Work Smart Live Smart with Beverly Beuermann-King

It’s quiet. Well, almost. There is the ticking of the clock, the rattle of the furnace, the birds chirping outside of my window and my computer humming along.

For some this silence is uncomfortable or we feel guilty, so we turn on the TV, though we aren’t really watching. It is important in the chaos of everyday living that we take a few moments and shut out as many sounds of the world and just be. It is here that we can rest, that we can rejuvenate, that we can be creative, and we can reflect.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating #NoiseAwareness Day:

Pay attention to the noise you make and respect your neighbour’s right to peace and quiet.

Turn down the volume two notches on your radios and personal stereo systems with headphones.

Turn down the volume one notch on your television and turn it off during dinner.

Do NOT honk your horn, except in the case of imminent danger.

Replace noisy activities with quiet ones such as taking a walk.

Wear adequate hearing protection if you must be in a noisy environment and if you are concerned, get a hearing screening test done.

Try to observe one minute of no noise everyday.

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 want to be a princess. Not the entitled kind, but the kind who works at being secure, confident, and powerful.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National #Princess Week with me:

One site listed 10 Qualities of a Healthy Princess Mentality

A princess is humble. She doesn’t try to overtly call attention to herself. Her poise and confidence may draw attention, but she doesn’t go out of her way to get people to notice her.

A princess knows her self worth. She sets boundaries and doesn’t let others walk all over her.

After a princess has taken care of her personal needs, she helps those around her.

A princess is a leader. She carries herself with authority.

A princess has an opinion and can voice it on a subject with both strength and tact, not with judgment and force. I am working on the judgement issue.

So to all the other princesses out there, have a wonderful week!

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

Green is the symbol for life.  Appropriately, the green ribbon is the symbol of how we can save lives.

Over 4000 Canadians are awaiting a transplant and unfortunately more than 200 Canadians died last year waiting transplant.  

I believe that many of us want to donate, but life gets in the way and we forget to sign our donor’s card and have the discussion with our loved ones.   If you are okay with donating, take the opportunity during this awareness week to sign your card and discuss it with your family. Someone may be counting on you.

Here are some things I didn’t know…

Living #donors can provide a kidney or part of their liver as well as bone marrow.

Between 80-95 per cent of patients are doing well one year after their transplant.

Spain has highest donation rate.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Organ and Tissue Donors Awareness Week:

Having “organ donor” noted on your driver’s license or carrying a donor card or provincial health card is not all you have to do to become a donor.

Organ and tissue donation are always discussed with family members prior to the donation. For that reason, it is very important that you discuss your wishes with your family.

Don’t let the busyness of life get in the way of saving a life.

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 very glad that the snow is gone and that my flowers are trying hard to poke their heads up to the sun.  A few years ago we celebrated Earth Day while we were on vacation. My boys were looking forward to the release of the Disney production of Earth, while we were at Disney.  It inspired them to do our annual clean up of the roadside where we live. They learned that each of us can do a little and we can all have an impact.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating #EarthDay:

Be a Smart shopper. Buy what you need, not what you want. Consider renting and borrowing things that are seldom needed

Walk, cycle, car pool and use public transportation

Choose local foods that are in season and support local food producers

Wash full loads of clothes in cold water and hang to air dry

For summer air conditioning, set your thermostat to 24°C or 25°C

For winter heating, set your thermostat to 19°C or 20°C

Take short showers instead of baths

Don’t discard. Donate, reuse and recycle items before throwing them into the trash

Earth Day isn’t about a single action you can do to support a healthier environment. Instead, Earth Day is seen by many as a day to renew a personal commitment to support a healthier environment. Though my family and I have a long way to go, every little bit helps as we move to live more responsibly with the environment.

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

Now, I must admit that I am not the best at letting my husband know how much I appreciate everything that he does. He is a wonderful man, a great friend, a good listening post, a terrific father, handyman excellente and very supportive of all of the things that I am involved with.

Like many people, I spend more time thinking about what could be different, what hasn’t been done and what I wish he would do, then letting him know what I am thankful for.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Husband Appreciation Day:

Take a moment and think about how life would be terribly different without this person in your life

Let them know a couple of the little things that they do that make you smile

Give a hug for no reason

Use funny Post-It Notes and stick them in their car, their briefcase or lunch bag

Send a cheerful email to them at work (not one that reminds them to pick up a few groceries on their way home)

 Being able to appreciate others benefits not only your relationship but also your own mood and perspective on life. Look for the things that are going right and they will start to over-shadow those things that may not be just as we would like them to be.

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

As wellness leaders and wellness cheerleaders know, it is often not a lack of information that our team’s face.  It is about finding a stronger motivation to fight the no’s and the excuses.

Look for example at your smoking cessation programs.  I would venture to say that almost everyone who smokes know that it is harming them in one way or the other.  It is not until someone has a clear mental picture as to what the benefits are or how they see their life without smoking, that they can even hope to be successful. 

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Physical Wellness Month:

Help people to have a picture in their head of what life will look like when they have achieved their wellness goal. 

