The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been a part of the life coaching hand-book for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from illness.

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing.

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being.

Gratitude balances us and gives us hope.

There are many things to be grateful for: brilliant sunsets, colorful summer flowers, legs that work, friends who really listen, dark chocolate, garden fresh vegetables, warm jackets, the ability to read, your health, butterflies. What’s on your list?

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude

•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way.

•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures.

•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine.

•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.

•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel.

•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.

Shann Vander Leek is the Founder of True Balance Life Coaching and Co-founder of Seize True Success. She is a Coach Training Alliance certified professional coach, and certified yoga instructor. Shann is a prolific blogger, published writer and co-author of the Best Selling Book – Wake Up Women BE Happy Healthy & Wealthy. Shann’s personal style and direct approach have guided and inspired many in overcoming personal and professional challenges. Her background in sales, marketing and client development, along with leading a talented sales force for many years prepared her for the business of professional coaching. Shann inspires women in transition to create balance in their lives through personal coaching, yoga and creative expression. Telephone and email consultations make her accessible to clients all over the world. To find out about her Coaching Programs for Women, call Shann at 231.668.111 or visit www.truebalancelifecoaching.com

A mentor is crucial to give perspective, says Google CEO.

Check out this video clip at Fortune :Everyone Needs a Coach

You can learn more about professional coaching at True Balance Life Coaching.

Shann Vander Leek is the Founder of True Balance Life Coaching and Co-founder of Seize True Success. She is a Coach Training Alliance certified professional coach, and certified yoga instructor. Shann is a prolific blogger, published writer and co-author of the Best Selling Book – Wake Up Women BE Happy Healthy & Wealthy. Shann’s personal style and direct approach have guided and inspired many in overcoming personal and professional challenges. Her background in sales, marketing and client development, along with leading a talented sales force for many years prepared her for the business of professional coaching. Shann inspires women in transition to create balance in their lives through personal coaching, yoga and creative expression. Telephone and email consultations make her accessible to clients all over the world. To find out about her Coaching Programs for Women, call Shann at 231.668.111 or visit www.truebalancelifecoaching.com

Flexibility is defined as the quality of being flexible, pliable and supple.

Growing up as a gymnast, the things I could do with my body were simply outrageous …

Almost as if my spine were made of a slinky.

Thankfully some of my childhood physical flexibility carried over into my adult yoga practice. With this being said, when I think about flexibility, the physical body comes to mind.

My friend Akemi Gaines, a prolific blogger and Akashic Reader, learned that my souls purpose is to learn flexibility of the mind, body and spirit.

To be more open minded … go with the flow of life.

What is an Akashic Soul Reading?

The Akashic Records are a subconscious data bank of the soul where all past life (and future) information is stored. It is similar to the memory of Universe, containing each individual souls path, purpose, and life mission. An Akashic Reading contains personal information about what your soul most needs to know to fulfill it’s mission here on Earth, as well as specific details to attaining your highest enlightened state of being.

The news of my reading was accepted heartily since balance, flexibility and self care is the moniker of my life coaching practice.

AND

Next month’s Yoga teacher training experience will prove to be an enormous lesson in versatility.

Akemi’s Akashic reading uncovered some of the mystery behind my current goals, dreams and interests.

AND …

No matter how you feel about this kind of study, the experience was a lot of fun! I will blog more about the Akashic Reading and soul clearing soon. In the mean time check out Akemi’s website to learn more about her services.

Here are some ideas to consider if you want to become more flexible.

• Physical Flexibility can come in many forms. Stretching, yoga, pilates, gymnastics, and swimming are all fine ways to keep the body young and supple.

• Mental Flexibility is a matter of sustained learning and child like wonder and curiosity. Pay close attention to children and how they describe and ask questions about their world.

• Spiritual Flexibility may be as simple as realizing that an open mind can be  a great host creating lots of space for peace and understanding.

Namaste’

Shann Vander Leek is the Founder of True Balance Life Coaching and Co-founder of Seize True Success. She is a Coach Training Alliance certified professional coach, and certified yoga instructor. Shann is a prolific blogger, published writer and co-author of the Best Selling Book – Wake Up Women BE Happy Healthy & Wealthy. Shann’s personal style and direct approach have guided and inspired many in overcoming personal and professional challenges. Her background in sales, marketing and client development, along with leading a talented sales force for many years prepared her for the business of professional coaching. Shann inspires women in transition to create balance in their lives through personal coaching, yoga and creative expression. Telephone and email consultations make her accessible to clients all over the world. To find out about her Coaching Programs for Women, call Shann at 231.668.111 or visit www.truebalancelifecoaching.com

Today it dawned on me that in six short days I will be 100% immersed in a yoga teacher training sabbatical.

Holy CRAP!

How in the world will I ever get my act together personally and professionally to fully enjoy this life changing experience?

Commence with the clarity …

No need to fret.

No need to freak out.

I have been planning, communicating , preparing and asking for assistance for months.

Here is super swank list of time management tips for anybody getting ready to drop off of the radar for awhile.

• Communicate with your family, friends, clients and business partners

These is no doubt career transitions can be stressful.

If you’re facing a significant career transition, here are 10 ways to move gracefully through the experience.

