Susan’s blog

Due to a 'mechanical failure' my plane did not leave the ground -- better that way, I think!

So, I am re-routed and a day behind schedule.

The certification course was awesome and I have some fabulous things to share...

Sue

I will be unavailable to post or comment until June 23, 2009 -- off to yet another 'certification program'. This one is on business coaching. I'll let everyone know how it went when I get back.

Have an awesome week!

Sue

Since it's the weekend, I thought I'd put up a fun post ... things that happen at my home.

From last week's post: for those who wondered what it looked like...

Here's the first in a series of five outhouses built by my husband. This is the maiden voyage up a 100' rise to a location near our first firepit and trail intersection. Greystone Trails covers just slightly more than 430 acres of sub-escarpment land overlooking Georgian Bay. We have cleared about 13km of trails to date. The land is utilized as a private managed forest and nature reserve. Neighbours and Retreat guests are welcome to use and enjoy particularly in the winter when we snowgroom for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.

Bigger versions are in the picture library.

Enjoy

Sue

Today I was reminiscing about situations that occurred when the children were growing up and the discussions that ensued.  I’m sure you’ve personally experienced situations like these as well and, in hindsight, wondered if you had handled them the best way possible.

Example: A co-worker is blaming you or is emotionally out of control and unleashing that emotion toward you in the form of what is basically verbal abuse.

What do you do?

(1) Yell and scream back at them

(2) Raise your voice even louder than theirs

(3) Walk away

(4) Talk calmly and try to get them under control

(5) Ask yourself: “what would I do if…”

No doubt, like me, you’ve utilized all those choices at some point. Did you notice which one worked the best?  I originally told the children to simply ‘walk away’ since that’s what I was taught and it worked in my world. However, apparently, there are people who were taught that walking away during an altercation was rude. My children are mine through marriage and their mother was raised according to the second concept. You can see where this could cause conflict for the children. So, we had to come up with a solution that worked in both homes.

It was determined that

(1) You have no control over how another person acts or reacts around you

(2) You do have control over your personal actions and reactions as in, you make the choices of how you choose to handle any given situation

(3) You should always take the high road and set an example where possible

One of the best ways I’ve found to deal with a situation such as this is to say to myself: “What if this was my boss screaming at me like this – what would I do?” or “What if this was my little child – what would I do?” “What if this was my partner – what would I do?” Or, the best one: “What would Spock do?” (This one works wonders as it allows you to take the emotion out of the situation and then decide what to say or do).

Notice that when you consider ‘what would ___ do?’ that your attitude and possible reactions change dramatically. This can be a very useful tool for diffusing a situation such as the example. Over time, the person who reacts like that will start to change as well – generally they will stop that behaviour in your presence as it doesn’t get the reaction they want or expect (or, possibly, need at some level).

Consider the above the next time you feel like you’re going to ‘snap’. Take a deep breath, calm yourself, ask one of the questions in your mind and follow through with how you would react if it was that person. I’m betting you’ll experience a noticeable shift in your reaction to the situation.

Susan Crutcher, RRPr, CPTN-CPT, PHC

Life Empowerment Mentor, Health & Wellness Coach, Baby Steps to Success Expert

www.SueCrutcher.com; www.Sutopia.com

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Permission to reprint. This article (and all articles on this blog) is copyrighted by Susan Crutcher. You have permission to reprint this article in its entirety as long as you include the following credit with the article:

Susan Crutcher is the author of “Health & Wellness Made Simple” and is currently working on a series of self empowerment books which incorporate her baby steps to success theory. She is a life empowerment mentor, health and wellness coach, baby steps to success expert and motivational speaker, is certified in personal training and over a dozen complementary care modalities with over 30 years of teaching experience. Susan is manager of Greystone Retreat (a luxury rental home on Georgian Bay), co-founder of Academy of Holistic Modalities Inc (holistic education), editor of the Reflexology Registration Council of Ontario (RRCO) newsletter ‘In Touch’ and a founding member of the Grey-Bruce Spiritual Network (GBSN). Download and enjoy a free sample of her book at: www.SueCrutcher.com

Because everyone was working so hard getting their assignments done last week, I'm suggesting something very simple and easy to integrate in your day-to-day activities.

