It dawned on me (via a friendly reminder from my girlfriend) that many of you may be new to this site and might not know how to post a comment. And, then, when I keep saying “please post your thoughts in the comments” you simply bang your head on the desk and scream “I’d love to but how???”

In the interest of reducing your stress, I thought I’d walk you through how to post a comment here.

There are several ways to get to the place where you can Leave a Comment. The first way, if you are visiting the home page is to click on the little “Add Comment” icon beneath the content of the post. That icon looks like this:

When you click that link, it’ll take you to a page which has the complete article on it (the one you just read and want to post a comment to).

You simply need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to leave a comment.

You will see the following “Leave a Comment Form”.

Type in your name, e-mail, url to your website (optional), and comments and hit Submit to have your comments posted to the site.

If at anytime you have problems or questions, just e-mail me and I’ll help you out. I look forward to hearing your input on the articles.

Remember a time when you could wake up in the morning and not only look forward to the day, but have energy to boot? Do you look around you and wonder where all the energy you had during your high school and college years has gone?

If you’re like the rest of us, you’re struggling just to keep up with the pace of today’s life. If you own your own business or work as a professional in your field, it is enough to make your head spin. Keeping up with new technology, faster business pace, deadlines, and the daily commute is challenging enough. Throw in life’s chores and obligations and it could approach suffocating. And, if you’re planning a personal life in there somewhere, well, it often feels like it gets the short end of the stick.

So, what’s a girl to do? It’s not like you can chuck it all and go live in an ashram (well, you could, but about 99% of us aren’t cut out for that nor do we want that lifestyle).

The good news is the quality of your life is totally up to you. The bad news is the quality of your life is up to you.

If you’re feeling the daily grind taking its toll, maybe you’re approaching or already deeply entrenched in a state of burnout. This is not a good thing. If you think, “well, everyone is burned out, why should I be different?” then consider the question - If everyone jumped off the local bridge, would you follow them simply to “keep up with the Joneses?

The first step in moving from insanity to more time and energy is awareness. The truth of the matter is that you can’t make positive changes in your life until you acknowledge that something’s not the way you want it to be and realize a change is needed.

So, for today, ask yourself?

• What would I be doing if I had more time and energy?
• What gets in my way of having more time and energy?
• Close your eyes and picture yourself having the time and energy to do the things you’d love to be doing (and listed in answer to the first question above). How does it feel?
• Close your eyes and picture yourself never having the time or energy to do the things you’d love to be doing. How does that feel?

Really let the awareness from answering these questions sink into your heart and mind. And, stay tuned as I’ll be talking a lot more about how to start creating more time and reclaiming more of your energy in the next few weeks.

Related Note:

Today I started a beta-test of my “Nip Burnout in the Bud” e-Course to make it fresher, bolder, and better for its Version 2 release. During the next 6 weeks participants from my test group will be sharing their experiences here on the blog in the comments section. So, please keep an eye out for that and share your own experiences with stress and burnout as well. You don’t have to have all the answers to share — if you’re burned out of your mind and simply want to vent (within reason)…please do.

In this month’s Beyond Burnout eZine I wrote about the benefits of “getting lost”. That is, taking time each day to simply get lost in doing something that you enjoy.

Mondays are always a good day to promise yourself a little “getting lost” time. Back to work day (for most people) can often bring a lot of stress and most certainly requires an attitude adjustment from weekend mode.

As I see it, the top 7 benefits of getting lost on a daily basis are:

1. Allows the stress you are feeling to melt off of you
2. Leaves you with an enhanced state of calm
3. Increases your ability to focus
4. Creates more joy for you every day and a chance to “just play”
5. Gives YOU the care and attention you deserve
6. Enhances your creativity and problem-solving
7. Enables you to have a fresh perspective

Hop on over to my website to read the complete article.

You always knew there was a reason you felt like hell after a day at the corporate office. Now scientists have evidence that cublicle living is bad for your brain (the ergonomics folks have known it is bad for your body for years).

