20 Ways to Say Thank You to Anyone, Including Yourself

by Margalit Ward

Tis the season to be thankful. With Thanksgiving behind us, and the December holiday season upon us, it got me thinking about all the ways we can appreciate the many people in our lives, including ourselves.

Here are 20 Ways to Say Thank You to Anyone, Including Yourself:

1. Smile… at a stranger, a friend, someone you love.

2. Draw a picture with a kind word, quote or phrase.

3. Cook dinner for a friend that doesn't get to enjoy home cooked meals very often.

4. Mail a hand-written thank you note to someone you appreciate.  (I know this is sooo last century!)

5. Sing a song when it's least expected. (serenading is a lost art)

6. Bake cookies for your local firehouse.

7. Write a poem or limerick for a child in your life.

8. Write a list of 10 things you appreciate about a person, and share it with them.

9. Hugs! Who doesn't like a hug?

10. Leave a note of thanks for your postal worker for delivering your mail everyday rain or shine.

11. Let the manager know how well your favorite waiter, sales person, or customer service person helped you.

12. Write 10 things you appreciate about yourself, and post it where you will see it everyday for a month.

13. Send a fun postcard to someone you haven't seen in a long time.

14. Send a letter or email of appreciation to any teachers that made a difference in your life.

15. Leave a colorful and thankful note for a waiter who gave you excellent service.

16. Send flowers to your mother on YOUR birthday. (yeah, she's the one that made it all happen)

17. Decorate your dinner table with some extra special touches of love & creativity. Ideas: colorful & personal notes, flowers, candles, special table cloth & table settings, tree lights, crystals, etc.

18. Pick or buy flowers for your next door neighbors & leave with a note thanking them for being a wonderful neighbor.

19. Save a dollar a day for a month, and then treat yourself to a movie and ice cream (or whatever you like).

20. Look at yourself in the mirror, into your beautiful eyes, and let yourself know how much you appreciate the gift and blessing that you are.


With every gesture of kindness and gratitude, we are lifted, blessed and transported to a place where our hearts are naturally joyful. As Mother Teresa has said, 'Gratitude is the Mother of Joy.' Yes it's true, it's hard to be grumpy when we feel grateful. Instead, we focus on what's right in our lives. So jump in, feel the love, the joy, and the gift of being thankful.

We invite you to share with us your ideas of other ways of saying 'thank you', and what your experience is with sharing your gratitude with yourself and others.

Wishing you much Joy!

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20 Books to Inspire You

What happens when you invite 23 dynamic women, each with their own unique story, to share with each other about what has inspired them in their lives? In addition to having fun, you find yourself feeling uplifted, touched, and inspired by the beauty and strength of these amazing women.

A couple of weeks ago Get Up Girl hosted an evening called, ‘Inspire, Network and Swap Books’. The women attending arrived with three things: 1- Ready to share a short story or a few sentences about what or who inspired them in their life, 2- A yummy treat to share with the group, and 3- An inspirational book to swap with others.

The evening’s theme obviously touched a chord! The October event was sold out, and we had to start a waiting list. I think it’s safe to say, people love to be inspired, to read, and of course, to eat! We enjoyed mingling, snacking and getting to know each other, before circling up to share our stories and a great variety books.

Below is the list of books the women exchanged at our event (all linked to Amazon). The list includes everything from non-fiction, self-help, to some wonderful memoirs and fiction. If you have books that inspired you, we would love to know the titles and authors. We will start another list of books from your comments and emails. We thank you for your suggestions. Enjoy!

20 Inspiring Books:

1. 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life -David Ricklan

2.  A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog - Dean Koontz

3.  Creative Visualization - Shakti Gawain

4.  Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker - Marla Martenson

5.  Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

6.  Excuses Begone! - Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

7.  Gods and Goddesses in Love - Agapi Stassinopoulos

8.  Handbook for the Heart - Richard Carlson

9.  How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gates Gill

10. If You Have to Cry, Go Outside:

And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You - Kelly Cutrone

11. Letters to a Young Poet - Rainer Maria Rilke

12. Now is the Time - Patrick Lindsay

13. The Help - Kathryn Stockett

14. The Man Who Planted Trees - Jean Giono

15. The Mastery of Love  - Don Miguel Ruiz

16. The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

17. The Story of You - Steve Chandler

18. Seinlanguage - Jerry Seinfeld

19. Think and Grow Rich - Napolian Hill

20. Your Best Year Yet - Jinny S. Ditzler

If you would like to be invited to a future Get Up Girl event, you can connect with us a few ways. Subscribe to our Newsletter, follow us on Facebook, or join our Get Up Girl Meetup Group. We look forward to seeing you!

