Archive for: Motivational Moments

Starting Fresh

Fresh starts have always excited me.

… looking at a brand new calendar or notebook and wondering what is going to fill those blank pages

… moving to a new place and putting everything exactly where it needs to be

… signing up for a course to learn a new skill

… entering a new relationship (personal or professional)

And really, who hasn’t, at some point in their lives, dreamed of leaving it all behind and moving to a new place where no one knows anything about you or your past?

So, when Linda Samuels asked me “What becomes possible with a fresh start?” for a blog post she was writing, I told her that it’s all about eliminating clutter and keeping only things that are important to you. To me, the answer was clear, and I expected that others would respond similarly. When I read Linda’s post, I was inspired and delighted by the wise words offered by Linda’s other colleagues, and I think you will be too.

Read Is Hope in the Equation? and join the conversation!

On a personal note, I just have to share that as I was answering Linda’s email, reading her post, and now writing this one, John Lennon’s beautiful song, (Just Like) Starting Over, has been going through my head non-stop. If you find it going through yours now, you have me to thank. :)

Successfully Bouncing Back after a Setback

Last month, Linda Samuels asked me for my best tip for getting back on track when the unexpected happens.

bouncing happy faces

Here’s what I told her:

Sometimes things go wrong due to your own actions or failure to act. Instead of giving up, think of what you can do to prevent it from happening again, then do it – immediately.

Please visit Linda’s blog to read 7 more tips for bouncing back.

Illustration © Steve Young – Fotolia.com

How to Tell the Difference Between Daily Stress and an Anxiety Disorder

casual man worriedI don’t often have guest posts on this blog; after all it is called “From the Desk of Janet Barclay,” but every once in a while someone contacts me about a topic that I consider too important not to share with my readers. If you ever feel stressed or anxious (isn’t that all of us), this post by Calm Clinic publisher and founder Ryan Rivera is for you.

Anxiety is considered a negative term, but it has a genuine evolutionary benefit. Anxiety is the activation of the “fight or flight” system – a system that is designed to notify your mind and body when you’re in danger, and help give you an instinct to respond accordingly.

Without it, you wouldn’t be scared of going down dark alleys at night, nor would you be afraid when a poisonous spider is sitting on your face and looking at you menacingly.

When the Anxiety is a Real Problem

Over thousands of years, however, the way we live our lives has less of a need for the fight or flight system. It’s valuable, certainly, and it’s something that can help you in situations where you’re really in danger, but it’s not that common to be hunted by predators or face to face with a wild boar.

At the same time, we live our lives in a way that cause us to deal with mental stress on a regular basis. Whether it’s going to work at a job you hate or being told that your neighbor is probably dangerous, there’s a good chance that you deal with issues regularly that keep you mentally stressed.

The combination of these two factors can be a real problem, and one that can affect your mental health so strongly that it becomes a part of your character. You become so stressed that you experience anxiety in situations that don’t call for anxiety. This is known as an anxiety disorder.

Characterizing Anxiety as a Problem

The key issue, of course, is how to know when you’re suffering from serious anxiety or when you’re simply living with daily stress. It’s important to remember, however, that if you believe your stress is affecting your health or happiness, there’s no harm in seeking out some type of counseling or treatment. Any time your stress affects your happiness it can be a problem.

However, anxiety is diagnosable if it falls under the following criteria (from the DSM-IV-TR):

Excessive anxiety about a number of events or activities, occurring more days than not, for at least 6 months.

The person finds it difficult to control the worry.

The anxiety and worry are associated with at least three of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms present for more days than not, for the past 6 months):

  • Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
  • Being easily fatigued
  • Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
  • Irritability
  • Muscle tension
  • Sleep disturbance

The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning.

It should be noted, however, that there are other issues at play as well. It’s possible to experience mostly physical anxiety without the worrisome thoughts. There are also different types of anxiety disorders, including panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, that fall under different sets of criteria.

Despite the above diagnostic criteria, the final line is what’s most important. If you feel that your physical symptoms, your overall anxiety, or the amount of worrying you do on a regular basis affects your happiness or functioning, then your anxiety is a problem, and may be worth a visit to a trained psychologist. Even if you don’t have a diagnosable form of anxiety, that does not mean that relieving that anxiety isn’t important.

You Don’t Have to Do it Alone

If it were easy to simply turn off their anxiety and worries, then people would do it. The reality is that anxiety is based on dozens of factors and life experiences.

  • Your upbringing.
  • Your genetics.
  • Your social experiences.
  • Your diet/exercise level.
  • Your daily stress.

Anxiety is not the type of condition that can simply be turned off with each negative thought or feeling. It needs special attention to help respond to all of the different reasons that you experience anxiety. Luckily, anxiety treatments are genuinely possible and backed by evidence. The key is to simply be willing to get the help you need.

