Happy New Year's Eve - From my Couch!

Well, it has arrived. It is finally New Year's Eve!  

The end of 2015 is upon us and the beginning of a new chapter awaits, ripe and ready to become whatever we choose to make it.

I have always loved New Year’s Eve.  I delight in celebrating the coming of a whole new year with all of its promise of future adventures.  I love joining in the festivities with friends and gallivanting around spreading all of the joy I have bubbling up inside of me.  Typically, I express this joy by shouting random and obscure statements at the top of my lungs throughout the night.  

Don't be so Hard on Yourself

One thing I have learned for certain over the years is that nobody beats you up more than yourself.  Whether you are starting a business, playing a new sport and trying to climb the corporate ladder, it seems we always expect perfection and peak performance from ourselves right out of the starting gate.  This is such an unnecessary burden and it actually stunts growth and creativity.  People end up copying others teammates or co-workers styles to try to match or exceed them, but in doing so fail to develop their own unique styles that will undoubtedly be what sets them apart and makes them successful.

Appreciate Every Moment

Today I found out another one of my childhood friends passed away unexpectedly. Taken all too soon, a bright and vibrant part of this world has been snuffed out for what seems to be no reason at all.  As I reflect back on his life and the memories I shared with him I can’t help but ask myself, why?  How could this happen?  He was so young and vibrant.  He had so much to offer and so much life in front of him.

December Challenge - Daily Random Acts of Kindness

I challenge you to join me in completing a daily Random Act of Kindness during the month of December.  You will find 31 simple and random Acts of Kindness ​ideas listed below. Please feel free to pick and choose as you see fit.  Please add your own Random Act of Kindness Ideas in the Comments section to share with others.  Your acts of kindness are only limited by your own creativity!

​#LifeTrueToYou #KindnessChallenge

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Random Act of Kindness Idea Bank

1. Make Homeless Care Packages to keep in your car and hand out through the rest of the month. 2. Write a thoughtful handwritten note to someone you have not spoken to in a while 3. Send a positive review of a sales clerk or server who provided great service 4. Buy a coffee for the person in line behind you 5. Donate toys to the Salvation Army 6. Spend a couple hours at your local soup kitchen 7. Send a news article that would be interesting or helpful to an old friend to show them you are thinking of them

8. Give out three honest compliments to strangers you pass throughout the day
9. Bake cookies for your neighbor
10. Find old blankets and jackets and donate to your local shelter
11. Send a helpful colleague a handwritten thank you note
12. Take a walk around your neighborhood and pick up any litter you pass
13. Bring a sick friend, neighbor or colleague a home cooked meal
14. Give a stranger a big smile and strike up a conversation
15. Let someone merge in front of you during rush hour traffic
16.  Allow someone with less items than you to go in front of you in the line at the store
17. Give your seat to an elderly person while waiting in a public place
18. Clean out your closets and donate unwanted items to a local shelter or charity
19. Write a poem for someone special and send it as a surprise in the mail
20. Anonymously buy a dessert for restaurant patrons at a table near you
21. Send a thank you note to a former teacher that made a difference to you
22. Donate your expertise to someone in need
23. Be compassionate towards a person and their situation when they are rude or inconsiderate towards you
24. Buy a dozen donuts for your local police station or firehouse.
25. Buy 10 scratch offs and hand them out to random people on the street.
26. Cheer up a loved one by giving them an unexpected gift.
27. Enter someone you think deserves recognition in a competition
28. Treat a friend to a nice dinner and a movie
29. Give your spouse or mate a much needed back or foot massage
30. Bring your co-workers a special treat
31. Donate to the USO to support service members and their families.  Unfortunately, it is too late to Adopt a soldier for the holiday season, but long term adoptions are still available and can be a great way to continue the kindness challenge through the upcoming year.

Stay tuned for updates on how the challenge is going!  Share your own updates with me in the comments!  What awesome random acts of kindness are you doing this month?

Cheers!
Crissy Fishbane

Gratitude

Gratitude --
​On Thanksgiving Day and All Year Long.​

I encourage us all to take stock during this time of thanksgiving.   Look at the blessings around you, the food on your table and the loving people surrounding you.  We spend so much of our lives worried and stressed about all the things that we don’t have and all the things that are going wrong.  We forget to focus on all that we DO have and all the things that ARE going RIGHT.  It is a simple mind shift that can completely transform our life.  Why do we have to wait all year for a holiday called Thanksgiving to experience gratitude?

What is Coaching?

Though coaching has been around since the 1940's, it didn’t really take off until the 1980's.  Even with over four decades of popularity, many people are still confused as to who a coach is and what they do. ​

Coaching is a phenomenal way to solve your problems, develop action plans and get motivated to achieve your goals.  Coaching gets to the root of an issue by using the knowledge of the best expert in the house: You!  No one knows “you” and your personal situation better.  No amount of sessions will ever allow a therapist, consultant or even a coach to completely know and understand you.  Only you truly know your past experiences, idiosyncrasies, passions and weaknesses.  Only you know what drives you to reach certain goals and to what lengths you are willing to go in order to accomplish them.
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