• Take an honest look at yourself. What are your strengths, weaknesses and skills? How did these attributes influence your transition? How can you leverage your strengths?

• Increase your self-care. Major changes are physically and emotionally taxing. You need EXTREME self-care now more than ever.

• Engage your curiosity. What went wrong, or right? What could you have done better? What worked really well?

• Focus on what you want, and less on what you don’t want. Create a comparison and contrast T Chart with what you don’t want on the left and what you do want on the right.  What did you learn?

• Find support. Since your transition affects your family as well, it may be better to seek the outside support of friends, mentors or a professional life coach.

• Be Mindful of your thoughts. Calm your fears and reinforce your sense of gratitude, hope and happiness.

• Stay away from people who are threatened,  jealous or unwilling to support your change.

• Create your own rite of passage. Ceremony and ritual help with all transitions.

• Let go of how things were “supposed to be” and accept “how things are.”

• Keep things in perspective. Or try on a new perspective. The only constant in your life is change.

Allow yourself the time to work through a serious career transition, keep your family and close friends involved, allow for setbacks, work on a reasonable time line and find humor in the day to day journey.  Your life is so much more important than you can imagine.

Shann Vander Leek is the Founder of True Balance Life Coaching and Co-founder of Seize True Success. She is a Coach Training Alliance certified professional coach, and certified yoga instructor. Shann is a prolific blogger, published writer and co-author of the Best Selling Book – Wake Up Women BE Happy Healthy & Wealthy. Shann’s personal style and direct approach have guided and inspired many in overcoming personal and professional challenges. Her background in sales, marketing and client development, along with leading a talented sales force for many years prepared her for the business of professional coaching. Shann inspires women in transition to create balance in their lives through personal coaching, yoga and creative expression. Telephone and email consultations make her accessible to clients all over the world. To find out about her Coaching Programs for Women, call Shann at 231.668.111 or visit www.truebalancelifecoaching.com

Is jealousy ruining your relationship? Learn how to deal with a jealous partner and what you can do to change that.

Do you feel stuck in your relationship and can’t figure out what to do next? How do you know if you are stuck? 

1. You keep repeating the same story over and over again.

• Are you finally bored with your story?
• Until you are tired of hearing the same old stuff, you can never move on.
• Remember, you can “be right” but not “feel right”.

2.  You tell friends and family to get consensus for your point of view.

• Anyone who is not sympathetic to your tale of woe quickly gets deleted from your phone. The more people you can get who agree with you, the more validated and “right” you feel. But the ego is only assuaged for the moment, and you quickly get on the phone to call the next person. 
• And a note to friends and family – You are not doing anyone a favor listening continuously to the drama.
• The more a person repeats his tale of woe, the more hard-wired it becomes.

3. You start every sentence with “Yes, but….” every time you get a suggestion to improve your situation.

• I have a friend I call the “yes, but girl”. No matter what suggestion she is given, her respond is always “yes, but”.
• What that means to me is that she has no intention of changing – she simply makes excuses and wants to be right.
• Being stuck is about being repetitious.  Honestly listen to yourself.

4. You recognize the same patterns even though the names and faces are different.

• OK. Here’s the deal. The names and places are different but he’s the same guy.
• Be honest with yourself. Are the patterns the same from one relationship to the next? Do you keep attracting “commitment phobic” guys?
• If you do, you need to look at yourself and make the adjustment there.

In a national competition, Chandra Alexander, MSW, was selected by THE OPRAH MAGAZINE as the Life Coach to deliver a series of coaching sessions to the grand prize winner of their prestigious Toyota Moving Forward contest. She also spent five years on NBC/TV “DAYTIME” giving a weekly “Reality Check”. Chandra has been living and teaching authenticity for the last 30 years and is the founder of Coaching for Authenticity, a place to explore and discover the essence of who you really are

Lisis over at Quest for Balance just reviewed my ebook Getting Your Groove Back – A Guide to Luscious Living.

Check out what she had to say about the ebook’s luscious content at the Quest For Balance blog.

I think you will love the Quest for balance and find it a must read on your personal path of true balance.

Check out the blog description:

“Whether we find happiness through grand adventures, or seek it in every-day places, we all want less pain and more joy. Quest for Balance is a place where people can be reminded that finding lasting happiness and inner peace is not only achievable, but surprisingly simple… for all of us!”

Thank you Lisis for supporting my mission to help others achieve their full potential! You are a lovely friend and prolific blogger.

If you like the review,  you are welcome to download a copy of the ebook here or at the True Balance website.

In balance …

Shann Vander Leek is the Founder of True Balance Life Coaching and Co-founder of Seize True Success. She is a Coach Training Alliance certified professional coach, and certified yoga instructor. Shann is a prolific blogger, published writer and co-author of the Best Selling Book – Wake Up Women BE Happy Healthy & Wealthy. Shann’s personal style and direct approach have guided and inspired many in overcoming personal and professional challenges. Her background in sales, marketing and client development, along with leading a talented sales force for many years prepared her for the business of professional coaching. Shann inspires women in transition to create balance in their lives through personal coaching, yoga and creative expression. Telephone and email consultations make her accessible to clients all over the world. To find out about her Coaching Programs for Women, call Shann at 231.668.111 or visit www.truebalancelifecoaching.com