Recently I read a book that has put a whole new perspective on what it means to have gratitude and keep hope alive. I often find myself thinking about Amanda – what she endured and how she learned to forgive.

While difficult to read, A House in the Sky is a memoire describing Amanda Lindhout’s fifteen months in Somalia where she was held hostage and tortured by a group of Islamic fundamentalists. She was beaten, starved, chained up, kept in the dark, and repeatedly raped – and yet Amanda Lindhout inspires us with her resilience and her ability to survive and find hope in the most challenging of situations.

A little girl chatting to herself while she plays, a left-behind passport photo of a young boy, a Christmas gift made from bottle caps, q-tips and dental floss, sunlight peaking through a window….Amanda Lindhout savors these moments while she expresses gratitude for the simplest of pleasures and continues to search for hope in a living hell.

During her darkest times, Amanda visualizes a beautiful home, A House in the Sky, where she fills it with the people she loves, the memories she treasures and the future she dreams of.

As I mentioned, it’s not an easy book to read, but it might just change you, as it has me, with renewed hope and gratitude for the simplest of life’s pleasures that we so often take for granted.

“An operational working definition of mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn

Lost keys, a quickly consumed bag of chips or a conversation that gets the better of us…we all struggle to remain present to the moment at hand. In a frantic and multi-tasking world, it’s often a challenge to be mindful and focus on one thing at a time.  When the phone rings – what do you do? Recently, a colleague suggested letting my phone ring one time, taking a deep breath, and then picking it up. Simple concept not easy to do but the impact of being mindful versus reactive could make a big difference.

In my coaching work with executives, I help individuals get unstuck from their “frantic doing” role and step into a more thoughtful leadership role. A leader needs enough “space” in his or her day to reflect, think, create, and lead by example.

Recently I had the privilege of coaching 30 individuals in an organization and what pleasantly surprised me was most individuals mentioned they were now focusing on how they were “showing up.” For example, one client mentioned pausing to reflect and re-focus while transitioning from one meeting to another and another mentioned taking more time to prepare and be less judgmental while delivering a difficult feedback session.

What can you do to be more mindful about how you show up in your daily life? I encourage you to give yourself the gift of space, take a moment to step back, pause, and make a deliberate decision on what you want to focus on.  Whether it’s jogging, meditating, doing Yoga, journaling, or taking time out of your busy day to just sit and think, we all have our own way to make sure we have enough space in our lives to reflect so that we are more mindful about how we show up and spend our time with ourselves, our families, our friends and our co-workers.

For more information about Mindfulness: Getting Its Share of Attention –  read this article from the NY Times.

Recently I came across this quote and it resonated with me. This quote reminds me to manage my expectations, let go of my attachment to how other people behave and show up, and turn towards gratitude. What does this quote mean to you? Shoot me an email and share your thoughts!

“Over the summer, our ten year old daughter Gabby took a local theatre class. As part of her evening ritual of trying to avoid bedtime, she proceeded to (finally) talk about what happened during her day at camp. Gabby had been excited about the prospect of acting (“I want to be on TV!”) and that morning had shared her desire to try out for the main part in “Frankenstone.” That night she told me, “Mom, I didn’t get the main part in Frankenstone.” I asked her how she felt about that. “Oh, I decided it was okay because it allowed me to learn all the other parts in in the play.”  I was a little surprised and impressed by her ability to remain positive, so I asked her how she did this and she replied, “Oh that’s easy, I ignored my little green monster! You know the little voice in my head that told me I should be angry and give up?”

We all have a “little green monster,” that is the voice in our head that tells us “we’re not smart enough, capable enough, thin enough – that is – simply just not good enough.”

It’s really up to each one of us, as part of our own self reflection practice, to simply notice our little green monster (maybe even make friends with it), and to not overact or harshly judge it, so we can move on to becoming our best selves. To borrow a Nike saying, Just Do It, or as one book suggests, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

A friend just emailed me these top 16 rules to success written by Bob Parsons, Founder of GoDaddy.

My favorites are #1: get and stay out of your comfort zone, #3: when you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think, #6: take things a day at a time, #15: don’t take yourself too seriously, and #16: there’s always a reason to smile. Would love to hear from you – shoot me an email – with which rules resonate with you and some “rules of your own.”

Click here for Bob Parson’s 16 Rules for Success

Have an important job interview coming up? About to deliver a big presentation to the board? What are your non-verbals saying about you?

Do you have a confident, comfortable, authentic “presence” or are you “stress reactive?” In this TED talk, Amy Cuddy talks about how our thoughts, feelings, and physiology are directly influenced by our non-verbals. Take on a power pose and change your life in a meaningful way!

Watch the video