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Vol. 2 No. 12, December 2010 Copyright 2010 by Wolf
J. Rinke
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1. REFOCUS ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT
2. AN INEXPENSIVE ONE-OF-A-KIND HOLIDAY GIFT
3. ELEVEN STRATEGIES TO MAKE IT A GREAT HOLIDAY
4. HOW TO SAVE UP TO 16% ON CPEs
5. HOLIDAY HUMOR BREAK
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
HOLIDAY INSIGHT BREAK
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved--loved
for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
-Victor Hugo
Source: Make It a Winning Life, Perpetual desk calendar, (Unique Holiday
Gift-see Section #2)
1. REFOCUS ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT
The Golden Box
A man punished his 5-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive
gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and the father became very upset
when the child pasted the gold paper to a box to put under the Christmas
tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the
next morning and said," This is for you, Daddy."
The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger
flared again when he found the box was empty. He spoke harshly, "Don't
you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed
to be something inside the package?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh,
Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full."
The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around
his little girl, and begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and
it is told that the father kept that gold box by his bed for all the
years of his life. And whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult
problems, he would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember
the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us has been given a golden box filled
with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, and friends.
There is no more precious possession in the world. Cherish it and never
take their love for granted.
Source: Excerpted from Beat the Blues: How to Manage Stress and Balance
Your Life, (C178) W. J. Rinke, PhD, RD, CSP, 28 CPEUs, http://www.wolfrinke.com/CEFILES/cepd.html#C178.
2. AN INEXPENSIVE ONE-OF-A-KIND HOLIDAY GIFT
Click here.
3. ELEVEN STRATEGIES TO MAKE IT A GREAT HOLIDAY
by Wolf J. Rinke, PhD, RD, CSP
Things are challenging for lots of people during these tough economic
times. Plus we have the holidays coming which causes many to be melancholy
and sad. So, it's time to get depressed, right? WRONG! Here are 11 specific
things you can do to help you make it a great holiday.
1. Choose to Be Happy
It was Abraham Lincoln who said: "Most people are about as happy
as they make up their minds to be." You see, happiness, just like
a great holiday, is a state of mind that only you control. So don't
wait for the economy to turn around or for others to give you happiness.
Make a choice to be happy and to make it a great holiday. One of the
best ways to do that is to learn to get pleasure from people, not things.
Create the opportunity to spend the majority of your available time
with the people you love and deeply care for. That's what will give
you the most powerful joy, and help you make it a great holiday.
2. Expect Less--Get More
Superwoman and I discovered this concept on a trip to Maine. We had
driven a full day from Clarksville, Maryland, to Kennebunkport, Maine,
just to find "no rooms at any inn." So we continued our travels
to Portland, Maine. By the time we found a vacancy at a Howard Johnson
it had gotten dark, it was pouring rain, and we were starved. So we
settled for dinner at an adjoining restaurant which was truly mundane
and nondescript in every way, causing us to have very low expectations.
However a "North Shore Live Lobster Special" caught our attention.
Given that Marcela and I love lobster, we both apprehensively ordered
the special. We just knew that the lobster was going to be overcooked
and tough. To our surprise we were served a delicious cup of Clam Chowder,
followed by Mussels with Fennel, a perfectly tender and sweet 1¼
pound lobster with fresh corn and passable French fries, followed by
a delectable Strawberry Shortcake for dessert; all for only $15.95.
We were absolutely blown away. In fact, although we subsequently ate
in many other restaurants which had much nicer ambiance, none provided
the same quality and value of food for the rest of our six day trip
through Maine and Nova Scotia. So why not give it a try: Expect less,
you might just get more.
3. Make Love Not War
Tonight, when you put your children to bed give each one a really big
hug and tell him/her from the bottom of your heart: "I love you,
and I'm very proud to be your parent." And then shut up! Do not
continue the sentence with "but" because "but" erases
everything you have said before. Repeat the exercise with your spouse.
Your spouse and children are the most important people in your life.
So don't waste another day without giving them lots of hugs and kisses.
4. Commit Random Acts of Kindness
To do this right you must do something for someone else without expecting
anything in return. For example, get the family together and serve a
meal at a shelter for the homeless. Or visit your local nursing home
and talk with an elderly person in need of companionship.
5. Give the Gift of Unconditional Love
The most powerful gift you can give anyone any time of the year, but
especially during these tough times, is to accept people the way they
are--not the way they ought to be. It makes virtually all other strategies
superfluous.
