| True Growth in a Down-Turned Economy By Dr. Debra LeClair Psy. D. |
A summer of discontent is probably the last thing any of us want. However, many people are finding that the strains and consequences of the current global
situation have hit home and are being felt directly on a personal level. This is certainly a collective wake up call, and as hard as that is, it is an opportunity to allow
a different way of thinking to take hold and transform your perception of the situation.
So after a hard gulp or two, this is actually a time to start to breathe easier because you can let go of ideas and behavior that no longer serve you or your highest
good. Like all good wake up calls, it’s a time to clear the internal clutter that we didn’t even realize was clogging up our lives. To better illustrate this, let me tell you
about a couple living down in the Boston area that were impacted by a lay-off and then a significantly diminished income. This change in finances had become a
catalyst for them to have to rethink their lifestyle. At first it was about sacrifice and fear, but that transformed into creativity and reconnection to deeper values. In
some aspects of their lives, they felt like weights were being lifted off of them. One example in particular was letting go of having to maintain an expensive car –
which was, quite frankly, for the prestige. While financially they don’t have the burden of paying for the car any longer, more importantly they are less imprisoned by
the belief of having to “own something” in order to impress other people. In fact, upon reflection they both expressed feeling “more complete as people” in coming
to this realization. And feeling more complete with less stuff – coming from the pervasive mindset where building up the external to balance out any perceived lack
of the internal – may make that shift impossible without a crisis to urge us to evolve.
Sometimes sacrifices can feel good once we shift the focus off of what we will miss out on and instead place it on what there will be room for now in our lives. For
example, maybe you have to shut your cable off. This might feel painful to say the least, but with no TV coming in, what else can now move into your life? It’s going
to be something good – although probably uncomfortable to think about until you experience it. Maybe you’ll now be hanging out more with friends or spending
quiet time with your own ideas (creativity), not just digesting the barrage of stuff that can come at you from the media. While going through this process you might
even find that you can more easily connect into the experience of inner peace, irregardless of what is happening around you.
It takes cultivated awareness and self-compassion to apply this type of emotional and mental reframing – to live in the upside of a challenging situation. The more
you do just that, the more you strengthen your thinking process to travel along the path of optimism and fulfilled living. If you want to delve into this more deeply, I
highly recommend anything related to the body of work by Byron Katie, which incidentally is called “The Work.” To see it in action with real people, click here: http:
//www.thework.com/video_future.asp and/or http://www.thework.com/video_money2.asp
Debra LeClair Psy.D. is a life/executive coach, corporate trainer and psychologist who partners with organizations and individuals around making positive and
sustainable change. Debra helps those seeking career satisfaction, enhanced communication skills and improved team/individual performance. She owns Full
Spectrum Wellness LLC, a holistic health and learning center www.fullspectrumwellness.com and co-owns Platinum Principle Training & Development www.
platinumprinciple.com, a company that specializes in interpersonal effectiveness training for organizations.
situation have hit home and are being felt directly on a personal level. This is certainly a collective wake up call, and as hard as that is, it is an opportunity to allow
a different way of thinking to take hold and transform your perception of the situation.
So after a hard gulp or two, this is actually a time to start to breathe easier because you can let go of ideas and behavior that no longer serve you or your highest
good. Like all good wake up calls, it’s a time to clear the internal clutter that we didn’t even realize was clogging up our lives. To better illustrate this, let me tell you
about a couple living down in the Boston area that were impacted by a lay-off and then a significantly diminished income. This change in finances had become a
catalyst for them to have to rethink their lifestyle. At first it was about sacrifice and fear, but that transformed into creativity and reconnection to deeper values. In
some aspects of their lives, they felt like weights were being lifted off of them. One example in particular was letting go of having to maintain an expensive car –
which was, quite frankly, for the prestige. While financially they don’t have the burden of paying for the car any longer, more importantly they are less imprisoned by
the belief of having to “own something” in order to impress other people. In fact, upon reflection they both expressed feeling “more complete as people” in coming
to this realization. And feeling more complete with less stuff – coming from the pervasive mindset where building up the external to balance out any perceived lack
of the internal – may make that shift impossible without a crisis to urge us to evolve.
Sometimes sacrifices can feel good once we shift the focus off of what we will miss out on and instead place it on what there will be room for now in our lives. For
example, maybe you have to shut your cable off. This might feel painful to say the least, but with no TV coming in, what else can now move into your life? It’s going
to be something good – although probably uncomfortable to think about until you experience it. Maybe you’ll now be hanging out more with friends or spending
quiet time with your own ideas (creativity), not just digesting the barrage of stuff that can come at you from the media. While going through this process you might
even find that you can more easily connect into the experience of inner peace, irregardless of what is happening around you.
It takes cultivated awareness and self-compassion to apply this type of emotional and mental reframing – to live in the upside of a challenging situation. The more
you do just that, the more you strengthen your thinking process to travel along the path of optimism and fulfilled living. If you want to delve into this more deeply, I
highly recommend anything related to the body of work by Byron Katie, which incidentally is called “The Work.” To see it in action with real people, click here: http:
//www.thework.com/video_future.asp and/or http://www.thework.com/video_money2.asp
Debra LeClair Psy.D. is a life/executive coach, corporate trainer and psychologist who partners with organizations and individuals around making positive and
sustainable change. Debra helps those seeking career satisfaction, enhanced communication skills and improved team/individual performance. She owns Full
Spectrum Wellness LLC, a holistic health and learning center www.fullspectrumwellness.com and co-owns Platinum Principle Training & Development www.
platinumprinciple.com, a company that specializes in interpersonal effectiveness training for organizations.
The Applaud Women publication is dedicated to women in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. It's purpose is to inspire, inform, and
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
The opinions and information provided within the Applaud Women publication or on the Applaud Women website are not necessarily those of Applaud Women, it's officers, staff or
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.
contributing writers. Nor does inclusion on ApplaudWomen.com constitute endorsement of the views, products, services or informational content contained within the publication, advertising
on found anywhere on the website. Applaud Women values accuracy; however, Applaud Women does not warranty the accuracy of material provided by it's writers, advertisers or any
information provided by other sources included on the website.
No reproduction of any part of this page or any other page on the website is permitted without the express permission of Applaud Women.
