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Permission to Prosper
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 03:14PM 
Beyond the Stress of Success
Feeling genuine enthusiasm . . . a satisfying sense of accomplishment . . . and engaging in work for fun and profit. That's what happens when you give yourself permission to prosper.
What frees you to do that? Simple! 3 playful practices prime you to receive good fortune. The challenge is to leverage them into doing more of what works and less of what doesn't. That's why practice, not perfection, is the answer.
3 Playful Practices 
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- Pause To Refresh YOU
- Think Thriving Thoughts
- Re-charge in Energizing Environments
PAUSE TO REFRESH YOU
Given the relentless demands of our nonstop 24/7 lifestyles, it is easy to forget we are human beings - not human doings. Performance experts agree. Constant doing without real downtime impairs our ability to perform at our best. According to Wall St. Journal bestseller author Scott Belsky, the constant distractions of busyness keep us from effectively processing information, creatively coming up with new ideas, and making better decisions.
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Need proven and manageable ways to incorporate regular pause-to-refresh intervals in your work day? Try one or more of these simple daily practices:
- Pause every 90 minutes for 3-5 minutes and allow your mind and body a brief rest from the physical, mental and emotional pressures of work.
- Get up from your desk for a 2-3 minutes.
- Take several deep slow breaths.
- Stretch.
- Walk around the office, or go for a short walk inside the building.
- Leave the building for 5 minutes to breath some fresh air. While outside, gaze at the sky. Staring off into space without any particular focus quiets the mind - refreshing the brain. That may be where the open-minded, creative idea of 'blue sky thinking' originated.
Peak performance research tells us that consistent winners in sports or business instinctively and consciously take regular intervals of time, no matter how short, to de-stress and refocus when they are engaged in intense competition or pressure-cooker assignments. So if you cannot control the demands of your work, control the moments you take to intentionally pause and renew your energy - freeing yourself to shift to the next pressing priority with more clarity and ease.
THINK THRIVING THOUGHTS
Negative thinking is unproductive. It burns up considerable bandwidth, slows forward momentum, and drains energy in the process. So why not focus on positive outcomes with optimistic realism?
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Wildly successful people think thriving thoughts. You can too!
- Envision what your success on a big incredibly challenging project will look like when key milestones are reached. Spend several moments feeling the sweet satisfaction of your success.
- For 5 minutes each morning think thriving thoughts on the way to work. This shift in thinking can change your behavior and entire day for the better.
- Notice how much better your thriving thoughts make you feel.
- Notice how much more you enjoy your work.
RE-CHARGE IN ENERGIZING ENVIRONMENTS
The right environments support you in being your professional and personal best. So it is important to know what environments - people, places, and activities - are right for you. Notice who and what gives you energy. Pay attention to who and what consumes your energy. Minimize your exposure to people, places and activities that drain your energy. Optimize your exposure to people, places and activities that give you energy.
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Consciously re-charge in energizing environments.
- Spend time in natural environments where you feel calm, relaxed and grounded.
- Schedule time to be where energy is actively available to you. Walking in a pine forest, standing near a waterfall, or watching ocean waves as you drag your feet lazily through the sand clears your mind, refreshes your body, and lifts your spirit.
- Find time to be with family, friends, co-workers and colleagues who are fun.
- Engage in activities that make you smile, laugh, and feel more alive - like playing with your children or pet, watching hilariously movies, riding a bike, or learning to fly a kite.
In energizing environments you slip back into your center, reconnect with your internal rhythms, and experience a natural balance in perspective, action and rewarding results.
Free to Thrive
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Pause to Refresh YOU
Think Thriving Thoughts
Re-charge in Energizing Environment
These three playful practices invite you to thrive - from the inside out. So try several of them on for size. See which ones work best for you. Then notice how your playful practices turn into healthy habits that give you permission to prosper . . . in the freedom of who you are, and the soul-satisfying fullness of your work and life.
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