About the Author: Ryan Rivera is the author of www.calmclinic.com – a website dedicated to those dealing with anxiety, both for life stress and as the result of a disorder.

Photo: © Ricardo Verde Costa / Photoxpress

Overnight Success Story: Taylor Jones

Dear Photograph by Taylor JonesAs promised, today I’m beginning my series of posts featuring the highlights of last week’s successful TEDx Waterloo event.

At 22 years of age, Taylor Jones was one of the youngest speakers there. He introduced himself as a recent college graduate with no noteworthy accomplishments or ambitions, sharing the fact that he’d applied to attend last year’s event, but was turned down.

His life changed dramatically last spring when he was sitting in the kitchen looking at some old photos with his family. Upon noticing that he was holding a picture of his brother that had been taken in that same kitchen, from the exact same angle he was facing, he held it up, took a snapshot of it, and posted it on Tumblr with a note that began “Dear Photograph…” People immediately took notice, and he posted another, then another. Before long, other people were doing the same thing and sending him their own “Dear Photograph” stories. Believe me when I tell you that some of those stories brought tears to my eyes!

Less than a year later, Dear Photograph has over 23,000 followers on Twitter and more than 74,000 fans on Facebook, and it’s been featured on major news media throughout the world. CBS named it the #1 website in 2011, and TIME Magazine included it as their #7 pick of the top 50 websites. Who wouldn’t like to get this kind of exposure to their website?

As someone in the business of helping others get noticed online, I am amazed, excited, and inspired by Taylor’s story.

His experience teaches us that success often comes when you’re not even looking for it, and that the key isn’t necessarily about having a presence on the top three social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) or using the latest SEO strategies. Taylor is successful because he had a unique idea that touched people’s hearts and souls and allowed them to express their innermost feelings through images.

But the story doesn’t end there. A hardcover Dear Photograph book will be available shortly, and I have no doubt it’s going to be a huge success as well.

The Versatile Blogger Award

Two years ago, I was interviewed by Erika Liodice about how I chased my dream of quitting my job and starting my own business. We haven’t really stayed in touch since then, so I was surprised to receive an email from her recently, letting me know that she had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Of course, I know it’s not a real award, not like the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award I was nominated for in 2009. It’s really just a meme, but memes can be fun, so I’m happy to have an excuse to use one in my blog, and thank Erika for thinking of me.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

  1. Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
  2. Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
  3. Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
  4. Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

So, here are seven random facts about me:

  1. I won second prize in the Discover Mississauga Photo Contest several years ago for this interior shot of Mississauga City Hall.
    Mississauga City Hall
    (This is a photo of the photo, through the glass of the frame, so doesn’t really do it justice.)
  2. I usually carry the same purse for months, and sometimes don’t even switch with the change in seasons, but I love shopping for purses. Shoes, not so much.
  3. I love to play trivia games and am pretty good at them too.
  4. I was a matched Big Sister for many years, and am still friends with my Little Sister, who is now all grown up and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
  5. I have signed up for Google+, but haven’t yet figured out what, if anything, I will do there.
  6. I was into Reduce-Reuse-Recycle before it was even a trend.
  7. I make my own granola.

And here are the 15 blogs I’m nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award, in alphabetical order:

  1. LinkedLearning by Margarita Ibbott: Help with using LinkedIn and other social media.
  2. Daily Blogging Ideas by Michelle Shaeffer: Wonderful inspiration for both personal and business blogs.
  3. Fabulous After 40 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler: Fashion advice for those of us who aren’t as young as we used to be. :)
  4. Garious Blog – Up to date information about social media.
  5. Grow with Stacy: Tips for personal development, as well as blogging and social media.
  6. The Lady Bloggers Society headed by Stepfanie Cuevas: Once a week they hold a Lady Blogger Social Tea Party to give readers a chance to share their blog posts – a great way to connect with other bloggers!
  7. Marian Schembari: More goodies on social media and blogging.
  8. MS Outlook for Business: Valuable tips for using email and discovering features of Outlook you never knew existed.
  9. The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels: Explores the emotions connected with making changes in your life.
  10. Site Sketch 101 by Nicholas Cardot: A wealth of information about blogging.
  11. Solo-E.com by Terri Zwierzynski: Articles on all aspects of running a small business, including marketing, productivity and more.
  12. Sunday Stealing hosted by Judd Corizan: A great place to find out about different blog memes of all types.
  13. Teatime with Tina by Tina Chase: All about food and cooking.
  14. Virtually Yours by Joanne Burgess: Fabulous tips about social media and small business topics.
  15. WordPress Jedi: Information about WordPress themes, plugins, and security issues, as well as SEO and social media tips.

If you enjoyed this post, why not nominate yourself for a Versatile Blogger Award? If you do, please leave a link to your post in the Comments, so we can learn more about you and the blogs you read.