April's Inspired Action
Get Going
Recently, one of my clients told me that she was avoiding a household project because she assumed it would take "forever." I suggested that she try the "five-minute takeoff" to get started. This Positive Psychology tool breaks inertia and breaks big tasks into small chunks to get us going. Here's how: Identify a project (of any kind) that's intimidating you, for whatever reason. Commit to doing something about it for five minutes a day for the next week. When the appointed time arrives, set your timer for five minutes and get started. When the timer goes off, stop and move on, unless you're a movin' and a groovin' and want to keep going. Repeat the next day, and the next, until done.
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Quote of the Month
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
Attention fellow writers!
My colleague James Nav�, a poet and teacher who collaborated with Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way) in the '90s, is leading a wonderful writers' weekend in gorgeous Vermont, April 25-27. Here's the scoop.
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Here we are at last, welcoming April and preparing for the sweetness of warmer weather. My spring intensives on The Artist's Way are well underway, and I'm excited to present my first Positive Psychology workshop in Arlington, MA, this month! You can read about it below, along with some wisdom that I'm sharing from this life-changing science. Here's to spring, a definite positivity booster in my mind!
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Cultivating Happiness: An Intro to Positive Psychology workshop - Saturday, April 19
2:30-4pm at The Arlington Center; $18
Learn how the relatively new science of Positive Psychology can help you make choices that support greater happiness and well-being in your life. I'll offer practices from the field that center on Appreciative Inquiry, or asking the "right" questions, to direct our minds toward what is good, what is working, what we can learn and how we can benefit, no matter what's happening in our lives. Bring a journal or notebook for the written exercises. See registration info here.
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Spring into action w/Take the Leap Coaching
 Many of us make resolutions at the New Year, but spring is actually a friendlier time to make positive changes and "grow" our lives in new directions. If you'd welcome help gaining clarity about your desires, identifying next steps and moving forward with gentle accountability, click here to learn about my life and career coaching services and schedule a free consultation. All newsletter subscribers and former students of mine also receive a 15% discount on my fees! |
April blog: Moving Into Happiness
It's embarrassing to admit this, but I'm a yoga teacher who dislikes exercise. To be more precise, it's the thought of exercise that turns me off, because I usually do feel much better afterward.
I've long considered exercise a chore that takes time away from other things that I need or want to be doing. What I'm starting to know in my bones, however, is that moving my body is essential to uplifting my mind.
Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, says that exercise is the "single best thing" we can do for our brains to boost memory, learning, and mood. "It works on anxiety, on panic disorder, and on stress in general, which has a lot to do with depression," Ratey says. "And it generates the release of neurotransmitters - norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine - that are very similar to our most important psychiatric medicines."
Obviously, I need to re-frame my view of exercise if I want to thrive. Or maybe I just read more...
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Always wishing you well,
Kim
 Kim Childs
Certified Positive Psychology Coach
Facilitator of The Artist's Way |
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