I stumbled upon Kathy Sierra’s “Brain death by dull cubicle” post at Creating Passionate Users today and just loved the points it brought forth.

Scientists now have evidence that dull, lifeless environments (like a cubicle) cause the brain to stop building new neurons, a form of brain death. What fascinated me most about the article is that after years of study the scientists only recently got the revelation that it is not the brain’s inability to create new neurons that is the issue, it was the testing ennvironments for their studies (dull, boring, artificial lab environments for otherwise brilliant primates) were what caused the brain to shut down.

Now I’m not going to get bogged down in science - there are plenty of links in Sierra’s post you can follow if science is your thing. What I do find fascinating though is how empowering this discovery can be for anyone who has felt their creativity wane, their morale plummet, and their general disposition go in the toilet because of their surroundings. All you need to do to start seeing some improvement is change your environment - change the scenery and you will notice a decrease in stress and an enhanced mood.

One of the conclusions researcher Elizabeth Gould reached was that “learning heals the brain”. Introducing enriching and stimulating things into your environment, actively learning new things, and taking time to play all contribute to a more complex and capable brain. Not to mention an overall healthier state of mind.

The full article is definitely worth your time to read.

Apply this thinking to your own life:

• Are there any stifling environments you find yourself in on a regular basis?
• What can you do to break out of any of these “caged” enviornments?
• What changes can you make (however small) to your current environment to make it more enriching and stimulating?

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts and experiences. Please post them in the comments section by clicking on the “Add Comment” link below this post …

It struck me right between the eyes last night as I was catching up on watching The L Word and saw the episode Lifesize. How prepared are you for the unexpected?

For those unfamiliar with the episode I’m referring to, it included the dramatic scenes of Dana being in the hospital with breast cancer and her partner Lara wanting to learn the surgery results from the doctor. Basically the doctor said he couldn’t legally share any information with Lara because she is not “family”. The scenes that followed reinforced this troubling reality as Dana’s parents show up, tell Lara to go away, and lie to Dana. Just what we all need during the moments of a medical crisis ripe with emotions!

Now, being prepared is always a critical success factor. But, for lesbians, the fact of the matter is that it is even more important to have the (sometimes) unpleasant details handled because the law doesn’t recognize our lifelong partnerships as the least bit important (I’m speaking from a United States perspective here). You and your dedicated partner can sometimes be taken about as seriously as two young schoolgirls on the playground. And, it’s not just someone’s perception or opinion because they have the legal system in their court (again, it just plain isn’t recognized).

Now, I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. And, this post is not meant as legal advice. For that, I recommend you consult an attorney that can evaluate your personal situation based on the laws in effect where you live.

That being said, there are some great resources you can turn to for help. I can remember when my relationship first became serious. While friends were out reading about entertainment, I was engrossed with the book A Legal Guide for Gay & Lesbian Couples from Nolo. It is an informative and accessible introduction to the unique legal challenges we face. Pay particular attention to the chapters on medical matters to learn more about what your rights are under the law in the event you or your partner are ill or incapacitated. Whether your biological families are aware of your status, supportive of you, or not, it is important to understand the legal realities that exist, while everyone is healthy, rather than in the heat of the moment of emotion when something unexpected or unwanted happens.

While legal details are not the sexiest topic you can explore, they are important to handle so you can get with the task of living a full life without feeling weighted down by fear of the unknown. Regardless of what the cliché says ignorance is NOT bliss. Especially for gay & lesbian couples when it comes to legal matters.

Take a few moments and consider these questions:

Do I have the following details handled in my life?

• A will?
• A medical power of attorney?
• Durable Power of attorney?
• Agreements and legal documents regarding joint ownership of any property or sizable assets?
• Estate planning?
• Adoption and legal guardianship?

… Just to name a few.

While it isn’t a great deal of fun, it is worth it to take time as soon as possible to learn about and handle the legal details. Once your affairs are in order, you will be free to achieve even more success and enjoy life because you won’t be weighed down by the burden of wondering “what if?”