To recap from yesterday’s post: We talked about how sometimes our lives need a little
Spring Cleaning action.  There are several facets of our lives that need “weeding” so that we can flourish! Part 1 touched on Section 1; Self. “Self” has three subsections: Body, Beauty, Attitude. If you missed yesterday’s post you’ll want to go and read that. You don’t want to miss out on a VERY important facet of your life.

Moving on to Part 2. This section is all about your Career.

Whether you are in a job or a career (yes, there is a difference), your happiness is what really counts. It’s absolutely amazing how, if you’re unhappy with your job, it can affect many other areas in your life. If you find that you are stressed at your job all the time, and no matter what, you can’t stop stressing or thinking about (in the bad way–worrying all the time), then you need to stop. Really. Just stop and think about how your career or job is affecting you mentally, physically, emotionally. You deserve to be happy when you go to work in the morning, and your customers, or the people you serve deserve to have great products and services offered to them.

Really think  about what you want in a career. If you have big dreams, start taking the small roads to get to the highway to get to that gold at the end of the rainbow. You have to start somewhere to get where you want to end up. So, spring clean your Career. If you aren’t doing what you love, then get out, and figure out what makes your engine roar.

I bet you’ll be thinking about this post while you’re on your way to work tomorrow…If so, let me know your thoughts by commenting!

Ps. You guessed it! Part 3 comes tomorrow with talk about spring cleaning your Spirituality! Stay tuned…

As much as I love to grow beautiful flowers, sometimes it just does not work.  I’m not sure if it’s the soil I use, too much water, not enough nurturing (I’ve heard that if you talk to your plants, they’ll grow…hmm..), or maybe I just don’t have the Martha Stewart touch.

Regardless, I do what I can, and as I am pulling out the dead leaves from underneath my plant, I realized that sometimes we need to do a little weeding out of our lives.  At this point, I decided it would be a good time to research the definition of what Spring Cleaning actually meant.  Here’s what Dictionary.Com says:

“spring-clean·ing
[spring-klee-ning]

–noun

1. A complete cleaning of a place, as a home, done traditionally in the spring of the year.

2. The activity of giving a place a complete cleaning:

Origin: 
1855–60

Of course, Spring Cleaning refers to the cleaning of one’s house, but I feel that in order to grow to our full potential, we must clean out the dusty, overgrown, malnourished, worn out, used up, filthy, stagnant, dead facets of this complicated thing we call—Our Life.

Self-Of course this facet has several sub sections attached to it including, but not limited to, Body, Beauty, and Attitude.

Let’s begin with Body-There are things we love and things we hate, but most of them we can control.  I’m talking about weight, my friends! Spring cleaning this department takes much time, effort, and determination.  If you’re unhappy with the way your body looks in the mirror, join a gym, begin by scheduling time to walk around your neighborhood, borrow a workout dvd from a friend, get a workout buddy, etc. We all have our moments of unhappiness regarding our body size (I’m even talking to the skinny-minis out there!), but if we don’t start somewhere…we’re never going to get anywhere.  (As I write this, I am indulging in a tea-cup of vanilla bean ice cream…but please see my post on appreciation before you call me out on my hypocrisy).

Second subsection is Beauty-This relates directly to the Body section we just spoke about.  If you have troubled skin, you may be washing your face incorrectly, or you may have un-even skin tone, whatever it is…it can be managed and improved!  You just need to know which products to use in order to be most effective and cost efficient.  Some women think they need to have tons of make-up on their face to feel beautiful.  Ladies, a lot of men I speak with like women with…can you believe it…LESS. Yes, the whole “less is more” is actually beneficial. So, go for a tinted moisturizer in place of a full-coverage concealer, throw on a light blush, and brush on some brown mascara (brown makes you look tanner.yay!)  Your skin will love you for this breather from heavy make-up.  Try this for about 2 months and let me know how it’s working out.  Please, if you have thousands of compliments, you’ll have to include it on our Facebook Page 🙂

Third section is Attitude– Would you believe that your attitude can have a profound effect upon your life? The great thing is…both Body and Beauty improvements can greatly affect your attitude about life. You’ll be walking with a spring in your step!  On a more serious note, your attitude is seen by everyone and in your body language.  You don’t even have to say anything and people can tell if you’re irritated, angry, frustrated, happy, flirty, and the list goes on. Your emotions and attitudes will communicate how you really feel before you verbalize it, so you’ll want to keep it in check.

Would you believe that this is NOT IT? There are more facets of your life besides “Self” that need Spring Cleaning! But…You’ll have to check back tomorrow night for Part 2 of How to: Spring Clean Your Life.

When you were young did your mom or dad ever say “let’s play hookie” today? Mine did! Mom would call out of work, and she would call my school and let them know I’d be out for the day. Those were some of the best days because Mom and I would take a road trip somewhere, or go to the mall, or go out to eat, and just have a “girls’ day”.

Now that I’m older, I can’t have my Mom write my boss a note and let him know that I’m not going to be there. I can take matters into my own hands, however, and play “hookie”. I believe that “hookie” days are an absolute necessity when it comes to your overall job health. First, it does not mean you’re actually sick, but a mental break from the every day monotony is desperately needed–A refresher course in being the ultimate employee. Some days you just need a break-being away from your job, just for one day, is sometimes all you need to rejuvenate your attitude at work.

A “hookie” day could mean just sleeping in all day and doing absolutely nothing. Other hookie days could be driving to the beach for a day trip (this is better when you have a girlfriend who also needs a mental health day), a spa day, a shopping trip, or anything else that does not involve thinking about work.

Sometimes we  put everything we have into our positions at work, and do not take time for ourselves. Our thoughts, feelings, and actions are all focused on our job, and we need to take a day to refocus our energies. What your boss probably does not realize is that it’s beneficial for the business when you take a breather from your job. You’ll come back feeling happier, refreshed, and energized. You’ll most likely be a better, more efficient, employee when you take a mental health day every now and then.

So go on…play “hookie”, and revive yourself!

As always,

Live your life…Full Throttle!