The Occupational Adventure (tm)

What relaxation type are you?

 

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

 

Here's a question you may never have pondered. What relaxation type are you?

Huh?

This short article suggests that there are different approaches to relaxation that will work best for you, depending on how you are wired. It's one of those "makes sense when you think about it" ideas.

The relaxation types it outlines are:

Vision Oriented
"This might entail creating mental pictures of a relaxing situation, a changed circumstance or the body's healing energy."

Sound Oriented
"...listening to music, saying prayers, repeating affirmations and singing can all be used to help you balance your body and mind."

Body Oriented
"Massage, chiropractic, acupuncture and yoga help body-dominant people eliminate stress."

What relaxation type are you? What do you do to relax? Is there anything you do that helps you relax that doesn't fit into one of these categories? Are there categories you see that are missing?

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Eat your way to success

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

A few months ago I posted about finally clueing in to the fact that, especially since I'm self-employed, I am the factory that produces my career. That means that things like my diet and the exercise I get have a direct effect on what I am able to create, because they are the source of energy (or lack of it) that powers that factory.

I started looking more seriously at my diet, and how it was (or more typically, wasn't) fueling the work that I do. Historically, my dietary habits have never been especially good. I could go weeks without tasting a vegetable and tended to reach for the easiest option (inevitably a bowl of cereal).

I started looking at that more carefully when I started thinking of my body as my career's factory. Obviously neglecting to give it the kind of fuel it needed to function optimally had to have a negative impact on what I could do with my days.

I've gotten better since then (though there's still plenty of room for improvement), and I notice a big difference when my diet is on track vs. when it falls back into the junk rut. The healthier my food habits, the more energy I have to put into creating the results I want.

It's in light of all that that this article caught my attention: 10 secrets to eating enough fruits and veggies.

How about you? How is your diet? Are you giving your career factory the energy it needs? 

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Write a mirror message

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Here's a quick idea to help reinforce a message you want to focus on. Write yourself a mirror message. Next time you fog up the bathroom mirror with a shower, write the message you want to remember on it. And then don't clean it. The next time the mirror steams up, that message will still be there.

Since often that mirror fog and a morning shower go hand in hand, it can be a great way to set the tone for your day. "Oh yeah. This is what I want to focus on/feel like/think about today."

Right now on my mirror I have a simple message: "Life is good!" What would your message be?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Tension vs. relaxation

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

I started a tai chi class tonight (my very first class), and at the end one of the people there shared this saying with the group:

Tension is who you think you should be.  Relaxation is who you are. 

~Chinese Proverb

I couldn't resist passing it along to you. The saying fits hand in glove with my definition of passion, which is, "the energy that comes from bringing more of YOU into what you do." It's being who you are. And when you're who you are, you don't have the tension that comes with trying to be who you're not. It all flows.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Energy sparks - more zing for your day!

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

One of the things I love about the blogosphere is seeing how other creative minds look at the world.

Back in October Troy Worman ran across a blog post with some ideas for refreshing yourself and energizing your day. His creative mind thought (and I'm putting words in his mouth here), "Good ideas, but how about some suggestions with a little more zing?!"

Here's what he came up with:

1. Run some stairs
2. Chug a quart of water
3. Do some jumping jacks
4. Eat a fistfull of cajun seasoned almonds
5. Doodle on your office window with a dry-erase marker
6. Create a mindmap (for anything!)
7. Create a collage from the ads in that stack of trade rags you’ve been meaning to read
8. Close your office door and do a little jig
9. Take a sunshine break
10. Read more Orbit Now!

My favorite is doodling on the window with a dry erase marker. I think I've just found an addictive new habit! (and yes, I just tried it.)

How about you? What creative ideas do you have for injecting a little zing into your day?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Give your intuition a voice

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

When it comes to creating the future we want for ourselves, it makes sense to leverage all the resources we have at our disposal. One incredibly powerful resource we have that all too often gets neglected is our intuition.

Here's an article outlining five ideas to help you listen to your intuition. In a nutshell, here are the ideas:
 

• Keep an intuition log
• Get curious about patterns
• Pay attention to the perfection of "mistakes"
• Be a scribe for the still, small voice inside
• If words won't come, try drawing or collage

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Good worry vs. toxic worry

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

In the words of the sage Alfred E. Neuman (patron saint of MAD magazine), "What, me worry?"

Well yes. We all do to some extent. But not all worry is created equal, as this article points out. Some of it is good worry, while some of it is toxic worry. What's the difference?

Good worry is: an exercise in constantly looking for and anticipating possible problems, thus enabling us to take quick action to minimize the problem or eliminate it before it happens. And in the event it happens anyway, the right kind of worry can give us ready-made solutions that can be implemented quickly...

The other kind of worry is TOXIC worry. This is not good. Toxic worry produces negative feelings like vulnerability and powerlessness. These feelings tend to immobilize us. Or it's ruminative...worry that keeps on going in circles, over and over the same problem ground, producing only frustration without any forward progress or toward actions to solve the source or cause of the worry.

The article goes on to suggest ways to both turn down the volume on your toxic worry once it starts, and avoid it altogether.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Get multi-chromatic to stimulate your mind

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Over the last few months, I have been growing increasingly interested in the subject of sustainability (it started with my alternative energy blog and spread to my sustainability blog).

A few weeks ago I went to a New Urbanism & Sustainable Development Meetup. I came away feeling completely energized. The conversation was lively, smart, and stimulating, and the people were knowledgeable and passionate about the topic. Most of them had careers that focused on some element of sustainability.

The focus of that Meetup was outside the sphere of my day-to-day focus, which was a big part of the reason I found it so energizing. It gave my brain a chance to engage in something completely different.

Regardless of how much you love what you do, any time you put all of your time, energy and thoughts into one thing it will inevitably start to feel a little monochromatic and one-dimensional.

Adding some variation to the mix - like a lively, intellectually stimulating conversation about sustainability - shakes your brain up a bit. It breathes more colors into the picture.

Incorporating that kind of tangential engagement on a consistent basis in turn has a positive effect on your main focus, because your brain feels fresher and more interested.

What can you add to your mix?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

15 simple changes that will energize your life

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Yesterday I posted about Jon Gordon's book, Energy Addict. Today I'm following that up with a list of 15 simple changes you can make to energize your life that I found on his web site. That should tide you over till the book comes (you did order it, didn't you?). ;-)

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Energy management made simple

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

One of the things I've been increasingly aware of in recent months is the importance of energy management (which was the reason behind picking that as last month's Collective Genius! topic).

The idea is simple. The more energy you have to put into your efforts, the more likely your efforts will be to succeed. Tapping into your passion is one source of energy, but it's not the only source.

I'm reading an excellent book right now called Energy Addict: 101 Physical, Mental, & Spiritual Ways to Energize Your Life by Jon Gordon.

Some of the 101 ideas are common sense (and commonly ignored) physical things that affect your energy level. Others have more to do with the way we choose to experience the world, like harnessing the energy of thank you:

...the energy of "thank you" is one of my most powerful sources of energy. Over the last few years I have learned that there is so much to be thankful for and the more we thank the more energy we bring into our lives. When we say "thank you" and feel thankful, we focus the energy of our minds, words, and hearts on what we have...rather than what we don't. Theis energy allows us to be more present, focusing our energy on the now rather than the future or negative events of the past.

Gordon tops each of the 101 ideas off with some concrete action steps you can take. 

It's easy to flip through and find an idea that appeals to you and put it to work. Think of it as a big a la carte energy menu that you can pick and choose from according to what strikes your fancy.

I'm adding this one to my list o' books that I regularly recommend to clients.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM