Take your vacation - it just may be life changing…
Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash
I just took my vacation last week and it was one of the best I can remember. It was well needed time for me to recharge and think about my goals for the rest of the year. If you haven’t taken your vacation yet, I suggest you do so before the end of summer.
This was one of the first times in many years that I actually did not look at my work email for most of the time. I only checked it in the morning or in the evening, not during the day when I was enjoying the time with my family. Why did I feel the need to check my email in the past, I guess it was from fear of missing out - yes FOMO!! I have learned that I suffer from that.
I believe FOMO comes from being busy every moment of every day during my work week. I’m sure many of you are the same. It is one of the reasons that most people are addicted to their phones. We don’t like to be bored. I remember thinking how great the phone was when I realized I no longer was going to be bored when I had to wait in lines at the store or wherever I was! How crazy is that?
Instead of reading my emails, I found other things to keep me busy. One of the things I like to do when I’m on vacation is read. I love to read fiction books while I’m sitting on the beach. Fiction books are great because they take you to another place or another world. They allow you to escape whatever you are facing in your current environment. I’m sure there are many of you out there that need an escape given what kind of year we are all having.
I also love to read nonfiction books especially self help books. I do not know when this started, but it was something that began when I was in my 20s. Whenever I had a problem I was facing, I turned to books. It is really helps you to get another’s perspective on how you can change your life or a situation you find yourself in.
I read a couple of nonfiction books during my vacation that I want to share because they have really helped me with my mindset and how I will approach life going forward. Yes, they were that good!
The first book I read is “Positive Intelligence” written by Shirzad Chamine. I not only read his book, but I’m currently enrolled in his 7 week training program. I was lucky enough to be part of a free training that Shirzad offered as part of a Grant he was given. It was introduced to me by one of my coaching colleagues, Kristen. I told Kristen she was instrumental in changing my life just by sharing this program with me.
So what is so great about this program? Well, to start Shirzad has taught us about the Positive Intelligence Quotient (PQ). Yes, you have heard about IQ and EQ, well now we have PQ. PQ is defined as “the percentage of time your mind acts as your friend rather than as your enemy”. Shirzad teaches us how we can increase our PQ in order to achieve higher performance, greater happiness and less stress.
We learned about our Saboteurs. Saboteurs are the negative voices in our head that tell us that we are not good enough and that others are not good enough which causes negative emotions. They are our “Judges”. The “Judge” is the master saboteur and it has 9 accomplice Saboteurs. You can learn about your top accomplice Saboteur by clicking the link below to do a self assessment.
In order to get rid of the judge, we have to name it and recognize when it is happening. We do this through PQ reps which build up our mental muscles in order to get rid of our saboteurs. The Sage is our positive muscle. The Sage helps us handle challenges “with a clear and calm mind and positive emotions.”
Sage gives us gifts to change how we think about a negative situation or event. You can look at the situation or event as an opportunity to learn from it. For example, during the pandemic, it has been a bad time for all of us. We can look at it in different way in what we have received from it such as spending more time with our family.
The second book I read was “Instant Calm” by Karen Salmansohn. My husband bought this for me as he knows I am always looking for ways to reduce stress. It is a short book that you can read in an hour but refer to over and over. It gives you instructions on how to do 2 minute meditations.
As I was reading this book, it occurred to me that the same meditations that Karen was instructing me to do were very similar to PQ reps. PQ reps are 2 minutes, 5 minutes or 12 minutes and they focus on breathing, vision and touch. Instant Calm shares quick vision and touch meditations as well as smell, sound and movement. You can learn more about Karen and her books below. She also offers trainings and personal coaching.
These are all great ways to change your mindset which in turn can change your life. Whenever I learn new things that I find life changing, I have to share.
Remember, take your vacation now. It just may be life changing!
Here’s to your success!
Best,
Rene