 So, my picture, is to be able to still run a successful business and to have the creativity and motivation to keep trying new things.  It is to be teaching karate to young boys and girls when I am older.  I want to be that cool grandma that goes on the roller coaster rides and can walk along the beach. I want to be in my gardens and I want to stay living in my two-story house.  I want to be sure-footed and not afraid to go out and about.  I want my back to be straight and my eyes looking forward, not hunched and looking at the ground.  So I try to walk at least a couple of times every week, sometimes, complaining the whole way.  I go to karate class as often as I can. I throw the frisbee in the snow, because even though it’s only the dog getting exercise, I am taking in the benefits of the light that will positively impact my mood and energy.

There are so many wellness programs that you could host at your workplace. How are those programs going to help your team be who they picture themselves being? 

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

Our minds can not operate on ‘full throttle’ all day long. Focus #meditation helps to clear the mind of racing, cluttered thoughts by focusing our energies on a particular image or thought. Gradually distracting thoughts will decrease during meditation. This strategy helps to restore mental balance by providing a break in our hectic day. By allowing our mind to slow down it is better able to focus when we return to the task at hand.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National #StressAwarenessDay:

All that is needed is a quiet environment, a comfortable position, a mental image or positive thought in which to focus on, and an attitude that will permit relaxation to happen. Meditating or focusing on music or a relaxing video can give the mind a needed break from stressful events such as conflict, problem-solving, and high energy output.

Guided imagery is a visualization technique, that goes one step further than mediation, by actually engaging the senses within the body to deliver a variety of messages. It can be used to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduce muscle tension, and increase energy. Your body responds to these positive images in the same way it would, if the image was ‘real’.

There is no way we can not get rid of all of our stress, nor do we want to. What we want to do is to reduce our negative reactions to stress so that we don’t become sick, worn down, and worn out. Start by adding one relaxation technique to your daily checklist of things to do.

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 have been asked about how to ensure that irate customers don’t rattle your staff.

The first step is to understand that negative attitudes and behaviours are usually expressed when our customers are stressed out or they just don’t have the energy to use better communication skills, judgment and manners.

Being stressed out is chronic in today’s society. Our customers often have too much to do, too many decisions to make, and are usually running behind schedule.

The difficulty behind the negative attitudes and behaviours of our customers is that they are highly “toxic” to our team.

As the leader, there are several steps that you can take to ensure that your staff can effectively handle the best and the worst in these customers.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating #GettoKnowYourCustomerDay

Discuss the types of customers that your team may encounter ahead of time.

What are some of the common complaints that your staff may face? Share past experiences and horror stories with each other and prepare answers and solutions ahead of time. Preparation allows your staff to feel more confident in dealing with these difficult customers and not absorb the negativity.

Teach your staff how to keep their composure, be assertive and know exactly what it is they want to communicate. Help them to get comfortable with those customers who need to vent and express themselves – however let them know that they do not need to tolerate abuse.

As the leader, you play a very important role in preventing customer negativity from rattling your team.

Looking for resources to build your resiliency? Check out my Live Smart blog at worksmartlivesmart.com

It debuted at the World Fair on April 17, 1964. It was featured on the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines and appeared on the silver screen in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger” that same year.

Here’s another hint: It was built for the working man and it sold almost 400,000 in the first year.

What am I referring to: The Ford Mustang and today is the day that all Mustang owners and enthusiasts celebrate.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Ford #MustangDay:

My husband and I own a 1965 Mustang. Sally is numbers matching, which means that she is in her original condition. She is part of our resiliency tool belt, as during the summer months, we take Sally out for drives in the country. Mostly to find a good ice cream cone or to enter her in a car show. Driving around is about savouring the summer.

Whether you're into gardening, fixing up vintage cars, or even soduko puzzles, research has found that #hobbies are just as important to good health as exercise is, thanks to their ability to relieve stress.

The study, published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, found that people who engaged in leisure activities were 34 percent less stressed, reported feeling happier, and their heart rates was lower.

It didn't seem to matter what the participants did just so long as it was something they deeply enjoyed.

So on this day of celebrating the iconic Mustang, find something that you enjoy and be immersed in it. Your health will thank you for it.

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

No need to get dressed up for work today. You can ditch the shoes too. Today is wear your pjs to work day, along with a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers.

For me, I regularly wear my pjs to work. 15 steps down from my bedroom and 15 steps into my office and I am at work. And since I am the boss, there is not a dress code. Unless, I am going out to speak somewhere, then, I shower up, beautify and dress in my best.

Whether or not you want to wear your pjs to work, today is a day to ditch the stress. Focus on self-care and let loose.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Wear Your PJs To Work Day:

Have fun with this day. Many celebrities, radio stations and tv shows are celebrating, so why not you? Have your own pajama party at work. You may want to ensure a few rules, such as ensuring appropriate body coverage. Give prizes for the loudest pajamas or the craziest designs.

The fun people at Zappos have an official Wear Your Pajamas to Work day during their annual Spirit Week as a way of building in fun, and relaxation.

If the day has passed and you didn’t wear your pjs to work, put them on as soon as you get home. For me, there is nothing as relaxing as a cozy, comfy pair of pjs. My kids know exactly what to get me for my birthday and I love all of them. In pajamas you can be yourself.

Pjs are also great on Saturday mornings by the fire while camping. Sundays that are lounge all-day days. How about Pjs, a movie and hot chocolate or ice cream or other wonderful treats.

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