1. Lift Me Up

I was visiting my friend Julie last week, one of my best friends. We have known each other from school so we go way back!

Julie is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and we were talking about how the treatment is going and how she is approaching it and coping with some of the not so pleasant side-effects.

We were also talking a bit about NLP and all the things you could do with it such as visualisation techniques.

We then went on to talk about the type of support she was receiving both from professionals and from those around her. At this point I mentioned the concept of Poison Friends and Julie said it reminded her of what one of her nurses had said to her, when she first started her treatment, which was as follows:

“You will find that people you know will fall into two categories; firstly the Radiators, who exude warmth. They will support you and be there for you, give you energy and radiate love.

Then there will be the Sinks and these are people who will drain you emotionally when they see you or call you. They will be negative and will take all your energy. Avoid these people and surround yourself with Radiators.”

Now Julie is one of the most positive people I have ever known and it is 30 years since we first met so her positive outlook on life has been a great resource for her in recent months.

What Julie has done is that very important thing. She has taken action and is making sure that she surrounds herself with Radiators. There is no place for  Sinks in her life as she goes through her treatment and recovery.

The Power Question   Who in your life is draining you?   Think of friends, family and even work colleagues. Who are the Sinks and who are the Radiators? How do they affect you when you spend time with them? Do you feel good when they are around or are they wearing you down?   What about you? Are you a Sink or a Radiator? Does it depend on the people you are with?

2. Pollyanna Vs Victor Meldrew

Many of you will know the story of Pollyanna who can seem to put a positive light on everything. OK so she is one extreme, but she was probably much happier with her life than a character such as Victor Meldrew!

We can all choose how we approach what life hands to us. Whether it is a rainy Saturday when we are planning a walk along the coast (but think how great the garden is going to look!) or a trip to the Dentist (a small price to pay for keeping our teeth longer than our Grandparents could have believed possible) or bigger things such as redundancy (giving us the chance to start a whole new career doing something we love).

All of it is about perspective. If life was perfect all the time would we really appreciate it?

Where in the future can you see a positive where you would perhaps have chosen to see a negative? Have some fun with this: next time you are stuck in a traffic jam enjoy the extra time on your own or the chance to talk with other people in the car with you.

The stories shown on Comic Relief Day the other week about people in Africa losing so many of their family through HIV and AIDS made our lives look truly wonderful, despite our pension worries and the state of the NHS which keep featuring on the news.

Talking of the news isn’t it interesting that most of the stories are about negative events with perhaps a ‘feel good’ story added at the end? It was gratifying last week to see one main story on the BBC being about the Soldier who was awarded the VC for outstanding bravery and saving his colleagues not just once, but twice.

3. Marathon Update

Many of you will remember the piece about my friend Lisa, who decided to take a positive step of running a marathon to raise money for ARC who supported her after the loss of her baby (for new readers go to the You’ve been framed newsletter in the archive page).

Well I decided it was time for an update and low and behold a letter arrived from Lisa at the weekend. Alas it brought the news that all the training has put her back out and she is now banned from running on the big day. However Lisa was determined to still do something positive and is going to run around her local park on 17^th April and complete her own personal challenge. She kindly offered to return her sponsorship money, but I believe she has more than earned it already for all the training she has done over the past 6 months. Lisa could have chosen to just give up – everyone would have understood with the pain she has been in - but she has made the effort to find an alternative which she can manage and so get closure on what has been a very tough period of her life. I know her family will all be cheering her on and I will certainly be thinking about her on marathon day.

4. Up Close and Personal

No Holes in Gap

I have to congratulate Gap for the best customer service in ages. They have jeans that fit me so that is a bonus, but what is even better is that I have been in three of their shops recently (Guildford, Gunwharf Quays and Basingstoke) and the staff have been so helpful and friendly I was completely bowled over!

Actually in Guildford I assumed it was a one-off; at Gunwharf Quays I started to wonder what was going on, so I purposely went to the Basingstoke branch to see what it was like there. Once again the service was friendly and really helpful. I went to pay for my purchase and said as much to the woman at the till and do you know what her reply was?

“We all help our customers as much as we can, because when a customer is happy and feels we are interested in assisting them they buy more and come back again and again.”

So simple and yet grasped by so few retailers…

Springtime in Hampshire

Wow spring seems to have finally sprung! The birds have been singing away and my horse is moulting like crazy and basking in the sunshine.

Plus I was able to have the roof down on the car in brilliant sunshine at the weekend – sometimes the small things can make all the difference!

Have a good couple of weeks and enjoy the Easter Break!

Ann

ann@dreamcatcher-lifecoaching.co.uk

http://www.dreamcatcher-lifecoaching.co.uk/

The Life Gym is written by Ann Brosnan. Ann is a coach who specialises in helping people get More Time and More Life with Less Stress.

We will never pass your name on to any other organisation.                                           If you wish to Unsubscribe from this newsletter please click here.