Change of Blog

Talk about changes ...

I love blogging. However, I realize that the choice of topic for my blogging is not what I really want to blog about.

So, here ends this blog. When I create my new blog, I will post the new URL here. Off I go to further research ...

Make a change in yourself or your life. Do it now. See how it feels!

When most people think about making a significant change in themselves or in their lives, they often choose something big and complicated. It may be a career change or a physical change such as losing a large amount of weight that they have been struggling with for years. Starting off with a big project can seem daunting and you may decide to it put off if it is overwhelming.

So today I decided to make a significant (to me) change that would be fast and easy to do. I cut my hair! You have to understand that I have had long hair most of my life. Long, beautiful blond hair has always made me feel feminine and sexy. This morning my hair was down to my waist. Then I got out my scissors and cut it to just below my shoulders. This is the shortest it has been since I was a teenager!

I grew up as a child in the 1960/ 1970’s ‘Hippie Era’. Although my older sister was more of a hippie than I, I was more of a ‘Flower Child’. My motto was not, “Sex, drugs, and rock N’ Roll.” It was ‘Peace and Love” and “Make Love, not War.” Although I am grown up now, I have still held onto that long-haired, Flower Child look. I wear business suits and pull back my hair when appropriate, but I still prefer my long blond locks blowing in the breeze as it did in the 1970’s. In fact, as I write this, I am wearing a t-shirt with a big Peace sign on it that says, “give peace a chance”. LOL

So, as you can imagine, cutting my hair off today was a BIG change for me. It was easy, but significant. What did I notice?

1. Many of the blond highlights that I have seen in my ‘roots’ were actually shades of gray. Yes, no matter how hard I tried to keep my youthful Flower Child look, I am still increasing in years. :^\



2. I can get the gray out. :^)



3. My long, blond hair really was feminine and sexy and I will grow it back.



4. I still look cute, even with shorter hair. :^)
   

So how will you challenge yourself to change? Will you take on a big self-improvement project? Or will you do something simple (like I did). If you decide to make a change, post about it here. We would love to hear from you. This blog is not all about me. It is for you. Is anyone out there?

Tell us what you are doing to change.

Geri

A reader asks: My company is laying off some of my co-workers. What if I lose my job?

A reader e-mailed me to ask a question about layoff changes going on where he works. He asked:

“My company is laying off some of my co-workers. What if I lose my job? Im really scared.”

Last week I blogged about ‘survival mode’. For most people, their survival needs such as food, and shelter depend on their income. If your income (or job) is threatened in any way it can cause you to go into a fear and anxiety mode.

• When you feel this anxiety or fear, it is a signal to tell you that you must first find a solution to your problems of lack.


• Then you must calm yourself and focus on creating more prosperity in your life.

If you let fear overcome you, you will find it difficult or impossible to think clearly about your situation and to take action to correct it.

So what should this reader do?

1. Realize that you have not been laid off yet, although co-workers have. Take this as extra time to find a new source of income. Don’t leave your job, but perhaps find a part-time job that you can work along with your current job. This will do two things. It will ‘get your foot in the door’ at another company where you may have an opportunity for a full-time position if you get laid off. Also, it will give you some extra income to put away in case of an emergency.
   


2. Take an hour or two to look at your budget. See how much money it actually takes to support you and your family for a month. Then put money aside until you have enough money to pay the basic, mandatory bills including food for one year. Once you have put aside this ‘padding’, you will be able to relax more. You will be less likely to go into fear and panic mode if you do get laid off because you will know that you can support yourself for at least a year … and longer if you are able to collect unemployment.
   



3. Learn to calm your mind. You will be able to act on your goals better and you will exude more confidence when interviewing for jobs.
   




Start now, even if you still have a good job. Reduce your discretionary spending and know exactly what it takes for you to survive financial each and every month. Put aside whatever you can afford to so that you have peace in your mind and confidence. Enjoy life … don’t fear it.




Geri

Survival Mode:

When we are under stress, our ‘Fight or Flight’ response is activated. Our bodies and minds seek survival.

In ‘survival mode’ we naturally seek to fulfill the need for the basics in life … food, shelter, and clothing. When we are in this survival mode it is difficult to focus on anything other than fulfilling our basic needs. When we are focused on survival, it can be almost impossible to develop positive attitudes and beliefs and to focus on making positive changes in our lives.

