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One of a Kind News

Table of Contents

1. Welcome Notes
2. Letters From Readers
3. Article -- Love Your Self - Enjoy Everything You Do
4. Words of Wisdom
5. Resources

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1. Welcome Notes

A warm welcome to several new subscribers! I'm glad you are here! If you would like to review past issues of One of a Kind News, click on Archives List.

We are at the beginning of a new year and I am at the beginning of my 58th year. I like having my birthday in January because it coincides with the new year. A new beginning, a fresh start, all kinds of possibilities; these are the things I think about at this time of year. During Decembers, I tend to reflect on the past year and its accomplishments, lessons, wins and losses. By January, I'm ready to move on.

I like to start my new year out fresh. So, I move my spring- cleaning up to January. I am taking next week off to do just that. During that week, I will clean my home and office from top to bottom, my car inside and out, get my canine companions, "Me Too" and "Nugget" groomed, do my income taxes and plan my new year.

Sound like a lot of work? Yes, it will be and I intend to enjoy it. This week's article will explain how.

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2. Letters from Readers

I received the following two letters in response to my article, "Love Your Self, Learn to Say No", in the last issue. One from Ro, a reader in New York, who writes about her experience of saying "yes" to herself and how she handled being called selfish. Way to go Ro! I love your response "I told him I was not selfish, I was loved." I cannot think of a better response!

The second letter is from Rick, who points out how my sentence "Do use wisdom here, you may not want to say no to your boss, for example" could be misinterpreted. You are so right, Rick, it was not my intention to recommend to people that they cannot say no to their boss. It is always my intention to encourage people to be true to themselves, and in the same breath, I recommend using wisdom.

Thank you both for writing and for allowing me to share your writings.

"I like time alone and I love the water. I got bit by the camping bug last summer and went alone, after work, on a Friday (husband working) to a PA campground with a pool. I expected my husband to come Saturday night but he didn't get home until 11 pm so he didn't come. The $40 camper wasn't much and my husband would not have been impressed (I called it a tin can and it worked for me). So I spent $80 on my own pleasure and had a great time.

Then I found an RV to rent for $40 a night and booked it for a week in July. Next, I found a camper to buy for $3500 and had it at the campground within a month.

I was telling a family friend about the camper and how excited I was and her father said I was selfish. That hurt my feelings but by the time I saw him again, I told him I was not selfish, I was loved.

Blessings to you and yours,
Ro"

"Sharon,

Just a quick note to say that I appreciate your newsletters.

I appreciated your line: 'Boundaries are about saying no to anything that diminishes our lives in any way so that we can say yes to those things that enrich, enhance and nurture our lives.'

I did wonder, however, about one line: 'Do use wisdom here, you may not want to say no to your boss, for example.'

I don't think you intended to recommend to your readers that they can not say no to their boss. It has been my experience that to say no at times to my boss both in public meetings and in private have led not only to greater self-respect but to a better working relationship and mutual regard.

Keep up the good work and have a great new year!

Cheers,
Rick"

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3. Love Your Self, Enjoy Everything You Do

LOVING YOUR SELF MEANS TAKING EXCELLENT CARE OF EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE.

"I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude." --Judith M. Knowlton

It's easy to enjoy doing something you love to do, but what about those things you dread doing, put off doing as long as possible, maybe even resent having to do? Is it possible to enjoy doing those things? Yes, it is! How you experience doing anything depends on your INTENTION and ATTENTION. And those two things, my friends, you do have a choice about.

I have discovered that I can enjoy absolutely every thing I do when I set my intention to come from a "place of love" and put my attention on "love thoughts".

We approach every task with an intention and it's either love- based or fear-based. I'll use house cleaning as an example, as that's one chore most of us enjoy doing the least. A fear-based intention might be to clean your house to avoid the consequences of not cleaning it - consequences such as having to live in a dirty house or having someone see your dirty house. So, you tackle the chore with the mindset of just getting it done and over with, so you can move on to something you really want to do. Anything you do for the purpose of avoiding the consequences of not doing it is fear-based and you will not enjoy doing it.

