Have You Ever Noticed How You Automatically ... ?

This Week's Simple Tip

Yesterday was one of those weird days. Traffic was much worse than normal, causing me to be a half hour late for my first meeting. Fortunately I was able to get in and out quickly, with hopes of possibly making it to my next appointment on time, and getting me back on schedule. I could only laugh at what happened next ...

I went from being a half hour late to a half hour early because I had put the wrong time on my calendar!!

After enjoying a huge sigh of relief, and unprepared to have 30 minutes on my hands, I automatically took out my phone. Talk about a habit!!! Fortunately I caught myself. Thinking about how good that sigh of relief felt, I decided to use the time to breathe and unwind from the earlier tension of being late and rushing. I went out to my car, sat up straight, closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply and evenly through my nose for a count of 8. After a pause for a count of 3, I exhaled completely through my nose for a count of 8, and paused again for a count of 3. I repeated this deep breathing 9 more times. In less than 5 minutes, I felt relaxed and energized. :) Yet another reminder that when life gets so busy, sometimes you have to force yourself to take a break and breathe.

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This Week's Focus

This week, replace your phone with breathing. When you have a few minutes in between tasks and/or appointments, take 10 deep breaths and refuel yourself! Click on the serenity sticky to print, cut and post on your bathroom mirror to remind you of this week's focus. Good luck!