Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Day 85 - Get some fresh air.

Before reading today's deed, I must mention – last year I got promoted to a pretty high position; I was so overwhelmingly busy that it got to the point where I wouldn't take lunch and would eat at my desk. I'm not one to believe in News Year’s resolutions, but this year for 2014 I decided that I would take a lunch every single day and go out into mother nature. 

We are now in April and I haven't missed a lunch outside since the year commenced. Personally sitting outside in the beautiful weather, watching butterflies and squirrels interacting, and reading revives me. It really makes me feel like a new person when I get back to the office; it changes my mood, I'm chirpy and radiant and sometimes I even sing in the office (my poor co-workers).

A walk in nature cures a lot. Taking in some fresh air and the beautiful landscape of this earth is amazingly head-clearing, grounding, and mood-lifting. People are so busy now a day that they don't stop to realize just how breathtaking this planet really is. When is the last time you looked at the clouds; or the stars and the moon?

The following are some reasons why you should STOP what you’re doing today and go outside to get some fresh air – you deserve it:
  1. Lack of Sunlight is bad for your health – Over the last few decades we have increasingly left natural light and fresh air out of our lives. What people don't understand is that sunlight is a powerful healer, tonic, remedial agent, and relaxer. According to Science -HowStuffWorks sunlight is actually good for you and a chronic lack of sun exposure has been linked to fertility problems, several forms of cancer, general poor health and varying degrees of depression. People actually get depressed, with symptoms like sadness, fatigue and hopelessness from lack of sunlight.

  2. Sunlight helps you sleep better at night –When the sun shines on the skin; the nerve endings absorb energy and send it throughout the entire body. This calms the nerves. We've all experienced how a few hours spent at the beach or working in the garden can make you feel like taking a nap, the reason for this is that when the sun hits your skin it produces vitamin D in your body and then works as a great natural aid to calcium absorption. Calcium soothes the nervous system which helps anyone suffering from insomnia or sleeplessness. Did you know that sunlight is one of the greatest sleep inducers? You always sleep better at night when you spend enough time in fresh air and sunshine during the day.

  3. Fresh air improves your mental health – Fresh air is the one thing that naturally helps improve mental health and creates a feeling of calm, overall well-being. Per Health Magazine studies show that spending time outdoors actually increases your brain power and fresh air and is the best way to avoid getting sick.
Today, take some time for yourself and step outside into the fresh air. I promise it will leave you feeling rejuvenated and blissful. Your to-do list will never get smaller because items will continually pile on - so stop making excuses and get out there RIGHT NOW! Thanks in advance.

"Keep your face always towards the sunshine and shadows will always fall behind you."

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Day 84 - Buy a box of thank-you notes and birthday cards so you're always ready to mark an occassion.

Before iPads or iPhones or eBooks or eReaders, there was paper, and there was ink. Now that e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and other ways to stay in touch have taken over our lives, writing letters, thank-you notes, birthday cards, or even invitations is rare in the twenty-first century.

Personal handwritten notes, whether a thank-you note or a birthday note is a simple act of gratitude that goes a long way. It shows appreciation and value which reaches beyond a predictable thank-you. Being that handwritten notes are so meticulously slow — to draft, to send, to assure delivery — they're not a good way to ask for things on a day to day basis. Instead, they're more frequently used to remind others that you value your relationship 

In a generation filled with e-mails, tweets, and text messages; handwriting has become less important in our lives then it has ever been. The U.S. Postal Service's Annual Survey, said that the average home only received a personal letter once every seven weeks, whereas in 1987 personal letters went out at least every two weeks; and per The Wall Street Journal, it has been discovered through a British survey that the average time since an adult wrote anything handwritten at all was 41 days.

While always saying “thank you” is extremely important, the beauty of a well-crafted handwritten note is that it can show deeper investment and appreciation than a simple, verbal “thanks”. It can remind someone they're not forgotten, follow-up on a conversation or include a birthday gift; each card carries its own meaning, and in a world where so much communication is impractical, these simple acts of adoration, remembrance, gratitude, and appreciation can show the people who matter to your personal and business life that they are important to you.

I personally have always been fond of handwritten notes. Many people have a box somewhere with saved handwritten letters and postcards, and they think of them as treasured possessions including myself. So, for today's deed, although I already had some thank-you cards on hand, I went out and bought an extra box along with birthday cards, and what better day to buy them since I received beautiful orchids, so it gave me the opportunity to send out one of my new thank-you cards.


Today, go out and buy yourself a box of cards and send a handwritten THANK YOU or HAPPY BIRTHDAY to someone you care about; being grateful only brings abundance to your life, it's one of the laws of attraction. I'm sure you love receiving them, so today, begin giving them!

 "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for."