Simply, when you think of it, use your non-dominant hand for tasks such as eating, combing hair, brushing teeth. This will confuse your brain and make it work a little more efficiently as it will have to focus and not be on 'auto-pilot'. It will not be as easy as you may think!

Ladies: try putting your makeup on with the other hand ... hmmm ... except maybe the mascara as that could be dangerous.

Have a fabulous week.

Susan Crutcher, RRPr, CPTN-CPT, PHC

Life Empowerment Mentor, Health & Wellness Coach, Baby Steps to Success Expert

www.SueCrutcher.com; www.Sutopia.com

This one is a little more difficult and can be dangerous. Please – safety first. There are handrails on the staircase for a reason. And, although the reason may not be the following, they will serve as excellent stability boosters for the following exercise.

Last post you tried walking backwards up a hill. Other than being unusual, it is not that difficult for most people. Of course, there are ways to make it more difficult. We’ll save that for another post.

Our home is built into a hill on the shore. It is about a 50 foot rise from the water to our driveway/front entrance. The front entrance is actually the third storey out of four. You can imagine there are a lot of stairs. And, when my husband and I designed the home, we chose to have higher than average ceilings, therefore, the staircases are longer than normal as well. Do not worry, we thought ahead: there is an elevator for future considerations.

To stumble out of bed in the morning (today at 40F but sunny) and reach the hot tub on the deck requires 2 full flights of stairs plus the few steps outdoors. Now, I wouldn’t attempt the following first thing in the morning before my muscles are warmed up, but I do try it once in a while during the day for variety.

Pick any staircase where no one else is around – this is not something to try in a mall.  With your dominant side closest to the handrail, grasp the rail with that hand at the base of a set of stairs. Now, carefully, walk in reverse up the flight of stairs. It will feel quite strange and you will need the handrail for a while. Gradually, loosen your grip on the rail over time until you are barely touching it. Try not to swivel your head around and look behind you while doing this exercise. The goal is to look straight ahead just like you do when you are going down the stairs normally. You are reversing all the motions, not changing anything except your direction. This exercise will work your muscles differently and will definitely give your brain a bit of a workout as well.

Have fun. Be safe.

To variety…

Susan Crutcher, RRPr, CPTN-CPT, PHC

Life Empowerment Mentor, Health & Wellness Coach, Baby Steps to Success Expert

www.SueCrutcher.com; www.Sutopia.com

+ + + + 

Permission to reprint. This article (and all articles on this blog) is copyrighted by Susan Crutcher. You have permission to reprint this article in its entirety as long as you include the following credit with the article:

Susan Crutcher is the author of “Health & Wellness Made Simple” and is currently working on a series of self empowerment books which incorporate her baby steps to success theory. She is a life empowerment mentor, health and wellness coach, baby steps to success expert and motivational speaker, is certified in personal training and over a dozen complementary care modalities with over 30 years of teaching experience. Susan is manager of Greystone Retreat (a luxury rental home on Georgian Bay), co-founder of Academy of Holistic Modalities Inc (holistic education), editor of the Reflexology Registration Council of Ontario (RRCO) newsletter ‘In Touch’ and a founding member of the Grey-Bruce Spiritual Network (GBSN). Download and enjoy a free sample of her book at: www.SueCrutcher.com

Well, Sue, that certainly is a strange lead-in. Yes, it is. Lots of things are strange … particularly how things connect in our minds at times.