A love-based intention, on the other hand, might be something as subtle as intending to "love your house clean". There's a subtle, but huge, difference in the mindset that comes out of that intention.

Try each intention on and see how they feel. A fear-based intention will likely feel draining and a love-based intention will likely energize you. You can choose which intention you want to come from.

The next step is to choose what you will put your attention on &Mac246; what you will focus on. Below is a list of what I call "love thoughts" for lack of a better title. These are the areas of focus that energize me and help me enjoy everything I do. I will describe each as I apply them to cleaning house. They can be applied to anything you do, but I'm using cleaning house as an example.

1. Creating Order
I have an inherent need for order in my life. Disorder drains my life energy. Clutter in my environment leads to clutter in my mind. Order is important to my peace of mind. Creating order is part of loving my Self. As I'm creating order, I look at each and every item as to whether it enhances or drains me in any way. Anything that drains me, I discard. As I discard things, I imagine that I am freeing up space for good things to come into my life.

2. Gratitude
I pay attention to how each thing I handle blesses my life. When unloading the dishwasher, for example, I imagine how each item enhances my life. I follow this same line of focus as I work my way through my home.

3. Simplicity
While cleaning, I look for ways to simplify each chore. Am I doing something the hard way? What would make it easier and more enjoyable? I also look for ways to simplify the appearance of my home. Whereas I used to like to have a lot of things sitting around, I have come to a place where I like empty space &Mac246; the more empty space, the better.

4. Thoroughness
Each thing I clean, I clean thoroughly and completely. I remember my grandmother telling me to dust each piece of furniture completely, not just give it a lick and a promise. I would think I was getting away with something when I dusted around things. My grandmother may not have caught me, but I was left with a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction. Doing something thoroughly is about feeling good about me.

5. Blessing Others
I focus on how what I am doing will bless others. At this point in my life, I live alone with just my two canine companions and they don't care whether I clean the house or not. I do, however, love to invite people over and I like to bless them with a warm, inviting environment.

6. Conservation
It makes me feel good to conserve and guilty to waste. It makes me feel good to use everything I have to the fullest. I also conserve my energy. I do this by resting in my work and I rest in my work by working at my natural pace.

7. My Natural Pace
I don't rush. I don't push, struggle or strive. Rather, I move gracefully from one project to the next in a way that is comfortable for me.

8. Inner Guidance
I get out of my mind and tune into my inner guidance. Rather than having a "to do list", I allow my inner guidance to guide me from one project to the next. If something needs fixing, I consult my higher power. I have amazed myself on the things I've been able to fix by doing this.

9. Create Beauty
I pay attention to the beauty in everything and where there is no beauty, I create it.

10. I am fully in the present.
When I set my intention to come from a place of love and focus on those thoughts above, I feel good and enjoy everything I do. An added benefit is that of being in the present. Fear-based intentions and thoughts come about by being in the past or future. Love-based intentions and thoughts keep you grounded in the present -- being completely present to what you are doing in each moment.

Coaching Challenge: You can take these ideas and apply them to anything and everything you do. Try applying them to one thing that you usually don't enjoy doing this week and see what a difference it makes in how you feel and the quality of your work.

Coaching Tip: You can eliminate perfectionism when you do everything from a place of love and your attention is on love thoughts. Everything done with love is perfect.

Another Coaching Tip: If God is Love, when you are coming from a place of love and focused on love thoughts, you are co- creating with God.

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4. Words of Wisdom

"If a person sweeps streets for a living, he should sweep them as Michelangelo painted, as Beethoven composed, as Shakespeare wrote." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

"As within, so without. You cannot think one thing and produce another." --Emmet Fox

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind." --William James

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5. Resources

No outside resources needed for this week's article. Everything you need, you will find inside of you.

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Until we meet again, remember to:

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by golden hours,
Don't remember clouds at all.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows.
Count your years with smiles, not tears.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
Count your age by friends, not years.
--Lyvonn Berry

Blessings to you and yours,

Sharon

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U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1536-5891
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute One of a Kind News so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. The author of this newsletter is: Sharon L. Demarte, M.A.