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The Comparison Trap

by Leo Babauta of zenhabits

I love reading about other people’s work setups, I really do. It’s one of my guilty pleasures.

I’ll read about another blogger’s computer setup, or what kind of notebook and pen he uses, or how he works standing up or on a treadmill or while doing handstand pushups and growing a vegetable garden.

And when I read about some cool setup someone else has, some cool new way of working, I inevitably want to try it. I’m only human.

You’ve done this too, probably. You might read a review of some new software that will help you create, or a new fashion style or some cool shoes or beautiful furniture or the newest iPad, or the latest iPhone app. Or maybe you’re a minimalist and read someone’s barefoot running article, or how they’re living out of a backpack, and want to try that.

It’s a trap.

We’re endlessly looking at how others do things, for inspiration and ideas … but we end up wanting to try those things too. That sounds harmless until you realize that you’ll buy almost anything because someone wrote about it and made it sound amazing. You’ll live a life of an endless series of purchases because of what other people are doing. And it never ends.

Even if you don’t buy stuff, you’ll change your life endlessly, based on what others are doing. You’ll give up your couch, you’ll stop buying Ikea furniture, then give up your cell phone, then give up your computer, then start doing yoga, then become a Zen monk, then create a tech startup. Those things are amazing, sure … but when does it ever end?

When do we ever feel content with the life we’re living?

If you look to the lives of others,

you’ll always find yourself lacking.

Look instead at what you have,

and be grateful.

Reduce your needs,

and be content.

And your life of striving

for perfection, for the future,

will become a life of balance,

of the moment, of inner peace.

For more articles by zen habits, go to: zenhabits.net

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The Wisdom of Steve Jobs

I read this quote by Apple's Co-Founder and visionary, Steve Jobs this week and found it very inspiring, so I decided to make it this week's Get Up Girl blog post.

Enjoy!



"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
-Steve Jobs

It reminds me to take time to listen inside to what truly moves, inspires and lifts me. To pay attention to the little nudges and whispers within. And to keep asking myself, "Am I being true to what my heart and intuition is guiding me to do?" Plus, this man is a living demonstration of expressing creativity and innovation.

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6 Tips To Bounce Back From Overwhelm

6 Tips To Bounce Back From Overwhelm
by Lisa Peake, M.A.

Get Up Girl and productivity pro, Lisa Peake of Peake Productivity, shares with us about how to support ourselves when we're experiencing overwhelm.

I work with a lot of busy women. Each one is doing her best to be a good daughter, friend, wife, sister, mother, and brings a high level of care and investment to her work. The good news is that studies show that wearing these varied roles benefits us: when one area of life becomes challenging, we resource self-esteem and encouragement from other sources. We are more robust because we care about and participate in many different areas.

But what happens when all of these areas demand a lot of your time and focus, leaving little left over for you?

That’s when I remind my clients (and myself) that we women must give to ourselves first before we can give of the overflow. If you’re feeling depleted or overwhelmed, here are 6 tips to restore yourself to productivity relaxed focus:

1. Appreciate yourself and your partner.
Start with yourself, and start simple. Write down 3-5 things you appreciate about yourself at the end of the day. Make sure to include qualities about yourself as well as accomplishments. Then turn to your spouse, best friend, or business partner and share the love. A major source of emotional nourishment comes from feeling appreciated, and you’re the best person to start this trend in your own life. I have all of my clients appreciate themselves at the end of each week as part of their Weekly Review.

2. Take a sabbath day.
It was Rachel Naomi Remen who inspired me to block out a day of rest on my calendar every week. Commit to it! Usually a weekend works best for most people. For the entire day: no chores, no errands, keep cooking simple and nourishing, or ask a loved one to take over. Hire a babysitter if needed. Make it a day to play, pray, rest, nap, primp, gab, meditate, and receive support from the ones you love. Resting in this way allows your mind time to incubate creative ideas. All of the brilliant artists, writers and musicians take time away from their creations to percolate. Take time away from whatever it is that you produce, and recharge.

