Work Smart Live Smart with Beverly Beuermann-King

Roses are red, Violets are Blue

Stinky feet? Try some perfume.

Fragrance Day is a celebration for the olfactory nerves in your nose. There is nothing like the scent of a good wine, a beautiful flower, the coming of spring, fresh baked cookies or a touch of perfume.

The sense of smell, called olfaction, involves the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. The olfactory tract transmits these signals to the brain, particularly the limbic system. The limbic system is involved with emotional behavior and memory which is why when you smell something, it often brings back memories associated with the object.

The connection between smell and memory happens almost immediately for us.  Baby’s recognize the smell of their mother. No two people have the exact same odor-identity or “smell fingerprint” which is determined by many factors including: our genes, skin type, diet, medicine, mood state and even the weather.

Here are today’s Hot Tips To Celebrating Fragrance Day:

Use different smells to purposefully relax you, energize you or excite you.  Citrus provides energy and lavender can help you to relax.  You can buy room fresheners, candles and even incense to add that dash of fragrance.

Take a fragrance walk. Now is an excellent time to get out and notice the smells of spring such as the melting snow or the first flowers.

So Happy smelling!

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Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out. 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In

I am so done with winter. It is wearing on my nerves and making me seriously want to move to another country – preferably with snow only in the remotest of locations…just in case I do want to see it again. But that is not likely.

Today is Snowman Burning Day. It is a day to celebrate the changing of season and where we hopefully can soon leave winter behind us.

I am not sure that burning a snowman will bring me some spring juju, but at this point I am willing to try.

Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Snowman Burning Day:

If you can’t burn a snowman, try encouraging that spring feeling by bringing home some blooms. Even if it is not spring outside yet, some bright flowers can make the day shine a little brighter

Make sure you have space to welcome spring into your home. Clear clutter from your display areas, closets, drawers and storage spaces. Donate, recycle or sell unused and unwanted clothing and household items.

Host a Spring Party and break out the BBQ. Getting together with friends or family can lift some of the winter gloom.

Finally, my favourite choice. Go out for ice cream. Nothing says good-bye to winter more than enjoying an ice cream cone.

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out. 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In

Laughter Is Good For Us – So Why Don’t We Use It More’

It has been shown that laughter (not just a quick giggle) reduces physical and emotional tension. Muscles tense in laughter and then relax profoundly for as long as 45 minutes. The more hearty, the more relaxing it is and the longer the positive effect. Laughter helps the body to produces endorphins, which are natural pain relievers.

A good belly laugh can stimulate your internal organs, increase your circulation, raise the level of oxygen in the blood and boost the immune system. A group of researchers found that laughing boisterously 100 times a day will give you the same effects as 10 minutes of rowing or 15 minutes on an exercise bike.

We know intrinsically that laughter is good for us, yet as we get older our laugh quota drops further and further. As adults, we need to examine what happened to our playful, fun, humourous side.

Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Let’s Laugh Day:

Find funny friends and co-workers and make it a point to hang out with them

Go old school and read the comics

Watch funny TV programs, movies and videos

Being able to laugh gives us the physical energy and mental resilience needed to survive.

Smile, Laugh Large and Fight ‘Terminal Seriousness’.

Discover how to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, less-stressed you by visiting my website at worksmartlivesmart.com

My parents weren’t perfect.

As a new parent, I knew I was going to be a better parent than my own.  I was going to be kinder, hug more, talk more, connect more, love more.

And my children would appreciate me, know that I was always fair, never ‘hate’ me, and never doubt my love for them.

Reality can be painful.  The realization that there is no such thing as a perfect parent, that no one had perfect parents, that you are not going to be the perfect parent and that no matter what, your children are going to take you for granted, think that you are unfair, ‘hate’ you for the decisions that you’ve made and will probably doubt how much you love them at some point, is all part of our maturing process.

Parenting is not easy.  We wing it, just like our parents did. 

This realization can lead us to forgiveness.

Sometimes there is a little to get past, sometimes there is a lot to forgive.  Sometimes the hurt and damage run very deep.  Hanging on to this ‘baggage’ is damaging.  It can damage your current and future relationships. 

Forgiveness is not forgetting.  It is awareness and it is moving forward. 

The past can never be re-written.  But sometimes forgiveness allows the future to be much brighter.

Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Forgive Mom and Dad Day:

In my teens, I wanted to change my parents.  As I got older, I have grown to accept them for who they were and are today. 

They were not perfect, but they have some really good qualities.  Now, I see them through the eyes of my children.  They love their grandparents, the way I loved mine. When I look back, I see that they don’t carry that same baggage when they see their grandparents as I do when I see them as my parents. They greet my parents with excitement and enthusiasm.  They laugh and joke around.   Now, so can I.

Forgiveness is essential to living a healthy life.

Discover how to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, less-stressed you by visiting my website at worksmartlivesmart.com.

Whether out in the field or occupying the leader’s chair, everyone has a stake in reporting incidents of suspected or actual wrongdoing. However, being a whistle-blower feels like a violation of that playground rule not to be a tattletale.

Creating a culture that encourages an individual to raise the red flag when something unethical or illegal is taking place is critical.

So how do you get past the feeling of not wanting to cause trouble for someone else?

It’s by understanding that the consequences of keeping silent can be significant and harmful.

Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Ethics Awareness Month:

Create a culture within your organization that encourages employees to report wrongdoing. Work with your teams to understand that the cost of silence is high. This silence may impact the safety of colleagues or damage the reputation and bottom-line of the organization.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, a survey of 195 global leaders located in 15 different countries reported that high ethical and moral standards were the most important leadership trait in the workplace.

Those whose word is their honor and who can be absolutely trusted to be fair, honest, and forthright, are more likely to command the respect of those around them.

High ethical and moral standards create a safe and trusting environment in the workplace where employees can thrive. When employees feel that they can depend on and trust their leader, they feel safe and will go the extra mile for the organization.

While leaders have an obligation to set the ethical tone of the organization, it is everyone's ethical behavior that matters.

Looking for resources to build your healthy workplace? Check out my top 10 tips under Resources and Courses at worksmartlivesmart.com