2020! New decade, new you!

January 1, 2020 — Patrice

Happy New Year!

Let’s start at the very beginning! A very good place to start!

When Julie Andrews, as Maria, sang “Do-Re-Mi” to the children in movie “The Sound of Music”, she was encouraging them and making singing fun. Maria wanted to give them the confidence and courage they needed to enjoy a new aspect of life, and that is exactly what I want to do for you today.

I am sharing with you today two FREE resources to help you create the life you really want through positive reflection and insight, which will increase your confidence and your courage, and maybe even make you feel like you are on a mountain top singing! (The resources are great to do with kids and teens, as well.)

1. Wishful Thinking Works 2019 Year in Review “Ta Da” List

The first resource is the Wishful Thinking Works 2019 “Ta Da” List, the first version of which I developed in 2012 to help you live your best life by reflecting on and savoring the good already in your life. My “Ta Da” List has been so effective in reminding me of what was good in my life, that I no longer wait an entire year to use it to reinforce the goodness that has come my way or to review the positives I have achieved.

I complete my “Ta Da” List during the first week of the New Year and then again around the 4th of July, which is Independence Day in the U.S.A. My twice a year habit gives me both confidence and courage, and when I review and savor each entry, my brain is flooded with positive chemicals and hormones that can create the same level of joy and excitement the original event did. I love that it is like a two-for-one sale in my brain! And, who doesn’t love a good sale. especially at this time of year?

It is so much easier for us to focus on our sad times and our real and perceived losses than it is for us to savor the good ones, using your Wishful Thinking Works 2019 “Ta Da” List will help you redirect your energies, ramp-up your enthusiasm and reinforce your commitment to living your best life.

2. Wishful Thinking Works 2020 Predict Success “Ta Da” List

Using your Wishful Thinking Works 2020 Predict Success “Ta Da” List is a fun way to design your future. It can help you give a totally new direction to your life, or simply create new pathways for you to enjoy.

To use your 2020 Predict Success “Ta Da” List, simply list all the things you want to happen in 2020 – big or small – as if they already have happened and how having them or accomplishing them has made you feel.

EX: “I feel fantastic that I finished my degree. It was tough, but I am so proud of myself for keeping at it. I learned so much about myself and the world by pursuing this degree. I feel so happy about getting it.” Remember, you do not have to have the degree in 2020, only the desire to start or finish it – you are predicting your success.

Be bold. Be brave. Don’t censor yourself or your dreams. I have been predicting success for myself for more than a decade and so many of my dreams have become a reality – my Masters degree, serving 3 times in the Peace Corps, travel beyond my expectations, a loving relationship, warm supportive friendships, living my purpose daily and so much more.

Don’t be afraid of your future – predict and then picture it! The Wishful Thinking Works 2020 Predict Success “Ta Da” List is one page and will get you started, but I encourage you to transfer the categories to a notebook so you can fully explore and write about your new life throughout 2020.

 

Wishing you the happiest of New Year’s and the confidence and courage to believe in yourself and your potential and the possibilities that exist for you in the decade ahead. Wishful Thinking Works – go for it!

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“Your life is your once in a lifetime opportunity; what you do with it is up to you.” 
Patrice K. Robson

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Posted in Awareness, Change, Confidence, Courage, Creating the life you really want, Dreams, Wishes, Encouragement, Gratitude, Happiness, Happiness, Happy, Joy, Peace Corps, savoring, Self help, Wishes. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

A Mid-Summer’s Thought

July 18, 2019 — Patrice

Wishful Thinking Works Who I am (2)

Posted in Awareness, Change, Confidence, Congruency, Courage, Creating the life you really want, Dreams, Wishes, Encouragement, Good words to live by, Joy, Self help. Tags: , , . 2 Comments »

Free 21 Day Meditation Series

July 5, 2019 — Patrice

 

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If you have never tried meditating, or if you meditate and would like to add to your current practice, join us for Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s upcoming, FREE 21-Day Meditation Experience, Miraculous Relationships, which begins Monday, July 15. You can sign-up, here.

I have used Oprah and Deepak’s meditations in the past, and they are guided goodness and a refreshing way to calm your mind and comfort your soul. Don’t worry too much about if the topic is perfect for you or not, simply use each session to begin or reinforce your meditation habit.

