07.31.10
Posted in Humor attitude, Humor~Events, Learning Identity, The Change Process at 5:32 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
The base.
The groundedness.
THAT’s the key.
To any successful business operation, relationship, goal-setting scheme, or ….
It’s attitude. It emcompasses humor. But humor is just one component of it. It also is dictated by how we learn our identity as we move through transition situations. It affects how quickly, how well we move through life changes. And it determines how happy we will be during all these processes.
Attitude. It’s the basic building block. Of everything. Think of the billing department. One mistake made there will resonate, echoing throughout your insurance company’s information about you. The doctor’s diagnosis of you. Your well-being when you have to make continual corrections over the phone with many, many bureacuracies.
Or think about the student. Labeled early in his school career in a certain way. That label follows that student—in the minds of the teachers, in the motivation level of the student, and in the way he or she views his or her identity.
The labeling affects the opinion we have our ourself. And that in turn affects our behaviors, actions, and—attitude. It’s a circular spin that takes us places we sometimes don’t want to go. IF we aren’t in charge of that original attitude.
But: When we are in charge of it, we can create it in a way that builds a solid, clear, flexible, and enjoyable platform. For us to launch our goals, plans, visions, and even profits.
What attitude do YOU choose today?
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Posted in Humor~Creativity, Humor~Inspirational at 5:24 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Just when we thought we were doing good…
I talked to a thrift store worker about some of the beautiful gowns that were donated to their store.
I marveled that they were all still sitting in the store.
There were surely prom-goers or wedding parties who could used drastically-discounted dresses??!
What was going on?
The man told me, “These dresses are ideal sizes. But we don’t deal with ideal PEOPLE.”
Ooh! I would have never thought of that. I just figured the store has bad marketing or a hidden location. Maybe the prices were too high for their clientele. Or the dresses had secret defects.
None of those presuppositions were true. I had no idea the real reason.
What else do we hold as certainty that isn’t at all true? And how tightly we hold to that!
Humor breaks us out. Shakes us up. Decimates our patterns of surety.
We can’t be certain of anything. Especially of what we “know.”
Humor keeps us in the uncertain. This may be a scary place for some.
But it’s where all the answers are found.
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Posted in Humor~Events at 5:19 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
| MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! |
|
The AATH 24th Annual Conference
at
Buena Vista Palace Hotel
April 7th-10th, 2011
Orlando, FL
Humor, Health, & Happiness: A Laughing Matter
Don’t Miss it!
|
| MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! |
|
The AATH 24th Annual Conference
at
Buena Vista Palace Hotel
April 7th-10th, 2011
Orlando, FL
Humor, Health, & Happiness: A Laughing Matter
Don’t Miss it!
|
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07.28.10
Posted in Humor~Health & Goals, Learning Identity, The Change Process at 4:39 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Humor is one aspect of what the total package of ATTITUDE is all about. But when we hear “positive attitude,” some of us cringe. Especially if our current state of mind is nowhere near, “positive.” We feel defeated, as though the only way we can be successful is to be something we’re not (at least not at this moment.) Or worse, we fake it and pretend we’re happier than we really are. Also not good.
This is like trying to fit our bodies into today’s fashions. Even if we’re pounds and years outside of the boundaries of normalcy for that piece of clothing. Our bodies and personality don’t match the fashion.
The good news: You don’t have to match. As Clinton on TLC’s “What Not To Wear” told one of the show’s models, “The clothes don’t have to match. The tones are complementary.” And that’s good enough.
As long as the tones (the intentions) of our attitude are on the right track, we CAN start from where we are now. Rigth now: are you feeling sluggish, de-motivated, or completely all-out negative? That’s your tone for now, and that’s OK. As long as it matches the intention of the direction you’re going. Toward positive.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to get even closer to there…
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Posted in Humor~Creativity at 4:29 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
I love TLC’s “What Not To Wear.” Sure, hosts Clinton and Stacy can be brutal. But they’re also what all great humor is—they’re HONEST.
Today’s episode showed me not only what not to wear, but also what not to say.
We all have a sense of humor. Maybe it’s hidden, maybe it’s skewed, maybe it’s vicious. But it’s there.
And we all have a creative streak. Some people’s is subdued, others’ is flagrant. But we have it.
The hosts told today’s model about her many tiered micro-mini skirts: ”Just because you can wear something, doesn’t mean you should.”
Likewise, just because we HAVE a sense of humor and creativity, doesn’t mean we can or should just say ANYthing that comes to mind. Doesn’t mean we can not control and direct it to its best use.
What are YOU wearing today?
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07.26.10
Posted in Comedy Around The World at 5:27 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
In the book, “The Seven Levels of Intimacy,” author Matthew Kelly talks about ways that we can nourish intimacy with others. He proscribes times of time-less-ness. You can set a date, but within that time frame, there is no agenda. This procedure makes for a much more relaxed, open and fun atmosphere. Sound like humor? This is the way I usually travel.
This week’s Comedy Around the World goes to Norway. I remember the train pulling up in Oslo, Norway. I was giving myself a break from my first-ever marathon in Berlin, Germany. The first marathon I completed without going to the hospital.
I couldn’t walk upright very well, and still had constant pain all through my body. I had no idea where to stay and didn’t speak the language. But strangely, none of that mattered. I had no energy to make that matter!