3. Know when to quit.
When you’re tired, sleepy or “braindead”, your most productive next action is rest. This may sound elementary, but in fact it takes conscious awareness to know when to stop (work, play, chores, etc.) Practice checking in with yourself to find out when you need to stop what you’re doing, or take a break. This can also mean know when to quit dwelling on negative thoughts. By redirecting yourself to something more nurturing or uplifting, you have an opportunity to recreate your day.

4. Don’t confuse sneaky indulgences with true self-nurturing.
A pint of Hagen Daas is probably not true self-nurturing, especially if it leaves you feeling guilty. Recognize those times when you want to “slip up” - that is, any time a convenient justification pops in like, “I deserve this because...” Take that as a sign that you need more true self-nurturing. True self-nurturing creates space for greater awareness, false nurturing pushes aside unpleasant thoughts or emotions. The productive choice is to honor what’s present now, and be kind to yourself as you go through it. There is no going around it, anyway. “The best way out is always through.” -Robert Frost

5. Forgive the day.
Forgive yourself, the people in your day, the situations in your life. Forgive it all. This way, when your head hits the pillow, you go free. You can do this in a simple way by saying, “I forgive myself for judging anyone or anything I judged today.” Do what is necessary to bring yourself into peace, and your night time rest will be more rejuvenating.

6. Set a bedtime intention to get deep rejuvenating rest.
Write in your journal what kind of sleep you want to receive, or just say your intention inwardly. You can include an intention to have meaningful dreams, and to wake up feeling refreshed. This is a simple one to try out and test the results for yourself. It takes less than 30 seconds per day. We all need to make time for ourselves in a conscious caring way. When we don’t, we find ourselves depleted and wondering what happened. It takes some effort to stay rested in a busy world, but if you make these tools and others an important part of your daily and weekly routine, you may find that you bounce back from those occasional moments of overwhelm a lot faster.

To find out more about Lisa's work and how she supports her clients with greater productivity, go to: peakeproductivity.com

Ode to Joy!

Article & photos by Margalit Ward

What can I say, I just couldn't help myself.

With the launch of our new Balancing Motherhood women's group this week, (what a wonderful group of powerful, committed and inspiring women. Wow!) and this beautiful spring like morning in sunny LA, my heart was bursting with gratitude and joy for all the blessings in my life and I wanted to share some of it with you.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes about the JOY of life!

"Joy is not in things, it is in us." -Richard Wagner

"Ecstasy is a full, deep involvement in life." –John Lowel

"It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen." –Frances Hodgson Burnett

"Joy delights in Joy." –William Shakespeare

"I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful." –Unknown

"To love what you do and feel that it matters –how could anything be more fun?" –Katherine Graham

"Enjoying those things for which we were presumably designed in the first place... the opportunity to do good work, to fall in love, to enjoy friends, to sit under trees, to read, to hit a ball, to bounce a baby." –Alistair Cooke

"Love many things." –Vincent Van Gogh

"Joy is increased by spreading it to others." –Robert Murray

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul blossom." –Marcel Proust


Making a clear intention of experiencing greater happiness and joy, or any other quality, is the first step in creating more of it. Choose to create joy in your life today. Laugh. Play. Breath. Enjoy this moment. Reach out to others, and do the things you love. Your happiness today is the gift you can give to yourself. Enjoy!

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Do you love your business? And does your business love you back?

Article & Photo by Jennifer Lee

Do you love your business? Or if you work for someone else, do you love your job? I mean really, really love it?

We spend so much of our time working, why not be absolutely head over heels in love with what you do for a living?

5 ways to fall in love with your business all over again:

Focus on your passion.
Are you spending most of your day on the work that lights you up or on tasks that you loathe? What do you need to say no to so you can say yes to the things that make your heart sing?

Find ways to bring fun and joy into your work.
What are some small things that bring a smile to your face? Is it using fun colored markers or post-its? Is it being barefoot? Is it getting to try something new?

Work with people you love.
When you surround yourself with good peeps, you’re bound to feel good. Who are your perfect customers? The ones who light you up when you work with them and you know you’re helping them in the best possible way. Who are your perfect partners and creative cohorts? The ones who you know you can count on, delivery quality, and appreciate your relationship.

Invest in yourself and in your business.
Is there a new skill you want to learn that will give you an edge? Are there events you know will give you tons of exposure or tools you know will help you create your next great product? Be willing to spend money on things you know will help grow your business in the long run.

