If you open the channel to your inner wisdom, it will keep talking to you – you just need to listen! Over the coming weeks and months, I will blog some more about some of these ideas – if there are any you particularly want to hear more about, please leave me a comment and I’ll address them first. And of course, if you have any more ideas to add to the list, leave a comment below with the ways you access your intuition.
Love
Donna.x
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Apache Blessing
April 18, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
May the sun bring you new energy by day
May the moon softly restore you by night
May the rain wash away your worries
May the breeze blow new strength into your being
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life
May you be blessed this week.
Love
Donna.x
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Your Mission: Fall in Love with You
April 12, 2011 by Donnaonthebeach
Filed under Blog posts, Inspiration
This week, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to treat yourself as if you loved yourself beyond words. Treat yourself as you would a precious child that you want to spoil rotten! Treat yourself as if you thought you could do anything. Treat yourself as if you could do no wrong in your own eyes. Really fall in love with precious, gorgeous, wonderful you.
I love you…but it’s more important that you love you.
Love
Donna.x
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