Hi  Friends,

I'm obsessed with dime stores these days.  It's the pirate in me - I love looking for treasure.  I was debating over a snazzy koi pond dish when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dear old friend.  Do you remember Stephen R. Covey, the guy who wrote "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"?  That book was all the buzz when I worked in corporate 20 years ago.  I was young and wanted desperately to "get" what he was talking about, and finally here was my chance.  I grabbed the cd set off the shelf and held it to my heart.  I found my gold. 

Chalk full of awesomeness, one of the frameworks he was very popular for, and still is, is the concept of sorting out and understanding our priorities.  Check it out. 

Draft out four boxes:  

One box has Important/Urgent and includes: Crisis, deadlines, immediate attention items and problems. 

The second box is called...

Stress is popular.  It has been trained into us since we were crying for our binky.  It makes us feel important and purposeful.  Most of us are addicted to the chemistry effects in our bodies, so we ignore the compounding effect it has on our life.  Here are a few reminders on how to get a hold of it, so you can think clearly and plan that vacation. 

• Belly breathing.  Get on your back if you can or just hold your hands in the air and take 6 deep breaths.  Go into a bathroom stall if necessary.  Make sure your belly area is filling up like a balloon while your inhale, then count to ten while you exhale.  There is a VAGAS nerve below your diaphragm that releases calming serotonin stored in your gut; use it, and get your brain back. Kids love this too!
• Use "The Elijah Chair" method.  That's right, put all the stress you feel into an imaginary "friend" and sit him in the chair in your...