Currently, there are many people who have lost their jobs or who are in fear of losing their jobs. Some people are employed, but are just one or two paychecks away from being homeless. If they lost their jobs today, how would they be able to support themselves and their families? This can cause an almost constant state of worry. Worrying serves one purpose – to alert you to the fact that you must take action for change. Once you take the action, you should stop worrying.

In our society, most of us have not learned to turn off the worry reaction or the fight or flight response. As a result, we are living in survival mode. Each of these states can cause great stress which may lead to illness and to an inability to think clearly or to be productive.

In order to make positive changes in our lives and to deal with unwanted changes that are ‘thrown at us’, we must learn to think clearly, to put aside our fears and worries and to focus on making our dreams a reality.

Yes, positive change is possible, even when we are in survival mode. We must first quiet our minds, understand that worrying can be counter-productive to change, and see the big picture. Once we are calm and thinking clearly, we can control and create changes in our lives that are positive and productive.

In my next blog I will be responding to a reader who e-mailed a question to me. If you have questions or if you would like to bring up a topic about change, you can e-mail me at the address noted in the sidebar under "Contact:".

Dr. Geri Krista

Change Your Life or It Will Change for You.

Change Your Life or It Will Change for You.

One thing in life that never changes is that, “In life there will always be change!” Sometimes the changes ‘happen’ to you whether you like it or not. Other times you decide to make changes and you can direct and drive your changes to bring you positive outcomes.

This blog will cover both of these types of changes. Right now, many people are being forced out of their jobs, their homes, or other important situations. They are afraid and unsure of what lies ahead of them. Many are having a very difficult time making positive changes and they feel hopeless. If this is you, I would like you to post your story here. We can discuss possible solutions. You can interact here with others who are having similar problems.

Some of you know that you need to or want to make positive changes in your life. If you take the initiative by making changes yourself, you may be able to avoid changes that are forced on you. For example, if you know that your company is planning layoffs, you can wait until you get a pink slip or you can start looking for a better job now. By making the changes yourself (before you are forced to) you can avoid a potentially devastating situation while taking control over your own life.

If you would like to make positive changes in your life, or if you are going through difficult changes, please post here. We can discuss ways in which you can help yourself to get through these changes.

Create the changes that you want to see in your life! Take your life back!

Geri

Happy New Year!

This year I decided to skip the New Year’s Resolutions. There were too many changes that needed to occur in my life to waste time writing them all down. I was ready to accept them and ‘dig in’. Instead of making long Goal and ToDo lists, I asked myself one simple question. If I could only know the answer to this question, the rest of my life would fall into place. I just knew it! So I went to sleep on the last night of 2009 asking myself this:

If I could do one occupation, one thing every day that would make me wake up with a smile and jump out of bed thinking, “I can’t wait to go and ______” what would that occupation be?

My question was answered. I awoke on the morning of January 1, 2010. It was as if I were Dorothy waking up in the magical Land of Oz. I felt great and I couldn’t wait to get out of bed and get started! What was my first thought of the day? BLOG! I wanted to start blogging, learn all that I could about blogging, take all of my knowledge and experience and put it out there to help and to connect with others. My new occupation would revolve around my blog.

So here we are. I am here to connect with you and hopefully to help you find some of your answers. So let me introduce myself to you (below). Follow me. Bookmark my blog and come back frequently. Post comments and ask questions. Some days I will be bringing up topics and some days I will be answering some of your questions.

I am Dr. Geri Krista, a Chiropractic Physician and Certified Life Coach. I am not practicing chiropractic currently, but I do consulting work as a Life Coach online and over the phone. My Mission is to help others to create their best lives by providing them with information, tools, and encouragement. Life can be rough at times. I like to help people to find the answers and to make positive changes in their lives. I am writing a book about this and I want to find out from all of you what changes and challenges are presenting themselves into your lives now.

I am also a bit of a computer geek and I teach computer and Wellness courses online.

I hope that you enjoy this blog and find it a good place to interact and to find your answers. Please come back often and invite your friends.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year in 2010!

Geri