Most of their meditations are 15 minutes in length – a small amount of time that can yield big results. There are thousands of studies showing the benefits of meditation. You do not have to meditate for long periods to begin receiving those benefits.

Benefits include:

  • reduced anxiety,
  • easing pain,
  • and improving sleep.

To enrich your life and create new levels of awareness, insight and joy sign-up. You can participate from anywhere!

Then join the free Wishful Thinking Works Meditation Facebook Group, which is designed to help you develop the meditation habit by:

  • providing accountability – studies how this is key when developing any new habit,
  • to give you a place to share your thoughts and questions with others going through the same process, and
  • to celebrate your success – so important when trying something new!

Beach Shells

Photo by Mihajlo Malinovski

It’s a virtual support group for your meditative journey!

The Wishful Thinking Works Meditation Facebook Group is open to everyone, it is listed as “closed” on FB, but that just means no one but members can see your posts. You have nothing to lose and so much gain.

Join us to find more peace in your heart and happiness in your life. You deserve this and more, and it is all FREE!

 

 

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You can follow Wishful Thinking Works here and on Facebook.
And, don’t forget,
“Your life is your once in a lifetime opportunity; what you do with it is up to you.” 
Patrice K. Robson
Posted in Awareness, Change, Creating the life you really want, Encouragement, Happiness, Happy, Joy, Mindfulness, Perspective, Self help. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Celebrate YOU this 4th of July!

July 3, 2019 — Patrice

4th of july 2019 1Many of you will soon be celebrating the Fourth of July with parties, picnics and pyrotechnics. Why not combine your patriotic passion with your personal triumphs – and celebrate them all!

Mid-year is the perfect time to celebrate YOU and your life by creating your very own “Ta Da List.”

The Wishful Thinking Works “Ta Da List” is much more fun than a “To Do” list, because it’s for all the things you’ve already accomplished this year – pure enjoyment with little effort!

My guess is you seldom take time to give yourself credit for all the wonderful things you have done or the challenges you have overcome. Make today your personal Independence Day by taking a moment to reflect on what makes you and your life worth celebrating as you list your accomplishments – big or small – on your personal “Ta Da” list.  It’s instant gratification of a new kind and much healthier than ice cream or holiday snacks.

4th of July 2019What have you accomplished this year that just six months ago seemed impossible or only a distant possibility? (Feel free to include anything you have ever accomplished – this is the time to toot your horn.)

What new trails have you blazed?

What have you found the strength to face?

New jobs? Degrees? Classes? Healthy practices begun? Pounds lost? (Yes, you can count the same ones over again!) Miles run? Promises kept? Chances taken? Letters written? 

What teeny, tiny or wondrously huge steps have you taken in the direction of your dreams?

List any and all of the things that make you happy and proud to be you!

Most of us spend way more time thinking about what we haven’t done, than what we have done. It’s time to change all that and make 2019 your year of the have’s not the have not’s! Celebrating success builds confidence and noting what is right in our lives makes us happier and more resilient.

Don’t be shy – this is the time for aiming high and lighting up the sky. List everything you have done that matters to you, and then when you are watching “the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air” congratulate yourself on your 2019 accomplishments thus far, and all the exciting ones that lay ahead. Let those bright lights and loud booms ignite a sense of personal pride in you. 

And, when you finish your list, make sure to take a few minutes to offer up some gratitude for each and everything thing on it and all the folks who were part of your success. Gratitude is the fast track to happiness!

Get started by downloading your free Wishful Thinking Works “Ta Da List.”  Have fun and enjoy a perfectly positive Independence Day in 2019!

 

For other free Wishful Thinking Works resources, click here.

To “Like” Wishful Thinking Works on Facebook, click here.

 

 

 

Posted in Awareness, Confidence, Courage, Creating the life you really want, Dreams, Gratitude, Self help, Strengths. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Communication worth savoring

February 28, 2019 — Patrice
Me on trainI have been writing about savoring for years and have made it part of my daily life, because it is an amazing feeling and brings such insight and joy. But I never thought about savoring communication until I read this article, and checked out the research of University of Arizona researcher Maggie Pitts.