There I was, walking backward up a steep hill (well ahead of the unit in case of an incident … wouldn’t want to be crushed by a falling outhouse!) supervising angles and distance below the unit when I realized … about half way up … my shins and glutes were not happy. Ah ha! Something to write about on my blog, I thought to myself…

Quite some time ago there were a series of posts on walking and baby steps to changing your routine – variations on a theme. This is one I hadn’t thought of at the time.

When we walk in our normal manner (or do any other routine for that matter), our body quickly adapts to the methodology. It is important to constantly add in little ‘surprises’ to keep the body ‘on its toes’ so to speak. This one (and tomorrow’s) will do just that.

Is there an area near you, perhaps where you walk now, that has a fairly steep incline? Yes? Perfect.  If not, see if you can think of one. If not, try this the next time you chance upon a hill.

Walk normally until you get to the incline area. Then, turn around backwards and walk up the incline in reverse. If you don’t do this regularly, you may need to pay extra attention to your surroundings … it is more difficult than you think.  While walking in reverse, be aware of how your body is reacting differently. The way it automatically adapts for balance; your weight distribution on your feet; the different stress on your knee and hip joints; the new sensations in your muscles.

These types of exercises are important parts of adaptation for your brain and are very useful as we age. The more aware we are of our spatial orientation, the better balanced our bodies will be. The more balanced we are, the less chance of falling and being injured.

Tomorrow: a variation on this concept.

To better balance…

Susan Crutcher, RRPr, CPTN-CPT, PHC

Life Empowerment Mentor, Health & Wellness Coach, Baby Steps to Success Expert

www.SueCrutcher.com; www.Sutopia.com

+ + + + 

Permission to reprint. This article (and all articles on this blog) is copyrighted by Susan Crutcher. You have permission to reprint this article in its entirety as long as you include the following credit with the article:

Susan Crutcher is the author of “Health & Wellness Made Simple” and is currently working on a series of self empowerment books which incorporate her baby steps to success theory. She is a life empowerment mentor, health and wellness coach, baby steps to success expert and motivational speaker, is certified in personal training and over a dozen complementary care modalities with over 30 years of teaching experience. Susan is manager of Greystone Retreat (a luxury rental home on Georgian Bay), co-founder of Academy of Holistic Modalities Inc (holistic education), editor of the Reflexology Registration Council of Ontario (RRCO) newsletter ‘In Touch’ and a founding member of the Grey-Bruce Spiritual Network (GBSN). Download and enjoy a free sample of her book at: www.SueCrutcher.com  

I learned a LOT from this workshop -- I'm sure everyone can see how this would definitely leverage their business. Mine was 'mickey mouse' compared to some of the others created. Here are a couple of really good ones -- remember, these were their first slideshows!

http://tinyurl.com/slide002  

http://tinyurl.com/slide003

and my absolute favourite...

http://tinyurl.com/slide004

While you enjoy them ... think about how you could utilize the technique/concept on YOUR website!

"CREATE a fabulous day!"

Sue Crutcher, Baby Steps to Success Expert; Life Empowerment Mentor; Health & Wellness Coach

My first slideshow ever (the flower show from yesterday) -- and today I received an email that it is being 'showcased' on the site. No doubt, this is partially due to some of you people taking a look at it. So ... a HUGE THANK YOU!!! Teamwork is awesome...

http://www.slideshare.net/category/travel

Oh, and I've added ANOTHER new show -- this one is wildlife pictures

http://www.slideshare.net/Greystone/for-wildlife-enthusiasts

This one is a little longer ... it is a slideshow of all the flowers I could find to take pictures of yesterday afternoon in one hour.  The deadline for my slideshow workshop was, of course, today -- so I had to hop to it.  Here is another slideshow for your enjoyment...

PS -- I did a '1 second' slide turnaround but it seems a little slow. To speed it up, simply press your 'arrow right' key whenever you want to see the next slide.

PPS -- Yesterday's show is posted here (http://www.slideshare.net/Greystone/greystone-retreat-luxury-rental) and then embedded from there to here.