6. Manage Stress
To deal with the stressors of a tough economy and the holiday season,
master the most powerful stress control system of all time:
- Change the changeable
- Accept the unchangeable
- Remove yourself from the unacceptable
Also make quiet time for yourself and treat yourself to whatever truly
helps you relax, may it be a hot tub, a movie, a walk in the woods etc.
7. Give the Gift of Listening
To really listen, you have to learn to make your own mind quiet and
give the other party your undivided attention. The act of active listening--not
giving advice--is one of the most wonderful gifts you can give during
these stressful times.
8. Take an Inventory
No matter how tough things are for you right now, it helps to take a
verbal, or better yet, a written inventory of all the good things still
left in your life. If you set this up as a ledger with the credits (positives)
and debits (negatives) on one sheet of paper, you will usually find
that no matter how bad things appear to be, the positives still outweigh
the negatives.
9. Change Your Response
Increase your awareness of what or who "pushes your buttons."
For example, if your parents want to make you into the person they have
always wanted you to be during the holidays by asking hurtful questions
such as, "When are you going to live within your means?" or
"When are you going to get married?" Modify your typical response
by visualizing those comments as water floating off a duck's back. Remember
how you respond is always your choice, and if that does not work, implement
the next strategy.
10. Hang Out With Positive People
If the holidays bring you together with people who are suffering from
"stinking thinking," make sure that you minimize the time
you are together with them. For example, instead of staying at a relative's
house, stay at a local hotel. Or, if you find it difficult to be with
certain family members, build in some other activities that give you
a legitimate reason to minimize your time with them. That way you can
carve out re-energizing time.
11. Have "Plastic Surgery"
If money is tight for you have "plastic surgery." Get rid
of your credit cards. (Keep only one, and use it for emergencies only.)
Establish a holiday budget in advance. Make up a gift list so that you
stay within the budget. Avoid keeping up with the "Joneses."
They don't care anyway, and it won't make you happy, because there is
always someone better off. Want to do something extra-ordinary for that
special someone? Make a gift yourself! For example, write a beautiful
poem, sign it and put it in a frame. It will be more appreciated than
even the most expensive gift you can buy! (Also take a look at the special
offer in section #2. It's a unique gift that everyone will love. It's
inspirational, will keep on giving forever and is really inexpensive.)
Source: Excerpted from Beat the Blues: How to Manage Stress and Balance
Your Life, (C178) W. J. Rinke, PhD, RD, CSP, 28 CPEUs, http://www.wolfrinke.com/CEFILES/cepd.html#C178.
For FREE articles, inspirational messages and money saving offers on
other holiday gifts such as books, audio and videotapes visit our website:
http://www.WolfRinke.com/MIWL.html
or call 800-828-WOLF (USA); 410-531-9280.
4. HOW TO SAVE UP TO 16% ON CPEs
To save up to 16% on all of our easy to use, high quality CPE products
go to www.easyCPEcredits.com and use
the coupon on the "home page."
Hurry-coupons expire 12/15/10.
BTW--you can now search CPEs by learning codes at our website. Just
go to www.easyCPEcredits.com, type in the learning code you are looking
for and the search engine will list all the courses that apply. It's
just another way to make your life easier.
5. HOLIDAY HUMOR BREAK
The CEO of the Butterball Company has an appointment with the Pope.
Being fully aware that he may never get to see the Pope again, the CEO
asks the Pope to change the Lord's Prayer from "Give us our daily
bread" to "Give us our daily turkey."
When the Pope graciously declines, the Butterball CEO offers to give
the church a million dollars to change his mind. The Pope answers: "I
must discuss this with the Cardinals."
The next day the Pope calls all Cardinals together and announces that
he has good news and bad news. "The good news", he begins
"is that the church will be getting a million dollars. The bad
news is that we are losing the Wonder bread account!"
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, RD, CSP is the president of Wolf Rinke Associates--an
accredited provider of easy to use CPE home study programs for nutrition
professionals since 1990 available at www.easyCPEcredits.com. He is
also a highly effective management consultant and executive coach who
specializes in building peak performance organizations, teams and individuals,
and an author of numerous CPE home study courses, audio/video programs
as well as several best selling management, leadership and self-development
books including Make it a Winning Life--Success Strategies for Life,
Love and Business. In addition he is an internationally recognized keynote
speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized presentations that
combine story telling, humor and motivation with specific "how
to" action strategies that participants can apply immediately to
improve their personal and professional lives. Preview a demo at www.WolfRinke.com
or call 800-828-9653. If you have questions, or would like him to address
a specific issue or topic please e-mail him at WolfRinke@aol.com.
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
We will not make your name or e-mail address available to anyone. Period!
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