Day 15 More with Less—Living in the Flow

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Today’s Meditation

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“May what I do, flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” —Rainer Maria Rilke

Imagine a flow of energy in your day coming through and around, surrounding you, getting the results you want, generating important ideas, those few things, that are most precious to us. Identifying what matters most to us and adding that richness to our lives.

If you were to focus on those things, you might be surprised, as many are, that 80 percent of what we have comes from only 20 percent of what we do. It’s called the 80/20 principle. This means that 80 percent of your happiness, the things that matter to you most, comes from 20 percent of what you do. And to use this knowledge to your advantage can give you “less for more,” with focus, and with focus, you can create “more with less.”

What’s important

Using less energy, sweat and worry to create the things that matter, the important aspects of our lives.

“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.” —Warren Buffett

When you think of our hectic, modern-day lives, we often hear and feel, that instead of working to live, we live to work. There has to be a balance. With self-confidence and the right life philosophy, we can achieve a more happy, relaxed, and energized teacher’s life.

“Less is more only when more [becomes]too much.”                   —Frank Lloyd Wright

Focused energy gives you freedom

Many of us worry more, not less, we are terrified of our freedom to do what we have time for. We feel like we are cheating, not working enough, just because we are now able to leave a few minutes earlier. No, you are not cheating. You are working less, and because your energy is focused, you are getting more for less.

Because you are controlling your time, your focus is on creating that time, you can now relax. It’s ok. Feel assured that you’ve started this road to happiness and that the way to keep making those improvements is to ask yourself: “What will give me a much better result for much less energy?”

Richard Koch asks these questions in his book Living the 80/20 Way:

Think of any great scientist, musician, artist, thinker, philanthropist, or business leader, [teacher of the year];

  • Do they achieve by trying to do something they find easy and natural, or by trying to do something that is hard and unnatural?
  • Do they achieve because they work hard, or because they find it easier than other people to excel in their chosen arena?
  • Do they work hard because they feel guilty, or because they identify with their work, believe in it, and love it?

After discovering the 80/20 way to live, I’m all of the above; I’m happy, relaxed, energized — writing comes naturally to me, it’s easier to excel, and I identify with my work, I believe in it and love it.

Best things in life are free

A smile is free, so are hugs. You often see people about with signs that read: “Free hugs” and yes, they are free, the people who give them out have decided to take their time and give to others.

Caring for a pet or a plant is free, appreciating life is free, displaying affection, committing a random act of kindness. Getting more with less. Think of the last time you genuinely smiled at a student, a colleague, or heaven forbid – your principal, the administrator! Has it been a while? Try it again. And if you do this daily, congratulate yourself.

“If most of my time doesn’t make me happy, how can I spend less time on these activities?” —Richard Koch

We continually talk about living in the moment. Living in the present. We do have a precious gift in today. Each moment does have its quality, our individual moment.

Annette Annechild, PhD., defines flow as an “-optimal state of consciousness- where a person feels and performs at his or her best. But it is also more than that. It is a unique state of consciousness. When you find your flow, you are able to concentrate with laser focus as your awareness and actions combine for peak performance…awareness of time and self strangely fade to the background and our senses are heightened [.]”

Feel happier today — Order the full guide to listen to words of inspiration

Find your flow, your moments, your zone where time stands still, where you’re totally absorbed in the present. Where you are happy.

TRY IT! 5 DAYS of FREE GUIDED MEDITATION!

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All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Days 6-15 and beyond to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.

Keep Reading the blog: Day 16 Kindness, Compassion, and the Inner Smile

©Taru Nieminen 2017   The Happy Teacher Solution

Day 14 Achieving Your Highest Potential

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Today’s Meditation

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“Potential is a priceless treasure, like gold. All of us have gold hidden within, but we have to dig to get it out.” —Joyce Meyer

The voice in your head is the determinant factor in reaching your potential. It determines whether you succeed or not.

As Charles Schultz remarked, “I know the answer. The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! What, the answer is twelve? I think I’m in the wrong building.” Finding your potential lies in finding the right building. And then, the part where most people stop: climbing to the top of the roof, no matter how many steps up the stairs it takes.

Let your mind relax

Thinking differently gives you the power to take care of your potential mind, bringing it to the surface every day, making the possibilities exponential. When you let your mind relax, like with meditation, you can recreate your surroundings, your mind expands — all the good that is in your mind gets even better. If you have doubts in your mind, fear and darkness, negativity — let light in instead.

“What a tragedy it would be if you lived your entire life without discovering who you are, without reaching your full potential.” —Ray Mancini

We often live in our minds, not stepping out, staying in our comfort zone, feeling it an achievement just to make it through the hour, the day, the week. The voice you hear in your head limits you, manifests fear of failure, the one telling you “you are not up to it” and that “you just don’t have the potential.”

If we were to cultivate positivity, let light enter our mind, focus on only the good, we can create blissful moments, harmony and joy every day.

“Everybody has creative potential, and from the moment you can express this creative potential, you can start changing the world.” —Paulo Coelho

Choose potential

No matter what you choose for your day, it’s all in your mind.

I wonder what would happen if you let your potential “out of the bag?”

Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Marie Curie, and even Galileo were thought to be oddities in their time, radical thinkers. They had the courage to keep going when others told them they were crazy, weird, and stepped outside the box more than once.

By developing your unique strengths and talents, you will be able to expand your potential. Expanding your potential starts with thinking differently and focusing on the light. By removing the limitations we’ve set for ourselves, and taking the ideas we have, and cultivating them.

An idea cannot be defined, it grows inside your head, first as an inconceivable thought, then stewing for a bit or a while longer, and when it’s nice and ready, it pops into your consciousness and then you… either dismiss it, write it down, or exclaim it! But if you do nothing with it, it merely dies.

Feel happier today — Order the full guide to listen to words of inspiration

Finding out how a part of you might be telling you that the world of possibilities is limited, is key in expanding your potential to do bigger and bolder things. Find your ideas, cultivate them, keep them, make a splash with them! Step outside the box as you continue on the journey to the happy teacher’s life.

TRY IT! 5 DAYS of FREE GUIDED MEDITATION!

Just click here, enter your name & email to get started!

All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Days 6-14 and beyond to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.

Keep Reading the blog: Day 15 More with Less – Living in the Flow

©Taru Nieminen 2017   The Happy Teacher Solution