Pitts analyzed online responses after asking respondents whether or not they savored communication and if so, for a detailed example of an experience they had savored.

“Savoring is the process of (1) identifying a pleasant experience, (2) noticing that you are feeling pleasure about that experience, and then (3) feeling good about feeling pleasure” Maggie Pitts

From their responses Pitts identified seven different types of communication that people tend to savor:

1) Aesthetic communication. Survey respondents savored this type of communication because of some aspect of how it was presented—timing, delivery, choice of words or perhaps a surprise twist. An inspiring speech, good play on words or suspenseful announcement might fall in this category.

2) Communication presence. This category includes conversations in which participants reported being so deeply engaged and completely in the moment with another person that it felt as if no one else mattered. These types of exchanges often were described as “real” or “entirely honest.”

3) Nonverbal communication. From to physical contact to facial expressions, these exchanges emphasize nonverbal cues. A meaningful hug or smile might fall in this category.

4) Recognition and acknowledgement. This category encompasses communication in which participants were publicly acknowledged or offered appreciation, like an awards ceremony or a speech honoring an individual.

5) Relational communication. This category includes communication that establishes, confirms or gives insight into a relationship, such as a couple’s discussion about the future together or an intimate disclosure that brings two people closer.

6) Extraordinary communication. Many participants savored communication around special moments, such as a wedding, illness, birth of a child or other “landmark memories.”

7) Implicitly shared communication. This category includes unspoken communication experiences that may be more difficult to articulate, such as feeling the excitement of a crowd around you, or looking at someone and instinctively knowing that you are sharing the same feeling.

I love that learning something new about savoring has brought even more joy to my life, and I quickly realized that I do savor many of the conversations I have had with people throughout my life and each of those still brings me joy. Here are some of the most memorable as this moment:
  • a conversation we had in my 10th grade social science class about how people approach living and their choices;
  • a talk with a friend who was dying of leukemia;
  • listening to my sons when they were little and discovering the world around them and much later when they were in college and just after, as they explored a much larger world;
  • a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer on the train to Skopje – the capital of Macedonia;
  • talks with friends of shared books and movies;
  • a presentation on music, art and math by Richard G. Brown, the father of Da Vinci Code author, Dan Brown and a much honored math professor
  • the hundreds and hundreds of rich and wonderful conversations with my dearest friends at the happiest, most exciting, or the most trying times of my life,
  • and the deep, touching and heartfelt conversations I have with my husband almost daily.
I am now looking forward to reading the books Pitts edited on positive communication, which hopefully will create more conversations for me to savor. I already like the way she thinks, “Maggie takes a “bright side” approach to the study of human communication — asking questions like, “what is going right” here, and “how can we make good things even better?”
I hope you find lots of wonderful moments and communications to savor, today and all the days ahead for you.
As I was writing this post in the early morning hours, I took a moment to savor the water color view through the screen on my balcony on a softly unfolding morning in tropical Florida.
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Posted in Awareness, Dreams, Wishes, Encouragement, Joy, savoring, Self help. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »

Daydreams & free resources = success in 2019

January 1, 2019 — Patrice

New Year

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2019! 

Now, let’s fast forward to January 2020!

Picture yourself one year from today, excited and thrilled about what you accomplished in 2019! I realize the year has barely begun, but one of the best ways to move forward is to have a clear picture of yourself feeling satisfied and grateful about what you have accomplished – before it is done!

Picturing the life you want makes it feel real, which releases all sorts of chemicals in your brain that will relax your body and expand your creativity and positivity by creating new neural pathways. It’s science, but feels like magic!

Picture it done!

Create a positive, rewarding outcome for your biggest dreams and then sit back and enjoy a movie-like mental reel highlighting how your personalized success looks and feels. Daydream your way into the vision of yourself you want to see and be.

 

Prime your brain by envisioning yourself celebrating your future success. Perhaps you are telling your friends just how wonderful it feels to be 10 pounds lighter and how you did it; how thrilled you are for sticking to your running schedule and the difference it has made in your life; to be so close to finishing school and planning your graduation; how scared you were to start writing your book, but how good it feels to be in the editing stage; how wonderful it feels to be in your new home for the holidays or how beautiful Paris is in the spring.

