III. Coach's Top Picks

IV. News

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I. Topic: Accent on Assets  (Revised and reprinted from Soul-Centered Success(tm) Nov-2002 edition.)

So often in our society we are focused on what needs to be corrected, healed, improved and changed.  Even if it is in the most positive sense.   I have written in the past on Praise Deficit and the issues related to general over-criticisms that we have for others and ourselves.  I offer up a similar topic for this time of year, for this time in our lives, when there is so much unrest in the world. There is such a desire to fix and correct things. This being a time when our peace, our security and even our sanity hangs in the balance, there could never be a better time to consider the power of where we put our attention.  We do have the power to focus on assets and abundance, versus what is damaged and broken, and as many know, what we focus on will expand.

As we gather here in the U.S. around the table over the Thanksgiving holiday, we'll offer up thanks for the good that we have in our lives. We'll pray for peace and the joint energy we expend that day will be focused on all of the gifts we have around us.  We will be excruciatingly aware, as we all have been more and more in our world, that not everyone lives with these assets each day.

Yet, I'd like to make a request.  Before and after the holiday period this winter, consider how you can EXPAND the concept of focusing on assets more and more in your life.  Where can you think, meditate, speak ALOUD about the things you value, care about and are grateful for?  How and to whom will you get this across?

In my former corporate career, on occasion in a team meeting, I would suggest we go around the table and focus on one individual at time and say what we appreciate about them.  It could be their skills or attributes they had as a person, or really any aspects of them that we truly valued. At the time, I know my team thought I was a little wacky, but in the end, who wouldn't want to hear from people they care about and what great things others think of them?  This can be a powerful exercise in communication and bonding for any team, community, family or group of friends that you are a part of. 

This is just one way to focus on assets and thereby expand that positive energy. When my husband turned 40, I listed 40 things I love about him, and recently my sister did the same for me.
 
Communicating this in our DAILY lives is where even greater energy lies. Know that you make a difference for yourself when you stop and note your own gifts. You immensely impact others around you and the world at large, each time you identify and declare what their gifts are and how they affect you.  

So, over the upcoming holidays and even throughout the year, take some time to accent the assets in your life.  The return on this investment for you and those you touch will be immeasurable.

>Take Action!
Decide on a way that you will directly communicate assets to yourself, your friends and loved ones, as well as your co-workers.

You might journal, meditate, draw or construct some other creative expression of your own assets. You might write notes, cards, have direct discussions with the others in your life.  You might do it for no special reason, or give it as a gift for the holiday or a special occasion. The key is to be specific, honest, and descriptive about what it is you value as assets.  General thanks is fine, yet as with any message we want to have fully received, it is best to be as descriptive as possible.  Lastly, do this and then detach.  Don't express gratitude or focus on another's assets expecting anything in return.  The power of detaching from the results is as great as the asset-focus itself.

II.  Messages from the Masters

" Thank God for what doesn't need healing."   - Joan Borysenko 

" We are at peace when we cherish the gifts of the present moment. And gratitude for the moment enhances the value of what is to come next.  When we take our focus off the present, longing only for another time or place or experience, we'll never reap the rewards that offer themselves to us moment by moment.  The longing heart guarantees little peace, infrequent moments of joy, and stunted growth.  The soul's nourishment is here, now, with these people who surround us and within these activities inviting our involvement.  So few people understand the benefits of celebrating life as it's received.  Finding pleasure in the ordinary experiences heightens our awareness that indeed, no occurrence is truly ordinary."   - Karen Casey

III. Coach's Top Picks

Attitudes of Gratitude - How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life

--  M.J. Ryan

IV. News

>The November Coaches and Trainers Collaborative Incredible Coaches Circle will be held at Panera's of Glastonbury on Monday, November 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

The December Coaches and Trainers Collaborative Incredible Coaches Circle is cancelled to allow for more time and space during this busy month!

All are welcome to join these gatherings for conversation, community, resource-sharing and fun.  The only requirement is a passion for coaching.  For more information or to RSVP, please contact Jill at 860.659.5829 or jill@ct-collaborative.com.

>The next dinner meeting of the Glastonbury Business and Professional Women's Club will be held at Laurel Gardens of Glastonbury on November 12, at 5:30 p.m.  Professional Organizer, Faith Manierre will present on organizing and de-stressing for the holidays. For more information or to RSVP, please contact club secretary, Nela DePerez, at deperez@sbcglobal.net.