Slow Down Fast Personal Coaching and Lifestyle Design

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by David Bohl, Lifestyle Designer

It’s really not that hard to stay organized once you get there… but the getting there can be a challenge. I’ve often wondered if some of us are born with an organizational gene and others are born with a messy gene. It seems some people have a knack for keeping order everywhere around them–in their car, office, and home. And others create messes wherever they go!

For those who do not have this innate ability, it’s fairly easy to learn tips that will not only bring peace of mind, but can literally save your life. Losing your keys, misplacing important documents, or not being able to find your medication can all have life-threatening consequences.

More often, most of us want to be organized in order to have a life that flows more smoothly, with less stress and chaos, and more structure and efficiency. Whatever the reason for creating order, you will enjoy the results. Here are some top tips to get there:

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Life is often a whirlwind of activity. Your work obligations, social life, and family activities often pile up, leaving you feeling buried beneath a never-ending list of to-do’s.

Left unchecked, this sense of being overwhelmed can run rampant and cause mental, emotional, and physical damage. Take a look at the following clues to determine whether it’s time to take a break from your busyness and escape your life while you still can.

Daily stressors usually take their first toll on your mental well-being. The reprimand at work, the parents’ meeting at school, and the leaky faucet whose “drip, drip, drip” is a constant reminder of the honey-do list you shoved in the bottom of your desk drawer may seem like small potatoes at first, but these simple nuisances can build up to become a monster.

When the pressures of mundane tasks affect you mentally, you may find yourself consumed by negative thoughts, worries, and anxieties. If you spend more time dwelling on the glass being half empty rather than half full, it may be time to plan your escape route.

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No WAY!

Though you might believe otherwise from the news coverage and mass hysteria, the world is not coming to an end. The Financial “Crisis” will make it more difficult for those with not so perfect credit to get loans, but it really shouldn’t affect your day to day life.

What it should do is make you realize that this will impact only a tiny fraction of your existence…and there are so many other areas of your life that you have complete control over. Why not work on them, and secure your future?

What’s the worst that could happen?

Ask any economist, and the only response you will get is their opinion or theory. The markets are responding to the hysteria and the uncertainty of our past mistakes and future fears. Do not be swayed! Stay strong! Eventually when the government allows our markets to stabilize (by stabilizing THEMSELVES) we will return to our bullish times. Until then, realize that this period will be over at some point. Just make sure that YOUR house is in order.

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by David Bohl

Remember when you were a kid, and your mom and dad read you that story about Chicken Little?

Chicken Little feels an acorn drop on her head and assumes the sky is falling. She goes on to spread such misinformation to her animal friends. The chaos that ensues enables “Foxy Loxy” to come along and make a meal out of some of Chicken Little’s friends.

The story of Chicken Little is meant to show what happens when you pass along information that isn’t true. It leaves you vulnerable to attack because no one is paying attention to what’s really happening.

Lately, the mass hysteria that the media and the internet have contributed to is reminding me of that story. No, we’re not all running around squawking that the sky is falling, exactly. But we might as well be, with the election rumors flying around, the bailout backlash, and everything else that’s going on.

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Most of us have been taught from a very young age by parents or grandparents that lived through the depression that the responsible thing to do is to save…. and save a lot!

But living in the generation where everything is so readily available… and can be charged or financed… spending seems to be the wheel most of find ourselves running. How do we break the cycle?

My biggest tip: use cash! Cash is much more difficult to part with than swiping your credit or debit cards. Using cash really makes the decision of “do I really need this” very easy. Cash is King, after all. Save for big ticket items. Not necessarily saving $30K for a new car… but surely you can put away a few dollars a week or month for that gaming system or washer/dryer you will be needing shortly! Saving and spending money you have saved also helps you determine if you are buying things your really “need.”
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by David Bohl, Lifestyle Designer

The nine to five grind… you’ve been a participant since your late teens, early twenties. Is it time to take a hike? Here are six questions to ask yourself BEFORE you ditch those bennies.

Take an extended vacation… how does it feel?

Do you have some extra vacation stored up for a rainy day? Most of us do! This is the perfect time to see how you can really handle not going through the daily grind. Spend some leisurely time with your family and your hobbies. Find a hobby if you don’t already have one…reading, writing, biking, hiking, cooking. See how you handle your extended break, and make the determination of whether you want to leave the structure of your job to pursue other things.

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Thinking about breaking up with your girlfriend, your job, or even your lifestyle? These 6 indicators can give you insight on whether to stick it out or throw in the towel.

You’re unhappy.

Seems to be a no-brainer, right? And yet, sometimes we’re so used to being unhappy in a job or a relationship that we never even realize there is any other way to feel.

Do you dread Monday morning by the time Sunday rolls around? Do you find that you have nothing positive to say or even think at your meetings during the week? In your personal life, do you choose to go out with friends because you don’t want to be alone with your wife or girlfriend? These are all signs that you need to either figure out how to improve your situation, or work on getting out of whatever you’re stuck in, and creating something new.

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by David Bohl, Life Coach and Lifestyle Designer

I know it sounds cliche… but the power of positive thinking really does bring an avalanche of wonderful things pouring into your life.

From your job to your marriage to your social life to your personal interests… it pays to start listening to what your Inner Opportunist has to say.
Think for a moment about a company who lays off thousands of its employees–some that have worked at the company for 20 years. Debbie, one of these employees was the marketing manager of the company. She is laid off after giving 10 years of her professional life to the company–increasing its sales, hiring and mentoring an entire marketing area, and being at the company’s beck and call.

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