Don’t be afraid to visualize your dreams. 

Include as many details as possible to fully experience your personalized magic carpet ride. Daydreams are all about imagination – go for it. (Don’t worry about how your dreams will come true, believing they can is the key.)

Help is just outside your comfort zone, but never outside of your reach.

  1. To reinforce all those rich and wonderful thoughts and feelings, use the Wishful Thinking Works “Ta Da” List 2018 to record all the good things that happened in your life in 2018 – big or small! Writing our successes reminds us good things are possible, reveals patterns about what matters to us, and is another great way to prime your brain for happiness and success in the months ahead. (Did mine and it was great way to relive the highlights of 2018. Made me dig deep and remember worthwhile experiences I might have otherwise passed over. Truly rewarding activity. I plan to keep adding to it over the next few days. Don’t pass up the good feelings in store for you when you fill out your 2018 Wishful Thinking Works “Ta Da” List.) 
  2. Now create your Wishful Thinking Works “Ta Da” List 2019 ! Record all your dreams for the 2019 as if they are already done. (I added prompts for you to get you started!) Add a sentence or two on the back of the sheet or in a journal sharing how good it feels to have brought such happiness into your life. (I just finished mine and it feels fantastic to put my dreams on paper. Freeing and rewarding all at once.)
  3. If you know you want your life to be different in 2019, but don’t have a specific goal or if you don’t know where to start, use Wishful Thinking Works Change Circles to help you define what type of change you want to see this year.
  4. If you are letting your past, worries about the world around you, or the scale of the changes you want, scare you; take a break and use the Wishful Thinking Works Courage Diet to get you back on track.
  5. Then use the Wishful Thinking Works Real Deal Change Wheel to move past and lingering hurdles or stumbling blocks.

There is absolutely no reason to face change alone. I designed all of these free Wishful Thinking Works resources for you. Use them to make your dreams come true in 2019.

Don’t forget to visit and “Follow” Wishful Thinking Works and to “Like ” Wishful Thinking Works on Facebook throughout the amazing year that lies ahead for you.

 

Register for your Free 2019 Wishful Thinking Works Discovery Session!

“Like” Wishful Thinking Works on Facebook.

Change your life!

 

 

Posted in Awareness, Change, Confidence, Courage, Creating the life you really want, Dreams, Wishes, Encouragement, Gratitude, Happiness, Happy, Interesting stuff, Perspective, Self help. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Hello, Beautiful!

December 13, 2018 — Patrice

Monkey mirrorStudies show simply hearing a compliment, such as “You are beautiful,” even from a perfect stranger – can brighten your day.

Why wait for someone to tell you that you are beautiful? Why not start each day by looking into those sweet little eyes of yours in the mirror and sharing a “Hello, Beautiful” with yourself? 

Telling yourself you are beautiful, is an act of self-compassion. Saying it out loud is a act of courage, and can reduce your holiday stress by putting a smile on your face and maybe even a bit of merry in your mood.

Don’t worry if you feel shy, or even embarrassed; keep up the practice and you will feel the joy. The happier you are, the more likely you will be to notice the beauty in the people and the world around you, which is a true expression of the holiday spirit. And, you can share your joy by letting others know how beautiful they are, which is the perfect gift for strangers or your loved ones.

Start today, and by the New Year you will be welcoming 2019 with a brand new perspective to keep the good feelings flowing throughout the year. 

Give it a try, Beautiful, because you are gorgeous, inside and out, and you deserve to hear it much more often.

If you are still hesitant to give it a try, check out this video,  or this one, or this one, or even this one, to see people’s happiness when they are told how beautiful they are. It is heartwarming and my holiday gift you to, and it’s guaranteed to make you smile!

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Register for your Free 2019 Wishful Thinking Works Discovery Session!

 Use Wishful Thinking Works Free Resources.

“Like” Wishful Thinking Works on Facebook.

Change your life!

 

Posted in Awareness, Change, Confidence, Courage, Creating the life you really want, Encouragement, Happiness, Happy, Perspective, Self help. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »
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