All I could do was go through the day(s) and let the city happen to me. I wasn’t on a schedule, because I hadn’t researched any of the city’s landmarks. All I had was a general goal to visit Vigeland Statue Park. I had seen pictures that my friend Mike showed when he visited there on a break from his year-long study in Germany. Other than that, my days were wide open.
That seemingly chaotic time turned out to be one of the most pleasant trips I have ever experienced. Pleasant because it was unstructured. Fun because there were no deadlines, no tasks to accomplish. My only purpose was to enjoy myself in Oslo.
What day will YOU plan for your time-less-ness excursion?
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Posted in Learning Identity, The Change Process at 5:13 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
When we decide what we will call ourselves, we decide what direction we’re going.
How did I manage to garner enough discipline to make the final-run of my dissertation process? For people who have endured this trial, they know all about the long nights, the constant mental strain—of chapter deadlines, appeasing the committee members, pondering the research topic and wondering when and if the entire drama will end. And if yours was a subject in the soft sciences, you probably had to continue working to finance your degree.
The stress of this type of lifestyle makes developing focus an almost impossible feat. I knew I had to do something. With so many irons in the fire, nothing would be completed. It wasn’t physically possible.
What I did was rememberred my story. My identity. How I saw myself.
I am an athlete. From a long time ago, beginning with gymnastics in grade school, and continuing with track and cross-country in both high school and college. Sports teaches us something important. It shows us structure, order, and direction. Things that get lost in the fray of the dissertation-writing process.
Once I reminded myself that I am an athlete, everything changed. I realized that I DO (already) have discipline. It had just been buried in the Pepsi-fueled long drives home from night classes. Hidden in the clanging of differing tasks and urgencies. Subdued in the mire of worry, panic, and other academic-related sensations.
But when I claimed that former identity, I collected all its helpful characteristics. Confidence that I could complete the monumentous task before me. Fearlessness about juggling time pressures and typing pressures. Hope that I could operate in a different, more effective way. Hope that told me I could finish the race.
What identity are YOU choosing for yourself today? And how does that determine your direction and your success?
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Posted in Humor~Business, Humor~Creativity, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 4:42 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
I’ve been thinking recently about humor, and why more people don’t think it’s important. Now I know:
Humor is only one part of the equation. And the answer to that equation is ATTITUDE. Attitude is what I call that atmosphere we can generate by using our sense of humor. It’s that light-hearted space where we feel unimpeded. Where we feel free to contribute our ideas, and the place where we do our best work. The environment where we can develop our best selves.
Humor is a big part of that. But so are other things. Like our mind-body connections. Harboring negative attitudes and resentments gradually settles into our physical body. If we don’t acknowledge this facet, no amount of humor will make a lasting impression on our state of mind (and body).
But attitude doesn’t mean we should blithely put a smiley-face on our problems. Doing that can be even more destructive than staying mad! Denial of the neg’s in our life just makes them get bigger, come out in the wrong places, and fester our souls like an acid. Comedian Chonda Pierce talked about her fitting in worn-out and torn Spanx body-shaping wear: “It’s like trying to put the Pillsbury dough back into the can!” Shoving our problems under a smiley mask will just make matters worse.
Look here for more tools to develop not just your sense of humor, but also your ATTITUDE. That over-arching, all-encompassing, omni-present force that shapes our days, rules our lives, and determines our direction.
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07.23.10
Posted in Humor~Creativity, Humor~Health & Goals, Humor~Inspirational at 11:22 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
When I was taking therapy to recover from hand surgery, I got shocked. That tens unit shocking machine felt like someone was burning a cigarette on my arm. I told the therapist, “I think the charge on this is too high. You’d better turn it down.”
He assured me instead that the charge was OK. It was probably some impedance that changed the pH of my skin—like sweat, salt, PMS hormones, anything. So he took a wet paper towel and wiped my arm, then stuck the machine piece back on my arm.
And the pain was gone.
I am a person who has a lot of ideas. A lot. When something goes wrong, I instantly want to throw out the baby and start all over again. Something brand new. Something totally unrelated and different. Surely that will bring success. Or at least take away the pain.
But sometimes the change that’s needed is something so minor that our clever minds miss it. Sometimes we don’t have to throw out the baby. Maybe we just need to change the water.
Humor is our bathwater. The place where we can experiment, make alterations, test the waters. How our babies react to that water will determine the amount of change we can create.
Are YOU throwing out the baby before you test the water?
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07.22.10
Posted in Humor~Events at 6:59 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Here’s something from my IUP alumni group on LinkedIn. The Leukemia Society marathon program, “Team In Training” pairs runners with recovering leukemia patient heroes. The runners raise support and then compete in a marathon in honor of their patient-hero.
My patient-hero, D.J. Miller, and I were part of this great fund-raiser and with D.J.’s inspiration I ran marathons in Paris France, Bermuda, Athens Greece, Anchorage Alaska, Honolulu, and New Orleans.
You can show Jim your support by clicking on the link below and helping him and HIS patient-hero to conquer leukemia once and for all!
Here’s Jim Logue’s message to you:
“Hi fellow alumni. Training just started for the Marine Marathon in October. That’s 26.2 miles. I need to raise $2500 for the Leukemia society. This will be a big event for me. Any support will be much appreciated! Simply visit: http://pages.teamintraining.org/cpa/corps10/jlogue ”
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