Show yourself some love.
How can you take better care of yourself? When you’re healthy and happy, everything just seems to flow more easily. Instead of working yourself to the bone, make sure to take gentle breaks, celebrate your successes, and practice compassion toward yourself and others.

Pick one or two things to play with this week and see what that sparks for you and your work. When you love your business, your business loves ya right back.

If you long to have a more fun and fulfilling relationship with your business or you just want to turn up the heat on your professional passion meter, then please join me for a fabulous and informative event that will make your creative heart flutter – the first-ever Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit.

To find out more about Jennifer Lee, and her Right Brain Business Plan, visit Artizen Coaching®

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5 Tips for Healing with Patience & Love

by Margalit Ward

The past couple of months have been an interesting combination of work, holiday celebrations, and laying in bed sick with pneumonia. Yes, this is why you have not seen a recent post from me in quite some time. During December and parts of January, I had the opportunity to re-look at how I was taking care of myself during the busy holiday season, while balancing the projects I had set in motion. It was also an opportunity for me to remember how to make adjustments when life's challenges can force you to slow down... I mean STOP everything.

I thought it would be helpful to share some of the ways I re-remembered to take care of myself when hit by a healing crisis (I finally had to admit that pneumonia is not like a cold, or even the flu, it's a kick in the ass, get your butt in bed situation).

Simplify
Keep life simple. Don't add extra commitments, phone calls, tasks, appointments, etc. to your day, even when you just begin to feel better. My main focus for December was, rest, sleep, drink water and soup, and... more sleep (oh yeah, and catching up on Project Runway episodes). Pretty simple. When the holidays arrived, I only focused on one goal, enjoy the time with my family. I didn't try to send out the usual holiday cards to all my friends and family, attend numerous parties, or plan a trip. I kept life simple and I enjoyed a beautiful & peaceful holiday.

Let Go
Similar to keeping things simple, but taking it another step, try letting go of any attachments to HOW things get done. I don't know about you, but I can sometimes be a bit of a perfectionist. Wanting things to be and look a certain way, and if not, then I would feel dissatisfied or annoyed. It's very freeing and refreshing to let that go. Maybe for a couple of weeks it's okay to let the house get a little messy, the garden a little unruly, and your closet a little cluttered. (I think I heard a gasp!) Give yourself some space to relax and be flexible with how things unfold. Feeling relaxed and letting go of some of your daily responsibilities can assist in your healing.

Ask for Support
Give yourself permission to ask others for support you when you're not feeling well. You can ask your spouse, sister, friend, neighbor, child or a parent to please lend a hand during your time of healing. Ask them to make you soup, pick up your medication, rub your feet, etc., whatever makes you feel cared for and nurtured, and is something that they can do. (Do remember your 'please' and 'thank you's') This gives you more time to rest, and allows others to care for you, which can be a gift to the people in your life more than you know. It's an opportunity to receive from others the care and attention you deserve when you're sick.

Love Love Love Yourself
Since you're not as busy while you're resting, you have a lot of time to remind yourself how wonderful you are. Once your fever breaks, grab that dusty journal and take some time to write about what you've been learning lately. Or use it as a place to write what you appreciate about yourself, your life and the people you love. Write a love letter to yourself, and mail it to you. Create some new affirmations about how you are taking great care of yourself, your body, mind, emotions and spirit. Affirm that you are loved and cared for. Take baths, read books you love, do relaxing and nurturing things for yourself. I think you get the picture. Love and nurture you... you deserve it, now more than ever.

Gratitude
Focus on what's wonderful in your life. No matter how sick you're feeling, thinking about what you're grateful for can lift your spirits and create an attitude that is supportive to your healing process. Add writing about what you're grateful for to your journal each day, even if it's just one thing. Create a new gratitude ritual, such as; keeping a gratitude rock in your pocket or purse to remind you to focus on gratitude; once a week share gratitude with at least one other person; or google gratitude quotes on the internet, and start a list of your favorites. However you choose to focus on gratitude, doing so will generate a greater sense of well-being and loving energy.

Being sick is never fun, but I believe it gives us the opportunity to stop and reflect on what is and isn't working in our life; to make adjustments in how we spend our time and focus our energy; and to listen to ourselves in a greater way. Our bodies are wise and if we pay attention, more deeply, patiently and lovingly, we will hear what truly nourishes us.