Mary Jones Show

We all suffer from procrastination at times…no one is exempt. Here are a few tips to help you deal with it:
Do the worst thing first. Attack the hardest thing when your energy is fresh…
Start your day over at 2 pm. At 2 pm, assess how much you’ve accomplished, remind yourself of what’s critical and alter your plan so you can tackle the most important thing. At that time of day, you still have an opportunity to get it done!
Commit to someone else who will hold you accountable. For many people, this works well.

And, try to be a life-long learner! For many, once they are through will school, they stop learning. There are many health reasons why we should commit to learning, at every age. Plus, it adds a sense of enrichment to our lives.

Read books on subjects about which you know little or nothing. Engage in conversations with people who have expertise in an area that you don’t.

Commit to being a lifelong learner!

Continuing on my 2011 personal mission to remind people of the control they have over their own happiness…remember that you don’t have to allow negative people in your life to influence you. Give yourself distance from them if they’re family members or work associates, and certainly don’t have them in your circle of friends. It is OK, and healthy, to cut off relationships with friends who do nothing but drain you and create negativity in your life.

And…a stressor in life, especially for women, is being indecisive. When confronted with a choice, consider your options briefly, and then make a decision. (Major life decisions may take a bit more thought) We expend too much time and energy waffling on decisions. Most of them don’t require the amount of thought we give them.

Keeping secrets can be tough. We should strive to honor our word to keep one’s confidence. Try to resist the temptation to pass on something that was told to you as a secret. It’s tempting to disclose a juicy tidbit of info to someone who you know would love to hear it; it gives us a sense of power to have information that the other person doesn’t. Try to resist. It can be a character-building effort. And, after all, you hope people keep your confidence, so extend the same to others.

My Question last week: What is your favorite color? I’m trying to figure out what the “most popular” favorite color is. Has yours changed over the years?

We live in a world bombarded with noise. So much so, that many people are uncomfortable with silence.

Let’s practice being aware that there’s a momentary silence in the space between our thoughts. In this silent space, we find the peace that so many crave.
The average person has 60,000 separate thoughts a day. With so many thoughts, there are almost no gaps. No gaps= no peace.

Silence reduces fatigue and allows you to experience your own creativity.

Allow silence into your life. For example, don’t play the radio all the time you’re in the car. Use that time to enjoy the quiet, remove tension and anxiety. And, don’t feel compelled to fill in every pause in a conversation with chatter….experience silence.

Care less what others think! This can be a tough one, but for a moment, imagine not being affected by criticisms and unkind comments that might be said about you. It feels rather liberating and exhilarating, right? There are certainly people in your life whose opinions you want to be concerned about…your spouse, boss, for example. But, consider the drain on your energy and confidence that others’ unwanted comments create. Keep in mind that what matters is what you think about yourself.

Now, what word would you like others to use to describe you? It gets you thinking, doesn’t it?? It’s not about what word you’d use to describe you but the word you’d like others to use. What word would make you most happy to overhear someone say about you? Give it some thought. When you zero in on that word, ask yourself how accurate you think it is, honestly. Might be insightful!!

I’m not a resolution person. Haven’t been for years. For me, resolutions do little else than set me up for disappointment, and feeling bad about myself. But, I am a goal-oriented person. I like the word “dreams”.

And, I’ve learned something about reaching my goals, dreams. In addition to having a positive attitude that gets me on the right track to achieving them, I’ve realized that persistence is the main thing that will keep me on track. When obstacles come along, persistence is what allows me to overcome them. There are 3 key steps to follow that will help you select which of your resolutions, goals, dreams you should invest your time, energy and resources in.  Please listen as I describe these on my show on WomensRadio.com at  http://www.womensradio.com/episodes/Persistence/8246.html.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Keeping with my personal mission this year of increasing the number of people who realize the control they have over their own happiness, I want to share some very exciting news.

For years, researches felt that a positive attitude reflects success, that once your life is good, you’ll have a positive outlook. Experts now know that it is the exact opposite…positivity produces success.

We all know people who are downers…woe is me-types. Have you ever noticed that they usually have a lot to be down about? And, we all know people who are chipper, happy, always smiling – ever notice that they often have a lot to be chipper, and smile, about? See the connection? Think about it…make a mental list of folks in your life…see the connection between their attitudes, mindsets, and their realities, and…guess which one came first.

A positive attitude creates a successful life. And, the exciting aspect of that now known fact is that we have power and control over our thoughts and attitudes! Use it to your advantage! Create a successful and happy life!

I am thrilled to be a part of WomensRadio, an internet channel that was started to give women a greater voice. I am hosting The Mary Jones Show, an upbeat program offering a fun, inspirational look at everyday life, and encouraging listeners to live with confidence.  I’ll share tips and techniques on developing healthy self-esteem, the power of a positive attitude, and guideposts to get and keep you on the road to a happier life.

My tagline? Believe in Yourself!

Please join me on womensradio.com and listen to my Introductory Interview and to my First Show!

I’ve introduced my theme for this year….Live in ’11!….and my January
Challenge…Be Kind to Yourself!…but, I’ve decided that I have a personal
mission for the year!
It comes from having many conversations with many people about their degree of unhappiness, and their feeling that it’s “just the way it is”. No! It does not need to be that way, for anyone.
So, I’m on a mission to increase the number of people who realize the amount of control they have over their own happiness. Scientists have found that we have as much, if not more, control over our happiness as is attributed to genetic
make-up. And, if we don’t seize that control, who will? It isn’t anyone’s or
anything’s responsibility to make us happy….that rests with us.

I’ll be sharing tips and techniques to help you do just that. For example, keep in mind that dwelling on past failures and disappointments tends to lead to depressed feelings. While it is tempting to re-live these events, it isn’t productive, or healthy to do so. Don’t live in the past. Focus on today, and what you can create for tomorrow.

More to come!