The Bright Side! 8-) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Love yourself, Love others, Love your Life. ~~~~~~~~~~ Vol. 2, Issue # 35 August 1, 2001 www.BrightSideCoaching.com ISSN: 1530-4334 ~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome Nothing Doing Like Doing Nothing Soul Restoration Tip Contact Info ~~~~~~~~~~ Good Morning! A warm welcome to each of you! So many new subscribers -- thanks for joining us! Special thanks to Steve Goodier for his generous plug in his e-zine about BrightSide Coaching! You may recall in our last issue, I wrote about CSP or Constant Positive Saturation -- filling your mind with inspiring, healthy messages. (See Issue #34 www.brightsidecoaching.com/bsarchive.htm) If you really want a terrific way to do that, I suggest you subscribe to Steve's daily email called Life Support. You can check it out at www.lifesupportsystem.com. Believe me, you will be blessed from his writings! With summer coming to an end soon, I am once again extending my coaching hours -- that means I have space for new clients! My ideal clients are people who are very bright, motivated to make significant changes even if they don't yet know what those changes might be (figuring it out is part of the fun!), and who are on a spiritual path. If that sounds like you, please call my office at 678-938-0419 and let's see if we might be a good fit to partner together on your most important project -- YOU! I also offer personality and career assessments on an individual and group basis. Please contact me to learn more about the contribution the DISC Assessments can make in your life and organization. They are remarkable tools! Lastly, as we have so many new subscribers this week (+300!), I want to once again share about Thomas Leonard's Coachville. This is a membership coach training program ($79 for a lifetime membership!) chock full of useful tools for you to use in your own personal development and in coaching other people. If interested, please click the "Become A Coach" icon found at www.brightsidecoaching.com/beth.htm. This is an affiliate program (but even if it wasn't I'd still recommend it) so I appreciate you joining via my website. Thanks and have fun with it! With Love, Beth ~~~~~~~~~~ Nothing Doing Like Doing Nothing What a marvelous lesson I have learned -- yet again! I am writing this article on a stormy day while I am vacationing here at St. George Island, Florida. If you are on my Growth mailing list (and if you aren't but would like to be, please email me and put “subscribe growth” in the subject line; Growth is a motivational quote sent each weekday -- quick, easy inspiration), then you already received the email about the ordeal it was to arrive here and get Internet service. Believe me, it was quite complicated! St. George Island is a four-mile island located on the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee and Apalachicola. During World War II, the island was used by troops for training exercises that were carried out over the area's vast dunes. I don't imagine a whole lot has changed since that time. The only things here are beach houses, a couple of stores and restaurants, and some boating outfitters. Needless to say, life is pretty quiet here -- it's clear this is the place to come when you want a break from life. Here, you buy fresh caught shrimp from a roadside truck and you take cool showers outside. Time is spent riding old-fashioned bicycles with baskets into town. In the evenings, you'll probably find yourself sitting peacefully on an old front-porch swing. The pace is slow and refreshing -- nothing fancy. There is a lot of wisdom born out of doing nothing. The revelations discovered in stillness can be staggering, as I have learned this week. There is a book called The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself by Veronique Vienne. Being a person who rarely sits idle, and who is, in fact, quite well versed in multitasking, this is not a book I have read yet. But now, I think I must! Remember when you were a kid and you would tell you parents that you were bored? "I'M BOOOOOOOOORED!" Sound familiar? I know I said that a time or two and my parents' reply was always, “Find something to do!” Maybe it is just ingrained now, but I rarely have that problem these days. Nowadays, it's the opposite problem. I would really like to change saying to “Find NOTHING to do.” And so this week that is exactly what I did. Well, sorta. In doing "NOTHING," "SOMETHING" is created -- one makes the space for new things to grow. I have learned that doing nothing is not synonymous with "wasting time." While I did spend the week in this desolate place where Internet connections are difficult to come by, and cell phones don't get strong signals, I was able to accomplish some important things. Here is what I did on my summer vacation: I had a week-long ongoing conversation with God. I made some decisions about my personal life that were long overdue. I came away with a clear understanding of what I need to do to take my business to the next level. I prayed for my clients and my colleagues at a deep level. I gave thanks to be a part of such a distinguished group of people as coaches are. I prepared for a tremendous 18-month opportunity/challenge (These are one and the same, right?) that I have taken on. I spent quality time with my children. Seeing the rate they are maturing made me realize that vacations like this are going to be fewer and farther between. I taught them how to play card games. We watched movies on a rainy day. They enjoyed each others company and spent time reconnecting in a way that we seem to miss in the busyness of our everyday life. It was truly rewarding and the best investment I have made in a long time. When I was thinking about this article I didn't just want to send a virtual postcard about my vacation time. I want to remind each of you that every day brings opportunities to just do nothing. And in doing nothing, many wonderful things can come. While we may not have a week very often, we do have a lunch hour, time before bed or when we get up early. Spend the time wisely and think of these windows of time as “mini-vacations." Schedule them in your day and on your calendar and then keep that appointment with yourself. Maybe doing nothing can be your most productive time of all. I encourage you to give yourself permission to let go of “what you do” and just be “who you are” in the quiet moments. Give yourself the gift of doing nothing. Set aside the time for introspection. I promise it's one of the best gifts you'll ever receive. Enjoy the solace! ~~~~~~~~~~ Soul Restoration Tip To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for spending your time with me -- see you next time! Until then, I wish you ... mental vacations, spiritual peace and moments of good living, Beth Professional Life Coach /Writer / Human Being ~~~~~~~~~~ Contact Info Copyright 2001 Beth Burns Attribution required for distribution/duplication. Your email address is secure and will not be sold or used unethically. To subscribe to The Bright Side and Growth, please go to www.BrightSideCoaching.com/subscribe.htm ~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Burns is a Professional Life Coach -- partnering with motivated people on their personal and professional goals. Her mission is to teach people to love themselves and love their life! She offers two free email newsletters and can be visited on the web at www.BrightSideCoaching.com . She can also be reached by calling 678-938-0419 or by email Beth@BrightSideCoaching.com
